Frank E. Armadillo thinks he knows everything about those pretty, pretty princess birds (we like to call flamingos), but does he really?

Brandon Todd made his picture book debut illustrating Dev Petty’s The Bear Must Go On, which Booklist called “witty and wonderful” and Kirkus praised as “a snort-inducing lesson of both bravery and preparation.” Brandon is the author/illustrator of Tou-Can’t! and author of The Adventure Friends early reader series for Scholastic. He lives in Missouri with his wife and daughters. You can learn more about him at his website or follow him on Instagram or Substack.

DO YOU REALLY KNOW FLAMINGOS is a cleverly disguised nonfiction picture book. While it’s told from the hilarious fictional premise of an adorable know-it-all armadillo ‘splaining all about flamingos (when he knows very little), it sneakily manages to cram in a TON of facts all about those pink birds we think we know. This is sure to capture young readers and make them want to read it over and over again (while slipping in some learning). The illustrations by Brandon Todd add the cute and colorful factors that are sure to attract their attention as well.

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

Welcome Brandon!

Me: Can you share about your creative journey? When did you start creating art professionally? How did that bring you to being the author-illustrator of this book

Brandon: Sure! I definitely took the scenic route to get where I am. Most of my creative career has been as an Art Director doing motion graphic work. I’ve worked on commercials, TV shows, sports teams, and even a couple of movies. I became really good at telling other people’s stories in short, easily digestible videos, but I wanted to tell my own stories.

Over the years, I’ve scratched that itch with different side projects: an animated web series, an attempted graphic novel, and a screen-printing business/blog with my wife, to name a few. But making picture books is the first thing I’ve stuck to longer than a few years, and I can’t imagine ever stopping.

It hasn’t been a smooth journey. Almost 10 years ago, I sent my first book to 40 agents. I got a lot of rejection letters, BUT one agent said maybe. Ultimately, that book didn’t get published, BUT it led to my first job as an illustrator with THE BEAR MUST GO ON, by Dev Petty. Since then, I’ve probably had at least 15 other books that never saw the light of day, BUT I’ve also had 4 other books get published. Even DO YOU REALLY KNOW FLAMINGOS? was rejected by my first agent, BUT I really believed in this story. It was the type of book I thought kids would love and the type of book I really wanted to make more of: funny, character-driven stories with heart.

Ultimately, I made the difficult choice to part ways with my agent and start over. This time, I only pitched my book to 2 agents I really wanted to work with. It was a long shot, and it turned out that one of them, Rebecca Sherman at Writers House, wanted to work with me, too! She instantly understood the vision for this book (and series), helped me refine it, and get it ready for publishers. Now here we are!

Me: I love the way you illustrated this book. It’s such a simplified approach to the animals that kids will absolutely love. Can you tell us a little bit about your illustrations for the book? How did you land on this style for this story? Did you work with traditional media or digital or both?

Brandon: Thank you so much! This is my third book to illustrate. The art in it is my favorite so far. I’m still learning and trying new techniques all the time, but when in doubt, I focus on the aspects that give me the most joy because I think that translates into my work.

I’ve always loved character design. So that is the starting point for most of my books. Capturing personality through physical characteristics is a fun challenge and helps me write the character better. Making both these characters more childlike really unlocked something in the story. It built out their personalities and influenced the dialogue.

I settled on using gouache and colored pencils after a few experiments. I loved all the imperfections and textures it produced. There’s a spontaneity to it that adds energy to the simple compositions. I painted the characters and backgrounds separately, then used Photoshop to combine them and clean up any rough edges. Since my day job is at a computer all day, it was therapeutic to bust out the art supplies and make a mess after hours. 

Me: I love that! You have written and illustrated multiple picture books. You have a variety of styles and stories! What gave you the idea for this story?

Brandon: Ha! Yeah, I’ve done a little bit of everything: illustrated, authored, and author/illustrated. Each was a very different experience and taught me different aspects about the world of picture books. This is my second book as an author and illustrator, and I feel like I’m bringing all that knowledge from the previous successes and failures with me on this one.

This story, in particular, was inspired by podcasts and my kids.

Years ago, I heard an animal fact on a science podcast (I think it was RadioLab) that stuck with me. I haven’t been able to find the exact quote, but it was something like this: “Flamingos can survive in a frozen lake overnight and fly away unfazed once it thaws the next morning.” It might be the perfect animal fact! It’s surprising. It changes the way you view the world around you. It’s fun to share. And it stays with you. (Coincidentally, I think those are also all signs of a great picture book.)

More recently, (for better or worse), I’ve been listening to current events podcasts. I made it a rule to limit my news intake to just one or two podcasts to keep my sanity. Even so, I still find myself overwhelmed at times. Over and over, I hear the adults in power claiming to be experts on things they know nothing about, yet refusing to admit they are ever wrong. While it can be hard to listen to in the news, when it’s a character in a book, it adds a nice amount of tension. That was the inspiration for Frank.

The final ingredient was my kids. They love animal facts. Who doesn’t!? They get a special kick out of revealing something to me that I didn’t already know. Suddenly, they are smarter than their parent. I wanted to give kids that feeling throughout this book. I wanted them to be in on the joke and realize that they are smarter than the self-proclaimed expert in this story.

Me: And I think you nailed that! It’s perfectly delivered. In fact, your story is does it so well, it appears deceptively simple. It really captures a young know-it-all with such joy and innocence and has great dialogue. Was the manuscript always this tight? Or did it 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?

Brandon: Lol. Definitely had lots of revisions. Writing is hard! From the start, this was always a dialogue-driven story between a flamingo and an unreliable narrator, but nailing down the tone and character arc took quite a few rounds. Even finding the right animal for Frank was a whole thing. He went from weasel to goose to cat before I finally landed on an adorable armadillo.

The dialogue for Flamingo came naturally, but Frank was trickier to get right. At first, he was written as a snake oil salesman actively trying to deceive readers. Probably not a reference kids would have much experience with. (And a little too influenced by current events.) So I reworked his character. Instead of being a con man, I gave him a childlike confidence in his understanding of the world. Based more on “vibes” than facts. His journey to accepting being wrong became the whole point of the story. It was a small shift, but it really unlocked something in the story.

My amazing agent and editor, Rebecca and Jess, really helped me work through a lot of these initial issues. In the end, I lost track of how many revisions there were. I was tweaking and improving it up until the final art was delivered.  I’m so proud of where it ended up.

Me: Can we talk about research? How much research did you do for all those sneaky nonfiction facts that you slipped into the story? Any favorite discoveries?

Brandon: Oh, I looked all over. Wildlife sanctuary websites, scientific articles, library books, and, of course, I listened to some science podcasts. I am not an expert, so I would be writing the book and suddenly realize I had new questions about these quirky pink birds. I would search for one answer, but that would lead me down some other rabbit hole.

Overall, it was really important to me that this didn’t feel like just a list of fun animal facts. I wanted them to unfold naturally. Because of that, there were some that didn’t make the cut, but most of my favorites are still in there. Like discovering the scalding hot lake where some lived. The photos from Lake Natron in Tanzania are insane. There are flocks of flamingos just chilling in this bright red water with an active volcano in the background. Sometimes animals die in that lake and become mummified by the water’s high salinity. The extreme climates in which flamingos can thrive are really pretty amazing.

Me: Wow! What is one thing that surprised you in either writing or illustrating this story?

Brandon: One thing I loved about working on this book was discovering that I hardly knew anything about flamingos beyond one or two “fun facts”. Almost all the other facts genuinely surprised me. Mud nests, insane habitats, weird eating habits, and unflattering honks. One podcast mentioning flamingos stuck in ice got me interested, and piqued my curiosity to the point where I realized how misunderstood they are. I hope it encourages curiosity in some kids, too.

Me: Any advice for other new picture book writers and/or illustrators?

Brandon: I don’t have any original advice, but these seem to ring truest for me.

The lone genius is a myth. Your work will be better if you are open to feedback. Even when you disagree with a change, look for the underlying issue that the note is trying to address.

Patience and persistence are just as important as talent. Lots of talented people burn out before they get the opportunity to share their work. Find ways to protect yourself from burnout because publishing moves slowly.

Celebrate all the little victories along the way. I mean the things that happen WAY before you get a book deal. Celebrate a positive reply from an agent. Celebrate finishing the first draft. Celebrate interest from a publisher. If you are like me, you’ll face a lot of rejections along the way, so it’s important to remember what a big deal it is to get some forward momentum, however small. The celebration doesn’t have to be big. My family would go out for dinner to celebrate my little victories along the way. I can’t tell you how much this helped keep the hope alive at the beginning.

Respect kids. Make the experience of opening your book fun for them. Creating work for kids is not a lesser art form, so don’t treat it that way. Adult standards should apply to work made for kids as well.

Thanks so much for these amazing questions!

Thank YOU for stopping by my blog today Brandon. I love that advice. Celebrate the little victories. I think I needed to hear that myself today!

Dear readers, this book publishes TODAY! Happy book birthday Brandon! It’s a mash up of true facts, cute illustrations, and a hilarious premise. Trust me when I say, you won’t want to miss this one!