Have you ever met a Highland Cow? Well I bet you haven’t met one like Harlow!
Brooke Hartman has visited my blog several times before. She is the award-winning author of numerous picture books, including The Littlest Airplane, Dream Flights on Arctic Nights, and Klyde the Kraken Wants a Friend. She lives in Chugiak, Alaska, where the dramatic landscapes of mountains and sea inspire her stories. You can learn more about her at her website, or follow her on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook.
HARLOW THE HIGHLAND COW DOESN’T KNOW HOW TO MOO is a picture book all about the fantastic Harlow. She is so fabulous she can do anything. BUT you know what she can’t do? Of course you do, if you read the title. She can’t moo! Though she certainly tries with hilarious results. This is a funny rhyming text with wonderful illustrations that will surely delight young readers (especially if they’re fans of those hairy cows).
Welcome back Brooke!
Me: I love Harlow. She’s downright fantastic! What gave you the idea for this story?
Brooke: This book was actually my first ever IP project, initiated through Harper Collins. The editor, Luana Horry, said she wanted a story about a Highland Cow who couldn’t moo and… well, that’s basically all she gave me. I knew I couldn’t turn down a project about a highland cow (and my cow-loving daughter would kill me if I did). Surprisingly, the frame story and rhyme came pretty easily, and I had a blast writing it.
Me: After so many other stories set in Alaska, why a story about a Highland cow? The Scottish Highlands seem so far away!
Brooke: Honestly without the publisher’s prodding I would have never thought of writing this story. But I loved the idea of Harlow the highland cow so much, and the story I came up with jived well with the editor’s concept. Plus I love writing anything about (related to, under, on, or adjacent to) animals, so that part was easy!
Me: I laughed at the variety of sounds that you included for Harlow to try out. Were there any animal sounds that didn’t make it into the story? Why did frogs make it into the mix?
Brooke: Good question! No idea how the frogs made it in there, but I’d been on a handful of farms with ponds (and frogs) and thought “ribbit” would be great onomatopoeia to play with. I hope kids like it too!
Me: I have to admit, I was expecting a not-so-subtle lesson on acceptance and was glad when it wasn’t included. Was that a part of the story before? Or did you wisely never include it? How many revisions did this story undergo to get to its final funny state?
Brooke: Oh, that’s great that you enjoyed the storyline! It drives me nuts when kids’ books have a message pounded and hammered into them. While I do think most books should have some sort of underlying theme, no one likes to be talked down to. Actually, this book only went through two, maybe three revisions total between my critique group and the editor before it passed muster. I knew I didn’t want Harlow to just do what the narrator kept insisting, because that would just be boring. But I did want some sort of twist ending and I think this one fits!
Me: Can you talk a little bit about how your book came to be at Harper Collins? Did you only submit the story to them? Or did you shop it around and they were your first yes?
Brooke: My agent actually submitted another project to Harper Collins a few months prior, though the editor didn’t accept it. But somewhere in the submissions process, Luana must have reviewed my previous books (that are all crammed full of animals, rhymes, and rhyming animals) and thought I might be a good fit to pitch this project to. She was right!
Me: The illustrations by Nancy Leschnikoff remind me of a classic illustration style a-la-Richard Scarry or a classic Golden book. They’re brightly colored and playful in the best possible ways. Were there any surprises for you? Any favorites?
Brooke: Aren’t the illustrations FABULOUS? I hadn’t thought about Richard Scarry but now that you mention it, you’re so right. I love that classic, watercolor style that holds a sense of whimsy. You can almost feel the texture of the brush strokes, like classic Little Golden Book illustrations or even Peggy Rathmann’s Goodnight Gorilla. Agh, now I’m getting sentimental. But as for surprises, here’s the biggest surprise—Nancy had these illustrations complete within a couple months! You read that right. I couldn’t believe how fast she had them finished from sketch to color, and with such quality. True talent like that is hard to find.
Me: That’s amazing! What is one thing that surprised you in writing this story?
Brooke: How quickly this book came together! This was probably my fastest project yet. Luana wanted the first draft within a month of giving me the frame story. At first I thought that was inconceivable, but I actually had a first draft whipped up a couple weeks later and the final manuscript was accepted before the deadline. Then Nancy came in with her illustration magic and BAM the book was done! In fact I just looked back at my email timeline and this project was first initiated in September of last year. Here we are a year later with a complete book. The publishing industry gets a bad rep for moving at a snail’s pace, but this just proves it can move quickly when it wants to!
Wow! That is surprising! Thank you for stopping by my blog again today Brooke.
Dear readers, this book publishes next month. Keep an eye out for it, especially if you like books with a classic feel. Trust me when I say, you won’t want to miss this one!