Going ‘Whole Whale’ into Children’s Literature: An Interview with Karen Yin
By Jen Grogan, Guild Administrator
I’m happy to say that my little boy is very interested in books, so I’ve spent a lot of the last few months cuddled up on the couch reading board books and other children’s literature. Over many, many readings of the same books over and over (and over — toddlers love repetition!), I’ve become very interested in what makes children’s books good, and also in expanding my little guy’s exposure to concepts of inclusiveness and diversity, particularly since the pandemic means that he doesn’t get to meet very many people, including other kids.
Lucky for me, I was able to chat over email about this exact subject with Karen Yin, well-known in editing circles as the force behind the Conscious Style Guide, and familiar to Guild members as the wonderful keynote speaker at our 2017 Red Pencil conference! She has recently made the dive into children’s literature with an upcoming picture book geared toward three-to-six-year-olds entitled Whole Whale, due out from Barefoot Books in May 2021 (preorder here). The questions below are from me, Jen Grogan, and answers are from Karen.
Q: To start with, what made you want to write a children’s book?
A: Writing children’s books is where my heart is. I can’t remember a time I didn’t want to write for children. It’s as though everything I have passion for—storytelling, the short form, illustrations—has culminated in this career. Even when I’m not the one illustrating, I can flex my art and design background by writing with illustrations in mind, bringing words and art together in service to the story. And as a queer writer of color, I infuse my stories with another perspective, bringing more people into my experiences. It’s tremendously healing. Plus, the cuteness quotient in my world has been seriously amped up.
The cover art for Whole Whale by Karen Yin, with art by Nelleke Verhoeff, coming out from Barefoot Books in May 2021.
Q: Your upcoming book, Whole Whale, explores inclusiveness and keeping families together via a story where a lot of animals come together on the pages to play, and have to work together to keep the largest from being left out — can you talk a little about what gave you the idea for the book?
A: There are many ways a story can be seeded, but Whole Whale began with the title. I had a clichéd moment where the words “whole whale, whole whale” forced me out of bed so I could write it down. I liked the letter shift, of course, but turning a title that’s essentially wordplay into a raucous story about making space for all took creativity and faith. I knew from the start what the hook was and what problem the characters must solve, but I didn’t know if the publisher would support my vision, because the best illustration I imagined for solving the big whale problem was out of the ordinary. But Barefoot Books fell in love with the most in-my-dreams scenario out of all the solutions I presented. That’s when I knew they got it.
Q: What was the process of writing and preparing a children’s book like? Was there anything about the process that surprised you?
A: For someone who’s accustomed to doing things alone, I had so much help while finessing the manuscript for Whole Whale. A poet blessed me with a scansion of my rhyme, which revealed all the trips and skips in my meter. A critique from a veteran of children’s literature helped me age down the language. My favorite beta reader, aka, my partner Ingin, enthused over every draft and mourned the death of my darlings, and that kind of love and support you can’t buy. And without my circle of critique partners, the Book Bugs, Whole Whale might’ve been beached. All this to say, helpers in any editorial capacity are crucial to creating a marketable draft.
Q: You’ve said that your pitch got noticed by an editor for Barefoot Books on #DVpit, a Twitter pitch party for diverse kidlit authors. What’s your impression of how Twitter pitch parties like this are working out? Do you think they’re making a difference in terms of the overall diversity of the industry?
A: Twitter pitch parties have undeniably made it more possible for creators without representation to bypass the slush pile. My impression is that #DVpit’s success has led to the formation of other targeted pitching events, such as #APIpit for Asian and Pacific Islander creators, #LatinxPitch for Latinx kidlit creators, and maybe even #KidLitGN for graphic literature. I’d be surprised if these events did not have an impact on the diversity of the publishing industry, but whether changes are lasting or have spread to the core remains to be seen. The key to a successful diversity-focused pitching event is a strong showing by lit agents and acquiring editors and art directors, which at least confirms an interest in underrepresented voices, because without a doubt, marginalized writers and illustrators will show up to pitch.
Q: And a totally selfish question from me as the mom of a toddler who can go through his whole book collection in a day: in addition, of course, to Whole Whale, do you have any favorite children’s books that you’d like to recommend to our members?
A: I have too many favorites, but one standout this year is The Bread Pet: A Sourdough Story. It happens to have been written by my Barefoot Books editor, Kate DePalma, and illustrated by the artist for Whole Whale, Nelleke Verhoeff, but I love it because it features a Black child and her two moms, and it comes with instructions on feeding your own bread pet and making sourdough bread. Other must-own picture books are A Normal Pig by K-Fai Steele, a heartrending tale which questions “normal,” One Word from Sophia by Jim Averbeck and Yasmeen Ismail, a hilarious foray into conscious language for persuasion, and Dozens of Doughnuts by Carrie Finison and Brianne Farley, which is brilliant in so many ways and a story that over-givers will relate to.
Thanks so much to Karen for answering my questions! I can’t wait to add Whole Whale to to our bookshelf this May.
Winner of the 2017 ACES Robinson Prize for furthering the craft of professional editing, Karen Yin is the founder of Conscious Style Guide, The Conscious Language Newsletter, the Editors of Color Database, the Database of Diverse Databases, and AP vs. Chicago. Named by Poynter as a top tool for journalists in 2018, Conscious Style Guide is recommended by BuzzFeed, CMOS, SPJ, ACES, and NASA, among others. As a speaker, Karen has been invited to give talks on LGBTQ terminology, sexist language, racist language, and androgyny, including the keynote speech at the Northwest Independent Editors Guild’s 2017 Red Pencil conference. Acclaim for her fiction includes a Lambda Literary Fellowship, a Table 4 Writers Foundation grant, an SCBWI Nonfiction Grant, and selection of her flash fiction by the L.A. Public Library for its permanent collection and Short Story Portal. Prior, Karen was the senior copywriter and head of editorial at an ad agency, whose clients included Disney, Pixar, Fox, DreamWorks, Universal, and Warner Bros. Her debut picture book, Whole Whale, a story about making space for all, will be published by Barefoot Books in May 2021. For more information, visit KarenYin.com.
