EscapePeas follows an advanced race of space exploring peas who, after having ship troubles, wind up on Earth on a pea farm where they set out on a quest to find a way home. What inspired the idea of peas traveling through space?

J.L. McCreedy: Actually, the idea simply started when some peas rolled out of our freezer one evening. Sam said, “Escape peas! That would make a great story!” And then we set about the framework. We wanted the peas to be escaping (obviously!) but wanted to keep it quirky and funny. Peas escaping from prison? Too dark. But interstellar-traveling peas escaping a black hole and avoiding the fate of “Mushy Peas”? Now we’re on to something interesting! But then what?

Well, it just so happens that we live near a village in Italy called Lumignano, and this place really is known as the “Kingdom of Peas,” and they really do have a Pea Festival every year. And at this annual festival, they actually have a King and Queen of Peas! With that in mind, we had this idea drawn loosely from The Wizard of Oz: this concept of a quest to find a greater power that will resolve one’s problems, only to discover that no such greater power actually exists, and that the only one who holds the ability to address the situation is you. Except there are no magical ruby slippers. The answer is entirely within yourself, and sometimes—maybe usually—that answer is a lot more practical than the solution you thought the magical, “greater power” could grant.

So that idea shaped our story. And we thought the idea of the king and queen “just dressing up like this” was funny!

Dr. Sam: Yes, as Jesse mentioned, it originally was just a spur of the moment play on words pun of saying “Escape Peas” in place of “Escapees” and then we just sort of ran with it from there.

How did you come up with the personalities for each of the peas?

Some, like GrumPea and GramPea and SweetPea were just obvious choices. Others came to us as our story progressed. The word play was a lot of fun, and so the personalities really came from finding “pea” words that were fun or silly or endearing. The hats helped show their individuality. We loved the idea of these brilliant, space-traveling-pea-scientists who also share a penchant for kooky hats and dancing and acrobatics. They’re so well-rounded. (Pun intended!)

How do you balance fun storytelling with educational content?

J.L. McCreedy: Stories are inherently informative anyway—even silly ones. There is almost always something thoughtful that can be gleaned from a story, regardless of genre or audience. Since Sam and I both enjoyed the rhyming and imaginative stories like those by Dr. Seuss as children, that aim of entertaining in a quirky and imaginative way is always the goal when we write together. And since children are naturally inquisitive, the idea of adding educational content at the end just seemed like a natural conclusion. Information is always more interesting when there is a story tied to it! We did this same story-and-educational-pages format for Theodore, The Sloth Who Wants to Race, and the kids really got into that back matter during school visits. They loved the sloth facts in particular.

Dr. Sam: Yes, and it was fun and sort of nostalgic digging into old high school biology memories related to Gregor Mendel, the role of Legumes, etc.

What is one message from EscapePeas that you hope young readers take away from your story?

J.L. McCreedy: There are so many things! Be strange! Be adventurous! Be kind and brave! But I guess if I had to pick just one message, it would be: Don’t let obstacles keep you down. It’s so easy to think that, just because you fail at something or if people criticize/make fun of your efforts, or that you find something extremely difficult, it means you can’t achieve the thing for which you are striving. That you’re not good enough. But failure or difficulty or disappointment usually just means that you need to get back up and try again. Think about what you’ve done so far, and then think of what you can  do differently that might work this time. I feel this message is extremely important because kids very often internalize criticism, obstacles and failure in really self-defeating ways. It’s normal to face setbacks. When things don’t go as hoped or planned, use your creativity and intelligence to find a way forward. It might not be the solution you want, but there is usually something you can do to move toward your goal. You’ll have to adapt. Sometimes, it will take much longer to reach your goal than you had hoped for. Sometimes, your goal will change. But if you pay attention, that journey of sticking it out when things get tough will show you new things about yourself.  Don’t give up!

Dr. Sam: To me, the John Lennon (I think it was him anyway) quote of “Life is what happens when you’re making other plans” is sort of embodied in this story. Being able to roll with the punches and carry on, regardless of what surprises and obstacles life throws at you is an important skill to develop.

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