Who misses their library?
Omgosh, me, me, ME! My list of books to-be-read grows by the day. As writer who jumped feet-first into the world of children’s literature, I read about every new picture book I can get my hands on.
At an average of 10 new books a week, I guesstimate that I’ve read 1,000 to 1,500 picture books in the past three years. Over time, I’ve developed a pretty clear idea of the storytelling I connect with most, and favorite authors have definitely emerged - writers who have perfected the craft and are telling kids the BEST stories in unforgettable ways.
I keep a list of these storytellers in a little bronze book. I never want to miss their latest project, to see how they are evolving and to learn more about picture book magic from these creators.
Author Pat Zietlow Miller is in that little book. So you can imagine my surprise and delight when Pat reached out last fall to donate books to Holiday Book Drive Chi. The delivery of her warm, adorable story LORETTA’S GIFT to this Bronzeville class in Chicago was one of my favorite moments of Delivery Day 2019.
After last year’s book drive, I started looking for 2020 new releases for my TBR pile. I always keep my eyes peeled for stories with spirit and heart and am eternally drawn to hopeful, cheerful, yellow covers. So when I saw this adorable book was written by Pat, I had to read it…
MY BROTHER THE DUCK by Pat Zietlow Miller, illustrated by Daniel Wiseman (Chronicle Books), is a story about a young scientist named Stella, who has many reasons to believe that her new baby brother is a duck.
Stella’s worries begin before the baby arrives, when Mom’s waddling prompts Dad to joke, “We must be having a duck.” Then, when brother comes home from the hospital (scrawny and wrapped in yellow), Stella decides research is required.
She gets to work, and to her chagrin, all of the evidence points to duck. His fuzzy hair. His squawking. Even his name, Drake (which Stella discovers is “a fancy word for a boy duck”).
MY BROTHER THE DUCK is a charming and exceedingly clever story about older sibling stresses and working your way to a new normal - no matter how strange that new normal may be. The delightful humor found on every page continues all the way through the end, as the story resolves with a new hypothesis for Stella to test.
Fans of Pat Zietlow Miller, and authors looking to learn from one of the best, it’s now my pleasure to introduce Pat, who is stopping by the blog this week to answer three questions… and give away a signed copy of her new book! I hope you enjoy this Author Spotlight with the incredible Pat Zietlow Miller:
3 Questions with Pat Zietlow Miller
Tell us about your inspiration for MY BROTHER THE DUCK. Where did the idea for this story come from?
I’ve always been fascinated by how kids can hear adults say things and take what they say very literally and very seriously, even if the adult is joking.
Like, once, my youngest went to summer art camp and the instructor told her if she kept asking so many questions, he’d have to charge her extra. She came home quite concerned that we’d be getting an extra bill, and I had to reassure her that was not the case.
So, I thought it would be fun to have a character – Stella Wells – overhear something her parents said in jest – that her future baby brother would be a duck – and take it seriously. And then, I thought it would be even more fun to have the kid be just self-aware enough to know that she should try to find out if that statement was true or not.
At first, I had the character be a detective in training trying to crack the case. But then, the character turned into a fledgling scientist with a hypothesis to test. That ended up working out well. Because Stella understands the scientific process and uses it to learn things that are true, but because she’s a kid, she still misinterprets what she finds out.
MY BROTHER THE DUCK is full of clever quack ups, from the baby name (Drake) to perfectly placed idioms ("That didn't fit the bill"). But never veers into groan territory. Any tips to share for striking this balance? Hitting so many notes without overplaying your hand?
That’s a good question. I thought of every duck pun that I could and tried to work as many as possible in without compromising the story structure. The puns had to fit within the picture book framework and not distract from the story, so that was the test. Even if a pun was funny, if it stuck out or made the story lose its flow, I didn’t keep it.
This isn’t really a pun, but I was so proud to fit in a reference to the classic children’s picture book MAKE WAY FOR DUCKLINGS, written and illustrated by Robert McCloskey, which won a Caldecott medal in 1942. I hope readers understand the shout-out and check out this book if they’re not already familiar with it. (And, if they ever get to Boston, they can visit the statue in Boston’s Public Garden that honors the book.)
Your books make the best gifts, from seasonal titles (SOPHIE’S SQUASH), to stories with evergreen themes, great for graduations (WHEREVER YOU GO) and new arrivals (LORETTA’S GIFT, MY BROTHER THE DUCK). What comes first, the chicken (or duck) or the hook?
For me, the story almost always comes first. After that, sometimes I try to add a hook and, other times, the hook surprises me.
For example, the hook surprised me in SOPHIE’S SQUASH. I got several rejections that said the story was too quiet and didn’t have enough of a hook. But once the book was published, the hook ended up being that a lot of little people wanted to carry a squash around like a baby, just like Sophie does in the book. Suddenly, I was getting pictures of kids carrying vegetables. I don’t think the publisher or I saw that coming.
I was also surprised with MY BROTHER THE DUCK. I mean, it totally is a new baby story, but I never looked at it that way when I was writing it. To me it was a story about science and exploration and discovering what’s true.
WHEREVER YOU GO is the one story that I consciously wrote hoping it would be a graduation book. My oldest daughter was finishing up high school when I was writing it, and I put everything I wanted to tell her into that book. So I’m very happy to see it being used that way.
Thank you for the wonderful interview, Pat!
Pat Zietlow Miller is the author of many books for children, including REMARKABLY YOU (HarperCollins), WHEN YOU ARE BRAVE (Little, Brown), LORETTA’S GIFT (little bee), WIDE AWAKE BEAR (HarperCollins), BE KIND (Roaring Brook Press), SOPHIE’S SQUASH (Schwartz & Wade), WHEREVER YOU GO (Little, Brown), and more.
If you’d like to order a signed copy of MY BROTHER THE DUCK (who doesn’t love signed copies?), you can do so through Mystery to Me, an independent bookstore in Madison, Wisconsin. Just call the store and leave a voicemail at (608) 283-9332, or send the store an email at info@mysterytomebooks.com. Then, Mystery to Me will ship you the signed copy.
One lucky blog reader will win MY BROTHER THE DUCK, signed by Pat! Here's how to enter:
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GOOD LUCK!