In this world, if you can be anything, be kind. How many times have we seen that t-shirt? BUT what if you think you’re being kind, yet maybe you’re not?

Sarah Scheerger is a mental health clinician, providing school-based counseling services for “at-promise” youth, and helping them figure out who they are and who they want to be. She is inspired daily by their strength and wisdom, as well as by people who seek to spread positivity and strengthen community. The dude. be nice. organization caught her attention and served as the inspiration for Dude. Sarah writes picture books, early chapter books, middle grade, and young adult novels. You can learn more about her at her website or follow her on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook. You can also learn more about the DUDE. BE NICE organization at their website.

DUDE. BE NICE is a picture book about a bear named Dude. He has the very best intentions of being nice and helpful, but his delivery leaves something to be desired. This contradiction is absolutely hilarious. This book’s sense of humor creates a great discussion on what kindness actually looks like, as well as gives some steps to actually help others.

Welcome Sarah!

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

Sarah: I feel like I’ve always been a writer. Even as a young child I would make up stories in my head when I was trying to fall asleep. I started writing seriously when I became a mom. I was reading so many picture books to my baby that new ideas started popping into my head. I had no idea how competitive and hard the industry was at that time of course, though, but once I started crafting stories, I realized how much I enjoyed it. To be honest, writing and creativity are coping skills for me. It helps me have something to look forward to, and I really enjoy the quiet time crafting ideas. I have a wide range of types of books, and I think that’s because I tend to write whatever idea pops into my head. Sometimes the ideas are for older readers, and sometimes for younger readers.

The idea for Dude. Be Nice came to me after seeing one of the DBN videos online. I was prepping for a presentation at a school where I provide counseling services and looking for an engaging video to spark discussion. Once I came upon the Dude. Be Nice videos, not only was I inspired by their content, but this image of a Dude character came into my head. The idea lived there for several years until I wound up interacting directly with the owners of the company and mentioned “have you ever thought of writing a picture book with Dude as a main character?” They had, in fact, thought of that, and we decided a partnership could work out.

Me: I love that Dude is trying to be nice but actually isn’t very helpful. What gave you the idea?

Sarah: I actually approached this concept from multiple different directions. I knew I wanted a character named “Dude” and I knew that I wanted to focus on someone doing kind acts, but the actual creation of the story went through many iterations and changed over time (more on that later).

The final version of Dude is very egocentric. Young children are also egocentric. My favorite example of egocentrism is the three- or four-year-old child who thinks of a birthday gift for their parent and it’s something they themselves would want, like Legos. I wanted a well-intentioned character who gets it all wrong. Dude’s egocentrism is comical in this story. My editor requested deadpan humor. I felt the egocentrism worked well with deadpan style.

Me: I understand that this book had some pretty unique marketing aspects (and tie ins) to it. Can you talk about that a bit? How did that influence the creation of the book?

Sarah: Part of what drew me to this story was my inspiration from the DBN company. I love to hear about good things people are putting out in their communities, and I feel that so much of our media consumption focuses on negative or traumatic things happening in the world.

Yet around us, every day we have heroes who are doing the right thing. I think it’s important for people and even more so for children to know and feel the love and good qualities that are around them every day.

I was excited to write a story that would amplify this company. I would love to help them extend their reach. We need more videos from dude. be nice. We need more people out in the world recognizing unsung heroes.

I also felt that the DBN platform might be helpful in spreading the word about the book.

Me: I have to admit that the title of the book made me a little worried that the book was going to be didactic. It wasn’t preachy at all! Yet you managed to still teach some social emotional lessons subtly and with a great deal of humor. Did your manuscript undergo a ton of revisions to get to the finished state? Or was this story a gift from the muse that was good from the first draft?

Sarah: This manuscript was a very long time in the making. I have never had a published work that did not include extensive revision. This story, though, may rank highest in terms of amount of revision and time spent finessing. The only thing that didn’t change was the title. I knew I wanted that title because of the name of the company.

For this manuscript, I basically had a concept, but I didn’t know in what format it would be best received. I spent extensive time finessing multiple different final drafts of a version of dude. I was lucky to have an involved editor early on, who was able to give feedback and guidance.

My first finished version was simple and rhyming, with each page turn being a surprise. In this version, the character Dude was walking to school and planning a big surprise for his teachers. My second finished version was “voicey” with the narrator speaking directly to the character Dude. In this version, Dude was also planning a big surprise for someone. My final version has more of a deadpan style with lots of humor and repeating phrases. I wanted phrases that kids could say out loud when they read the book multiple times. For example, “he’s out to be nice and nice he’ll be.”

According to “The Greater Good Science Center at the University of California, Berkeley, altruism is one of the “building blocks of individual and community wellbeing.” Being kind to others is actually good for us.

The Dude. Be Nice project model of helping students work together to honor, thank, and celebrate the unsung heroes in their community provides an opportunity for kids to give back. I wanted that sentiment in this book. For more information on The Greater Good Science Center, check out Keys to Well-Being | Greater Good. DBN’s work to create more positive communities is exactly what the world needs today. 

Me:  The illustrations by Alex MacNaughton are absolutely perfect! I love the textures and the variety of things happening on each spread (even in the backgrounds!). Any illustration surprises for you? Any favorites?

Sarah: I love everything about Alex’s work. She is brilliant. I particularly love Alex’s use of color in this story. My favorite scene is the scene in which all the characters stack on top of each other’s shoulders to reach poor Fizz who’s floating away.

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

Sarah: How hard it was to get it right!

I feel like I lost confidence midway through.  I knew it was such a blessing to have an editor on board even before I had my final concept. But I kept trying different versions and none of the versions were quite right. I’m grateful though for the struggle, because I love the version of Dude we wound up with at the end.

Me: Any advice for new picture book writers?

Sarah: The struggle is part of the journey. Publishing a book has a lot to do with timing and business and things that are outside of the quality of your idea or craft. It can be discouraging when a project you’ve spent years finessing… doesn’t sell.

That being said, if you enjoy the process of writing and view it as a journey, that’s helpful. There are many factors at play, and the challenge is to immerse ourselves in the joy of it and ride out the challenges. So don’t give up!

I love that. Enjoy the ride! Thank you so much for stopping by my blog today Sarah.

Dear readers, this book is published in two weeks. You’ll want to keep an eye out for it. The deadpan humor really makes this book work. Kindness and laughter? Yes please! Trust me when I say, you won’t want to miss it.