Author-Illustrator Abi Cushman on Crafting Voice- PLUS A GIVEAWAY!

Hello world!!

Welcome to my blog, Blissfully Bookish. I love reading nonfiction and my next guest has already carved out her own unique style of funny nonfiction. Please welcome Abi Cushman, here to chat about her nonfiction picture book, FLAMINGOS ARE PRETTY FUNKY: A [Not So] Serious Guide, that she both wrote and illustrated. It’s published by Greenwillow / HarperCollins.

BUT first- YAY! Abi is generously giving away a FREE copy of her book! To be eligible to win, please enter the Rafflecopter contest by clicking HERE. Contest ends June 14, 2024, US only.

Please describe the journey to publication and inspiration for FLAMINGOS ARE PRETTY FUNKY: A [Not So] Serious Guide.

When WOMBATS ARE PRETTY WEIRD was acquired, I got a two-book deal. I always knew I wanted the second book to be in the same vein as WOMBATS, but I had lots of ideas for other animals to feature, and I wasn’t sure which one to pick.

After reading a National Geographic Kids article about how flamingos can live in very extreme environments, I realized there was more to flamingos than meets the eye. I had already known about them getting their pink coloring from their food, but I learned about their tough scaly legs and their ability to drink salt water from the article. I brainstormed some funny scenarios between the flamingos and Joey the snake (who first appeared in WOMBATS), and then I felt confident I could make a sequel that could stand on its own.

What message would you like the book to impart to children?

I hope this book sends the message that flamingos–and nature in general–are super cool. I hope kids feel inspired not only to learn more about flamingos, but to go outside and observe the birds around them. How do their beaks compare to flamingo beaks? Do other birds stand on one leg?

Please paste a short and compelling excerpt from your book.

The joint midway up a flamingo’s leg is an ankle, not a knee. Flamingo knees are located inside their bodies and bend just like human knees do.

Flamingo: Bet you thought my knee was bending backward, but it’s really my ankle!

Joey the snake: What’s a knee?

What is your writing process, and does it vary depending on the project?

For the “[Not So] Serious Guide” series, my first step is to research and gather as many fun facts as I can. After that, I doodle characters and scenes in my sketchbook and try to figure out the best jokes and visual humor to go with each fact. Then I make a dummy and sketch everything out and make sure the page turns are working well. For fiction projects, I start with my sketchbook and doodle for a long time until I feel like I have enough to shape a story. Then I make a dummy.

I love your books because they’re loaded with humor and kid appeal. What advice would you have for other authors or illustrators to tap into their “child self”?

I like to focus on voice in my books. I think the interplay of personalities between the characters and/or narrator can be really fun, and it helps me create humorous moments. I then “listen” to the characters and jot down little snippets in my sketchbook. I’ll write everything down, and I try not to worry if it’s bad. Then I take the best bits for my story. This way of doing things has been helpful to me so that I’m not being held back by fear.

Please share your favorite books from 2022-3 that inspired you.

I recently read the picture book, I’m Not Missing by Kashelle Gourley and Skylar Hogan, and it’s hilarious. I also love Superpod: Saving the Endangered Orcas of the Pacific Northwest by Nora Nickum, which is an incredibly inspiring nonfiction MG.

What is the best piece of advice you would give to other writers?

It’s definitely helpful to read a ton of books within your genre and figure out what you like and don’t like. But when it comes down to writing the first draft your story, you need to push all those other books way to the back of your mind. The best story you can write is the one that only you can write—the story that’s most reflective of your tastes, passions, and sensibilities. Don’t be afraid to be a little out there with the early drafts. You can always reign things in during the revision stage. 

And a bonus question just for kicks! What was your favorite book when you were a child?

I have a lot of favorites from when I was a kid, but I’ll give a shoutout here to The Fire Cat by Esther Averill, which is about a yellow cat with big paws named Pickles, who lives in a barrel and just chases other cats up trees. He eventually finds his purpose at a fire station where he can put his big paws to good use.

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BIO

Abi Cushman is the author-illustrator of funny picture books, including Animals Go Vroom! (Viking), Soaked! (Viking), and Wombats Are Pretty Weird: A [Not So] Serious Guide (Greenwillow). She has also worked as a web designer for over 15 years, and runs two popular websites of her own:MyHouseRabbit.com and AnimalFactGuide.com, which was named a Great Website for Kids by the American Library Association. In her spare time, Abi enjoys running, playing tennis, and eating nachos. (Yes, at the same time.) She lives on the Connecticut shoreline with her husband and two kids.

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