If you’re a follower of my blog, you know how much I love the poetry picture books.  Today’s poetry picture book comes to us via the Netherlands!

Photo by Renate Reitler

Bette Westera is the author of the Mildred L. Batchelder Honor Book Later, When I’m Big (Eerdmans) and over fifty other books for children. She has also translated books by Dr. Seuss, Astrid Lindgren, and Julia Donaldson into the Dutch language. Bette lives in the Netherlands, where her books have received two Golden Pencil awards and six Silver Pencil honors. You can learn more about her at her website.

FAST CHEETAH, SLOW TORTOISE: POEMS OF ANIMAL OPPOSITES is just what it sounds like.  Here is a collection of animal poems that compare and contrast the most perfect of pairings in the animal kingdom.  As a teacher, I’m excited by the great illustration of “antonyms.”  But more than that, these poems are great fun for young readers who like to get inside the minds of critters.  Some of these comparisons are down right hysterical and quite unexpected.

Please note: I received a copy of this book from the publisher to review, but the opinions, as always, are my own.

Welcome Bette!

Me: Can you tell us a little bit about your writing journey?  How has that brought you to writing this picture book?

Bette: The illustrator, Mies van Hout, and I knew each other. We wanted to make a book together, but it never happened until we unexpectedly met at a Swiss mountain hotel. We walked together for a day and decided it was time to put our words into action. That ultimately resulted in Fast Cheetah, Slow Tortoise.

Me: I love how you’ve written a collection of poems based on animals that have opposite traits, and with such humor!  What gave you the idea for this book?

Bette: The idea of ​​working with contradictions came from Mies. We sat down together and made a list of animals with special qualities—fast, friendly, neat, tough—and their opponents. We chose animals that Mies wanted to draw and animals that immediately gave me an idea for a poem.

Me: I love that.  I am a huge fan of poetry and I’m passionate about sharing it with others.  What was it that first sparked your own love of poetry?

Bette: When I was a child, my parents read me the poems of Annie M.G. Schmidt, one of the most important Dutch children’s book writers at the time and still widely read.

Many of her poems have been set to music, and we had LPs of her songs, all of which I knew by heart as a child—and still do now. In high school, I won a poetry competition that a Dutch teacher had organized. During that time, I discovered that I not only loved playing with language but was also quite good at it.

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

Bette: It always surprises me how a poem is created. I start with a few words, and from those words the poem emerges. I don’t think in advance how it will end; that happens while writing and puzzling with words.

Me: I laughed at so many of your opposite companions.  These pairings make perfect antonyms all throughout your book.  Was this always included or did it come about during revisions?  Were there animals that were left out that you wish you could have included?\

Bette: As mentioned, we chose animals that Mies wanted to draw and animals that immediately gave me an idea for a poem. I love elk, so I wanted one in there, and it did. But I could easily fill a second book with even more animals that I like to write about: the puffin and the griffon vulture (colorful and gray), the stick insect and the hippopotamus (thin and fat), the ostrich and the wren (large and small). Too many to mention!

Me: The illustrations by Mies van Hout are perfect.  I love her style! Were there any illustration surprises for you?

Bette: I am always surprised by the illustrator. In this case, we worked together before, so the surprise effect was slightly less. I often saw Mies’s sketches before I wrote the text. But I was nevertheless pleasantly surprised by the results, Fast Cheetah, Slow Tortoise has become a beautiful book of which I am very proud.

Me: Any advice for other aspiring picture book writers and/or poets?

Bette: The great thing about a picture book is that text and images tell the story together. The image attracts the most attention. There is much less space for the text, and that forces you as a writer to look for the essence of what you want to say. Every word, every sentence, every blank line matters. That requires a lot of attention and patience, but it’s worth it. It is an exciting process to work together in this way.

Thank you for stopping by my blog today Bette.

Dear readers, this poetry picture book was translated by David Colmer into English for Eerdmans Books for Young Readers and released this very day into the world.  If you’re also a fan of poetry picture books that involve animal points of view, you won’t want to miss this one.  The comparisons are rich, whimsical, and plentiful.  It’s well worth a read.