Forest fires can seem terrifying, but what happens after they are gone can be beautiful.

Louise M. Aamodt is an ESL and science teacher, an active SCBWI member, and children’s book author. A Forest Begins Anew, which won the Marvelous Midwest Conference manuscript contest, is her debut picture book. You can learn more about her at her website or follow her on Twitter, BlueSky, or Facebook.

A FOREST BEGINS ANEW is a stunning lyrical picture book with cut-paper illustrations. Aamodt takes the cumulative formula and does amazing things with it here. The text flows and dances through each spread of gorgeous illustrations. Elly McKay‘s work once again captures light and texture in a way that is impossible to describe. You have to see the way she works in dioramas of watercolor. This is a beautiful combination.

Welcome Louise!

Me: Can you talk a little bit about yourself and about your writing journey up to this point? What brought you to this book?

Louise: Thank you so much for having me here! When my first son was born in 2005, I struggled to find quality picture books for vegetarian kids. So, like anybody who knows absolutely nothing about a topic, I just decided I’d do it myself. How hard could it be? Ha!

I took my first kidlit writing class in 2006, and eventually joined SCBWI. It took a lot of discipline to carve out writing time and protect it while teaching full-time, parenting, volunteering, and everything else. I tackled some low-concentration tasks while my kids took swimming or karate classes, or while waiting in the parent pick-up line. But even now that I’m almost an empty-nester, I still reserve mornings for my highest-concentration tasks. I usually get up at 5:04 and get to work early, where I write in the dark so I don’t get distracted by all my looming teacher chores. 

Me: What gave you the idea to write a picture book about a forest fire and regrowth?

Louise: While choosing weather books for my second-grade English Learners science class, I came across a few lines about how burnt trees can attract beetles, which attract hungry woodpeckers, and how bluebirds then use old woodpecker cavities for nesting sites. That interconnectedness fascinated me. The more I learned, the more I wanted to know. My gut told me that balancing science with a message of hope was crucial. 

Me: I love the lyrical approach you took to this manuscript! Was it always this way from the first draft? Or did you have to undergo many drafts and revisions to get to the final state?

Louise: Instead of excitedly diving into the first draft, which is how I’d always started a new topic, I forced myself to wait and really mull over the best format. Since fires and regrowth have such a cause-effect relationship, I challenged myself to try the traditional pattern of The House That Jack Built, where everything is linked together. Once I finally started drafting, however, I realized that strictly adhering to that pattern became repetitive and tedious, and forced my rhymes. I gave myself permission to switch it up, and that’s when it finally started to flow. Nevertheless, it still took 15 drafts.  

Me: There is incredible back matter that shows you’ve really done your research! Can you tell us a bit about your research process? How long did it take you to research all the different facts and tidbits that went into this story? Any favorite methods? Any favorite fact finds that didn’t make it into the book?

Louise: Thanks for noticing the back matter! It took longer to research than the main story. It was also a great place to stash tidbits I’d learned that didn’t make it into the story, so I don’t feel I left out any cherished parts. 

Writing nonfiction (NF) was new to me, (more on that, below) and at first I did it all wrong. I turned to the easiest sources, whether or not they were reliable. As I learned more about writing NF, I practically had to start from scratch, documenting reliable sources for every little tidbit in the story, and scrap those which were unsubstantiated. Later, when my editor asked for a very specific timeline of the regrowth, I had to tackle a new round of research. I couldn’t even begin to guess how long the research took me in all, but I hope I’ll be more efficient with future projects!

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

Louise: The interactions between nature and human activity in terms of wildfires aren’t as black and white as I’d originally thought. It’s very complex and nuanced. It was challenging to present this to young children in a way that didn’t sugar-coat the issue, yet also conveyed hope and optimism for the future.  

Me: The illustrations by Elly MacKay are beautiful! I loved how vibrant the fire was, how adorable the returning animals were, but oh! Those wildflowers! Were there any illustration surprises for you? Any favorites? 

Louise: Elly’s work is indeed breathtaking! I have three favorites:

1. The spread with the animals seeking safety is stunning. I love the layers and the detailing.
2. I was tickled to see Elly’s fox on the page that uses the word ‘dead.’  I’d been advised that kids couldn’t handle the gravity of that word, but I disagreed. My writing mentor, author Janet Graber (who just happens to love foxes–you can even see one on her scarf here,) helped me find a way to keep that word. It seems serendipitous to have a fox on that page, just for her. 
3. After having briefly lived in Anchorage, I have a special connection to fireweed. I even have some framed in my home writing area, so that was fun to discover. 

Me: Any advice for other new or aspiring picture book writers?

Louise: It took 20 years–from my first kidlit writing class–to holding my debut book in my hands. Part of the delay was just the busyness of being a teacher and mom and all the other things life brings. But if I’m being 100% honest, a big delay was my fear of trying something new.

I’d written only fiction, and all my workshops and conferences had focused on fiction, so that’s all I knew. Even though I found myself drawn to NF, I couldn’t envision myself as a NF author because I didn’t know how to do it or where to even start. I felt like an imposter to even consider writing NF, much less lyrical NF.

My advice to newish kidlit writers is to stay open-minded about your genre. Dabble. Explore. Find your fit, and don’t worry about whether you know how to do it yet or not. Follow your heart, work hard, and the rest will follow. 

That is great advice. Thank you so much for stopping by my blog today Louise.

Dear readers, this book publishes next week. It’s a perfect example of the beautiful marriage that can occur between words and art in the picture book form. Trust me when I say, you won’t want to miss it.