Mushrooms Know by Kallie George

Kallie George is an author and picture book editor who has written numerous acclaimed books for children. She grew up on the Sunshine Coast in British Columbia, Canada, where she spent her days roaming the forests, making up stories, and even mushroom foraging with her family. Her latest picture book, Mushrooms Know, captures the wisdom that the fungi world can teach us, with vibrant illustrations and informative side bars that dive further into the science of mushrooms.

 

This new book is a brilliant mix of learning about the natural world but also learning about ourselves. What was your inspiration, and how easy / difficult was it to link mushroom characteristics and facts with philosophical life lessons?!

Thank you! In fact, it was surprisingly easy to link mushroom facts with philosophical life lessons. That was the inspiration for the book: I was talking with Sara Gillingham, the illustrator, who is also a friend of mine, and we were discussing how many amazing life lessons mushrooms can teach us, all the things they “know.” Thus, the book idea was born!

You convey the messages in such a simple, beautiful way, with lots of lovely play on familiar words and phrases – was it hard to get the tone right for young readers? Even the life cycle at the end of the book is really beautiful and uplifting!

The main text wasn’t difficult to get the tone right, but sometimes the sidebars I first drafted were too complex, so it took a bit of editing to make sure they were aimed for younger readers.

Would it be fair to say that your books often explore life lessons / philosophical thinking? Why are you drawn to those themes?

Usually there are themes and life lessons in my books, although I rarely start out thinking about the life lesson. I tend to think of a compelling story or plot first, or a “hook”, and then the life lessons follow as the book is written.

As both an editor and an author, how is the creative process for you? Are you already critiquing your work before you’ve put words on the page?!

I really do love editing, and my first drafts are often very rough. I love how through the editing process a story improves. Mushrooms Know was edited by Tiffany Stone, who is a fantastic editor and writer. Editing is one of my favourite parts of working on a book. I do tend to be quite critical of my ideas as I’m coming up with them, but when I finally have an idea I like, I will write it out on paper. That helps me be a little less critical, as I find I get into a good flow using pen and paper.

How did you work with illustrator Sara Gillingham on this book?

This was a unique situation in that I know Sara—we are good friends, as well as colleagues. Often I don’t know my illustrators. That said, Sara and I still followed a traditional style of working on a picture book: I finished a text which was edited and then sent to her. She started work on sketches, and when she was done, I had a chance to look at them and offer a bit of feedback. I didn’t have much feedback, though. She did such a beautiful job! Text, editing of text, sketches and then final art is a common process for a picture book.

Did you choose the mushrooms then find phrases / life lessons that would fit with their characteristics, or vice versa?

I found that this came very naturally. I knew a little about mushrooms but did a lot more research into them for the book, as well as met with Keith Seifert, a mycologist and author of The Hidden Kingdom of Fungi, who shared many mushroom wisdoms with me. As I learned more about mushrooms, I discovered new life lessons they have to teach us.

Tell us your favourite / weirdest / most amazing thing you learnt about mushrooms during the creation of this book!

I loved learning that some mushrooms can glow (they are bioluminescent) and that other mushrooms are so strong they can grow through concrete! I love that mushrooms share information with trees and other plant partners.

What do you hope readers will take from the book?

I hope that readers love learning about mushrooms and discover new facts they didn’t know, and are inspired to take a closer look at the nature around them. And I hope they read lots more books about mushrooms and other parts of the natural world too!

How do you hope schools might use the book?

My son, who is in kindergarten, did a unit on the mushroom cycle this year. He loved learning about them. I hope this book can be a good resource for lots of classrooms, especially those that are studying life cycles and nature.

What do you love most about connecting children with stories?

I love when children connect so much with a book or story that they start to turn it or include it into their own imaginary play. They add their creativity to it. I used to do this with books I love.

I love seeing kids’ eyes light up when they connect with a particular story.

How did you come be an author?

I always wanted to be an author when I was younger. I wrote my first books when I was four and five and wrote books every year I was in school. When I went to university I specialized in children’s literature, and it was soon after my degree that I got a job in publishing, as an editor, while at the same time getting my first book contract (mind you, this had come after many rejections!). So I started out both as author and an editor and have done both those things for a long time now. I love each of them.

You write picture books, early readers and chapter books. Do you have a different approach for each of these genres?

To some extent, yes. For chapter books I plot heavily. I can spend a month or several months plotting. I sometimes plot my early readers as well. But not so much with picture books. For all genres I tend to write by hand first and type up my story afterwards. Mind you, sometimes with picture books I type first. Truthfully, there is no single approach I take, but it seems every book and every idea has a different process that suits that story the best. Sometimes that can be a little frustrating, but it keeps it interesting!

Another string to your bow is creative writing teacher. What are your top tips for budding young authors?

A few tips:

– Keep an ideas journal so that you don’t forget good ideas when you have them.

– Share your stories with friends/family/teachers. Get feedback from those you trust. A lot of writing is editing and improving your work.

– Read a lot. You can learn so much from different books in a wide variety of genres.

– If you get stuck on a story, find some strategies that help you. Some of mine include taking a break/going for a walk and talking the plot out with friends or family.

– Writing stories is so much fun. So have lots of fun doing it! The more you enjoy the process the more that will come across in your writing.

Do you have any favourite picture book authors and illustrators that inspire you?

There are so many! Too many to list or choose just one! I’m so lucky to have a lot of friends who work as authors or illustrators as well. I love discovering new authors and illustrators too.

Are you working on anything now?

Right now, I’m working on continuing my Heartwood Hotel chapter book series, illustrated by Stephanie Graegin. There are currently four books in the series, and we are expanding with two more novels. I’ve also got a few picture books on the go!

Mushrooms Know, written by Kallie George and illustrated by Sara Gillingham, is out now, published by Greystone Kids. ISBN 9781778400773, hardback. www.greystonebooks.com