Title: Wow! What a Trip!
Subtitle: My Journey to meet my family
Author: Susan M. Tarrant
Illustrations by: Susan Lavalley
Publisher: Wow! Publishing
ISBN: 978-0-9994314-0-5
Pages: 48
Genre: Illustrated Children’s Book / Parenting
Interviewed by: Beth Adams
Author interview with Susan M. Tarrant
Today we are talking to Susan M. Tarrant author of “Wow! What a Trip!”
PBR Thank you, Susan for your time today.
SMT: Good to be with you today.
PBR: I was very impressed with the POV – through the thought of the growing fetus. Can you kindly tell us how this perspective came to our mind and how you developed the concepts?
SMT: Eleven years ago, when our granddaughter was told she was going to be a big sister I wondered how this important news was going to be explained to her. This was going to be a big change in her life and I know our kids, her parents, wanted this to be accepted as a wonderful blessing for the family and her. I began to think of how the news could be presented in a friendly and positive way. That started the sketching of the text. Well, let’s start from the beginning. Two cells getting together to begin the journey.
PBR: As with any illustrated book, the partnership with the artist is very much a key to success. How do you and Susan Lavalley come together to work on these books, and can you explain some of the creative process you have between yourselves?
SMT: I have been looking for an illustrator over the years and came up empty until last year. Through a neighborhood app, I posted a need for an illustrator. To my surprise, thirteen people responded. Five were interviewed and Susan impressed us mostly because of her perspective that this was more than just drawing pictures. She saw this an important message to be given any young child expecting to be a big brother or sister. In a way, this is the foundation of a larger goal to prepare siblings for a lifetime of a loving relationship. Opening up the subject and seeing the value of preparing a child could help in their relationships for a lifetime. And, also finding a way that the message is communicated in a friendly way on this subject is not easy.
The creative process was easy with Susan. We thought it was going to very difficult to portray these concepts. The challenge of making the journey human, not a biological treatise, was going to be very difficult. When Susan presented the first drawing of the cells getting together in the soft pastel rendering I felt she really understood how to communicate the text. As she came with each illustration it was clear I found the right artist. They were only a few suggestions, and to Susan’s credit she never pushed back on any idea.
PBR: You name many others helping you create your book. How would you describe your process of writing?
SMT: I’m blessed to have wonderful family and friends. Since I thought I was going in the right direction I needed feedback. I needed to know if my goal of helping parents could really happen. I will add that before I committed to writing the book I researched the bookstores, on line and anywhere there might be a book that addressed the subject from my perspective. Not finding any illustrated book begged the question, Why not? And then, I asked myself, why not? As Susan and I moved along we had “focus groups” to give us their input on the text and the drawings. We got some great suggestions. The final drawing with the baby and the family in the hospital didn’t have the baby saying “It’s my birthday”.
There were some original text that was deleted and even to the fine details. Originally, when the fetus asked “I wonder what my name will be” I had the sentence end with a question mark. Nope, that sentence is a thought not question… Small detail, but each word and concept was looked over and over. When I got the final printing I didn’t have any writer’s remorse. The book was as good as I could get it.
PBR: What other authors have had an influence on your decision to embark on becoming an author?
SMT: My husband has written two books and help on another. He was very encouraging. As a mother, grandmother and retired special needs teacher I have been exposed to many books helping parents. All the way back to Dr. Spock. So I appreciate the value and importance of helping children through reading.
PBR: Noticing so many subtle detail in your book, for example have the three hands on the belly of a pregnant woman, showing the father’s and mother’s kindness and the wedding ring, brings together a basis for a family structure. What are some of your favorite images within these illustrations?
SMT: I thought the father holding the mother in a loving way represented the ideal. Role models are so very important in forming our values and I thought this representation can’t happen soon enough. The illustration of “I wonder what my name will be” sends a message to the reader and their child that the new baby is going to someone you will like. The same is with the child puckering from the taste of the pickles and ice cream. I guess the feeling I wanted to come through is that a new baby in the family is going to be wonderful.
PBR: I notice you are quite ambitious in making a business out of your publishing works. Can you tell us of some of you focus?
SMT: I am asked by friends and family, “What’s next?” Susan and I have already begun the next book to help parents who are expecting twins. We think the repartee between two babies on the way could be fun and helpful to the family.
The next in the series would be the thoughts and desired communication of the baby of during the first year with the family. It would seem there is a lot the baby would like to say, but can’t at this stage. There are many situations that seem ripe for communication. Any then, my years of teaching children with profound challenges make me hope I could write a book that would help a family understand that every child is a blessing. Our goal is to make the most of the gift.
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