Today I have with me the wonderful Katelyn Aronson who has just launched her second picture book of 2021. In May, we helped her welcome Piglette 2 onto the bookshelves. Now we are going to hear all about her latest picture book, Clovis Keeps His Cool. Welcome back, Katelyn! Tell us about your new book. Clovis the bull (and former Cloverdale Chargers linebacker), has inherited his late granny's china shop. He now takes utmost care of his porcelain wares, repeating his granny's motto, “Grace, grace. Nothing broken to replace,” hoping to keep his world in a delicate balance. But Clovis has a past, and eventually, a few old rivals come back to haunt him, reawakening his temper, and that old urge to charge… What inspired you when working on this project? Besides the proverbial “bull in the china shop” expression, this story was woven together from disparate odds and ends in my life. For example, the football and tea party references are nods to my maternal grandparents, who are no longer with me. More than anything, I wish they were still alive today. How I’d love to show them my published books! Clovis is actually dedicated to my grandmother, who was a great inspiration to me (just as Granny Grace is to Clovis in the story.) She also gave me my very first china teapot. Tell us about the creative process for this book. I’ve always loved the “bull in the china shop” idiom—the idea of a bull’s brute strength juxtaposed with shelves of fragile porcelain. That image was begging me to flesh out a story for it. I wondered what kind of character might find themselves in such a situation—being big and strong, yet working in close quarters surrounded by breakable things. Gradually, Clovis’ “gentle giant” persona took shape. It turned out that the more I “dug,” the more I discovered other dimensions of Clovis’ character. Sure, he was a gentle giant, but he also had a temper as big as he was, and a past that would come back to haunt him. Did you encounter anything unexpected while working on this project? I think the most unexpected thrill was recognizing Eve Farb’s illustration of Clovis the minute I saw it. I’ll never forget seeing this very first sample illustration and thinking, “It’s him! It’s really him!”. Her depiction of Clovis was exactly how I’d imagined him. It was a truly magical experience! Now for something completely different! Would you rather be stranded on a deserted tropical island or high up on a snow-covered mountain, Why? A tropical island for sure! I’ve been living in the mountains (for the first time in my life) for the last year, and I have never been so cold on a daily basis. Growing up in southern California never prepared me for this. If I have to be stranded somewhere, I hope it’s never in the snow! Thank you so much, Katelyn! I just love the connection between your grandmother, the china teapot she gave you and Clovis' granny and his story in the china shop. We wish you all the best with this beautiful book. Do look out for more books by Katelyn in 2022 because I know she has a few more books in production. Sandra Yoong-Chia Bio: Katelyn Aronson Katelyn Aronson grew up in southern California and spent six years working in independent children’s bookstores before moving to Europe. Today she divides her time between France and Switzerland, where she teaches at the prestigious Institut Le Rosey and writes children’s books. Clovis Keeps His Cool is the third of six books she currently has in the publishing pipeline.
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