Meet This is Not a Sleepy Bear Book

This post is so long overdue that it's almost hilarious. Wait, Brian... didn't your book come out like six months ago?!

Yepp. Straight up. Six months to the DAY, in fact.

And it's doing really well! We got our royalty statement for presales through December, and it was a truly solid start. I know when the fall rolls around again, and things start crisping up, and the trees begin whispering of winter, we'll see an increased buzz for Owl and Bear as seasonally-associated picture books are known to do--I always see a renewed interest in The Book of Rules, July-September, as teachers and librarians strongly associate it with the back-to-school season.

A lot of life happened in the interim from pub day in these last six months. There were book events. School visits. Sleepy Bear Christmas presents. A daughter born. An agent representation change. New books written. And a lot of artistic growth, which I'm eager to write about later on.

As for blog content coming up, I've got another Agent Spotlight lined up to share soon, as well as an Author Spotlight for a debut picture book with my friend Donna Marx. I have some other posts I've been meaning to share and topics I'm hoping to explore related to creativity, publishing, what I've been reading, and picture books in general. Stay tuned!

As the school year dwindles (summer is nigh!), I also wanted to share that I am currently taking on critique work. If you've got a manuscript that needs a critique (either written-only or a Zoom critique) or want to pick my brain about publishing in an author consultation, I'm open for business and would love to be part of your story!

Back to Sleepy Bear. I did this same interview-style format with The Book of Rules back in 2021, and I really liked getting to hear from both the editor and illustrator on that one. It was nice to get us "together" and see what we all shared from a common list of questions. It felt like we were on the same team, which, of course, we were! I might have to make this kind of post a tradition with each new book because it's really fun. Following that format, this post features editor Andrea Spooner from Little, Brown Books for Young Readers and illustrator Jenn Harney.

For my friends pursuing publication or agent representation, I think it's particularly valuable to get an inside scoop from an editor, especially an editor of Andrea Spooner's caliber. You're sure to be entertained by Jenn's commentary and perspective as well--she is truly a hoot and a half to work with, and I'm so glad to share this book with her!

As a thank you for reading this post, I am doing a giveaway at the end of the interview--a signed edition of my LAST AUTHOR COPY! Yes, you can win a signed, personalized copy and forever brag that you got the very last of my 30 author copies. Be sure to check out the details on how to enter the giveaway at the end of the post.

Thank you all so much for helping support Jenn and I, for buying or recommending this book, being part of our Sleepy Bear Advance Reader Team, and for your continued readership of my silly content about picture books over the years.

Enjoy our collective thoughts on This is Not a Sleepy Bear Book!

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What were your first impressions of the book?

Andrea: Normally, I’d have to brush a few cobwebs from my brain since my first impression dates waaaay back to 2021 when the original draft was submitted, but this one is easy to remember! I love a book that turns convention on its head, and this text was doing it with every other page turn. I love absurdity, but I also feel like it needs to be carefully employed to maximize the impact. I could immediately see there was an author here who really knew how to pull the strings of the narrative, consciously playing with pacing, page turns, and visual/verbal dynamics—and relishing every minute of it. That’s what made it stand out from the pack. But if you’re asking about my first impression of the finished copy of the book, I would say it was something like, Dude, this sure is NOT another “sleepy bear” book! It’s highly, highly caffeinated! And I can’t wait for kids to catch the BUZZ!

Jenn: My first impression of the book was a bear and an owl AND a “There’s a Monster at the End of this Book” vibe? I was in. I wanted to draw both of them instantly. And if I want to draw something instantly that’s usually the best sign ever.

My second impression of the book is actually A LOT more interesting. I read the manuscript completely wrong. COMPLETELY WRONG. I thought Bear was angry. I thought Bear was grouchy. I honestly thought to myself "Why did we need an owl to tell the story?…the narrator could be unseen. We already had one grouchy character we didn’t need two." (Brian has the original sketches with both grouchy Owl and Bear) 

TOTAL MISREAD. Thank goodness for Andrea and the team! We had a meeting after I sent the first character designs and they got me back on track. A total A-HA moment. In my notes from that meeting in BIG BOLD letters I wrote BEAR IS MUFFIN!! Bear is Muffin from Bluey. Owl is Chili trying to get her to bed. Once I saw that Bear was the kid and that Owl was the gentle parenting parent trying to put that kid to bed without ANY success it all clicked. Bear was redrawn with absolutely not one ounce of tired or grouchy into the Bear you see now. Owl got to personify the very grouchiness they were trying to avoid in Bear.

Brian: This is a hard question to answer because there are different things I could talk about. First of all, what do I mean by "book?" My first impression of my initial idea of this book as a concept? My first impression of a first attempt at a complete draft? My first attempt at a revision of the book from agent feedback? From editorial feedback? From when I first saw Jenn's dummy? From the finished digital version? From when I held the finished product in my hands for the first time? WHAT DO I MEAN?! I suppose I could just choose...I choose finished book held in my hands for the first time. That's the most emotional of the firsts for me. Thinking back to the unboxing video I did with our second son, Albee (which was hilarious when he realized it wasn't an iPad and was just a bunch of copies of the same book), I remember feeling giddy. In awe. For many authors, this is the moment it actually starts to feel "real." But the book had been written long before. And nothing is new in a sense because I had seen the artwork and cover development over the previous year. But it's like all that goes out the window and you are holding the very thing that will be in kids' hands and on their shelves and lovingly tossed onto their floor. It's real. It's a book. And I wrote it. Holy crap! I truly hope the wonder and surrealness of being a published author won't ever go away. I become a little kid again. It's like discovering the thing for the first time. Like getting to know it in a new way. That's the first impression. Just joy.

What is your favorite line and artistic feature, and why?

Andrea: I’m sure I’m not surprising you or anyone else with this, but my favorite line’s got to be “A random jazz flute”! Kids may not even know what a jazz flute is, but it just sounds funny. And I do appreciate how you play with words that sound fun: hullaballo, shenanigans, bumbleberry, and of course, the soon-to-be-legendary “cozy catastrophe”. Just don’t tell anyone that I queried whether or not that phrase made sense in the editorial process. That will just make me look bad. (Oh, right! I’m being interviewed for a public-facing blog. Oh well. Like Owl, I can be a little slow to catch on—but also like Owl, I do come around eventually…)

Favorite artistic feature? I’m two-for-two in terms of predictability here, but THE POST-IT NOTE! It resonates with me, as someone who often finds random things sticking to me—and who still uses Post-It notes religiously, not having succumbed to the lure of using a phone for reminders. That’s just one of many examples of Jenn Harney’s comedic genius.

Jenn: And probably against fire code…” That line makes me laugh out loud every time I read it. It’s such an over the head of the kids and quintessential Owl thing to say. Hilarious. I love a line that’s put in there strictly for parents to laugh at.

There is one rabbit in the disco scene just totally into the music with their eyes closed. Not dancing. Just vibing. They make me laugh too.

Brian: I love this question so much. Okay, so my favorite line is probably "blah, blah, blah, cranky—YAWN!" I love it because it is the logical endpoint of the devolution of language that Owl has been taking us down. We started so well with all this seasonally appropriate, flowery imagery and full sentences. And this sequence of content that was repeated as the primary structure for Owl's narration (seasonal imagery, time for a long winter's nap, a comment about crankiness, Bear yawning). It gets worse and worse until it gets to this line. When you compare the glowing description from the beginning and reduce it down to "blah, blah, blah" you can't help but smile. It feels so mischievous, like one of those moments where I go, "they actually let me get away with that in a picture book? AWESOME!" (see also: "Applesaucier") It's a pure example of me just having fun with language and sort of making fun of my own voice. A standout line for sure.

Okay, unfair, me...how can I pick just one artistic element of Jenn's to gush on!? I LOVE IT ALL!!! However, there are gems I can't stop looking at even today. Things I point out and hope kids notice and appreciate as much as I do. I could talk about DJ Goose, or the awesome jacket cover design showing up throughout the book which is incredibly awesome, or even the secret little visual details Jenn added to hint at the animals' surprise hibernation party for Bear. But all those things fall by the wayside when compared to Jazz Flute Snake's fedora. Yepp. The orange fedora of the unnamed Jazz Flue Snake. This is just pure Jenn Harney magic. This snake is the only character with an article of clothing. Just this hat. I love the idea that for a snake to really get into the jazz flute vibe, it had to look the part. This snake plays at jazz clubs. He's got regular gigs on the weekends. He's a known entity around these woods. I love him so much and his little hat that I want to write an entire follow-up book just to develop the lore around this snake. It won't be the last time you see an animal in a hat in a book by me...but it's too early to talk about that just yet!

What's your favorite whole spread and why?

Andrea: I could wax poetic about many of them, so I’m going to cheat a little and mention two of them—the back-to-back “surprise!” sequence. The nearly blacked-out spread with the “lights on” page turn is a great example of maximizing the page turn and using extremes on either side of it. Jenn’s animation background is on full display here: Keeping bear in the exact same spot and having Owl shoot off the top of the second spread in shock offers the reader an almost animation-style experience. So clever!

Jenn: I really like the white page where Owl is just shoving Bear through the door. Purely futile and Herculean task. And Bear just looks at them like “huh?”

Brian: The one I go back to again and again and love reading to kids the most is when Owl enters deranged mode. This bird has had it. The whole spread is just Owl's big emotional eyes and we know how desperate he really is to get this bear to sleep. It's a showstopping moment that was really fun to write and Owl's expression just fits so perfectly. So much drama in those Owl eyes!

What's something you learned or discovered while making the book?

Andrea: Obviously, I learned that everyone loves a good “cozy catastrophe”, and that it’s incredibly bad editorial judgment to query an author’s intentionally-employed oxymorons ! I also discovered two brilliantly fun creators to work with. I think our editorial back-and-forth was just right, Brian—you understood and embraced much of my feedback but knew when to stay the course. I’m a little suspicious of a writer who accepts absolutely everything I query, since I believe strongly in an artist’s muse and vision. Similarly, this was the first time I had the absolute pleasure of working directly with Jenn, who may be the most “can do” artist I’ve ever met. Not only does she roll up her sleeves and work hard (yet fast!), but she also manages to make every interaction a borderline laugh riot. This woman should be doing stand-up!

Jenn: I learned how to render a woods. It’s rare that I render a background in black line work and full color like I do the characters. When I realized that this book really REALLY needed that I panicked a little. This story had to have two fully distinct styles for indoor and outdoor…and…AND…a fading background that kind of dissolved into completely white as it got snowier and Owl was getting more frantic descending into a very meta place. It was tough. The interior scenes are how I usually do backgrounds…very simple and bright colors to play off of the characters. The white backgrounds were great…nothing to do there! But, the woods? I did so much research…E.H. Shepard and Hollie Hobbie for that classic storybook feel. It was an artistic stretch for me for sure.

Brian: The process of making this book really helped me internalize the value of revision. By the time we got (my then agent, Jennifer Mattson) the manuscript ready to go on submission, it had already undergone SEVERAL rounds of revision. Years of it. Then, when we got close to acquisitions, Little, Brown's team wanted me to revise not once but TWICE before they were able to make an offer. Doing that took nearly a year, and I had to really dig deep to make good on Andrea's notes. What mostly happened was learning to let go of my stubborn concept of what the book "should be." From this experience, I've learned to keep more of an open mind about what a manuscript can be. Doing little edits and making line-level changes is NOT revision and not what I'm talking about. I'm talking concept-level, open-heart surgery. Completely rewriting large sections of the book. If you are willing to try, beautiful things can happen, and you just might find that the book you thought you knew is not the book you now have--and it might just be WAY better! There is magic in the words "what if?" Revision, too, is magic, and I'm so glad I listened to Jennifer Mattson and Andrea Spooner along the way!

What are you looking forward to about the book being out in the world? 

Andrea: I’m looking forward to seeing real-live KIDS respond to the book at storytime. One of the reasons we acquired the book is because of its suitability for the read-aloud setting: Such wordplay! Patterning and predictability and opportunities for interactivity! Sound effects! Great giggle worthy moments! Silly surprises! I really can’t wait to see how that comes together in a live experience. Especially if you’re doing the reading yourself, Brian! I bet you’ll do a great Owl voice.

Jenn: I hope kids fall in love with Bear. I hope parents see themselves in Owl. I hope everyone loves them and their craziness.

Brian: What I love seeing the most is kids interacting with the book and still choosing it (yes, even in spring) for an entertaining bedtime read-aloud. I can't say how validating it is for kids to love something you wrote. It's for them and I hope this coming fall, thousands more kids will fall in love with Owl and Bear!

What message or advice do you have for one of the characters?

Andrea: I think I’m too much like Owl to give him advice. I think my advice to Bear is to have patience with Owl. It ain’t easy being a perfectionist, a rules-follower, a bit of a stick in the mud. But give it time… and he’ll realize that sometimes, going with the flow is the only way to go.

Jenn: Owl needs a glass of wine.

Brian: Owl, just take a breath, man. Let go of trying to be in control all the time and let loose every once in a while! That jazz flute IS delicious, and sometimes you gotta just dance through life (or at least through the bedtime routine).

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I am giving away...my LAST author copy to one lucky winner! This will be a signed & personalized copy for you to have or to give to a special young reader in your life.

TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY:

✅ Subscribe to Picture Book Spotlight

✅ Share this post on social media using the hashtag: #PBSpotlight 

Accepted platforms: Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook

Follows and tags are appreciated so I don't miss your sharing!

AND

✅ Comment on the post below!

***The deadline for this contest is Monday, May 18th at 9 AM CST

Winners will be contacted on Monday, May 18th & announced on Brian's social media channels***

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Andrea Spooner (Hachette Book Group | Senior Executive Editor | Little, Brown Books for Young Readers): I’ve built my career producing high-quality books that inspire readers through exceptional storytelling and art. Known throughout the industry as a creative, hands-on editor and clear communicator, I’m passionate about developing strong relationships with authors, collaborators, and mentees. Over time, I’ve had the privilege of working with many of the most beloved authors and illustrators in publishing, including James Patterson, Marc Brown, Stephenie Meyer, Jerry Pinkney, Patrick McDonnell, Patrice Karst, Dave Eggers, Kadir Nelson, Lane Smith, and Rosemary Wells. The books I’ve edited have appeared on numerous bestseller lists and received honors including the Caldecott Medal, National Book Award, Pura Belpré Award, and Robert F. Sibert honor. As Editorial Director for Picture Books at Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, I tripled the size of the list and helped set industry records for Caldecott-winning titles from a single imprint. Prior to that, I spearheaded James Patterson’s entry into children’s and YA publishing, editing more than 50 titles across age categories and genres and guiding a complex, high-profile program to peak success. Earlier, I co-launched the independent imprint SeaStar Books as editor-in-chief, an experience that sharpened my ability to build lists, identify talent, and adapt quickly in a changing market. I began my career at Morrow Junior Books, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, and Four Winds Press. My mission has always been to seek out distinctive voices and ambitious projects that expand what books can do and who they reach.

Jenn Harney (Illustrator/Author-Illustrator): Hi! I'm an illustrator who has been working in and around children's literature for the last 20 odd years and have amassed some 20 plus odd books. I'm also the author and illustrator of UNDERWEAR! (spring 2019) and SWIM SWIM SINK (spring 2020) both published by Disney Hyperion. And COMING SOON THERE'S A PONY IN MY APARTMENT! (spring 2026) published by Little Brown.

All of my work is created digitally, making it easy to send to press locally or overseas for production. I work quickly, but carefully. I revise gladly, without whining. And, I'm willing to take on any project that needs to be done.

Brian Gehrlein (Goofy Author Guy): Brian is not known for writing normal, human bios. He doesn't do that. Instead, he gives you this stuff. Why? Cause he believes it's more fun. It's more fun to remain an elusive, enigmatic figure who lurks in the shadows or (like Dennis) in the gutters of books and writes excellent children's literature. That's it. That's the bio. Brian hopes you enjoyed it. Now go write something meaningful for little humans.