Ink & Imagination! Naseem Hrab and Kelly Collier on I WILL NOT WALK TO SCHOOL

Some mornings, even the smallest task feels impossible. In I Will Not Walk to School (Kids Can Press), that task is simply getting out the door in the morning!

Monster is very clear about one thing. He loves school. But walking there? Absolutely not. As Bird tries everything to get him moving, from reasonable bargaining to the promise of a pancake breakfast, the conversation gets more and more ridiculous. Monster digs his heels though, turning a simple commute into an all-out debate fuelled by snacks, stubbornness, and dramatic flair.

Naseem Hrab has a keen eye for the circular logic of kids determined not to budge, and the story’s speech-bubble format gives this vibrant picturebook a quick, lively rhythm. The jokes lands again and again alongside Kelly Collier’s animated artwork, which fully captures Monster’s resistance and Bird’s growing exhaustion. I Will Not Walk to School understands that sometimes the hardest part of the day is simply putting on your shoes and putting one foot in front of the other.

We're delighted to share this Ink & Imagination Interview with both of the creative wizards behind this new title!

Open Book:

What was the most fun or experimental thing you tried while making this book?

Naseem Hrab:

This book was inspired by a little boy I saw outside a daycare. He was only a few steps away from the door when he let out this huge sigh and asked his mom, “Can’t we just take a taxi?” I immediately thought: this kid is amazing.

At first, though, I couldn’t make the manuscript work. I wrote version after version and none of them felt strong enough. I even took a virtual sketch-writing class through Second City trying to unlock it. Nothing helped.

Then one day Kelly and I were hanging out and I said, “I feel like I need to act it out.” So I sprawled across her couch pretending to be Monster while Kelly played Bird. Suddenly, the story just poured out in about ten minutes. Acting it out completely unlocked the rhythm and humour of the book.

Open Book:

Which character kept you sketching the longest to get just right, and why?

Kelly Collier:

Bird took the longest. In my early sketches, I wasn’t quite capturing his personality. He’s the responsible one in the relationship—the one trying to keep everything moving—so I wanted him to feel funny without tipping too far into goofiness. Once I found that balance, the whole dynamic between Bird and Monster clicked into place.

OB:

How did you decide which scenes should feel spacious and which should be packed with action?

NH:

Honestly, that was hard for me because I kept imagining everything as fully animated scenes. I naturally wanted every page to be overflowing with energy and jokes. Minimalism is definitely not my strong suit with these characters. Kelly somehow managed to fit all that chaos into the book without losing clarity, which still amazes me.

OB:

Were there moments when you wished the text gave you more space—or less?

KC:

Not really. Naseem is actually very good at self-editing. She’s not overly precious about the wording, so it leaves room for the illustrations to contribute to the storytelling too. That balance made the collaboration feel really natural.

OB:

Did you revise anything after seeing how the artwork interacted with the story?

NH:

Absolutely. Seeing Kelly’s illustrations constantly sparked new ideas. Sometimes she’d add a visual joke that made me realize a line could be funnier—or unnecessary altogether.

That’s one of my favourite parts of working together. The story and artwork evolve side by side. We’re always cutting, tweaking, adding, and reshaping things in response to each other’s ideas. It feels like genuine collaboration and creative alchemy.

OB:

Did you tuck in any playful details or visual jokes readers might miss the first time through?

KC:

Definitely. There are lots of little visual jokes hidden throughout the book for readers to discover on repeat readings. Things like the Captain Donutface stuffy appearing in early scenes, details in the artwork hanging on Monster’s wall, and even the hot air balloon near the end all reward careful readers.

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Naseem Hrab is the award-winning author of many stories for children, including Otis & Peanut, How to Party Like a Snail, Weekend Dad, which was a Governor General’s Literary Award finalist, and The Sour Cherry Tree, which won a Governor General’s Literary Award. Her work has been translated into several languages, including Turkish, Swedish, Italian, Spanish and Catalan, and has been praised by The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, the CBC, NPR, Bank Street College and more. She worked as a librarian for a time and currently works in children’s publishing. She lives in Toronto, Ontario.

Kelly Collier studied illustration at Sheridan College in Ontario. She writes and draws in a humorous style and loves to illustrate characters with quirky sensibilities. She is the author-illustrator of the Steve the Horse series and the illustrator of the Sloth and Squirrel series and the Izzy series.