Tim Saunders farms sheep and beef near Palmerston North. He has written two adult non-fiction titles, This Farming Life and Under a Big Sky. He was shortlisted for the Commonwealth Short Story Prize in 2021 for his story Carved; the only New Zealander to be shortlisted for this prestigious prize that year. He was joint winner of the Caselberg Trust International Poetry Prize in 2023. He performs poetry around the Manawatu and beyond. The Tractor Has a Wobbly Wheel is his first children’s book.
Can you tell us a little about the new book?
The Tractor Has a Wobbly Wheel is a rhyming picture book featuring a cast of farm animals, many of them from my own farm. When the farmer’s tractor breaks down, it is up to the animals to fix it… with hilarious results. The book is colourful, fun and full to the brim with laughs. Illustrations are by Carla Martell, who has created a world with characters that kids will instantly connect with and love.
How difficult was it writing a children’s book after writing for adults and what did you find different about the process from the first two books?
Writing is a craft, and I like to work with short stories and poetry and creative non-fiction, as well as with long-form books. Although these all seem very different, they start with the same thing – an empty page. I tend to think of writing as a form of building. I start with one brick – a line or an idea – and then stack things up from there, finding a brick that fits and sliding it into place. If it doesn’t fit, I place it some where else, or chisel it and shape it until it is just right.
I wrote The Tractor Has a Wobbly Wheel like a poem. I found a rhythm, then a rhyming structure, and then moved things around until they fit. Writing children’s books is very much like poetry or flash fiction – it is about telling a story using a limited amount of words. Word selection is the most important thing.
Was there any research involved?
I grew up on the farm where I still live, and have spent my life watching animals and working with machinery. Machinery goes wrong a lot. It is always breaking down. I once blew out a tractor tyre during lockdown. Tractor tyres are big, and they take specialists to repair them. “How am I going to fix this?” I wondered. And then I looked at the animals… maybe they could help…
What was your routine or process when writing this book?
I was asked if I would like to write a children’s book. It was something I had never thought of before, but I thought I’d give it a go. I usually get up early to write, but this idea came to me as I was driving across a paddock in my ute. I had most of the book in my head by the time I got to the gate, and quickly wrote it down in the notebook I carry for occasions like these. I didn’t have to change much. The best poems and stories always write themselves.
If a soundtrack was made to accompany the new book, name a song or two you would include.
I’ve thought long and hard about this… let’s imagine the book as a movie…
Scene 1. Exterior. Day. Sunny blue skies over rolling hills. Opening credits roll as we meet the animals and their tractor. Over the opening credits rolls Days Like This by Van Morrison.
Scene 2. Exterior. Day. The animals are trying to get the tractor moving again. Music: On The Road Again by Willie Nelson.
Scene 3. Exterior. Day. Movie fades and end credits roll to With A Little Luck by Paul McCartney and Wings.
(Any movie directors out there… please stay behind and see me after class).
What did you enjoy the most about writing Tractor Has a Wobbly Wheel?
Rhyming is fun. Fitting it to a rhythm is fun. The illustration process fascinated me. Seeing Carla’s ideas come to life was one of the joys of creating this book. I found it really interesting to see someone else’s interpretations of my words – I had pictures in my head as I wrote the book, but Carla’s illustrations are a million times better.
The thing I’m looking forward to most is sharing the book with young readers. I was read to a lot a child, and I get a kick out of knowing that people are sharing quality time together reading this book. Reading books as a child made me want to become a writer. Perhaps The Tractor Has a Wobbly Wheel will inspire the next generation.
What did you do to celebrate finishing this book?
I wrote another one.
What is the favourite book you have read so far this year and why?
The Wild Robot by Peter Brown. I love the unsentimental prose of this book – it suits the robot’s view of the world and clashes so brilliantly with the beauty of nature. The illustrations are perfect for the text - blocky and simple and evocative. I’m also a sucker for books featuring talking animals, and there are plenty of them in this book.
What’s next on the agenda for you?
More books/stories/poems to write. And sheep to shear.