INTERVIEW WITH #KIDLIT #RHYMING #PICTUREBOOK AUTHOR CHRISTINA SHAWN AND ILLUSTRATOR SHAHRZAD MAYDANI ABOUT PICTURE BOOK AND THEN CAME YOU

By Danna Zeiger

Christina has been a long-time beloved critique partner and friend. We have journeyed through the wild path of publishing together, and I couldn’t be more delighted that her lyrical, rhyming magic has now reached many kids. I was excited to sit down and ask Christina the questions that so many of us have about her process and how she makes her literary magic happen! Books like AND THEN CAME YOU, which are beautifully illustrated with a matching lyrical whimsy, and that carry a whole new narrative in the illustrations, are so much fun to read. I was so excited to also get to chat with the talented illustrator, Shaz! How fun it was to learn the whole process that went into creating and birthing this important book.

Questions for Christina Shawn:

DZ: Tell us about your journey into writing. How and when did you get started?

CS: My journey started by accident and also not at all by accident. I always loved writing and working with kids. I was the Barnes & Noble CRM, an English teacher, Reading Specialist, Literacy Coach and mom. Then when I was home with my kids, I “accidentally” wrote a children’s book. I think I just began thinking in rollicking, rhyming, rhythms and when I wrote them down they created something sort of like a book. I self-published LUCAS PLAYS as a passion project for my family and then I was hooked. I knew that I wanted to write more, learn more, work on my craft, and spend many more years spinning words into stories that connect people, validate their feelings, and help them feel seen, heard, and understood.

DZ: What inspired this idea for AND THEN CAME YOU? Is this based on someone’s story, or is it a figment of your lovely imagination? What was your “seed” for your idea?

CS: If you know me, you know I struggle with change, especially when it is changing something that is already good. Growing my family felt like equal parts bliss and anxiety. Watching my kids grow fills my heart over and over again. I was thinking about how when my kids were babies they only wanted to be with me “you and me, me and you, all I need is just us two,” and how that small circle expands as they grow. They welcome in new people and experiences, and as a result they grow into complex and beautiful people. Still, change can be scary, and I wanted to validate that initial hesitation while honoring the reward of taking a chance on something or someone new.

DZ: What was the evolution of your manuscript from first draft to submission draft? Did you start with the whole story arc (trying not to give any spoilers in my Q but feel free to give spoilers in your answer—we will alert readers!) or did you start with a family changing in one specific way, and you ended up adding to it?

CS: The manuscript started in bits of rhyming pieces in my head. I wrote each one down and let it simmer for a while. Then, when I sat down to write the story, it was mostly formed about a reluctant child feeling hesitant to welcome a parent, pet, and baby. The voice, rhyme scheme, and overall message of the story haven’t changed. The child meets each new addition to her family with resistance and finds that ultimately, when families grow, love grows too. Through two R&Rs, the patterning and word choices became more refined and each section of change became more defined.

DZ: I happen to know a little, from watching your amazing journey, how many exciting surprises Shaz had in store for you! Can you share which illustrator notes you included in the original manuscript vs. which elements were a surprise?

CS: Working with Shaz has been a dream. When my editor asked me how I felt about Chronicle approaching Shaz to illustrate, I was thrilled. I already owned one of her books, POETREE (written by Shauna LaVoy Reynolds), and I was a big fan of her whimsical, heartfelt style.

Throughout the process, Shaz surprised me in delightful ways. The treehouse and how it grows with the family was all her idea. It is one of my favorite things about the book. Her focus on the seasons as the family grows was another beautiful layer. And of course, all the hidden animals in the illustrations add such a fun playfulness and whimsy.

I believe the only art notes I had in the original submission were these: [Art note: The second refrain of “A gentle calm…shoulder ride…big wet kiss…” through the end of the text pictures MC doing those things with the baby sister as she grows.  Ending “Me and You” (you is plural) shows the whole family and possibly more…] along with a note that I wanted the characters to be diverse in appearance.

DZ: Given that this is a(n impressive) rhyming book with amazing rhyme surprises (one of my favorite parts, and SO MUCH FUN when reading aloud!) did you paginate this book when writing it, upon submission, and/or in the editing process? Did your editor paginate for you, and was the pagination different than what you envisioned?

I definitely paginated in my drafts and I made a little book dummy to pace the page turns. I did not turn these in to my editor though. I just used them as a reference for myself. My original version had a building refrain, which we ended up cutting. The biggest, best edit that came from Ariel Richardson and her team at Chronicle was changing those page turns from “me and you” to “me and who?” and really exploring that element of predictive rhyme with a surprise twist!

DZ: Different editors and houses drastically differ in their process. Can you share with our readers what this process looked like for you in terms of illustrator choice, illustration style, and editing?

CS: I felt that Chronicle really kept me in the loop throughout the whole process. I knew who they had in mind to illustrate, I saw initial character sketches, art revisions, scene sketches, layouts, possible covers and then each set of proofs as they went through. Each time, my editor asked me to review and make notes, which she then reviewed and sent along to the art director who I believe took them into account when giving Shaz notes. It all felt very respectful and collaborative, and really so much fun to see it grow and change over time. I was constantly in awe of Shaz’s talent as she brought my words to another level.

DZ: How much of the original manuscript changed during the editorial process? Did any of the text change during the illustration process in order to integrate with the visual story?

CS: The premise and bulk of the story remained the same. The repeated refrain was cut and the sections of new partner, new dog, new baby were made clearer with more intentional patterning and page turns. We leaned into featuring a blended family. We revised the ending and the title many times until we got them just right.

DZ: Authors and illustrators usually don’t have direct contact until the book is done, and even then, it can be minimal. I love that you and Shaz have such a great relationship! This isn’t surprising for anyone who knows Christina 😊 but can you describe your relationship, when you first started chatting, and now?

CS: I didn’t connect directly with Shaz about our project while she was working on it. I love how collaborative picture book creation is like 1+1=3. It’s magical, and I didn’t want to mess with it. But I followed her on Instagram and celebrated her other projects. I did message her from time to time when I received something so beautiful that I just wanted to tell her I loved it. In preparation for our book launch, we talked about designs for stickers and t-shirts, and I was thrilled when Shaz wanted to get creative on this with me. The More Love design you see in my posts is hers – specially made for our launch, but you won’t find it in the book. I was able to use her book illustrations to make stickers and even design the bag I carry to events. She and I repost for each other and cheer each other along. This is all mostly through Instagram. I do hope I get to work with Shaz again in the future.

DZ: How has the process working on this book (and now promoting it!) been different from books you’ve worked on in the past?

CS: This was my debut traditionally published book. I have one self-published book entitled LUCAS PLAYS, 2017), so most of this was brand new. For this book, I was brand new to my online critique groups, so I worked mostly one-on-one with one in-person critique partner. I received two R&Rs from Chronicle books before they made an offer. Each time, I would work on the edits independently, share them with my CP who would workshop each word with me until it felt right, and then I would send the edited manuscript to my agent at the time who would give more feedback. She would then send it back to Chronicle.

I really loved working directly with Ariel Richardson, my editor at Chronicle Books, when we were reworking the title. We had brainstorm sessions that were creative and fun, and I learned so much from hearing her thought process and insights in real time.

I have been thinking about the promotion for this book’s release for more than four years; it felt like a giant exhale to set it all into motion and still it was full of surprises.

DZ: Please feel free to plug your next book here/ what’s next for you! Both short-term and long-term, if you’d like.

CS: My next picture book entitled NO LOVE POTION (Miller-Gass)  comes out in September 2026 with The Little Press. It is a Halloween / Valentine’s Day hybrid about a young witch who accidentally falls in love with an ingredient in her No-Love Potion, unexpectedly turning it into a Valentine’s stew for two.

Stay tuned for more information about a 2027 title with Sleeping Bear Press, and hopefully some other things too!

Questions for Shaz:

DZ: I know (and love!) Christina well, so it’s lovely to get to e-meet you—I’ve heard amazing things! I am also genuinely blown away by your art. All of your books are gorgeous—I’ve read many of them—and you have a distinctive voice and style as an illustrator. 

What was your journey into children’s books and illustration? Can you tell us a little about yourself?

SM: I was very fortunate to grow up with an artist for a mother, so I have always been surrounded by the creative process, and I was also very fond of books from an early age. But it wasn’t until university that I decided to pursue a career in children’s books. At the time, I was taking jewelry design at OCAD university, but in my free time, I started painting one off pieces to sell. They were all under the theme “When life gives you lemons” and I ended up writing a little caption to accompany them. For some reason, it really amazed me how I could change the entire meaning behind the painting depending on what I wrote underneath it. Somehow, that snowballed into a borderline obsession with how words and pictures play off of each other and picture books became a natural medium to express that. So I changed my major to illustration, joined SCBWI, and started creating work for the portfolio showcase. I spent all of my free time pouring over any information I could get about becoming a children’s book illustrator, and in my second year attending the conference, I was fortunate enough to win the mentee award. It was that same year that I sat in Kirsten Hall’s lecture, and I just knew that I wanted to sign with her. It was somehow arranged for a group of fellow mentee winners to meet with Kirsten to speak about how we could improve our work, and I ended up signing with her quite soon after that. To this day, it’s still one of my most cherished memories.

DZ: I see that you have your debut ‘author-illustrator’ book coming out soon. It looks and sounds amazing! How do you balance both writing and illustrating?

SM: Thank you! I think writing and illustrating at the same time feels very organic for me.  But I will say that I’ve gained such an appreciation for the writing process and have such an admiration for writers. It’s hard work! 

DZ: Can you share with our readers about your illustration craft? What artistic media do you use, and what does your process look like? Do you use this for all of your books, or does your media change depending on the project?

SM: I started my career heavily influenced by illustrators like Lisbeth Zwerger and Peter de Seve. I loved the nostalgic feel of their watercolors and wanted to stay fairly close to that tradition. Sort of an ode to Arthur Rackham with a modern twist. But I found overtime that I really enjoyed experimenting with other mediums, and I slowly started to incorporate more color pencil into my work. Eventually, I introduced chalk pastel and have been really loving that medium. With each book I do, I tend to hyper fixate on something random. For instance, with BIRD BOY I was very interested in overlapping techniques, and for SISTER FRIEND I was watching a lot of old Looney Tunes cartoons because of the color choices in their background art. When I started working on AND THEN CAME YOU, I was surrounded by my children’s artwork and was really inspired by their drawings of treehouses. Which I ended up using in the final art for the book! 

DZ: Can you walk us through the start to finish, from getting hired to completing all illustrations for this book? Did you start with characters, for example, and then move on to spread sketches?

SM: I’ve been very fortunate in that the books I work on tend to follow themes that are going on in my life or the lives of those around me, and this was no exception. It just so happened to match a time in my life where my own family was going through a big transition. So when Kirsten sent me the manuscript, I jumped at the opportunity because I knew that my own kids needed this book! It was quite magical and serendipitous really. As far as the creative process, I like to always start with character sketches, and I just draw characters until I find who “fits”.  It’s more of an intuitive process rather than a logical one. And once those are set, I get to sketching out the dummy. There’s a considerable amount of back and forth that goes into refining sketches and getting the work to its best possible state before going to final art. I was so fortunate to have Ariel and Jay to guide me along the way, and I couldn’t be prouder of what we worked on together. 

DZ: How were you approached to illustrate this book? Have you ever turned down book manuscripts if they don’t resonate, and/or do you need to pitch ideas for illustrations during the illustrator hiring process? I can only imagine how exciting it felt to read this beautiful text! 

SM: Publishers will usually contact my agent Kirsten Hall, and she will pass manuscripts along to me. I’ve been very fortunate to get such great material to work with, though there have been a few times that the manuscript didn’t feel aligned. I can usually see images for the book as I’m reading the text, so that helps in my decision process. 

DZ: Especially in a book like this, where there are characters and story elements in the illustrations that are unnamed in the text, how did you develop, create, and build these aspects of the story? Did the art director come to you with notes, or did you ideate the visual story?

SM: Illustrating is very intuitive for me, and so I knew fairly quickly that I wanted to incorporate treehouses into the book to symbolize their growing family but other than that, I don’t set out with a plan so much as I just start sketching and see what comes up! I would be remiss not to mention the immense guidance that Jay and Ariel gave me. They helped toned down areas that were confusing in my initial sketches (a huge task if you could see some of my early sketches!) and streamlined things. The book really wouldn’t have been what it is without their feedback.  

DZ: Where did you get your inspiration for the appearance of the various characters? How do you decide what each character looks like?

SM: I was really excited about giving our lead character short hair because I overheard my eldest saying something about how short hair is not pretty! So, I made it my mission to show her a little cool girl with short hair but overall, with characters, I just draw until I “meet” them, if that makes sense. 

DZ: Please feel free to plug your next book here/ what’s next for you! Both short-term and long-term, if you’d like.

SM: I’m currently working on two projects that I’m very excited about: LOVE MAKES A FAMILY and SAWSAN SEES. I’m in the initial sketch phase for both so it’s still early days, but my author debut LEILA AND THE VOICE will be out July 22! 

Christina Shawn is a reading specialist, literacy coach, and author who writes heartfelt and humorous stories about magical moments in our everyday lives. She is the author of picture books AND THEN CAME YOU (Maydani, Chronicle Books) and the upcoming  NO LOVE POTION (Miller-Gass, The Little Press, 2026), Not yet announced title with Sleeping Bear Press (2027), and LUCAS PLAYS (Yu, 2017). Her current projects focus on early literacy foundations while helping children feel seen, heard, and understood. Christina lives in Richmond, Virginia with her husband, three kiddos, and two fluffy bunnies, who provide a constant supply of support, humor, and inspiration. She loves yoga, beach bike rides, mountain hikes, and adventuring to new places. Mostly, she loves the spark of learning something new and passing it along. Learn more at https://www.christinashawn.com/ and follow along at IG @christinashawnbooks / X: christinashawn2 / @christinashawn.bluesky.social

Shahrzad Maydani is an award winning illustrator of Iranian-English descent,
raised in Niger and Kenya. Her debut children’s book POETREE received the Crystal
Kite Award and was a Spring 2019 Kids’ Indie Next selection. Her following book
BIRD BOY by Matthew Burgess was honored as a Junior Library Guild selection and
her next, FRANCIS DISCOVERS POSSIBLE, was selected by The Children’s Book
Committee as one of 2023’s Best Children’s Books of the Year. You can follow her
on Instagram at @shahrzadmaydani.