#Kidlit Interview with ABI CUSHMAN, the amazing talented author/illustrator.

CAROL GORDON EKSTER: Abi, your new picture book came out in May. You wrote and illustrated WOMBATS ARE PRETTY WEIRD: A [not so] serious guide (with Greenwillow Books.)
As a former teacher, I know how much students, teachers and families will love this. Not only are the illustrations gorgeous, the text is informative along with conversations between the animals, specifically a snake and the wombat, which make for hysterical dialogue in the bubbles. And you end it with nonfiction back matter. I loved this!

Can you tell us the story behind the story?

ABI CUSHMAN: Thank you, Carol! That means so much coming from a former teacher! So I decided to write about wombats because I’ve been obsessed with them ever since I studied abroad in Australia in 2001. I went for a guided hike, and we came across a pile of cube-shaped poop. And that’s when I learned about wombats and their oddly shaped feces.

Fast forward to 2018 when I was writing picture books. I knew I had to write a picture book about wombats and all the weird stuff about them.

CGE: Please tell us about your journey to becoming a published author.

AC: I decided to really give publishing a go in 2015. I had just had my first child, I was reading a ton of picture books, and I had an idea for a funny meta alphabet book. So I completed the story and polished up a book dummy. With that book, I landed an agent, but it didn’t sell to publishers. So I polished up another book dummy–this time a funny character-based picture book. This one was taken to second reads and acquisition meetings but still didn’t sell.

At that point, I was two years in, and I was feeling very sad about my prospects. I channeled that sad, mopey feeling into another book dummy called SOAKED!

I showed the dummy at the 2018 New England SCBWI Conference at the portfolio showcase, and I ended up winning the showcase. Jim Hoover, art director at Viking, was one of the judges. He asked to take a look at the dummy again, and the rest is history!

CGE: Your first picture book, SOAKED, came out in July 2020, and then your second, ANIMALS GO VROOM, came out August 2021.

These also had a cast of animals, also humorous and gorgeously illustrated. Both were fiction. What made you want to venture into nonfiction in this new title?

AC: I LOVE nonfiction picture books even now as an adult. My kids love them too. Since 2008, I’ve had an animal fact website called AnimalFactGuide.com, where I’ve been writing articles about interesting animals for kids. So it was a no-brainer for me to try my hand at writing nonfiction picture books about animals as well. When I have an idea for a book that I’m excited about, I don’t worry about the genre or format, I just try it. I’ve done so much learning as I go as an author-illustrator. It’s scary, but I feel like each new challenge has really helped me grow.

CGE: And I must say, your books play with format so cleverly. How does that come about? Tell us about your process.

AC: When I write my books, I often write the text and draw pictures at the same time by doodling in my sketchbook. It’s usually not in order at first, but I’m thinking about the story in terms of scenes and in terms of page turns. Then I go back through my sketchbook and look at all my text snippets and doodles and see if I loosely have a beginning, middle, and end. Once I’m satisfied with a strong beginning and ending, I put everything together, in order, in a dummy. I shoot for 32 pages, but it usually ends up being 40. I think that because I’m thinking about the story as a book with page turns from the start, it helps me use the picture book format to its full potential.

CGE: Do you have a set schedule to do your writing and illustrating? And which comes first, the writing or the illustrating?

AC: I have young kids, so my work schedule is based on when they’re either in school or are asleep at night. My youngest is going into kindergarten in the fall, so I’m thinking I might be able to shift more writing and illustration time to the daytime. We shall see, since I’m naturally a night owl.

When I’m writing my own books, I do the words and pictures more or less at the same time.

I had the opportunity recently to illustrate a book I didn’t write called THE QUIET FOREST by Charlotte Offsay. With that book, since the manuscript was already done, I had to adjust my process. I printed out the manuscript and did my doodles in the margins. That way I could focus on the visual storytelling without worrying about trying to make a pretty picture.

What does the future hold for Abi Cushman?

As mentioned above, I have THE QUIET FOREST, written by Charlotte Offsay and illustrated by me, coming out on March 12, 2024 from Paula Wiseman Books.

And I have the sequel to WOMBATS ARE PRETTY WEIRD coming out in the summer of 2024. Joey the snake returns to discover the weird, tough ways of the flamingo in FLAMINGOS ARE PRETTY FREAKY.

Where can we connect with you?

Website
Newsletter

Twitter

Instagram

Thank you, Abi, for bringing your beautiful books into the world! And thank you, readers, for taking your time to join us here at Writers’ Rumpus.