What’s a ghost’s birthday party supposed to look like?

Maggie Edkins Willis has visited my blog before. She grew up in Missouri and Maine in houses that, sadly, were not haunted. She now writes and illustrates books for children from her home studio in Princeton, New Jersey, where she lives with her husband and son. Their current house is maybe haunted, but she’s still waiting to meet the ghost. You can learn more about her at her website or follow her on Instagram or BlueSky.

LITTLE GHOST’S SUMMERWEEN is a delightful picture book sequel with Little Ghost. You may remember his first story where he struggled to make a friend. This time he struggles to figure out what his interests are outside of Halloween. What kind of theme should he really have for a birthday party? Some of the same heart strings are pulled here, but with a new enough bent that it will have readers saying “aww” all over again. I’m absolutely delighted to see Little Ghost again.

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

Welcome back Maggie!

Me: I adore this sequel with Little Ghost every bit as much as the first book. What gave you the idea for this story?

Maggie:  A few things came together at once to land on this idea! We wanted to have a second Little Ghost adventure in a different season, and my editor, the great Catherine Laudone, had read an article recently about Summerween being a ‘thing’. This lined up so well with my experience launching LITTLE GHOST MAKES A FRIEND. Like many books that take place in fall, it came out in the summer, and I went into a story time in July with that book wondering how kids would receive it so far from Halloween. I quickly learned that kids are excited about Halloween year-round, and on any day they can’t wait to tell me what costume they’re going to be and where they’re going to trick-or-treat. Personally, Summerween is also a lovely concept for my family and something we’d already been talking about celebrating, as my husband has a job that is extremely busy in the fall, and he often misses celebrating Halloween with our kids. So, when Catherine brought it up, Summerween seemed like a natural fit!

Me: I love that this sequel really builds on the first book and develops Little Ghost even more. In the first book he was trying so hard to make one friend, celebrate Halloween, and figure out who he is. This mirrors all of those things SO well! Was that always your intent? Were those components always there from the first draft or did they come about through revision? 

Maggie: Absolutely. In the first book, Little Ghost is looking outward, thinking about how to put himself authentically into his community. In this book, he’s thinking about how to bring his community into his life and show them who he truly is. When he does finally give himself permission to celebrate himself and what he loves, regardless of the “rules”, he is celebrated for it by all of his friends. I have a four-year-old son, and a lot of this story comes from the joy I see in him when he and his friends share their interests and try on different activities and passions for size.

Me: With two books that share the same character, I think it’s safe to say these books are a series. Can we hope for any more stories with Little Ghost? Do you have any other ideas brewing?

Maggie: Yes! There are going to be at least 5 Little Ghost adventures! We love the idea of him being a year-round ghost, so the next book will be LITTLE GHOST’S VALENTINES. After that, he’s going to have Christmas and springtime adventures. Each of them will take place in this lovely world of Little Ghost’s neighborhood, but they’ve all got their own special twinkle to them.

Me: Yay! Congratulations! I’m so excited to hear that. As this is the second book you’ve written and illustrated with the same character(s), were there any unique challenges? Was it harder or easier to write and/or illustrate in this world?

Maggie: Little Ghost’s world is so rich that once we had the concept of Summerween in mind, diving back in felt natural and fun. The biggest challenge, I think, is making sure there is a throughline between the books, and then adding the new spin on the world is the fun part for me! Putting on my book designer hat from my days working in house, I know that the goal for sequels is usually to make them feel like an exciting new story in a familiar world. One way I did that is by adding some blue to the color palette, which we see in all those refreshing pool scenes. I also wanted to make sure we maintained the sweet-spooky details of Little Ghost’s house, and playing with those in a new season gave me some fun opportunities. For example, there are Jack O’Lantern pineapples and bathing suit Halloween costumes and skeletons relaxing on pool chairs. I can’t wait for readers to discover all those little details.

Me: Can you talk about the marketing of the Little Ghost stories? Where they sold as a pair? Or did the second book come about later? 

Maggie: They were not sold as a pair! I have to thank readers, booksellers, and librarians so much for the success of LITTLE GHOST MAKES A FRIEND. Indie bookstores especially gave this book so much love. Something about this sweet, shy ghost is very endearing, I think, and kids see themselves in him. That support and connection is what propelled us to keep expanding the world.

Me: You have had multiple books coming out the last couple of years as an author-illustrator. Any tips for keeping on track and producing? How do you keep coming up with ideas?

Maggie: I try to keep a little space always in my schedule to run with a new idea when it hits, no matter how busy I am. You never know when the good ideas are going to pop up, and you’ve got to grab them out of the air when they do, even if that just means jotting down an idea or a quick sketch to come back to later. And when it comes to producing, what helps the most for me is maintaining some balance within a consistent routine.

Book projects are so big and long term that I try to approach them like someone training for a marathon. I know how long it takes me to execute a spread of artwork, and I block out my days based on that for every project, with a little time built in for play. I work hard, but I also try to keep strong boundaries between work and the rest of my life, so that when I do sit down to work, I feel fresh and motivated. Rest and joy and exercise are important.

I am so fortunate to do this full time, but early on in my career I had a hard time ever closing the iPad and stepping away from work. But I learned that if I’m never present in the world outside of my studio, I’ll burn out, and I’ll also never be experiencing the LIVING part of life that leads to new ideas and keeps me excited to make stuff every day.

Me: I love that! I also saw that you’re working on two graphic novel adaptations. Can you tell us a little bit about those projects? Anything else we can look forward to reading from you in the future (that you can tell us about)?

Maggie: Yes! I’m just finished the art for the graphic novel adaptation of Barbara O’Connors fantastic book, WISH. It’s the first adaptation I’ve ever done, and I found that I really loved the process. The book takes place in the Blue Ridge Mountains, which is such a lush place to spend my mental time, and the story itself is so lovely. I’m also currently working on final art for an author-illustrated graphic novel called BABY STEPS, which has been a labor of love that I’ve been developing for the past two years about a family welcoming a new baby from the perspective of the fourteen-year-old oldest sister. After that, I’ll be adapting another book by Barbara, HOW TO STEAL A DOG.

As far as picture books go, I’ve got LITTLE GHOST’S VALENTINES coming next, followed by a book called WONDERMOMS! that I am so unbelievably excited about. It is a sweet, rhyming picture book ode to moms. In a world where parents are often expected to be superheroes in huge and complicated ways, this book explores how its really the day-to-day little things that make parents heroes in their eyes of their kids. That will be followed by WONDERDADS!, another DINKY THE TINYSAUR adventure, and two more LITTLE GHOST books. So I’ve got quite a lot cooking, and I can’t wait to get all of it into the hands of readers!

Wow! That’s amazing! Congratulations on all the forthcoming projects. I can’t wait to read them. Thank you so much for stopping by my blog again today.

Dear readers, this book publishes TODAY! Little Ghost is an endearing character that young readers absolutely love. If you haven’t had a chance to read this adorable series, trust me when I say you won’t want to miss it.