This board book encourages calm with creative tactile strategies that are genius!

Julie Koon is a children’s book author and illustrator who loves making sweet and silly books for kids. As a preschool teacher and former school counselor, Koon brings playfulness and heartfelt warmth to each page. She loves helping kids learn positive strategies to cope with big feelings. Koon lives in Massachusetts with her husband, three kids, and two guinea pigs. You can learn more about her at her website or follow her on Instagram, Twitter, or BlueSky.

BREATHE A RAINBOW is an interactive board book made to help calm the youngest of readers with breathing exercises. It uses bright colors and simple images that kids can relate to. Feel like a thundercloud? Trace a rainbow with your finger while you slowly breathe in and out. I foresee this book being utilized in many different settings!

Welcome Julie!

Me: Can you tell us a little bit about your writing journey. When did you start writing picture books? How has that brought you to writing this picture book?

Julie: I started writing and illustrating picture books around 2019. I was working as a school counselor and saw how impactful it can be for kids to see their feelings and experiences reflected on the pages of books. It inspired me to make my own. After a few years of learning and practicing, my fist book came out in 2022. I’ve been making books ever since! This is my first board book, and it’s been so fun working on a tactile, interactive book.

Me: I adore this board book helping the youngest of readers learn to manage their emotions! What gave you the idea for this book?

Julie: This book was inspired by my work as a school counselor and preschool teacher. Supporting the big feelings of young children is such an important part of my job, and I love helping my students learn tools and skills that will hopefully benefit them for the rest of their lives. I often do breathing exercises with my students. It’s so simple and impactful! These experiences led to my idea to create a tactile book of breathing exercises that children can use independently or with someone else.

Me: You are both author and illustrator of this book. Can you talk a little bit about your illustrations? Are you a traditional or digital illustrator (or a blend of both)? How did you create this book?

Julie: I create my illustrations digitally, mostly using digital gouache and colored pencil. For this book, I wanted to use a lot of bold shapes and bright colors to catch the attention of young children. Because of the format with the cutouts, the illustrations are done in several layers. I also got to hand-draw all the textures in the book, which was a very cool process.

Me: I love all of the emotions and shapes you picked. For a concept book like this, did you have to do some paper engineering to help design it? Was your dummy tactile?

Julie: My original dummy was not tactile, but in my submission, I explained that I envisioned grooves for tracing as well as textures. Meredith and Melissa, my editor and art director at Abrams, saw the vision right away! We did a few prototypes with the printer before landing on the current set-up. I’m so thankful for their expertise and willingness to try a few things before landing on the perfect solution. The art was done in layers, so that each layer of the book was printed separately and then stacked and glued together.

Me: Just like myself, you are an educator who has worked with young children. Why was this a book you wanted to share with young readers?

Julie: Breathe A Rainbow is so exciting to me, because I feel like it can be used in so many different ways; in the classroom, at home, on the go, anywhere there are big emotions! Kids can use the book independently, or with a caregiver or parent. It’s perfect for calm corners in classrooms or to pop in your bag to pull out as needed for those hard moments. I knew that children would come to the book with lots of different kinds of emotions, and it was important to me to cover as many as I could. I’m excited for children to come to the book and find their feelings there.  

Me: What is one thing that surprised you in creating this book?

Julie: One thing that surprised me is how much I need this book for myself! I have a copy sitting on my desk, and I find myself reaching for it often. It’s such a great thing to pull out when I’m having a hard time. Taking a deep breath always helps me reset my emotions, and the cute faces of the characters make me smile. 

Me: Do you have any advice for new or aspiring picture book writers?

Julie: My biggest piece of advice is to take time to play. Write and draw lots of things no matter how weird, silly, or wrong they seem. Give yourself space to relax into your creativity. I find that that’s where the best ideas are found! Also, join a critique group. Having a group of people to give you feedback and encourage you when things aren’t going well is so wonderful. I’m so, so thankful for my critique partners and how they have helped me at every stage of making books.

That is excellent advice Julie. Thank you so much for stopping by my blog today.

Dear readers, this book actually published last month. If you haven’t yet seen it, trust me when I say that you won’t want to miss it. It’s an incredible tool for so many young readers to use (and maybe the adults along with them too!).