Interview with Children’s Author, Deborah Underwood {A Balloon for Isabel, Part 2}

I am excited and honored to introduce you today to the author of the children’s book, A Balloon for Isabel, Deborah Underwood:

Photo used with permission; Credit: John Vias

We featured A Balloon for Isabel on the first day of our Christmas series, September 16, 2011. I learned through Deborah Underwood’s website that A Balloon for Isabel is a 2010 Smithsonian Notable Book, has been selected as one of the best children’s books of the year by The Bank Street College of Education Children’s Book Committee and is a Junior Library Guild selection. Needless to say, I was not surprised the book has received these recognitions!

When Ms. Underwood left a comment to our series post, which I was so surprised to receive, I emailed her out of curiosity as to how she came across the post, to say thank you and to see if she might share about how the book was inspired. She graciously agreed and shared the following:

A BALLOON FOR ISABEL sprang from a single question: what if a porcupine wanted a balloon? Writers try to give their characters big problems, because typically the bigger the problem, the more interesting the story. And desperately wanting a balloon seemed like a pretty enormous problem for a porcupine!

When you’re a child, longing eclipses everything else-nothing in the world seems as important as getting that balloon/that ice cream cone/that toy. I find balloons irresistible. Even as an adult, when I see a balloon, part of me thinks, “Oooh, I want that!”

In the book, I wanted to communicate the porcupines’ yearning for balloons, and also to show that strength and resourcefulness can overcome seemingly-insurmountable obstacles. I think that sometimes kids can see solutions grownups can’t, since adults can be set in their ways. I love Isabel’s determination and creativity, and her unwillingness to accept a situation that is inherently unfair.

When she offered for me to let her know if she could answer anything else, I took her up on it and asked her how the gumdrops entered the storyline. She said that she wishes she could remember for sure, but she thinks it was simply out of her, like Isabel, desperately trying to find a solution to the problem in the story!

And finally, I asked her if she would share with us how she became a children’s author (something I’ve often thought would be a lot of fun). Here’s what she shared about that:

I’d done various other kinds of writing before I started writing for kids-I’d sold magazine articles, greeting cards, and puzzles, and I’d even tried writing romance novels and screenplays, although those didn’t sell. But I’ve always loved children’s books, and finally it dawned on me that that’s what I should be writing.Â

So I started reading books about writing for kids, I joined the Society for Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, I joined some critique groups, I went to conferences, and I read a gazillion picture books to research the market. Over time my writing got stronger and I found an agent. I started writing for kids in 2001, and my first picture books didn’t come out till 2010, so it’s been a long haul. It’s a thrill to have my books in print at last.

Her website also offers information on other books of hers that have been published, including her first published children’s picture book, Granny Gomez and Jigsaw. Read about the inspiration for Granny Gomez and Jigsaw here in an interview by Our Hen House with Deborah Underwood. It was published in 2010 and is a story that all animal lovers, adults and children alike, will enjoy!Â

I am really looking forward to reading more of her books with my children. I’m thinking many of her books will have a permanent place in our home library of favorites!

Thank you so much, Ms. Underwood, for sharing with us, and congratulations on your success and seeing your dream come true. Please keep them coming!

Shared with other great ideas at Women Living Well Wednesdays, Works for Me Wednesdays