Q&A With Jennifer Gray Olson

Jennifer Gray Olsen is the author and illustrator of her children’s books Ninja Bunny, Ninja Bunny: Sister vs Brother, Me & Mr. Fluffernutter, A Little Space For Me & the upcoming Party Pooper! 

Q: Jennifer, would you like to give a brief description of each of your books beginning with your upcoming release Party Pooper?

A: PARTY POOPER

A hilarious, yet tender and sincere picture book about making mistakes, owning up to them, and asking forgiveness.

Every party has a pooper. You may not have wanted one. You certainly did not invite one. But, inevitably, every party will have one. So what should you do?

Maybe you can be interested in pooper in a game? Hopefully the pooper doesn’t lay down in defeat in the middle of your Twister mat… oh, there he goes. Directly on the blue dot you needed.

Perhaps you can entice the pooper with a delicious, scrumptious cake? Unless the pooper sticks his booger-y fingers directly into the layer you were most excited to eat… sigh.

Oh, I know what to do! Let’s. Party. HARDER.

Until… things get taken too far. Then it might be time to take a step back and do the hardest thing of all: apologize.

In Party Pooper, Jennifer Gray Olson tackles complex SEL themes with expertise, grace, and laugh-out-loud humor. It’s a thoughtful, yet entertaining examination that has equal empathy for the party goers and, of course, the party pooper.

NINJA BUNNY:

A fresh, funny, and hip picture book about a little bunny who wants to be . . . a ninja!

 How to be a SUPER AWESOME NINJA:

· Rule #1. You must always work alone.

· Rule #2. You must be super sneaky, especially in the most dangerous of situations.

· Rule #3. A super awesome ninja must: possess incredible strength, achieve invisibility, master the skill of climbing, gain the ability to fly. . . .

Our little bunny is ready to embark on his path to becoming a ninja. But is he cut out for the ninja life? Especially if it means leaving his friends behind.

NINJA BUNNY SISTER VS BROTHER:

A hilarious new Ninja Bunny adventure featuring a humongous carrot, sibling rivalry, and a pair of ninjas who make a super awesome team.

 Ninja Bunny has faced incredible danger! He has demonstrated all the skills of a super awesome ninja: impressive strength, amazing bravery, extreme sneakiness!

 But when he embarks on a new mission to find the Golden Carrot of Awesomeness, he meets his biggest challenge yet—his annoying little sister! She insists on tagging along, and she insists that she is a ninja bunny, too. Not possible. Will she ruin Ninja Bunny’s chance at finding the world’s largest carrot? Or might she possess a few ninja skills of her own?

 ME AND MR. FLUFFERNUTTER:

A little girl and her cat, Mr. Fluffernutter, are best friends. They do everything together, all the time. But what happens when Mia wants to have a tea party, and play dress-up, and go for a swim? And when Mr. Fluffernutter prefers to stare at the fishbowl? And stare at the fishbowl some more. . .. Can these two be so different—and still be best friends?

Here are two new characters to fall in love with—and a celebration of differences, compromise, and friendship.

A LITTLE SPACE FOR ME:

With clever, inventive art and universally relatable themes, A Little Space for Me by Jennifer Gray Olson is a heartwarming picture book about the importance of mindfulness, understanding, and finding a moment of peace within a big, busy world.

Sometimes, when it’s too loud, too crowded, too messy, too smelly, or for no reason at all, you might just need a little bit of space to feel like yourself again.

Q: What made you want to be a children’s author and illustrator? Where do your ideas come from for your children’s books & how long have you been writing and illustrating for?

A: I love creating engaging characters and the worlds in which they live. All of my books usually start out as a character that represents something I’m feeling at the time and then if I really connect with the character, I’ll start fleshing out that character’s story and motivations. I’ve been Illustrating for 17 years and my first book that I both wrote and illustrated was released in 2015.

Q: What lessons & emotions do you hope children learn and feel after reading your books?

A: I hope that all my books can be either a mirror or a window for the children reading them. I want them to be able to see themself in the character or help them to understand and relate to someone that is different from themselves. Picture books are a great vehicle for understanding yourself and for connecting with the world. 

Q: For anyone wanting to write children’s books and/or become an illustrator, what advice would you give these people? 

A: Engage in the illustrating/writing community as much as possible. Try and join a critique group and if you can’t find one, start one. The relationships and connections I’ve made through SCBWI (Society of Childrens Book Writers and Illustrators) throughout my journey have made all the difference in the world. 

Q: I enjoy asking children’s authors this question, because I think it is sad that children and young adults are addicted to their phones. What is your advice for parents who want their children to read more books and spend less time on their electronic devices? 

A: Yeah, that’s a tough one. I have 5 kids myself (4 are grown now) so I know that the struggle is real. When they were younger, I found that asking them to read picture books or chapters of larger books out loud to me as their audience seemed to help them get more engaged. As they got older, I encouraged them to read whatever interested them and in whatever medium they preferred, if they were reading. That freedom seemed to get them more excited about reading generally. All of them still regularly read a lot of Manga, Manhwa and graphic novels.

Q: Are you currently writing another book right now? 

A: I’ve currently got three books that I’m trying to work out the kinks on. Hopefully one of them will be the next one that I take out on submission.