It’s time to celebrate some Summerween by counting cute and quirky goblins, mummies, and ghosties too!

Dee Leone is the author of several picture books, 20 reproducible books for the educational market, and more than 200 stories, plays, poems, song lyrics, word puzzles, and articles. Like her other works, Counting Creatures and Their Features can be counted on to entertain readers and listeners. Dee tutored college math and enjoyed teaching the subject to her elementary students. She has two adult children and lives in California with her husband and rescue pup. You can learn more about her at her website or follow her on Instagram.

COUNTING CREATURES AND THEIR FEATURES is a Little Golden Book published by Penguin Random House. While it may be a new addition, it has the feel of one of the older books in the collection. Here cute little monsters run around a setting full of things young readers can count. The illustrations capitalize on the rhyming rhythm in the best possible ways, with all the classic monsters participating. You can view the book trailer here.

Welcome Dee!

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?

Dee: As a teacher, I wrote articles for educational magazines. One editor asked me to turn an A-Z poem I’d written into an entire reproducible book with three pages of activities dedicated to each verse. She and her colleagues liked what I’d created and continued to assign me projects., so that was the start of my writing journey.

When the publisher was bought out years ago, I decided to try something different and turned my attention to picture books. With connections through SCBWI events, I was able to secure offers on three previous picture books as well as Counting Creatures and Their Features.

Me: I love all of the creative ways you included here to have young readers counting. What gave you the idea for this story?

Dee: For some unknown reason, the “Six Little Ducks” song was stuck in my head around Halloween and I decided to change the words to a similar tune except with cute, creepy creatures.

Also, I taught myself to count in several languages when I was a kid because I thought I was going to be an interpreter at the United Nations. So, from time to time, I practice counting in those languages (admittedly probably mispronouncing most of the words), and had numbers running through my mind. It would be wonderful if this book could be published in the countries where those languages are spoken. So far, we know that the publisher’s Spain division is going to pick it up.

Me: Wow! How fun! Your text is deceptively simple as it flows from page to page with such skillful rhyme. Did it undergo a ton of revisions to get to its finished state? Or was this story a gift from the muse that was good from the first draft?

Dee: I originally wrote the book as a 32-page picture book with trick-or-treaters involved and the numbers 1-13 in order. When the opportunity came up to pitch to a Little Golden Book editor, I had to rethink the book length because those books are only 24 pages long.

In addition to shortening the book and taking out Halloween references so the book could be used all year, I also came up with a surprise ending that I thought was much better than my original one.

When the editor for Little Golden Books decided to acquire my manuscript, she thought that instead of being just another book of numbers, it would be more fun for readers and listeners to use their observational skills to search for items to count in no specific order. So, we changed a few words of the text accordingly.

Me: Can you talk about how you came to write a Little Golden Book? Did the publisher approach you to write a story with a bunch of classic monsters? Or did you pitch the idea to them?

Dee: I’m a member of SCBWI (The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators). Members sometimes have the opportunity to submit a manuscript to publishing houses that don’t normally look at unsolicited manuscripts from authors. After a presentation by the editor of Little Golden Books, I was able to send her Counting Creatures and Their Features and she loved it.

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

Dee: I think what surprised me the most was that I thought the original ending didn’t have enough punch, so I set the manuscript aside for quite a while. Then, when the Little Golden Book opportunity presented itself, the new ending came to me surprisingly quickly. I guess it just took a little time to brew. There are little witches in the book, so maybe they worked their magic.

Me: The illustrations by Kelly Kennedy are pitch perfect! They are a wonderful mishmash of details to match your text while also adding his own spin. There is such personality in every character! Were there any illustration surprises for you? Any favorites?

Dee: I love all of Kelly Kennedy’s illustrations! I’m partial to dragons, so the castle spread is one of my favorites and the werewolf scene in the woods is so atmospheric. I think all the creatures are absolutely adorable and I was so pleased and excited when I saw the PDF for the book. As far as surprises, I never imagined that the mummy scene would have a pink and purple palette, but it’s incredibly bright and appealing. The book is filled with such a wonderful variety of artistic scenes and characters.

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

Dee: Read lots and lots of picture books and try to write something that you think will appeal to both children and the adults who purchase the books. Join a critique group for feedback and a writer’s organization such as SCBWI.

Keep the text short. Typically, the recommendation is now under 500-700 words for a fictional story (depending on the publisher) and not much more than that for nonfiction.

Most importantly, when something isn’t working, set it aside and start something new. Keep a list of story ideas. At some point, inspiration will come when you least expect it. Continue to work on your dreams and never give up hope!

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

Dear readers, this book publishes tomorrow! Keep an eye out for it. Between the rhyming text and the wonderful illustrations it’s sure to be a hit!