Squirrels in Antarctica takes young readers on a whimsical journey where creatures and insects find themselves in delightfully improbable scenarios far from their natural realms. What was the inspiration for your story?

Squirrels in Antarctica was inspired by a word game my young son came up with at the family dinner table. We would go around and everyone would think of the silliest or most unexpected animal/location combo they could imagine. It was perfect for all ages and so much fun! But the true win for me as a mom, was that it was engaging the two younger kids to stay in their seats and eat dinner – something the littles normally struggled to do. About a year later, I was on a long drive on my own, and all of a sudden, a bunch of these new funny combinations kept coming to me. I was so busy cracking up, I had to pull over and jot some of them down. Before long, with so many fun ideas, I wondered, “Could this be a book?!” And the answer eventually became a resounding “Yes!”

What were some educational aspects that were important for you to include in this children’s book?

While Squirrels in Antarctica is certainly intended to entertain and inspire creativity, I wanted it to have an educational aspect that aims to expand the reader’s knowledge of animals and geographical locations. The book introduces a vast cast of animals – many of whom may be brand-new to young children. While they may know what a squirrel or a hippo looks like, this might be the first time they see a blobfish, a meerkat, or zooplankton. Geographically, the book does something similar. Many of the pages give the reader a peek into exotic locations around the world like Peru, Paris, Tibet, New York, Hollywood, and beyond! For kids to be able to explore our expansive world in this way while having fun, is an incredibly valuable learning tool.

The art in this book is fantastic. What was the art collaboration process with illustrator Todd Wilkerson like?

Working with Todd has been phenomenal! He is so naturally talented and funny that he really elevates the humor with his work. Like with the “sloth who runs a marathon but isn’t ever done,” I gave him an example of how we could have the sloth making his way to mile one. But it was all Todd’s idea to have the seasons pass and the sloth age, making the concept even more wonderfully comical. Todd fully understood what I was going for, and when I would say things like, “Can you draw a giraffe with a bowtie?” He’d respond, “That is my specialty.” And not to be outdown, that giraffe got the red carpet treatment with a tuxedo, a top hot, and a monocle! Todd’s work and work ethic are awesome. With our busy lives, it took us nearly a year from start to finish to lock in all of the illustrations, but it was totally worth it. The art in this book goes above and beyond to bring the words to life, in the most charming and hilarious fashion.

Is this the first book in the series? If so, when is the next book coming out and what can your fans expect in the next story?

We are in talks about if this could be a series. Stay tuned!

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