Angry? That’s Okay! follows a group of seven animal friends on a camping trip who learn some important lessons on coping with the overwhelming feelings that result from frustration and disappointment. Where did the idea for this book come from?

As sisters and mothers with backgrounds in mental health and play-based education, our goal is to not only create space for children to feel their emotions but to give them tools that will help navigate life’s challenges. We wanted to address anger because it is an emotion everyone feels but not very many people understand how to navigate it. Our own children were the inspiration behind our characters, and we wanted this story to feel relatable to kids everywhere.

What is your collaboration process like? Do you have any routines in place for sharing ideas?

Living on separate continents brings a unique and oftentimes a little manic to our collaboration process. But thanks to technology, it is easier for us to keep track of said manic. We do mostly everything on our phones. We have a separate chat group that is just for book talk. And it helps that we are very much embedded in each other’s lives in the sense that we talk almost every day. So you hear of “power naps” but what we do are “power chats” wherein a small amount of time and competing with a 100 “look at this mums,” we share updates, thoughts, and action plans.

What do you hope young readers and their families take away from your story?

Anger often carries a heavy stigma—as if it’s a “bad” emotion. Because of that, many children (and even adults) aren’t equipped with the tools to handle it in a healthy way. We want our readers to understand that anger is a completely natural and normal emotion. The key isn’t to avoid it but to learn how to manage it in ways that are safe and constructive.

What is the next book that you are working on, and when will it be available?

We don’t have a specific title to announce just yet, but we do have a few exciting ideas in the works! Like our previous books, these upcoming stories will continue to focus on social-emotional learning and growth mindset themes. We’ve been releasing a new book each year since we began writing professionally, and as such readers can likely expect our 4th book sometime next year.

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