Mootilda’s Bad Mood by Corey Rosen Schwartz and Kirsti Call, illustrated by Claudia Ranucci (little bee books)
As a therapist, Kirsti Call knows a lot about people’s moods. As a children’s book writer, she’s expanded into bovine ones in Mootilda’s Bad Mood, with the help of her co-author and friend Corey Rosen Schwartz, the Warren, NJ-based author of The Three Ninja Pigs (illustrated by Dan State, G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers) and several other rhyming picture books and fractured fairy tales.
Kirsti, who lives in Andover, Mass, is the co-coordinator of ReFoReMo, Reading for Research Month, which encourages picture book writers to revise with the help of mentor texts. Kirsti reads, reviews, revises and critiques every day as a 12x12 elf and a blogger for Writer's Rumpus, and has judged the Cybils Award for fiction picture books since 2015. Look for her upcoming books, Cow Says Meow (illustrated by Brandon James Scott, HMH Books for Young Readers) and Cold Turkey (Little Brown) in 2021. Thanks, Kirsti, for visiting The Kids Are All Write!
Kirsti Call
What inspired Mootilda’s Bad Mood?
Our own moooooods and our children's moooods---and the fact that I'm a therapist and my job is to help people with their moods.
Tell us about writing with Corey Rosen Schwartz. How did you two meet?
Corey Rosen Schwartz
Corey and I met on-line in various facebook writing groups, and then in person at the New Jersey SCBWI conference. Writing with Corey involves texting, messaging, talking on the phone, meeting on a google doc, and texting some more. The process is super fun.
You’ve each written books separately. Why did you want to write together?
Corey loves co-writing and when she asked me to write with her I already liked her as a person and knew she wrote phenomenal books. It was an easy "Yes!"
The Three Ninja Pigs by Corey Rosen Schwartz, illustrated by Dan Santat (G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for. Young Readers)
I’ve heard you two have complementary Mootilda mugs. Can you share a photo of that and share how that came about?
We always joke about me being in a good moooood, and Corey being in a bad mooood. So we made Mootilda mugs with those lines from the book. My mug always makes me chuckle.
I notice you had another book about a cow called Cow Says Meow. Kirsti, is there something you want to tell us about your connection with cows?
Cow says Meow just happens to be my next book, coming out with HMH on March 16, 2021. I've written many manuscripts that do not feature cows--I don't know what to say, my cow books must be mooooooving!
Cow Says Meow by Kirsti Erekson Call, illustrated by Brandon James Scott (HMH Books for Young Readers)
How much fun did you and Corey have coming up with all that moo-ving word play? Any favorite jokes that didn’t make it in the book?
Our previous drafts of MOOTILDA had "hoof past eight", an apple-anche (or an apple avalanche), and Mootilda makes her creamy cold desserts "from scratch".
This book has a larger theme, too — can you share about that?
MOOTILDA'S BAD MOOD is about knowing it's okay to be in a bad mood, and at the same time, realizing your bad mood can affect others. And of course there are many ways to improve your moooooood!
How long did it take you to find a home for the book? Did it change much after it was acquired?
Our agent subbed MOOTILDA to three publishers and Courtney at Little Bee acquired it pretty quickly. We didn't make any major revisions after we signed the contract, but we deleted an entire character out of the book at Courtney's suggestion before she brought it to acquisitions. Sorry folks, there is no longer a coyote.
This coyote, who is NOT in Mootilda’s Bad Mood, is waiting for answers (and his own book)
What was your first reaction to Claudia Ranucci’s illustrations? Do you have a favorite spread?
I truly love how Claudia brought Mootilda to life. She used her daughter as a model for the cover! My favorite spread is Mootilda and the chickens saying: "We're in a bad mooooooood!"
What do you most hope kids will take away from Mootilda’s Bad Mood?
I hope kids will read the book, learn a few things about how to handle a bad mood, and when they're grumpy, I hope they say: "I'm in a bad mooood". (Or sing it! My daughter wrote a Mootilda’s Bad Mood song that will debut at our virtual book launches) And hopefully that will make them laugh.
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Check out the links to the launch parties for Mootilda’s Bad Mood
Visit Kirsti Erekson Call on social media:
On her website: kirsticall.com
On Facebook: Kirsti Erekson Call
On Twitter: @kirsticall
On Instagram: @kirsticall
Visit Corey Rosen Schwartz on social media:
On her website: coreyrosenschwartz.com
On Facebook: Corey Rosen Schwartz-PB Ninja
On Twitter: @CoreyPBNinja
On Instagram: @CoreyPBNinja