When a shy, artistic girl finds community members renovating her favorite hideaway, does she pitch in to help or hide behind her reserve?

Roni Schotter has visited my blog before. She is the award-winning author of some thirty books for children, ranging from picture books to young adult novels. Her books are concerned with the power of imagination and the courage of children who think for themselves and “dare to reach out to the larger world.” Roni Schotter lives in a small village north of New York City with her husband. You can learn more about her at her website or follow her on Instagram or Facebook.

BIBI STEPS OUT! is a picture book all about a quiet girl who has a hard time connecting with others due to her shyness. She loves to retreat to her favorite hideout, an abandoned railway, and draw. But one day as she heads out, she sees others from her community that she knows and recognizes pitching in to help renovate her beloved spot. They call to her and ask her to help. She has a choice: remain hidden and quiet, or help fix something she loves. The culmination of the whole story is beautifully written and the collage art work is gorgeous. This is a hidden gem of a “quiet” picture book.

Welcome back Roni!

Me: I love the idea of someone who is painfully shy learning to step up for what she loves. What gave you the idea for this book?

Roni: Though fiction, BIBI STEPS OUT! is based in reality. I started writing the story long ago–during the pandemic. Like so many people, my husband and I had started taking daily walks to get out and about–and stay sane! At times, we chose to walk along an old, abandoned rail trail that ran between a littered stream and a noisy highway. Because of its condition, no one much used it. But then, one day, mysteriously, whimsical birdhouses started to appear attached to some of the trees. Emotional creature that I am, I was teary with excitement and gratitude. WHO was responsible for this wonderment?

Incredibly, quite a bit later, I discovered that none-other-than my next-door neighbor had created them! Soon, little-by-little, the trail was cleaner. Plants were planted. The river soon had small decorative wooden sea birds & boats, and the litter was cleaned up. Benches appeared! A consortium of people and environmental organizations were at work. This was a miracle–one made by men and women joining together. The story began on one of my walks on the newly-beautified rail trail, and, when the idea came to me, once again–emotional creature that I am–I was teary with excitement!

Me: Bibi feels SO real. She is so well developed and three-dimensional. Was she based on anyone you know? What made you pick her for the main character of this story? 

Roni: Though most people can’t tell, I am quite shy. Thus, it was easy to create the character of Bibi.  Like Bibi, I am not “a joiner.” I guess that is often the nature of writers. Many of us are loners, so “stepping out” and joining in, as Bibi does, is a challenge—at least, for me! I am definitely not brave. 

My mother was an artist, one of my sisters is an artist, and I am what I call “a talented amateur” who, on occasion, likes to draw for relaxation. So, the character of Bibi is definitely a stand-in for me—as is the case in ALL of my books. At times, I am a little girl who dreams of dragons and flying (see my book DRAGON DREAMS). At times, I am a woman who loves words (see my book THE BOY WHO LOVED WORDS). I’ve even felt like an ever-hungry French pig (see my book THAT EXTRAORDINARY PIG OF PARIS)

Me: The opening of your story took my breath away. It was such a beautiful comparison:

“So, one by one, like butterflies, the people of Longview Lane crept quietly out of their chrysalises and showed their many colors—for the first time in what felt like forever.”

While the butterfly image isn’t repeated in your text anywhere else, I can see how you allowed each character to blossom and gain wings by the end of the story as they really thrived in a common goal. It’s subtle, but this stunning analogy for human nature is right there, embedded in the story. Was that always part of your intention? Were you thinking of that end goal when you crafted that opening line?

Roni: Well, thank you so much for your truly marvelous and poetic compliment! I love lovely language and poetry and strive for both in all of my many books—believing it extremely important for children’s first books to be ones that expose them to the beauty of well-chosen words. In truth, that opening line came later in the process of writing the book. I rewrite my books many, many times and that opening sentence came late in the game. 

That said, from the outset, I intended to show each of the neighbors emerging and ultimately coming together as a community–to create something wonderful together. At the start of the story, they are a bit atomized—each busy with his or her own “thing.” The idea that they are, each of them, beautiful butterflies emerging and displaying their individual colors was one I loved discovering as I found my way through the story. ALSO, I always intended the people of the street (Longview Lane) to be a diverse group—in color and origin and even religion. 

Me: I love that people in this community know Bibi and think of her as an artist, even if she might not think of herself that way. In a similar way, the little bits of personalities you wove throughout the story for many different characters that become useful in the end is quite frankly astonishing. Were all these little hints about people in this community always there in your story from the first draft? How many revisions did it take to get to this finished state?

Roni: No, most of them were NOT immediately in my mind or in the story, and most of them were not in the first draft. Only a few of them were—Imani, the fellow artist, and Berto and his Dad–the skateboard builders. Inspired as I was by the transformation of an actual rail trail, I imagined that it was a walkable distance from my own street, even though it isn’t. I wanted to make the characters in my story diverse. As I thought about some of my neighbors, I realized there was actual diversity on my street! I have Taiwanese/American neighbors, African/American neighbors, an Islamic neighbor, a Brazilian/American neighbor, Jewish/American neighbors, etc. etc. One of them—the Brazilian/American neighbor is the one who, in actuality, built–with the help of his son–skateboard ramps, as in the story. For other neighbors whose names have been changed “to protect the innocent,” I “fudged things,” and gave them attributes that aren’t totally true. As I wrote the story and yes, REWROTE the story innumerable times, I found ways in which each neighbor’s talent or passion could blossom into something they could use to improve the rail trail. How many times did I rewrite?? NO idea. I’ve always said, “I am an okay writer, but a really good rewriter.” I rewrite uncountable times—and each time I do, hopefully, the story and writing improve. 

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

Roni: I think it was the acorn.  I was trying to figure out how a shy, reluctant-to-speak-with-the-neighbors child could make her way down the street past everyone without looking up, but without being rude. That’s when the acorn came to me! I love kicking acorns ahead of me when I find them and seeing how far they go (can you tell that inside I am still a child?). Suddenly, there was my solution:  Bibi, eyes down, would kick the acorn ahead of her and follow it to the Rail Trail, thereby avoiding the necessity of interacting with her neighbors, again, because she is shy!

Me: The illustrations by Christy Hale are pitch perfect. They are full of patterns and textures, while somehow remaining soft. Brilliant! Were there any illustration surprises for you?  Any favorites?

Roni: Christy is an extraordinary artist!  It was an overwhelming thrill when she said she wanted to illustrate my book. I think the biggest surprise is how much the character of Mr. Fogelman who builds the birdhouses resembles the inspiration for the story—the man who built and designed the birdhouses that line the South County Trail. It’s almost as if she met the real man (Steve Pucillo, acknowledged in the Endnote of the book). I decided to name my character Mr. Fogelman, because Fogel means Bird!

The other surprise is her drawing of Itzhak, the dog of one of the neighbors, Bluma Hirsch. Itzhak looks very much like a short-legged version of my beloved grand-dog, Barnacle, who recently passed, sigh.  What a treat and surprise to see him pictured in the book! I’m guessing Christy saw my website and viewed the photo of me holding Barnacle.

Me: I love the concept of Tikkun Olam, repairing our imperfect world. Why is that important to you? Why did you want to write about it for young readers?

Roni: We are currently living in not-the-best of worlds, so the idea of a shy girl and her neighbors joining together to repair a broken rail trail and transform it into a place of peace, beauty, and common pleasurable activity for all felt timely to me. It seemed appropriate to celebrate the concept Tikkun Olam-–an important and noble Jewish ideal and goal—a message my mother, long ago, imparted to me using different words. My hope is that children, their grownups, and I (!) may be inspired by Bibi’s story to work, in whatever small way we can, to improve and repair our wounded world.  Love and community are the answer.

I love that! Thank you so much for stopping by my blog again today Roni.

Dear readers, this book just published last week. If you haven’t had a chance to read it yet, I highly recommend it. It’s a beautiful building up of character, community, and a call to action all wrapped up in one. Trust me when I say, you won’t want to miss it!