Swapna Haddow grew up in the UK and wrote her first book at age eight. She wishes she’d kept it, but it seemed like a good idea at the time to trade it for two stickers and a couple of marbles! Her first published book was the award-winning junior novel Dave Pigeon, and her first picture book was My Dad Is a Grizzly Bear. She has also written the early reader Ballet Bunnies series as Swapna Reddy. Swapna now lives in Dunedin, with her husband, son and their dog. Swapna talks to NZ Booklovers.
What inspired you to write this book?
My friend, who also happens to be a librarian, confessed that she had a FIVE-year overdue book. It was pretty hard not to be inspired by that! I was also super lucky to visit Devonport library on a Storylines Tour a couple of years ago and I loved the idea of writing a story with a library close to a beach.
What research was involved?
I’ve been lucky enough to have travelled around the South Island and seen so many animals in the wild. So all the research was done because I knew I wanted to see a penguin, a whale, a couple cheeky seals, an albatross and an owl in this story.
What was your routine or process when writing this book? How did you work with illustrator Daron Parton?
I was chuffed to bits to find out I was paired with the brilliant Daron Parton. His illustrations are gorgeous. I had already written the text by the time he had signed to do the book so he got to work on the artwork and sent me sneaky peeks as he worked on the art. The book came together with the help of the incredible designer, Vida Kelly and I’m so happy with how it looks.
What do you hope children will take away from reading this book?
When I write books, I really hope children get a moment to escape into a fun world for a bit. I’d love them to really question whether a whale had a library card or not. But most importantly, I hope they realise the millions of worlds they can escape into everyday in the books in their local library. Libraries turned me into a reader and then a writer and I hope this book encourages children to go and pick out some books at their local library.
If a soundtrack were made to accompany this book, name a song or two you would include.
Oh wow! This is a tricky one. Well, since it’s a fun, beachy story perhaps a song that needs to be on the soundtrack should be Bill Withers’ Lovely Day. And maybe Alright by Supergrass (because I’m of a certain age).
What did you enjoy the most about writing this book?
There’s a lot going on in the world at the moment and it was nice to turn off and be in a place of joy for a bit. Writing has always been my escape, especially when I’m working on fun stories.
What did you do to celebrate finishing this book?
I think I read it aloud to my husband, my son and my dog. I wanted to see their first reactions to the story because their opinions matter the most to me.
What is the favourite book you have read so far this year and why?
I have just finished reading Claire Mabey’s The Raven’s Eye Runaways and it was incredible. The world building is amazing and you are immediately sucked into the adventure from the very first chapter. I think it’s going to be hard to top that book this year.
What’s next on the agenda for you?
I’m working on heaps of things, including an illustrated funny fiction series with Minky Stapleton and Scholastic NZ, coming next year. It’s all about superhero animals - I’ve just seen Minky’s artwork and it genuinely had me howling with laughter. I can’t wait for this series to be out in the world.
Scholastic New Zealand
Comments