How closely do you pay attention to the little things in this world?

Katherine Hocker has visited my blog before. She is an illustrator and teacher with a degree in biology and a graduate certificate in science communications. She is also the author of many books, including I Was: The Stories of Animal Skulls, illustrated by Natasha Donovan. She lives in Gustavus, Alaska. You can learn more about her on her website.

WHEN YOU SEE US is a lyrical nonfiction picture book all about aquatic insects. This is a beautiful and fascinating look at the life cycle (and importance) of a variety of water insects. I learned SO much! Both the text and the fantastic illustrations kept me turning page after page to see how these unfathomable creatures would transform. I don’t think I’ve seen a book quite like this one before.

Welcome back Kathy!

Me: Once again I’m astonished by your concept in this book. I never really knew anything about how aquatic insects grew. What gave you the idea for this picture book? 

Katherine: I’ve been teaching and writing about aquatic insects for a long time. One of my favorite moments in my insect field trips comes when I’m with a group of students at the edge of what looks like a boring, muddy pond. We lower a net into the water, swirl it around a bit, then gently transfer the contents to a water-filled tray. Everyone gathers around… and suddenly what looked like a mess of dead leaves and sticks is swarming with amazing critters! It’s a moment of such delight and wonder as the students realize there’s a whole world they never knew about, just below the surface. And then to help them realize that most of those little crawlies will someday leave the water and take flight as familiar winged insects.. that’s the feeling I wanted to share in this book.

Me: I love that you are using the second person point of view, directly addressing the reader in such a subtle way. Was that always a part of this manuscript? Or did that come about through revision? How many revisions did it take to get your manuscript to this final state? Did it go through many revisions or was this a gift of the Muse?

Katherine: I wrote the first draft about five years ago, I think. It was very similar in structure to the final book, and I don’t think there were very many major changes or rearrangements after that; just lots of fine tuning. I want my manuscripts to read as poetry—to feel good to speak aloud, and to give the reader little jolts of surprise with twists of language. So I did a lot of wordsmithing and testing it out loud.

It has always been in second person. I wanted to give the insects their own voice, and to have readers feel they have a direct connection with non-human lives.

Me: Can you tell us a bit about your research process? Was it all books, or was there field research too? How long did it take you to research all the different facts and tidbits that went into this story?

Katherine: Pretty much everything in the text is drawn from the lessons that I’ve taught. And that information is drawn from a huge and wonderful pool of scientific and educational resources about aquatic insects.

Me: With such a lyrical text, I’m really glad you identified all the different types of insects we were seeing in the back matter. I also love the “finding and observing” section that was included. Was that your idea? Or did the publisher ask for that?

Katherine: I love back matter. To me it’s almost like getting a bonus book. And in this case in particular, it was important to balance the more poetic, broad-stroke main text with concrete information about the insects.

The finding and observing section was my idea. After kids and parents read this book, I want them to run right out and start looking for aquatic insects! I want them to be successful in finding them, and to treat them with respect. Hence the tips.

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

Katherine: It wasn’t in the writing, but when I was putting together some illustration references to send to Svabhu, I was surprised to find that some of the best photo and video references came from flyfishing websites. I shouldn’t have been surprised about that, but it was fun to find.  

Me: The illustrations by Svabhu Kohli are wonderful. There is so much to observe and take in from every single picture. Were there any illustration surprises for you?  Any favorites?

Katherine: One delightful illustration surprise was toward the end of the book. The insects have emerged from the water in their various winged forms: caddisfly, dragonfly, damselfly… and there’s a full spread that shows just the girl’s hand, with insects perched on it. Svabhu illustrated her hand in such an unusual, graceful position; it makes me think of mudra hand gestures. I haven’t had the chance to ask Svabhu why he chose that gesture, but I love it. Another favorite image is the dragonfly having just emerged from its aquatic form, perched on a reed with wings outstretched.

Me: Now that you’ve published two picture books, do you have any advice for other new picture book writers?

Katherine: I have been lucky to get this far, and can only speak from a tiny bit of experience! For me it has been invaluable to have my agent, Mary Cummings of Great River Literary, helping me craft my manuscripts and getting those manuscripts out in front of editors. Other than that…listen to suggestions and advice. Think of the person who will hear the story and also the person who will be reading it out loud. And think about what you want your readers to do after they read your book—do you want them to think differently about something? Try something new? Appreciate something in a new way?

That is great advice Katherine. Thank you for stopping by my blog today.

Dear readers, this book publishes next week. This book combines lyrical text and scientific information, as well as lush illustrations that will captivate readers for many re-readings. Trust me when I say, you won’t want to miss it.