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This post is in partnership with The Children’s Book Review and Kat Chen. All opinions are my own.
Book Information
Play with Me
Written by Kat Chen Illustrated by Lorraine Nam Ages 1+ | 24 Pages Publisher: Rise x Penguin Workshop | ISBN-13: 9780593659717 Publisher’s Book Summary: This board book series invites young readers to take part in a playdate activity of their choice, thereby empowering them with autonomy and validation. The picnic playdate models balanced and shared play, creating a positive experience that will provide readers with a reference for what caring and considered friendship looks like. Many toddlers and preschoolers consistently ask for someone to play with them, and this book provides just that for the quieter moments of the day. Simple language and gentle questions will help children develop their social skills by practicing conversations, all while engaging them in fun and familiar topics. Author Interview
I'm excited to share my interview with Kat Chen, author of Play With Me. Kat serves on the advisory board for Books for Newborns. After becoming a grandmother and spending most of her free time helping with “the fun stuff”—conversations, crayons, and crawling—she was inspired to delve into children’s books and help kids master the art of simple conversation through shared play. Learn more about Kat and her work atkat-chen.com.
Where did you get the inspiration for Play with Me? Do you want the official answer or the truth? Official answer: I saw a TED talk about how kids learn to talk with questions. Someone asks, what’s your name? They answer. Someone asks, What color do you like? They think about it and answer. It’s how most conversations begin—a question and an answer. So that’s what I wrote. (That’s all true, it’s just not the full truth. For that…see below.) The secret, unofficial answer is that I watched a relative reading to my granddaughter and was surprised that he just read the words. There was no pausing, no interacting, no questions with the child. That’s when I realized many people don’t know how to read with a toddler. They need help learning how to engage the child with the book. So, I wrote the questions and the interactions to help the adults engage with their child and the book together. What was your writing process like for this book? Once I had the idea, it was all about putting together activities and art with simple questions. This is a board book, not a picture book, so it’s meant for very young children. Simple questions, simple colorful art. That was my idea, but I only wrote the words. Once I started working with the brilliant editor Nicole Fox at RISE, we shaped the activities and the questions together. It was a true collaboration. What is your favorite part about writing books for kids? It’s the best and the worst part. It’s all about the idea. Once I have the right idea, it’s so fast to write. At least that’s how it feels. I can write the manuscript in an hour (as opposed to my adult novels that take months.) However, I end up spending hours then refining one word here, one word there. The detail to every word can be exhausting. So the short answer is: my favorite part about writing books for kids is that the idea is everything, the writing is fast, and picture books are short and quick. Which means if the idea is crap, no amount of time will fix it. And the short amount of words means every single one has to be perfect. What are you working on now? Right now I’m focused on adult novels as Jade Lee, but I’m always writing new picture books. That’s the joy of having two grandbabies. Every time I’m with them, I get a new picture book idea. What is your favorite book? My favorite kids books is The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear by Audrey and Don Wood. That’s quite a long title, isn’t it? I love everything about this book. The artwork is amazing, the story is delightful, and it is the pinnacle of picture books for me. Giveaway
Enter the giveaway for a chance to win a signed copy of Play with Me and a $25 Amazon gift card.
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