Kali the Elephant Learns from Socrates the Philosopher follows a young elephant being teased at school who wishes she could change how she looks, until she meets a philosopher who helps her change her perspective. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?

The inspiration was hearing about my granddaughter and other kids getting teased, and being unhappy about the usual responses recommended in children’s books, as well as in real life. I wanted to show kids that they could stand up for themselves and use humor to get the teasers to back off. They didn’t need to take revenge or wait for adults to do something about it. And then I remembered how Socrates used humor to respond to his teasers and win a beauty contest! So that gave me a chance to introduce Socrates to my readers, and imagine how Kali would respond to her teasers.

What makes Kali relatable for children facing teasing or insecurity?

Children will be attracted to her spunky spirit and be inspired by the fact that she manages to solve her problem with good humor, win her classmates’ admiration, and thus solidify her friendship with them.

How did working with illustrator Ady Branzei shape the final book, and how important are illustrations in conveying emotional nuance in a story like this?

Ady Branzei’s illustrations do a marvelous job of conveying Kali’s varying states of mind: her eagerness to go to school, her feelings of hurt when her friends tease her, her decision to take matters into her own hands and “shrink” her features, and failing that, her decision to follow Socrates’ lead and prove to her friends how lucky she is to have the features she does.

Do you plan to explore more philosophy-inspired children’s stories?

Yes, I have already started exploring an idea based on Plato’s Allegory of the Cave.

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