Simply 7 with Katherine Hocker: I WAS

If you love a nonfiction picture book that includes STEM material that hasn’t been covered before, then this is the book for you!

Katherine Hocker is an author, illustrator, and teacher with a degree in biology and a graduate certificate in science communication. Before teaching science drawing lessons, she taught nature studies as a school naturalist. She is passionate about helping children and adults strengthen their observational and artistic skills as they connect with the living landscape through her work. She says, “After twenty years of teaching science and art classes to elementary students, I can say with confidence that no subject supercharges a lesson like animal skulls. At first the kids are squeamish, but as they run their fingers over the teeth and gaze into the eye sockets, they learn that skulls are more than just spooky thrills. Skulls tell the stories of animals that once lived.” Katherine Hocker lives in Gustavus, Alaska.  You can learn more about her on her website.

I WAS: THE STORIES OF ANIMAL SKULLS is a beautifully written lyrical homage to animals, as well as humans!  It’s also a scientific exploration of identifying animals based on what’s left behind.  AND it’s also a bit of a guessing game. Katherine gives clues to help young readers identify the animal each skull belongs to, and in most cases, a page turn reveals the answer.  It’s a fascinating setup and exploration focused on creating curiosity in the reader that is aided by the beautiful artwork of Natasha Donovan.  It’s unlike anything I’ve seen before and I knew from the very first description of this book that I had to read it.  This book works on so many different levels that I couldn’t wait to share it with you too.

Welcome Katherine!

Me: Can you talk a little bit about yourself and about your writing journey up to this point?  What brought you to this book?

Katherine: Since childhood, my two big passions have been art and science. In college, I studied forest ecology. A few years later, I studied science illustration in graduate school. Those experiences led me to a path as an educator, focusing on natural history-based and science-based art instruction, mostly for elementary level students.

Working with those kids and their teachers put me back in contact with picture books, and reminded me just how important they can be to young children and to the adults in their lives. A picture book is art, poetry, and learning all in one. It’s a doorway into a whole world of language, imagination, and cognition.

Starting in the mid-1990s, I wrote, co-wrote, and/or illustrated three self-published, science-based picture books. I enjoyed the process, and wanted to expand beyond the local subjects I’d been focusing on. That’s what prompted me to start submitting manuscripts to agents.

Me: I’ve never seen a picture book about animal skulls quite like this.  It’s almost like an I Spy book, trying to guess what animal belongs to the skull.  What gave you the idea?

Katherine: As a naturalist and educator I’ve spent many years teaching kids about animal skulls, so those lessons form the foundation for this book’s content. But the book’s language actually started with an art project. Back in 2010, I did a series of large paintings integrating poetry with natural objects. One of the paintings showed a wolf skull, surrounded by a poem in the imagined voice of the wolf, telling about its life.

I’ve had the painting on the wall of my studio for years and had always thought about doing something more with the poem on it. In 2020 I decided to use it as a starting point for a picture book manuscript. Working from my skull lessons with kids, I brought in other animal voices… and the manuscript just flowed out from there.

In the book, there are are six animal skulls that tell about their lives. Each one has two full page spreads. In the first spread, the skull tells us about a specific feature that helped it hunt, feed, build, or navigate. At this point, the reader can make an inference based on the skull and its story: what kind of animal is it? Then you turn the page to reveal the animal, and hear the rest of its story.

Me: I love the variety of back matter you have further exploring the STEM information on this topic.  Was that your idea?  Or did the publisher ask for that?

Katherine: All my picture books have had back matter—I believe it’s an important part of a non-fiction picture book. Back matter makes a connection with teachers, parents, caregivers, and older kids. It helps round out the story, and gives readers a springboard to explore more and a reason to return to the book.

Me: You have written some projects and illustrated others, yet this is a book you only wrote.  Was that hard to do with your artistic background?  Did you have to let the illustrating go for this project or was it something you only wanted to write?

Katherine: It was fascinating! Unlike some other projects, I wrote the manuscript for I Was without a clear picture of what the illustrations would look like. For me this was about the poetry of the text: the way the words resonated with each other, and the subtle rhymes and rhythms they make. When I sent the manuscript off to agents, I understood that if a publisher chose it, they would select the illustrator for it—so I was letting go of any personal vision I might have for the images. I was a little nervous, but mostly excited to see how another illustrator would visually interpret the text.

Me: What is one thing that surprised you in writing this story?

Katherine: I think what surprised me most was the strength of the emotions I felt while writing it. As a nature educator, I feel a responsibility to speak out about the importance of non-human beings, who can’t speak for themselves (at least not in ways that many of us are taught to hear). So writing this book was a way to literally “give voice to the voiceless.” I did my best to try to immerse my mind in the animals’ world, and to convey their lives and their dignity through the text. It was a moving process, and I steel feel emotional reading the book.

Me: The illustrations by Natasha Donovan are wonderful.  They look like traditional paintings!  Were there any illustration surprises for you?  Any favorites?

Katherine: I do love what Natasha created. She has a lovely approach to digital illustration: it feels grounded in reality, and in the textures of traditional painting. I love her vibrant colors and compositions. Candlewick allowed me to have input into the illustrations, and Natasha was very responsive to a few changes I requested. For me it was an overall positive experience; I hope she enjoyed the process too! I’d love to meet her in person someday.

Me: What future projects can we look forward to from you?

Katherine: I have another book in progress with Candlewick. It’s a picture book about aquatic insects: dragonflies, mayflies, water beetles, mosquitoes, and all the other wonderful crawlies that live underwater in streams and ponds before they emerge as winged adults. The provisional title is When You See Us. The illustrator is Svabhu Kohli, who has a lush and extraordinary style that I’m very excited about. I’ve seen the sketches, and can’t wait to see the first color spreads! That book is currently scheduled to be published in 2025.

I’ve also been busy writing: my agent, Mary Cummings of Great River Literary, has been circulating several manuscripts. No bites on any of those yet… but that’s the process… you just need to keep working on your craft, and looking for just the right match!

That’s wonderful Katherine!  K can’t wait to read it.  Thank you for stopping by my blog today.

Dear readers, this book is released next week (May 7) from Candlewick.  This is a surprising look at animals I haven’t seen done quite like this before and it’s well worth reading.  You won’t want to miss it!