Evelyn Dietz
@edprepub1.bsky.social
Former biology teacher (do you ever really stop teaching?!) and long time writer, hoping to bring stories, information, and inspiration to kids someday.
Obviously, every story has to have some sort of message, otherwise it would be a bit pointless. But I'm certainly not thinking, oh, dear, I'm so worried that children are being mean to each other; I must write a book to show that kindness can be good.
- Julia Donaldson
What's your message?
- Julia Donaldson
What's your message?
January 25, 2026 at 5:17 PM
Obviously, every story has to have some sort of message, otherwise it would be a bit pointless. But I'm certainly not thinking, oh, dear, I'm so worried that children are being mean to each other; I must write a book to show that kindness can be good.
- Julia Donaldson
What's your message?
- Julia Donaldson
What's your message?
Every time I write a new story, which I hope will be for Axel [Scheffler] I kind of want to have it a bit different from the one that went before... So I kind of beaver away all by myself with my idea...
-Julia Donaldson
What new idea is next for you?
How do you brainstorm new ideas?
-Julia Donaldson
What new idea is next for you?
How do you brainstorm new ideas?
January 25, 2026 at 5:13 PM
Every time I write a new story, which I hope will be for Axel [Scheffler] I kind of want to have it a bit different from the one that went before... So I kind of beaver away all by myself with my idea...
-Julia Donaldson
What new idea is next for you?
How do you brainstorm new ideas?
-Julia Donaldson
What new idea is next for you?
How do you brainstorm new ideas?
What I find interesting is that spark really happens on paper because, contrary to what many people think, we don't sit together&make up a story. We work completely separately,&the spark happens when the pictures come together with the text...
-Axel Scheffler
The spark completes the story!
-Axel Scheffler
The spark completes the story!
January 25, 2026 at 5:07 PM
What I find interesting is that spark really happens on paper because, contrary to what many people think, we don't sit together&make up a story. We work completely separately,&the spark happens when the pictures come together with the text...
-Axel Scheffler
The spark completes the story!
-Axel Scheffler
The spark completes the story!
We've also found that kids don't really mind if you don't answer their questions directly. Picture books are really good at that, at sort of bringing up questions & then, you know, hypothesizing answers.
-Jon Klassen
Let's spark imaginations so kids can figure out their own answers!
-Jon Klassen
Let's spark imaginations so kids can figure out their own answers!
January 24, 2026 at 7:52 PM
We've also found that kids don't really mind if you don't answer their questions directly. Picture books are really good at that, at sort of bringing up questions & then, you know, hypothesizing answers.
-Jon Klassen
Let's spark imaginations so kids can figure out their own answers!
-Jon Klassen
Let's spark imaginations so kids can figure out their own answers!
So the pitch for it is a bunch of kids...washing rugs with their grandma, which when you hear the pitch, what is there to it, you know? But as you read the book...you know that it's actually a book about Joy&beauty of Armenian family.
-Astrid Kamalyan
What simple activity has deep meaning for you?
-Astrid Kamalyan
What simple activity has deep meaning for you?
January 24, 2026 at 3:04 AM
So the pitch for it is a bunch of kids...washing rugs with their grandma, which when you hear the pitch, what is there to it, you know? But as you read the book...you know that it's actually a book about Joy&beauty of Armenian family.
-Astrid Kamalyan
What simple activity has deep meaning for you?
-Astrid Kamalyan
What simple activity has deep meaning for you?
I started receiving a lot of children's books with the explicit intention of making the child a good person, of teaching a lesson...I wanted to give my child a book that helped him understand kindness & empathy with a laugh.
-Bess Kalb
What is the best way for you to get your point across?
-Bess Kalb
What is the best way for you to get your point across?
January 23, 2026 at 3:03 AM
I started receiving a lot of children's books with the explicit intention of making the child a good person, of teaching a lesson...I wanted to give my child a book that helped him understand kindness & empathy with a laugh.
-Bess Kalb
What is the best way for you to get your point across?
-Bess Kalb
What is the best way for you to get your point across?
That's really the artistry of it, to tell a story with one picture, and we can read in so much content, certainly from the larger span of the book storytelling, but there's so much that you [Michelle Lee]tell in that one picture. That's the art.
- George Takei
The illustrations reveal the story.
- George Takei
The illustrations reveal the story.
January 19, 2026 at 3:51 PM
That's really the artistry of it, to tell a story with one picture, and we can read in so much content, certainly from the larger span of the book storytelling, but there's so much that you [Michelle Lee]tell in that one picture. That's the art.
- George Takei
The illustrations reveal the story.
- George Takei
The illustrations reveal the story.
I don't have a formula, even though I've been working for, like, 35 years or something. And every time I start something, it's like a kind of a beginning.
- Brian Cronin
Do you have a set process or formula? Or do you begin anew with every project? Find what works for you!
- Brian Cronin
Do you have a set process or formula? Or do you begin anew with every project? Find what works for you!
January 18, 2026 at 8:10 PM
I don't have a formula, even though I've been working for, like, 35 years or something. And every time I start something, it's like a kind of a beginning.
- Brian Cronin
Do you have a set process or formula? Or do you begin anew with every project? Find what works for you!
- Brian Cronin
Do you have a set process or formula? Or do you begin anew with every project? Find what works for you!
So actually, for each book that I work on, I kind of like to focus on a specific feeling or object that I want to evoke.
-Gracey Zhang
What helps you focus on a feeling, object, or theme for your book? How does that focus show up on every page?
-Gracey Zhang
What helps you focus on a feeling, object, or theme for your book? How does that focus show up on every page?
January 18, 2026 at 3:43 AM
So actually, for each book that I work on, I kind of like to focus on a specific feeling or object that I want to evoke.
-Gracey Zhang
What helps you focus on a feeling, object, or theme for your book? How does that focus show up on every page?
-Gracey Zhang
What helps you focus on a feeling, object, or theme for your book? How does that focus show up on every page?
From Julie's text, that is just a springboard. She writes that the house smells like cedar chests, sugar cookies &apple cider,...So from the sentence, I think of all the components&ingredients that would happen in this house.
-Hanna Cha about Julie Leung
How will your words inspire an illustrator?
-Hanna Cha about Julie Leung
How will your words inspire an illustrator?
January 16, 2026 at 6:19 PM
From Julie's text, that is just a springboard. She writes that the house smells like cedar chests, sugar cookies &apple cider,...So from the sentence, I think of all the components&ingredients that would happen in this house.
-Hanna Cha about Julie Leung
How will your words inspire an illustrator?
-Hanna Cha about Julie Leung
How will your words inspire an illustrator?
I think it was 23 years ago that you came up with a short poem that was an early seed of this dictionary story.
- Oliver Jeffers to Sam Winston
But not working on it full-time- 7 years total, maybe, if you were to add it all up.
- Oliver Jeffers
What early seeds of stories can you dig up?
- Oliver Jeffers to Sam Winston
But not working on it full-time- 7 years total, maybe, if you were to add it all up.
- Oliver Jeffers
What early seeds of stories can you dig up?
January 15, 2026 at 6:44 PM
I think it was 23 years ago that you came up with a short poem that was an early seed of this dictionary story.
- Oliver Jeffers to Sam Winston
But not working on it full-time- 7 years total, maybe, if you were to add it all up.
- Oliver Jeffers
What early seeds of stories can you dig up?
- Oliver Jeffers to Sam Winston
But not working on it full-time- 7 years total, maybe, if you were to add it all up.
- Oliver Jeffers
What early seeds of stories can you dig up?
One of the inspirations, too, for me, for the story was picture books from the past that I really love.
I don't think I set out to be, like, I want this to be sort of a vintage, timeless picture book.
-Travis Jonker
Where does your inspiration come from?
What were your favorite picture books&why?
I don't think I set out to be, like, I want this to be sort of a vintage, timeless picture book.
-Travis Jonker
Where does your inspiration come from?
What were your favorite picture books&why?
January 15, 2026 at 3:09 AM
One of the inspirations, too, for me, for the story was picture books from the past that I really love.
I don't think I set out to be, like, I want this to be sort of a vintage, timeless picture book.
-Travis Jonker
Where does your inspiration come from?
What were your favorite picture books&why?
I don't think I set out to be, like, I want this to be sort of a vintage, timeless picture book.
-Travis Jonker
Where does your inspiration come from?
What were your favorite picture books&why?
My idea in writing- 'cuz I am writing with pictures- is that I know what image is going to pull the heartstrings. If you flip through a book fast, nothing made you linger. &a great book makes you linger. It's like a great meal.
- E.B. Lewis
What story will make your readers savor and linger?
- E.B. Lewis
What story will make your readers savor and linger?
January 13, 2026 at 4:55 PM
My idea in writing- 'cuz I am writing with pictures- is that I know what image is going to pull the heartstrings. If you flip through a book fast, nothing made you linger. &a great book makes you linger. It's like a great meal.
- E.B. Lewis
What story will make your readers savor and linger?
- E.B. Lewis
What story will make your readers savor and linger?
A lack of sleep is an essential part of my process, as is vivid hallucinations and trying to make myself laugh.
as I was writing, I think, how is an illustrative going to do this?
-Alex London
What is your creative process?
Can you envision illustrations? Do you leave room for the illustrator?
as I was writing, I think, how is an illustrative going to do this?
-Alex London
What is your creative process?
Can you envision illustrations? Do you leave room for the illustrator?
January 11, 2026 at 8:08 PM
A lack of sleep is an essential part of my process, as is vivid hallucinations and trying to make myself laugh.
as I was writing, I think, how is an illustrative going to do this?
-Alex London
What is your creative process?
Can you envision illustrations? Do you leave room for the illustrator?
as I was writing, I think, how is an illustrative going to do this?
-Alex London
What is your creative process?
Can you envision illustrations? Do you leave room for the illustrator?
... you know, children are dreamers, and they need to keep hope. Children now are facing an incredibly challenging world in so many ways, and they are going to have to do what they can...
- Sascha Alper
How can we help children develop and keep hope through our stories?
- Sascha Alper
How can we help children develop and keep hope through our stories?
January 11, 2026 at 3:16 AM
... you know, children are dreamers, and they need to keep hope. Children now are facing an incredibly challenging world in so many ways, and they are going to have to do what they can...
- Sascha Alper
How can we help children develop and keep hope through our stories?
- Sascha Alper
How can we help children develop and keep hope through our stories?
I think, for me, this book speaks a lot to kindness and care...And tenderness is still OK for boys and girls. And we can have disagreements and still love each other and care for each other.
- Rebecca Kunz
What will your book speak to?
What will it show us about humankind?
- Rebecca Kunz
What will your book speak to?
What will it show us about humankind?
January 9, 2026 at 2:07 PM
I think, for me, this book speaks a lot to kindness and care...And tenderness is still OK for boys and girls. And we can have disagreements and still love each other and care for each other.
- Rebecca Kunz
What will your book speak to?
What will it show us about humankind?
- Rebecca Kunz
What will your book speak to?
What will it show us about humankind?
And I think that that's something in the end that we really wanted to convey was this feeling of safety and kind of slowing down.
-Sophia Haas
What do you want to convey? Does it come through every page, does it seep into the words and illustrations? Do you have a theme or guiding word?
-Sophia Haas
What do you want to convey? Does it come through every page, does it seep into the words and illustrations? Do you have a theme or guiding word?
January 8, 2026 at 5:01 PM
And I think that that's something in the end that we really wanted to convey was this feeling of safety and kind of slowing down.
-Sophia Haas
What do you want to convey? Does it come through every page, does it seep into the words and illustrations? Do you have a theme or guiding word?
-Sophia Haas
What do you want to convey? Does it come through every page, does it seep into the words and illustrations? Do you have a theme or guiding word?
Poetry can be fun. &when you write poems with kids, you see how immediately they get this,&they understand this. Like, if you read a poem aloud to kids, they start to dance in their seats. Like, they start to move. It's just so immediate.
-Matthew Burgess
Kids enjoy poetry b4 they ever study it
-Matthew Burgess
Kids enjoy poetry b4 they ever study it
January 4, 2026 at 5:36 PM
Poetry can be fun. &when you write poems with kids, you see how immediately they get this,&they understand this. Like, if you read a poem aloud to kids, they start to dance in their seats. Like, they start to move. It's just so immediate.
-Matthew Burgess
Kids enjoy poetry b4 they ever study it
-Matthew Burgess
Kids enjoy poetry b4 they ever study it
I think in this line of work, just if something sounds fun, that's a good enough reason to try it, and that's where it started.
The story changed as we worked on it.
-Corey R Tabor
Being open to something new, including changes, can translate to fun which then enlivens the page for you&the readers
The story changed as we worked on it.
-Corey R Tabor
Being open to something new, including changes, can translate to fun which then enlivens the page for you&the readers
January 4, 2026 at 2:08 AM
I think in this line of work, just if something sounds fun, that's a good enough reason to try it, and that's where it started.
The story changed as we worked on it.
-Corey R Tabor
Being open to something new, including changes, can translate to fun which then enlivens the page for you&the readers
The story changed as we worked on it.
-Corey R Tabor
Being open to something new, including changes, can translate to fun which then enlivens the page for you&the readers
Part of the job of the illustrator is to inject something more. I mean, that's what I enjoy doing.
-Sydney Smith
Illustrators complete your story, they add details that enrich and fulfill your vision! Leave room for the illustrator's creativity and storytelling!
-Sydney Smith
Illustrators complete your story, they add details that enrich and fulfill your vision! Leave room for the illustrator's creativity and storytelling!
January 2, 2026 at 10:02 PM
Part of the job of the illustrator is to inject something more. I mean, that's what I enjoy doing.
-Sydney Smith
Illustrators complete your story, they add details that enrich and fulfill your vision! Leave room for the illustrator's creativity and storytelling!
-Sydney Smith
Illustrators complete your story, they add details that enrich and fulfill your vision! Leave room for the illustrator's creativity and storytelling!
And I think sometimes we underestimate the fact that we can give children ambiguities, and that's fascinating for them. We can make mysteries for young children, and that's great.
-Michael Rosen
Don't underestimate what fascinates a child and keeps them coming back to your story!
-Michael Rosen
Don't underestimate what fascinates a child and keeps them coming back to your story!
January 2, 2026 at 1:25 AM
And I think sometimes we underestimate the fact that we can give children ambiguities, and that's fascinating for them. We can make mysteries for young children, and that's great.
-Michael Rosen
Don't underestimate what fascinates a child and keeps them coming back to your story!
-Michael Rosen
Don't underestimate what fascinates a child and keeps them coming back to your story!
The seeds of this story actually came from my own drives with my children in Ohio's Appalachia. . . As soon as you take a drive, about a minute out, I begin to feel like I'm almost in my own private world.
- Kate Hoefler
Do you notice the seeds of stories all around you?
- Kate Hoefler
Do you notice the seeds of stories all around you?
December 26, 2025 at 4:18 PM
The seeds of this story actually came from my own drives with my children in Ohio's Appalachia. . . As soon as you take a drive, about a minute out, I begin to feel like I'm almost in my own private world.
- Kate Hoefler
Do you notice the seeds of stories all around you?
- Kate Hoefler
Do you notice the seeds of stories all around you?
I must admit that I'm one of those who queried way too soon.
- Lindsey Aduskevich
I know I did! But after being in two critique groups, having my go-to critique person, reading, reading and reading, going to SCBWI workshops and conferences, and writing, writing, writing, I now know to wait!
- Lindsey Aduskevich
I know I did! But after being in two critique groups, having my go-to critique person, reading, reading and reading, going to SCBWI workshops and conferences, and writing, writing, writing, I now know to wait!
December 24, 2025 at 8:40 PM
I must admit that I'm one of those who queried way too soon.
- Lindsey Aduskevich
I know I did! But after being in two critique groups, having my go-to critique person, reading, reading and reading, going to SCBWI workshops and conferences, and writing, writing, writing, I now know to wait!
- Lindsey Aduskevich
I know I did! But after being in two critique groups, having my go-to critique person, reading, reading and reading, going to SCBWI workshops and conferences, and writing, writing, writing, I now know to wait!
The idea for this book came to me, actually, when I picked up an acorn in the forest and was thinking about how an entire oak tree resided in this acorn. And it's about how small things are part of big things and big things need small things.
- Joyce Sidman
What simple actions will inspire you?
- Joyce Sidman
What simple actions will inspire you?
December 23, 2025 at 9:55 PM
The idea for this book came to me, actually, when I picked up an acorn in the forest and was thinking about how an entire oak tree resided in this acorn. And it's about how small things are part of big things and big things need small things.
- Joyce Sidman
What simple actions will inspire you?
- Joyce Sidman
What simple actions will inspire you?
The process, believe it or not, for a 32-page book-you're going to do anywhere between I would have to say about a 100 drawings or more.
-Frank Morrison
Telling a story with words&illustrations in 32 pages is work from the heart, soul,& imagination. Try it all different ways until it feels right.
-Frank Morrison
Telling a story with words&illustrations in 32 pages is work from the heart, soul,& imagination. Try it all different ways until it feels right.
December 22, 2025 at 8:08 PM
The process, believe it or not, for a 32-page book-you're going to do anywhere between I would have to say about a 100 drawings or more.
-Frank Morrison
Telling a story with words&illustrations in 32 pages is work from the heart, soul,& imagination. Try it all different ways until it feels right.
-Frank Morrison
Telling a story with words&illustrations in 32 pages is work from the heart, soul,& imagination. Try it all different ways until it feels right.