Author Spotlight: Jen Anyong
- Brian Gehrlein
- Jul 30
- 6 min read
Updated: Aug 6
Happy Thursday and welcome to Picture Book Spotlight!
Today we have a picture book debut to spotlight, and I'm so pumped to feature author Jen Anyong! This is such a fun story, and Kaly absolutely killed the artwork. Congrats to the Harper team on this Halloween hit!
For many folks, the summer heat creates a longing for fall. For something chilly and spooky. For me, after the last fireworks of July 4th, I wake up ready for autumn. Does anybody else feel that way? My social media algorithm knows it too. All I'm seeing are reels of fall in Vermont and other random cozy, autumnal content. If that's where you're at mentally, this post and Jen & Kaly's book is for YOU!
There's a mention of Gatsby in our interview, and every September I think about this Fitzgerald quote:
“Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall.”
Indeed it does. The back-to-school season also kicks off renewed book buzz for Dennis and The Book of Rules. It's always so much fun seeing new people discover the book and hearing about how students avoid being eaten to playfully kick things off in new classrooms. Here's to Dennis helping you manage your classroom! 😈
I think this fall will also lead some readers to discover a certain owl and sleepy bear as well...
Before I get fully sucked into high school English teacher mode in a few weeks, I'm excited to finish our sweet summer and savor every drop. For our family, it's been the summer of baby Juliet. She's absolutely perfect! Author mode is still in full force, and I've grown so much since starting my partnership with Jen Rofé. Picture books are being written, read, critiqued, and sold--can't wait to share more!
I hope this interview gets you jazzed for this upcoming season and inspires you to keep up the great writing you're doing.
FYI, Jen has a really ghoulish giveaway at the end of this post that is for our teacher friends only, so be sure to check it out!
Without further ado...here's another Spotlight.
And here's Jen!
Give us the inside scoop and story behind the story: how did this book begin?
This book actually began when the HarperCollins team fell in love with a different story... a Turkey/Thanksgiving book my agent submitted Thanksgiving week of 2024. By March of 2025, we received an offer praising the Turkey story, and apparently, they were so inspired that they decided to create an entire holiday series, now titled the Who Saved the Holidays series.
But the kicker was... They wanted a Ghost/Halloween book to come FIRST. So, at the time of accepting their offer, I had NOT YET written my debut picture book! Crazy!
The day the deal came in, I couldn’t help but start thinking about what made the Turkey story so special. So I began with those elements, and the writing just unfolded very naturally. Before two weeks passed, the requested Ghost/Halloween story went from ethereal non-existence to happily haunting the page—and so became The Ghost Who Saved Halloween!
What’s something you hope readers notice about this book?
I hope they notice its potential for educational application. I feel so strongly about this that I wrote a guest post on the School Library Journal’s Fuse#8 Blog AND I hired Stephanie Fitzpatrick of The Booklinks LLC as an educational consultant to develop a Classroom Companion for Ghost.
The book and its resources are so rich with content – I want teachers and librarians everywhere to add The Ghost Who Saved Halloween to their Fall lesson plans!
What’s something that matters to you in terms of the meaning kids and grownups take away from reading your book?
I want my audience (both bigs and littles) to walk away knowing that when they practice their passions with persistence and determination and don’t give up, they can achieve anything they set their minds to! And, when a mistake or misstep happens along the way (and it probably will), making things right can turn things bright again.
Let's take a closer look at your words and Kaly’s artwork. What's your favorite line and artistic feature, and why?
Oh, that’s tough! Upon reflection, I really LOVE the lines and big spread where Ghost prevails, near the end of the book.
The children’s gaze, more than gleaming.
“Forget the candy!” – words redeeming.
Lamp-lights blaze, boldly streaming.
“Electrifying!” I prevail!
It’s so bright and fun and represents the joy of Halloween so perfectly. It’s everything I imagined it would be, and more – plus it gives me all of the warm fuzzy feelings!
What's your favorite whole spread and why?
I think both Kaly and I agree that the second spread of the story is our favorite! It has SO MUCH fun going on and so many interesting details. And, I think it’s a page that kids will want to linger on while cuddled up with their grownup.
We see Ghost napping, but he’s interrupted by the rap rap rapping at his chamber door. Next, we follow him down the stairs and into his entryway where he peers through his peephole to discover trick-or-treaters!?!
The spread is just a wealth of delightful things to look upon! PLUS a fun side note: THE TURKEY WHO SAVED THANKSGIVING (coming next fall) has a similar, action and detail-packed spread that is also AMAZING, so I think it’s going to be a fun thing to look forward to throughout the series!
What's something you learned or discovered while making the book?
After writing this story, it finally hit me just how significant an impact classic literature has had on my creative psyche. It’s funny that I never noticed it before—when now it seems so obvious!
Brian, you might remember a manuscript I sent to you for critique once, full of nods to The Great Gatsby. I fondly remember getting on that Zoom call for our 1:1 and there you were, in perfect Gatsby character! LOL!
But I didn’t just fall in love with the classics due to my studious nature – NO. It was ALL my teachers. I look back and realize just how hard they worked and the amount of passion they infused into their lessons. Comprehension was challenging for my adolescent brain, but regardless, the long-term impact is so powerful that now I can’t help but diffuse this passion into my own work!
Here’s to hoping that readers of The Ghost Who Saved Halloween return to the book over and over again and do so with a grin and a twinkle in their eye.
What message or advice do you have for one of the characters?
I’d encourage Spider to keep on being the hero that he truly is! In terms of a sidekick, Ghost has a real champion in Spider. Though he doesn’t get the spotlight or top billing, Spider is a big helper in every scene – whether through his empathy or his active role in saving Halloween! Keep up the good work, Spider, you are seen and valued!
The Final Word: What would you like to leave in our minds to consider or further reflect on today?
Whatever you do, please do not underestimate this book. I know that on the surface it seems like a cute little Halloween book, but I’m here to tell you, it could be so much more!
It could become a Halloween core memory for you and your family, and potentially, in time, the foundation for greater literacy and comprehension!
If that sort of subject interests you, I highly recommend you read more about it on my guest blog post for the School Library Journal’s Fuse#8 Blog.
Thanks, Jen! This was so much fun to get officially into the spooky season and anticipate the cooling of fall. 🎃
Jen has a really fun giveaway that is for our teacher friends only. If you're a teacher of little ghouls (Pre-K-Secondary), this giveaway is for you! Three winners will be selected (raffled) from our giveaway participant pool. See details below on how to enter the giveaway and earn additional entries!
The winners will receive: a hot ghoul summer tote bag, notepads, and bookmarks! (see photos below).
Thanks for reading and entering Jen's giveaway! Be sure to get a copy of The Ghost Who Saved Halloween however you can. Boo!
TO ENTER THE TEACHER GIVEAWAY:
This giveaway is for current teachers ONLY
if that's YOU, please enter!
For additional entries...
Share this post on social media with #PBSpotlight hashtag
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***The deadline for this contest is Thursday, August 6th at 9 AM CST
Winners will be contacted on Thursday, August 6th & announced on social media***
About Jen
Jen has dreamed up stories of sorts since elementary school but fell in love with picture books while teaching at her daughter’s preschool. As she read aloud to the children ― their faces beaming with wonder ― Jen just knew she needed to write picture books! Most of her stories are inspired by her family. Between her mischievous dog, clever daughter, and humorous husband, you’ll find them laughing together, work-shopping all of the silliness that makes picture book magic. Connect with Jen
About Brian
Brian is not a ghost and has never saved Halloween. But he did write a ghost book this summer. It's currently incubating in the crock pot. He should probably go revise it so he can have a spooky little book of his own...boo!
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