If you enjoyed Brooke’s picture book WATCH OUT FOR THE LION, then you’re going to love this one too!

Brooke Hartman has visited my blog several times before. She is an award-winning author of multiple picture books, including Lotte’s Magical Paper Puppets and Pega Sisters Go to Camp (both Page Street Kids). When her daughter battled issues with anxiety, Brooke wrote this up-roar-iously funny book to show that circumstances are often not as dire as they seem. She lives in Alaska with her husband, two kids, and a chocolate lab who barks at every car that passes their house―because it just might be driven by a lion. You can learn more about her at her website, or follow her on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook.

HELP ME FIND MY HAMSTER is a picture book sequel of sorts to Brooke’s previous picture book WATCH OUT FOR THE LION. This time, the narrator breaks the fourth wall to ask the reader to help find their precious lost pet. Yet every time they think they’ve found it, something else unexpected is found instead. It’s a clever comedy set up that delivers again a second time.

Welcome back Brooke.

Me: I love the idea of looking for a “hamster” and yet finding tons of surprises instead. What gave you the idea? How did you jump to this concept as a “sequel” for WATCH OUT FOR THE LION?

Brooke: Thank you, I’m so glad you found the concept fun! I really wanted to write a sequel to WATCH OUT FOR THE LION, and the hamster from this book kept jumping out at me (not literally, unfortunately, though I have plenty of pets as it is). I thought it would be an interesting trick to turn the theme of LION upside-down; instead of looking for something scary, you’re looking for something adorable and benign.

Me: I laughed out loud, not only at your choice of words, but some of the expressions on the animals that Anna drew to go along with your text. Your voice once again comes through very clearly in this story. Was that always part of the framework to match the first book? Or did that come about and/or get polished in revisions?

Brooke: I love writing these books so much because I can just dump my voice onto the page and sweep it up later. This book was originally almost 1,000 words long because, after I figured out the framework of which animals I’d use, I sort-of free-wrote it as I went. Then I had to chop it down from there, and chop some more. A lot of babies got killed in the making of this book. 

Me: Since this wasn’t the first book you’ve written like this, was it harder or easier? Did you lean into the narrator humor more? Or was it hard to “up the ante” from the first book?

Brooke: A lot of the voice was already squirreled away in my head before I sat down to write it, and I owe much of that thanks to our pet guinea pig, Buttermilk, who is a furry pudding pop with a plump rump dumpling. It wasn’t too far of a stretch to lend these traits (and cute pet talk) to a hamster.

Me: So why a sequel? Did WATCH THE LION sell so successfully that it needed one? Or was this a set of books you sold together at the same time?

Brooke: LION has sold incredibly well and won or been nominated for a multitude of state book awards, including the New York State Charlotte Award. So the publisher was interested in hearing what I had for a sequel. Pair that with a cutie patootie hamster character, and the sequel came alive from there!

Me: Anna Süßbauer’s illustrations in this book are even funnier than in the first! Were there any illustration surprises for you? Any favorites?

Brooke: When Anna was first chosen as the illustrator for LION, I wasn’t sure how the final book was going to look; she has such a unique style, it was hard for me to envision the end product. But in the end, her illustrations were PERFECT, and I had no doubt she’d blow me away with the illustrations for HAMSTER. Sure enough, she did! I love the final spreads and end pages. The animals’ expressions truly make this book!

Me: You have published several picture books at this point in your career, with several more already under contract. What habits have you found helpful to maintain your creativity? What do you do to set yourself up for success with your writing?

Brooke: I always tell people I don’t get writers’ block, I get time block. At any given point, I have so many story ideas bouncing around in my head, it’s hard for me to find time to write them down. Usually by the time I finally do sit down to write one of them, the story has a pretty good framework along with a decent chunk of the stanzas, voice, etc, already formed in my head—as was the case with HAMSTER. So I’m doing more fine-tuning than flushing out major plot elements.

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

Brooke: The ending! With WATCH OUT FOR THE LION, my critique group helped me hash out how the story was going to end (originally it ended with the reader seeing a fin that could belong to a shark, but that wasn’t nearly as cute as what we ended up going with). For HAMSTER, I was kind of stuck on how it was going to end, as well. Cue the critique group; we chop-shopped some ideas, and I really like what we ended up going with. I hope young readers do, too!

I think they will! Thanks for stopping by my blog again Brooke.

Dear readers, this book publishes next week. Keep your eyes open if you’re looking for a fun read. The hilarious lines and the hysterical illustrations are sure to get a few laughs from readers young and old. You won’t want to miss it!