Hi Everyone!
Last month, I celebrated the release of my 9th picture book, SOME DAYS I’M THE WIND, illustrated so beautifully by Dinara Mirtalipova (WhooHoo!). So, I thought this month I’d share with you a little behind the making of this book (and, of course, offer a giveaway! More on that later!).
SOME DAYS I’M THE WIND, much like my other Barefoot Books title, WHATEVER COMES TOMORROW (and the majority of my books, in fact), started as a poem. During the Covid pandemic years, as many of you know, it was hard for many writers to feel creative, as everyone was grappling with worried feelings about the unknown. In order to encourage each other to keep creating, some writing friends and I embarked on a Poem-A-Week Challenge in which we took turns picking a word and tasking ourselves to produce a poem inspired by that word. Even after things started returning to “normal,” we continued this practice, and one week in April 2023, the word of the week was “mild.”
As I tend to do, I began by creating a list of words that rhyme with the assigned word, and the first rhyme I thought of was “wild.” In pondering about things that were both “mild” and “wild,” I started thinking about the wind, and how, on some days, the wind is a soft, gentle, pleasant breeze, but on other days, that same wind can turn into a cyclone ! And then, I thought about how I’m like that too! On some days, I am peaceful and mild, but on other days I’m giddy and wild!
From there, I wrote the first two stanzas of what would eventually become SOME DAYS I’M THE WIND (Those two first stanzas, by the way, never changed from the initial draft, which is highly unusual for me. Most of my books go through many rounds of revision.)
As I wrote, describing various natural elements and how they can be different on different days, I began to notice more and more the connections between each natural element’s “behaviors,” “moods” and “feelings” and our own human behaviors, moods and feelings.
And then I went even deeper. I thought about myself as a child, and how people used to think of me as a “quiet, shy person,” because often I was. But sometimes I wasn’t quiet at ALL. I loved being silly and telling jokes when I was spending time with friends I loved and trusted. And I definitely wasn’t always shy. In fact, I loved singing and performing on stage! It was at that point that I realized that this could be a book that might connect with young kids, who maybe need a reminder that there aren’t any labels that can define us completely. We can feel and be and act different ways on different days, and that is absolutely 100% normal and okay!
As I continued to write each draft of SOME DAYS I’M THE WIND. I intentionally mixed up the order of the stanzas so that there wasn’t any pattern to the way the various elements and emotions are presented. I didn’t want kids to think that one side of the page presented the “good” feeling, while the other side presented the “bad.” I wanted it to be clear that all feelings are good feelings because they help us better understand ourselves and what we need in a particular moment.
I was asked recently in an interview what advice I have for other writers “hoping to create stories that help children understand and embrace their feelings,” and here’s my answer to that…
I have found that of all the stories I’ve written, the ones that most resonate with children (and their adults) are the ones that are most personal, the ones that capture the feelings I felt and the experiences I had myself when I was little. So, my advice is not to think at all about how your stories will “help” the children who may read them, but rather to think about YOURSELF as a child and what would have helped YOU better understand and embrace your own feelings. Mine your memories for those authentic moments where you grappled with either difficult or joyful emotions. What was happening? Where were you? Who was with you? Why did you feel the way you felt? What do you wish had happened differently? What emotions do you wish you had been able to feel or express in that moment? What stopped you? Etc.
I think, as writers, the deeper we are able to dive into our own emotions and the more honest we are with sharing our own experiences, the more we connect to young readers. We have to remember that we too were once children. I still feel all the same feelings of worry and anxiety, joy and wonder, disappointment and heartache that I did as a child. Just because we grow up, doesn’t mean we grow out of our feelings. When writing picture books for kids, it’s important to always remember and tap into that.
Thanks for reading this far and helping me celebrate this book! To reward you, I’d love to offer a giveaway of either a signed copy of SOME DAYS I’M THE WIND (US-mainland address only) OR a 30-minute Ask Me Anything Zoom call with me! To enter, just post a comment below and I’ll announced the winner on my next post, scheduled for Nov. 11th.
And the winner of last month’s giveaway, a copy of Helen Kemp Zax’s adorable LITTLE WITCH’S TO-DO LIST is…..
****MICHELLE DUGAN!!!!****
Congrats, Michelle! Please email me at RebeccaWrites4Kids@gmail.com to claim your prize!
Rebecca this is a beautiful book! So impactful for all humans, big and small. You’re writing is lovely😘
Thank you for sharing your process and inspiration!
Your writing always moves me, Rebecca, and SOME DAYS I’M THE WIND is yet another testament to your poetic grace.
Congratulations 🎉 I appreciate hearing your process in creating this beautiful book, I also appreciate books about the wind, as I live on the Plains where the wind always blows!
Congratulations on your beautiful book. I love the heart and connection you found to give readers a concrete expression of their emotions. I can’t wait to read your book.
So playful. So emotive. Adding to my to read list.
Congratulation, Rebecca, on another great rhymer! You continue to inspire me…
So beautiful and fun! Lovely! Thanks for sharing this book! Adding it to my Goodreads list!
Another beautiful book, Rebecca! I’ve had the pleasure of reading a few of your other ones and I adore them!
This looks lovely, Rebecca. Congratulations!
Beautiful book. Thank you for writing it!
Rebecca — Thank you for this post! Such a great reminder that we have to keep mining emotions to find the heart of the story.
This is a beautiful and resonant book. Thank you for giving us a glimpse into your process!
Congrats on another beautiful book! Thanks for giving us a peek inside. I’ll ask for it at my library.
Love this…thanks for sharing!
Beautiful book! Thanks for sharing.
Great writing advice, looks like a lovely book! Looking forward to reading it.
I love your decision to mix up the feelings so there’s not a ‘good’ or ‘bad’ page assigned to them. I love the validation of many kinds of feelings, and presented in a non-didactic and engaging way. Congrats!
What a lovely book! Congratulations, Rebecca!!!
I can’t wait to read this!
The words and illustrations are such a perfect match! All in all, a lovely book!
This book looks lovely and just put it on hold from my library! Congrats on your wonderful successes—I love your books!
What emotive illustrations and text any kid can relate to! Great job.
I love the concept of this book and the illustrations are beautiful. Congrats!
Really love this message. Beautiful writing and illustrations. Thank you for sharing your “behind the scenes.”
Oh I love this Rebecca! I’ve been looking for a book like this one 🙂 Congratulations!
I’m so impressed by your poetry challenge during Covid and that you actually continued it beyond the lockdown too! I’d like to be a more productive poet!
Here’s to the imagination!
This PB looks like a gem, and I loved hearing how it came about. Congratulations!
I appreciate the glimpse into your process and how this story came to be. I also love the perspective you share about feelings not being good or bad … that we all experience all of them … and that this is the case for both children AND adults. A fact that is often overlooked. Thank you for this!
I love this story!!