Do you remember the dread you felt as a child when you heard a babysitter was coming? You never knew what was going to happen. That’s the exact same premise in today’s hilarious picture book.
Elayne Crain is a proud writer of childish (and often laughable) things. When Elayne is not reading or writing, she loves walks in the woods with her sons and partner, nature photography, and lively karaoke. There’s Something Odd About the Babysitter (illustrated by John Ledda) is her debut picture book. You can learn more about her at her website or follow her on Instagram, Twitter, or BlueSky.
THERE’S SOMETHING ODD ABOUT THE BABYSITTER is a picture book about young Freddie’s night at home alone with a new babysitter. A little suspicious, but determined to make yet another babysitter work, Freddie proceeds to try puzzles, dinner, and chores with normalcy. But this evening is anything but normal! Freddie discovers the secret about his babysitter and proceeds to have a blast. Young readers will probably figure it all out long before the reveal, but the hints are everywhere in the illustrations. I adored the titles of the books that a bored Freddie is reading as the babysitter arrives. It’s that attention to detail by the illustrator John Ledda that really knock the illustrations out of the park.
Welcome Elayne!
Me: Can you tell us a little bit about your writing journey? When did you start writing and/or creating picture books? How has that brought you to writing this picture book?
Elayne: All my life, I’ve adored children’s books—especially picture books; appropriately enough, I even “collected” some in high school with my babysitting money. I also wrote quite a lot, but only to amuse childish adults (mostly me).
All that changed when I took a one-night charity-event class taught by Jessica Young and Sharon Cameron, “Writing & Publishing Books for Kids.” Reader, they were so passionate; I left that class feeling BUZZED! That evening—March 3, 2015—I began to let myself dream a kidlit dream.
I wish I could say I started working on my children’s book craft right away; instead, with young children and an international move keeping me quite busy, I barely dabbled. But eventually, I decided I needed to do the hard work to make my dream a reality and, on November 20, 2019, joined SCBWI. (Funny side note: we lived in Australia then, so I originally joined SCBWI Australia East!)
Me: The idea of a bunch of wild animals babysitting is hilarious! What gave you the idea for this story?
Elayne: I know exactly what sparked it—this episode of Shaun the Sheep, where the sheep go into town to buy a pizza. I watched it with my kids, and I had already been thinking about maybe a story about an unhappy kid getting babysat (in a very general way), and I saw this and just thought, “Oh YES, of course! The babysitter is stacked-up raccoons!” I mean, I grew up on cartoons where wild animals paraded around in “paper-thin” disguises to pass as human, so that idea seemed totally natural to me. So, the (rough) plot came relatively quickly! However—I did put a lot of thought into the emotional layers, too. For me, that took MUCH longer.
Me: Why racoons and not a different animal? They’re absolutely perfect, but I’m curious why you chose that animal over all others. Was it always raccoons in this story?
Elayne: It was always raccoons. I think I knew I wanted this to be a (ha!) hands-on babysitter, and I immediately thought of their dexterous paws (so much better than sheep hooves—no offense, Aardman). I’ve always loved what other people might consider pest animals—birds, raccoons, possums, rats, badgers, snakes—so those misunderstood creatures are what first cross my mind, just as dogs or cats seem to come to other people.
I do remember wondering if it should be two or three stacked up, but I figured three was more life-scale, and anyhow, there’s something innately satisfying about three, isn’t there?
Me: Your writing is so funny and so succinct. Please tell me that there were a lot of revisions to get to this state! Did the story evolve over time or was it like this from the first draft?
Elayne: Aww, thank you! This manuscript went on a suitably wild journey, for sure!
This was the third picture book draft I ever wrote, and my initial draft was 332 words (I had been suitably scared by others that it SHOULD be that short), so it went through many, many revisions. It was always the same “story gist” and main characters, but I told it in a variety of ways, over several years—sometimes Freddie seemed clueless throughout, sometimes he was more investigative. He and the Babysitter tried many, many activities—I went through one stage where he was VERY worried about being served fish sticks (which I *hated* as a kid). I mean—I threw a lot of writing spaghetti to see how to tell THIS story, but also in my own unique way (while, of course, simultaneously working on others).
I will say, early drafts were my most polarizing manuscripts to date, due to the whole “babysitting while trenchcoated” aspect. A few early readers had stranger-danger concerns (which people were correct to raise), regardless of other aspects. Similarly, I got feedback early on that people (i.e., some parents) didn’t like the parents being so naive, while others thought I shouldn’t include parents at all. I did take in the feedback, and I made deliberate and considered choices to ensure the result was fantastical enough to not be dangerous in any way, and yet still believable enough to “work.”
As far as succinctness, that also changed over time! When my excellent editor, Kat, first saw it, it was 592 words. Then I did two different revisions for her fab team* to get them fully on board (first amplifying humor; then amplifying heart), which changed the word count (to get funnier, I ended up cutting a lot of text; and then I had to add some dialogue for the emotional aspect). After the art came in, I cut even more (including some nice wordplay), only because John’s wonderful illustrations were better visual punchlines to the jokes than words ever could be. We ended up at 424 words, so I hope (🤞) we found a good balance with read-aloud pacing and John’s superb visual storytelling.
*The fact that the imprint that eventually published it is headed by Jean Feiwel, who launched The Babysitter’s Club—a series I breathed in as an elementary school student—is just perfect, really. (Happy sigh.)
Me: The illustrations by John Ledda are so fun! I love the clues he gives in the illustrations about the babysitter’s identity (especially the book titles hidden throughout!). Any illustration surprises for you? Any favorites?
Elayne: I am still pinching myself over John’s story partnership—though it feels like fate? Because not long after I first wrote this manuscript, I saw a “three-raccoon-stacked” character on his Instagram—and I actually set my story aside for a bit, thinking, “Oh, rats.” (Or rather, “Oh, raccoons. “) Thankfully incorrectly, I assumed this story was too late.
But eventually, my excitement got the better of me. I worked hard(!) on it, and it was acquired! When Kat asked me if I had any illustrators in mind, I certainly did!! What a fun “we stacked up, too!” twist, to have two creative strangers who very much wanted a trenchcoated-multi-raccoon-character in a picture book, to be able to create one, together!
Back to his art—SO HARD to choose!—but I think my three favorite things would have to be: the scene where we get to see from the POV of inside the trenchcoat, when they are all so relaxed on the couch and reading (awwww!), and the way Freddie looks right at the reader in the scene where the Babysitter is feeding Bonzo dog biscuits.😊 As far as tiny details, I also love the trashy “spaghetti ice cream cone,” which ALMOST makes me want to throw caution to the wind.
Me: What is one thing that surprised you in writing this story?
Elayne: What surprised me most is how personal it got, for me—this seemingly ridiculous (hopefully in the best way!) story. I mean, I got very mama-bear protective of the idea, and I think it all stems from some interesting childhood experiences (both being babysat, as well as being a babysitter myself), and…imposter moments? You know? Like, who hasn’t felt like perhaps they WERE just a bundle of conflicted raccoons, trying their best (and possibly failing) to come across as completely professional? It can’t be JUST me?!
Me: It’s NOT just you! Any advice for new picture book writers?
Elayne: My favorite picture book advice I heard from my agent, Sean McCarthy (who heard it from writer Corey Finkle)—to try to pinpoint for yourself, “it’s about x, but it’s REALLY about y,” where x is the external/narrative arc, and y is the internal/emotional core. (Sidenote: I love that y is such a nice pun for “why”). That line of thinking has been HUGE for me.
In terms of persistence, I would share the following gems from wiser folk than I:
- “Find out who you are, and do it on purpose.” – Dolly Parton
- “Keep your eye on the donut and not on the hole.” – David Lynch
- “There’s always room for someone good; and you can always get good ” – My Dad (though admittedly in regards to law school, which I did not apply to nor attend)
Thank you so much for this opportunity to share this book with your readers, Jena! I hope they find it oddly satisfying!
Thanks for stopping by my blog today Elayne!
Dear readers, this book is published next week on June 3rd! It’s a hilarious take on babysitting antics that is sure to delight young readers. You won’t want to miss it.