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Permission to Be Kids Again
What’s for Dinner? follows a young boy and his friends as a simple misunderstanding about his dad’s dinner sparks a hilarious series of increasingly outrageous guesses about what they’ll be eating. What draws you to write children’s literature?
I think children’s literature gives us adults permission to be kids again, which is something we all need, in my opinion. As adults, we have long lost the innocent view of the world; children display it every day. I love writing for children because their imaginations have no speed limit or has no boundaries, they ask questions we adults stop asking ourselves as we get wrapped up in life. The way children can take an ordinary cardboard box and create a spaceship or castle from their imagination, or create a superhero cape from a blanket, is something we aduts can learn from. Children take a simple question, such as “What’s For Dinner?”, add a little imagination, a lot of silliness, and absolutely love the journey it leads them on.
Honestly, if I can write a story that makes a child laugh, help make family memories…I consider that a successful day.
How did the idea for Mac, Howard, and Caitie’s hilarious misunderstanding of “Nun-Ya” come about?
So the characters are actually based off my wife (Caitie), one of my closest friends from my military days (Howard); even Obie is based off of a real dog (my wife’s service animal, Oberon), and of course myself as Mac and Dad. It all started with one of those classic dad answers to “What’s For Dinner?” we all received as children ourselves. Once I started the process, I asked my own children what they thought it was, as we said the same answer to them when they were younger for some ideas of gross foods. Of course we know now as adults that it should have meant “None of your business,” but as children we all took it as an actual meal, and once a child’s imagination gets involved, there’s no way to put the brakes on a wild imagination. I wanted to capture that wonderful childhood ability to take one tiny misunderstanding and turn it into a full-blown investigation.
As a father, I’ve learned that if you give children a question, they will give you a pure and honest answer. However, if you give them a mysterious answer to their questions, they will provide approximately 100 answers, with about 25 of those answers being absolutely wild.
The illustrations add visual jokes and exaggerated reactions to the story. How did you collaborate with Emily Close and Jennifer A. Wijaya to bring the humor to life?
I absolutely loved working with Emily and Jennifer. All the character designs are my own, and I handed them the sketches in the beginning of the process, as I simply didn’t have the time to render or learn a new program while working full time as a father of four and, of course, actually work. Emily and Jennifer took these sketches and layouts and took the humor within my story and tuned it way up in the best possible way!
One of my favorite parts of creating the final version was seeing my characters come to life through each edit and through their expressions on the pages. Watching children read our book and make similar facial expressions is exactly the response we all were looking for by the end of the project. A funny line in a manuscript can make you smile, but seeing my characters’ faces when they are illustrated can make it even more ridiculous and take that joke to the next level.
I basically wrote the joke and gave these very talented artists the opportunity to expand that joke to hilarious new levels…and I am looking forward to working with them on future projects!
Do you think the story might inspire children to invent their own ridiculous answers to “What’s for dinner?”
I truly hope it does, and if it does, I apologize in advance to their parents! LOL. I hope kids start playing their own versions of “What’s For Dinner?” around their dinner tables. The possibilities are endless with children and their imaginations; one might create spaghetti with marshmallows, another might create stink bug stew for their Nun-Ya meals. That’s exactly what I love about this book, as I wanted children to realize that they can take a simple question and turn it into an imaginative adventure. Hopefully, after reading What’s For Dinner? children decide to put their art skills to work and create gross food of their own, and parents send me the images.
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What’s For Dinner?
What’s for Dinner? by Michael P. McClellan is a playful children’s picture book built around a question nearly every family knows well. Mac comes home from school hungry and eager to find out what his dad is making, only to hear that dinner will be “Nun-Ya.” From there, Mac and his friends Howard and Caitie let their imaginations run loose, dreaming up increasingly disgusting possibilities such as wormy spaghetti, hairy meatballs, anchovy hoagies, frog legs, and the dreaded steamed Brussels sprouts. The setup is simple, but that simplicity works well for a funny children’s book because the whole story grows from the kind of misunderstanding kids can turn into a full-scale adventure.
The biggest strength of this humorous kids’ book is the way it understands childish imagination. Mac doesn’t just wonder what Nun-Ya might be. He becomes convinced it could be something truly awful, and every suggestion from his friends makes the mystery more dramatic. The exaggerated food combinations give the story its comic momentum, while Mac’s increasing dread keeps the plot moving toward dinner. There’s also a nice family rhythm underneath the jokes. Mac’s dad teases him without being mean, Mac pushes for answers the way a curious kid naturally would, and even the family dog Obie becomes part of the fun.
The illustrations are bright, expressive, and packed with visual jokes that make the imagined meals look just gross enough to be funny. Mac’s worried expressions, his friends’ reactions, and Obie’s personality give the story more energy than the text could create by itself. The typography also joins in, especially when the invented foods appear in oversized, gooey-looking lettering. That makes What’s for Dinner? feel well suited to a read-aloud setting, where kids can react to each new disgusting possibility before turning the page. As a children’s read-aloud book, it knows how to use anticipation and repetition to keep young readers involved.
The reveal lands exactly where this kind of picture book needs it to: Nun-Ya turns out to be “none of your business,” and dinner is simply Taco Tuesday. It’s a satisfying payoff because the joke has been hiding in plain sight the whole time, and Mac’s relief makes the ending feel cheerful rather than merely clever. The final pages add a few more dad jokes and extend the playful family atmosphere, while also nudging kids toward appreciating the meal in front of them before their parents get any wild ideas. What’s for Dinner? is a lively kids’ comedy book about food, family, and imagination, with enough silliness to make repeat readings fun and enough warmth to make the characters easy to enjoy spending time with.
Pages: 32 | ASIN : B0G7KPVK9K
The Girl Who Sold Time
V.S. Nelson’s The Girl Who Sold Time is a wild, clever, and surprisingly heartfelt ride through a world where time is not just something you experience—it’s something you can dig up and trade. The story follows Violet, a tough and resourceful young girl who mines for time marbles, which hold the power to freeze time for varying lengths. Alongside her sarcastic, robot-like companion Jackdaw, Violet navigates a dying world filled with desperate refugees, brutal thugs, and eerie mechanical beasts, all while searching for a way to fix the unraveling ecosystem. It’s a story about survival, ingenuity, and the consequences of power, and it wastes no time (pun intended) throwing you into its intricate world.
Right from the start, I was hooked by Nelson’s writing style. It’s fast, it’s sharp, and it knows exactly when to linger and when to push forward. The opening scene in the time mine, where Violet digs through dirt hoping for valuable marbles, sets the tone perfectly—it’s harsh, sweaty, and full of quiet desperation. I loved how Violet’s frustration builds, her hunger gnaws at her, and her friendship with Jackdaw is instantly clear in their banter. Jackdaw, by the way, is an absolute gem—think of the best sassy sidekicks in fiction, then make him a mechanical boy with a bit of a superiority complex, and you’ve got Jackdaw. There’s a moment where he sulks after an argument, and Violet says, “I was sulking,” to which he smugly replies, “It was a very good sulk, actually.” The dialogue feels natural and often hilarious, breaking up the bleakness of their world.
Speaking of bleak, the world-building is fantastic. The forest is mutating, trees are growing too fast to support their weight, and even the food is turning poisonous. The desperation in the village of Dean is gut-wrenching, especially when the refugees arrive, starving and hopeless. But it’s not just a grim dystopia—it’s layered with mystery and wonder. The time marbles themselves are an incredible concept, and the scene where Violet finds a year-long marble was one of my favorites. The way Nelson describes the eerie time confusion—how Violet sees herself pulling it from the ground before she even touches it—gave me chills. And, of course, there’s the terrifying moment when a sleek mechanical Pinscher appears out of nowhere, turning what was already a dangerous scavenging trip into a full-blown chase for survival. The action is intense, but it never feels over-the-top or exhausting. Every scene serves a purpose, either deepening the characters or pushing the plot forward.
The book left me craving more answers. The time marbles are fascinating, but the mechanics behind them remain a bit of a mystery. Maybe that’s the point—some things are just unknowable—but I kept hoping for a clearer explanation of their origins. And Caleb, the ruthless, manipulative antagonist, is chillingly well-written, but I wanted even more of him. His scene with Violet, where he recounts what happened to his ex-girlfriend in a casually horrifying way, made my skin crawl. He’s the kind of villain who gets under your skin, the one you love to hate, and I wish we got to see him even more unhinged.
The Girl Who Sold Time is a must-read for fans of imaginative sci-fi, strong female leads, and razor-sharp storytelling. If you like stories with survivalist grit, fast-paced adventure, and a touch of dark humor, this one’s for you.
ASIN : B0DXRFQ53R
Connections to Real-World Experiences
No Dog Food, Please! follows a Labrador Retriever as he transitions from city life to a rural farm, aiming to adapt to his new environment while navigating the challenges of family dynamics and seeking acceptance. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
The inspiration for this story was our dog Chipper, a Maltese Poodle (Malti-doodle) who preferred what we were eating to dog food. We learned how to balance what he wanted with what was good for him. No Dog Food, Please! began as a poem about his dietary preferences. It evolved into a book over a period of years.
What inspired you to choose a Labrador Retriever as the protagonist in No Dog Food, Please!?
I have been intrigued by the ability of various dogs to work with humans for many years – as police dogs and guide dogs for the blind, for example. It’s incredible but true that some dogs can even be trained to smell certain types of cancer in humans. Besides being increasingly amazed by what dogs can be taught to do, I have always enjoyed being around animals. My husband is an animal lover as well, and we took our son to visit several farms when he was younger. Getting back to your question…Labrador Retrievers are intelligent, friendly animals. I knew that a Lab would fit in nicely with a story revolving around active farm children and the adults in their lives. The more I worked on the book, the more I found humorous ways to contrast the boisterous nature of the dog with Grumpy Grandpa’s old-fashioned ways.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
When I was a kid, I liked reading funny stories that also had connections to real-world experiences. As an adult, I enjoy writing books that are humorous and can potentially help children solve problems in their lives. In the case of this book, the problems centered around differences of opinion in a multigenerational family. Also, in No Dog Food, Please! I enjoyed creating parallel adoption stories focusing on Jack and the youngest child, Ben, who developed a strong bond, and exploring how the rest of the family had to adjust their lives following the adoptions. I worked on this book in my spare time for a few years, adding scenes as I thought of them, and then weaving everything together.
What is the next book that you are working on, and when will it be available?
I have completed my first children’s picture book, which I expect to publish later this year. The protagonist is also an animal, but one that is much smaller than a dog. In addition to pursuing my writing interests, I’m fortunate to be part of a great group of writers called Author Reader Connection. We have begun to do virtual author visits at schools. In February of this year, we spent a week with some talented students and their teacher in Maui, Hawaii. Working in groups or individually, the students were given the choice to write and publish a picture book, a comic book, or a poetry book. Here’s a link to a poetry book created by a group of those students. Rising From the Ashes: Our Stories of Lahaina – A Poetry Collection. All of the poets and artists featured in this book are from Lahaina, several of whom were displaced by the Lahai…
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