You’ll be whipping up a delicious batch of pancakes after reading this interview with incredibly talented Carrie Finison – just like you likely ran out to purchase your favorite doughnuts after reading DOZENS OF DOUGHNUTS, the first book in this endearing character-driven series. Just like the first book, PLENTY OF PANCAKES has it all – adorable characters, a delightful mystery, and a dash of math, guaranteed to delight young children and whoever is lucky enough to read it with them. Giggles guaranteed!
Laura: Carrie, welcome back to Writers’ Rumpus! When I heard you wrote a sequel to DOZENS OF DOUGHNUTS, one of my absolute favorite picture books EVER, I couldn’t wait to read it. And wow, PLENTY OF PANCAKES delivered! This is the perfect book to usher in the delightful spring season (and my 100th post on Writers’ Rumpus), with LouAnn (the bear from DOZENS OF DOUGHNUTS) soon to emerge from hibernation.
What was your inspiration and process for writing this sequel?
Carrie: A big part of the credit goes to Brianne Farley, the illustrator. She created such a cozy world and such fun, expressive characters in our book DOZENS OF DOUGHNUTS that I had been thinking for a while of writing a sequel. Many book ideas begin with a question. DOZENS OF DOUGHNUTS takes place in the late fall, with LouAnn the bear just about to settle down and hibernate. So the question that inspired the sequel was this: what happens when LouAnn wakes up from hibernation in the spring? Once I had the basic concept in mind — that LouAnn’s friends would be making her a spring pancake feast – I re-read the original book and many of the early manuscript drafts to see if there was anything I could steal (from myself!) to put in the new manuscript. The final version of PLENTY OF PANCAKES includes a lot of “creative re-use” of phrases, rhyming pairs, and ideas from the original, but with a new twist. I hope the text feels both familiar and fresh.
Laura: It absolutely does! Your ability to craft a compelling, natural-sounding story in rhyme absolutely amazes me. I especially love his line, which sets up the premise: “LouAnn slept all winter, tucked tight in her bed, but soon she’ll wake up, and a bear must be fed.” Do you write in prose first and convert it to rhyme, or does rhyme come to you naturally?
Carrie: I have often heard (and sometimes even given) the advice that a writer should try writing a story in prose before writing it in rhyme, but honestly I’ve never actually done that myself. To me, the language of the story develops alongside the plot, characters, and everything else. It would be difficult for me to separate the story from the rhyme. When drafting, usually a line or two of rhyme will pop into my head, and I use that as a starting point for the story. After lots of revision, those original lines might be drastically changed, or even removed altogether. That’s when I know I’ve done a good job revising the story!
Laura: Now to discuss the adorable characters! How did you choose Topsy the opossum for the lead role, and wait: how about those pancake thieves?!? MUNCH MUNCH MUNCH!! I adore how Brianne hid the thieves and slowly revealed them. Was that based on your direction (illustrator notes) or her own creativity? FYI: I actually learned an incredibly cool tidbit about hibernating bears from this book, and I know your readers will be amazed to discover it themselves.
Carrie: Topsy the opossum became the main character of PLENTY OF PANCAKES because of a mistake that I made when writing DOZENS OF DOUGHNUTS. Some of the early drafts of that book had a “bedtime” ending, where all the woodland friends settled down to hibernate together. So I did some research and chose animals that were hibernators — woodchucks, skunks, raccoons, chipmunks, and (I thought) opossums. As it turns out, I was wrong! Opossums don’t truly hibernate, although they may stay tucked away when it is really cold outside. In the end, it didn’t matter since the ending of DOZENS OF DOUGHNUTS changed, but later on, that mistake provided a perfect reason why Topsy could be the main character of PLENTY OF PANCAKES — she’s the only one who is awake and not hibernating, available to cook up a feast for LouAnn and the other friends. As for the pancake thieves (spoiler alert: a pair of bear cubs), I think the manuscript included a couple of notes about the bear cubs sneaking out of the house, and stealing the pancakes while Topsy doesn’t see, but the details were all up to Brianne. I chose cubs as the culprits because at some point when reading about bears, I learned that female bears usually give birth during hibernation. The babies nurse in the den and then emerge with their mothers in spring. I thought this would bring a fun element to the story. In real life, I don’t think bear cubs would leave the den without their mother, but human children certainly get up from bed before their parents do, and I thought they could relate to the hungry cubs awaking early and sneaking some of Topsy’s delicious pancakes.
Laura: That’s the cool tidbit I was referring to, and I’m sure I’m sure the cub’s antics will make readers of all ages laugh! Did you have any input in choosing Brianne as your illustrator for this book as well as for PLENTY OF PANCAKES? I think her illustration style is a brilliant fit with this series.
Carrie: DOZENS OF DOUGHNUTS was the first manuscript that I sold, and at the time, I think the editorial team at Putnam already knew they wanted to work with Brianne and had been looking for a manuscript that would complement her style. So I guess I have her to thank for that sale! And then, of course for the sequel, I couldn’t imagine anyone else illustrating it.
Laura: The back cover shows LouAnn and other characters holding towering plates of pancakes, with this message: “Pancakes are better shared.” Within the story, Topsy makes pancakes in batches of five. Can you share more about those two elements, the sharing theme and the sprinkling in of math?
Carrie: I wanted the story to share a lot of elements with the DOZENS OF DOUGHNUTS story, but still feel different and fresh. Sharing food is obviously a big theme, as well as helping out a friend. In the original story, LouAnn is making doughnuts for herself and ends up sharing with all her friends, who in turn help to make more doughnuts after eating all of hers. In PLENTY OF PANCAKES, Topsy is making pancakes to share with LouAnn, and they keep getting swiped by two hungry cubs (unbeknownst to her), until her friends come along to help. So the stories are similar, but flipped around a little bit.
DOZENS OF DOUGHNUTS also includes a math element, as each batch of 12 doughnuts is divided by factors of 12 – first 2 friends, then 3, 4, and 6. I wanted PLENTY OF PANCAKES to include a math element as well, and making pancakes in batches of five felt like a natural fit. For the record, I usually make them in batches of three, as that is what will fit in our pan, but it wasn’t a big stretch to imagine batches of five, and I knew that counting by fives is a standard in the elementary level math curriculum. The math elements of both stories are subtle – certainly, you can read the books and not even notice that they are there – but for a teacher or parent that wants to use the books to make that connection, they can do that.
Laura: I love that – and feel the need to share that we use a griddle pan that makes blueberry (our favorite) pancakes in batches of 8! What’s next for you? Also, can you please share photos of your two cats and your attic office?
Carrie: I’m always working on new manuscripts! In addition to PLENTY OF PANCAKES, I’ve had two other books published this spring. One, called TOUCH A TRUCK DAY, is a lift-the-flap board book about a community touch a truck event. The other is EVEN STEVEN: A BOOK ABOUT SHARING, which is a companion book to my book DON’T HUG DOUG, both illustrated by Daniel Wiseman (click here to view my recent interview with Vivian Kirkfield to celebrate the book birthday). And, I’m thrilled that there will be a third book in that series, called JAKE MAKES MISTAKES. I’ve finished final edits on the manuscript and Daniel Wiseman is currently working on the illustrations.
Image 1: Where all the magic happens!
Image 2: One cat trying to grab passersby (look at those claws!)
Image 3: The second cat adorably dressed up for Halloween.
Laura: I’m thrilled for your continued success. Last, but definitely not least, how can eager fans reach you?
Carrie: My website is www.carriefinison.com, and that’s a good place to find out more about my books. I also have an author newsletter that I send out about 8 times a year with behind the scenes info, upcoming events, and other news. And, I’m active on Instagram and BlueSky.
Laura: Carrie, thank you so much for interviewing with me, as I know you’re incredibly busy with all your book events. Now for information about the giveaway: one very lucky reader will receive a hardcover copy of PLENTY OF PANCAKES. To enter, just leave a comment below. If you share this post, mention it in your comment to earn a second entry (U.S. winners only, alas). The winner will be announced in one week, on April 27 – the perfect time to celebrate your win with a delicious batch of pancakes (and to invite me to share them with you.) Good luck!
WRITERS' RUMPUS 