An Interview with Kristyn Crow, AML Picture Book Award Winner

We are pleased to present picture book aficionado Emily Debenham’s interview with Kristyn Crow, the winner of the 2015 AML Picture Book Award. 

Emily: This interview is to celebrate the fact that Zombelina Dances the Nutcracker won the 2015 AML award.  This is your second book with Zombelina as the main character. Is it different writing a picture book sequel?

Kristyn: With a sequel, the idea is to hold on to what made the first book special and yet create a story that’s new. So writing a sequel is different in the sense that I’m not starting with a brand new character and concept. I’m expanding on something familiar. And with both of the Zombelina sequels there were specific marketing themes that the publisher wanted to craft the books around. That was challenging because prior to these books I had never written a manuscript “to order.” I was nervous I might not be able to make the second book as enjoyable as the first.

I think Zombelina is such a fun character to read about.  What is your favorite part about writing her?

She’s a goofy character because of her uncooperative limbs that drop off without warning. But Zombelina has learned how to use this unique quirk to her advantage in Zombelina Dances the Nutcracker and Zombelina School Days. It’s a riot coming up with scenes where her deadly dance skills can either get her into trouble, or save the day.  I also have a lot of fun writing the dead jokes into the text. I’ve got to carefully weave them in without detracting too much from the story and without interrupting the rhythm and rhyme of the verse. It’s a very satisfying feeling when a joke manages to slide right into the meter and still makes sense. Sometimes I crack myself up when one of those puns suddenly occurs to me. For example, “Corpse de ballet,” and “stiff competition” were fun to come up with.

I’ve heard that Zombelina School Days will come out in 2017. I’m very intrigued as the plot lines you’ve explored previously have a lot to do with dance performance. Will Zombelina also do a little bit of dancing in this book or do you explore new territory with your character?

Oh, yes, Zombelina will dance. In fact, she’ll break out of her ballet routine and do a bit of hip hop. There might even be a giant group dance reminiscent of “Thriller” in there. You’ll just have to wait and see!

What factors influence whether or not there will be a fourth Zombelina book? I read that you hoped there would be a fourth. As a writer do you have detailed plans for what you would like to write for Zombelina’s character or do you only develop plans when solid opportunities unfold?

Sales numbers will be the determining factor. If Zombelinas 2 and 3 don’t fare too well, it wouldn’t make sense for the publisher to create a fourth. We’ll have to see whether Zombelina fans want more of her adventures, and whether that positively affects sales.  And no, I won’t delve into writing an additional book until I’m told to do so. Writing in rhyme is tricky, complicated work. I’d rather not put in that brain-teasing effort and then be disappointed to not see it come to life.

Readers should also know that your book Hello Hippo! Goodbye Bird! came out earlier this year.  It is different from your other books in that it is presented in a graphic novel style.  I’m curious, does the illustrator make this style decision or was it an intentional decision on your part?

I must have rewritten the text for that book dozens and dozens of times, and it even reached the length of a chapter book–a genre I thought could be explored with these characters–before being pared back down to picture book brevity. It was the editor’s decision, in the end, to put the book into a graphic novel style where the characters talk to each other without dialog tags. It’s like a comic book in picture book form.  I was worried about how that would work as a read aloud, but it seems to generate a lot of laughs!

Thanks so much for answering my questions! Do you have any other news to share about books, conferences, or anything else you’d like to tell us about?

I just finished my second screenplay for Clark Planetarium, and I’m really excited about this movie. It’s a re-vamp of the “Secret of the Cardboard Rocket” movie that has played for decades, educating kids everywhere about the solar system. Although I had some restrictions with the dome-theater format, I also had a good amount of freedom with the plot. It was exciting bringing these kids into the twenty-first century and to take them on an adventure into space. Look for its release in the next year or so. And watch for “Zombelina School Days” coming in Spring 2017!

 Thank you Kristyn and Emily for the interview!