KidLit Convos with Editor Katie Scott, Author Mélina Schoenborn and Illustrator Sandra Dumais

We're delighted today to share a special KidLit Convo between not only the author and illustrator of the award-winning new title, Bob the Boo-Boo (Kids Can Press), but also senior editor Katie Scott. It's a fun and original story with spectacular, eye-catching artwork, and will be sure to help young ones get through their own boo-boos, whether those are physical or emotional.

Without further ado, we're going to hand the reins over to our friends at Kids Can Press, and the creators of this wonderful book, to tell you more about how it came to be! 

Katie Scott, a senior editor at Kids Can Press, recently relocated to Montreal from Toronto and has been liaising with Quebec publishers, looking for great stories to license in English for KCP. When she spotted Bob le bobo (published in French in 2020 by La courte échelle) in a bookstore in Montreal, she knew the story of an adorable little boo-boo looking for a new home would be a perfect fit for KCP. In this Q&A, Katie discusses with author Mélina Schoenborn and illustrator Sandra Dumais the absolute delight in working on a story that is, essentially, about a scab who couldn’t be cuter. Kirkus Reviews has already jumped on the Bob the Boo-Boo bandwagon, calling it “weirdly wonderful wound lore,” and in 2021 the French edition won the Prix jeunesse des Libraires du Québec. 

Sandra Dumais (illustrator):

What about this book first caught your eye and made you want to translate it?

Katie Scott (editor): 

I first heard about the original French edition, Bob le bobo, in 2021 after you and I worked together on The Fossil Whisperer. What caught my eye was your illustrations, and then once I read the book, I was completely charmed by the character and the story. At the time, we weren’t looking for buy-ins at Kids Can Press (i.e., buying the English rights to books originally published in another language or territory), because our pipeline was full with original projects, so I filed it away in the back of my mind, but I had a strong intuition that the book could do well in the English market.

Fast forward three years, to May 2024, when I was in Montreal — I was going back and forth between Toronto and Montreal a lot at that time because I was relocating to Montreal and looking for a new home (just like Bob!). I popped into Librarie Le Port de tête, a great independent bookstore on Mont-Royal Ave., and there was Bob le bobo in the children’s section! Three years had passed since I first read the book — but now the time was right, since Kids Can was once again looking for buy-ins. I brought it back to Toronto with me and pitched doing an English edition to our publishing board, and the rest is history. It’s an important example of how, in book publishing, timing is everything! 

Mélina Schoenborn (author):

What advice would you give to someone working with a co-creator on a book for the first time?

KS: 

There are a few different ways to answer this question, things like trusting your fellow collaborators and listening with an open heart (which are both true!). But I think what I really want to leave people with is have fun!! Sometimes I catch myself being so serious about work, and then I remember I am talking about a children’s book about a boo-boo. Have fun making the book with people who bring different experiences to the table. Have fun sharing the book together once it’s out in the world. And even though there can be a lot of voices around the table in publishing, never lose sight of your kid readers — at the end of the day, their opinions matter the most!  

KS:

What was the strangest or most memorable part of creating this book for you, Mélina? 

MS:

Bob le bobo has been an amazing and beautiful adventure for me. I wrote this story after spending a lovely evening with friends, where we started talking about boo-boos. The story emerged quickly, like a bubble above my head in a cartoon. Carole Tremblay, the French-language editor, and Julie Massy, ​​the artistic director at La courte échelle, helped me bring it to life. Five years later, the book has been translated into Ukrainian, English, Korean and Italian, in addition to being part of the Gallimard catalog and winning the Prix jeunesse des libraires du Québec. Wow! All of this is a such a gift. Bob is my first children's book, and the feedback and appreciation inspired me to write more. I really enjoyed collaborating with Sandra Dumais, who brought Bob to life in such an endearing way! I never get tired of looking at Bob, by the way.

MS:

Sandy, was it difficult or easy to find the right way to illustrate Bob?

SD:

Because Bob is essentially a scab (ew!) it was harder to illustrate him when I thought of him that way! I tried lots of different versions of him, but I couldn’t get him to not look kind of … well, like a wound. When I finally decided to just make him round and symbolic of a boo-boo rather than actually a boo-boo, it made sense and then the rest was easy. From the artistic direction, I knew we wanted something simple and quirky to make kids and parents laugh at the thought of our little boo-boos running around looking for a place to rest on our elbows and knees. It’s such a great and funny idea, Mélina!

KS:

What was your workspace like while working on your part of the book? What do you need in order to make a work session successful (food, tools, music, rituals, etc)?

SD:

The original French version of this book was done during the lockdown back in early 2020. (I’ll show you a page from my drawing diary during lockdown — that’s an early sketch of Bob!) At that time, I had a large, beautiful sunny studio at home (I work from a studio out of the house now). My home office was warm and bright, and filled with books, plants and candles. There was also an exercise mat where I would take breaks to stretch or just lay down in the sun. It was such a luxury to have all that space for my work! I kept it uncharacteristically neat and tidy.

I remember that time being very hectic with homeschooling young children et cetera, so I would get up very early to have some time alone in my office (i.e., hide from my family!). I would have a coffee, light a candle and do the things that required more concentration.

MS:

Sandy, you’ve done lots of workshops and school visits around this book. What do you like best about these activities? Do you remember a particularly funny or touching moment from one of these visits?

SD:

I love visiting classrooms and libraries to present work to kids. It’s so great to see kids’ reactions to the drawings and to give them all the secrets I hid in the book — the baby in Bob the Boo-boo is my little niece Milo, for example! And the mom cleaning the boo-boo is wearing my earrings.

One summer in Montreal, I remember my neighbour had organized an event at a little parkette nearby, where I read Bob le bobo for the kids in the neighbourhood. I showed the kids a boo-boo on my ankle from my bike and asked if anybody wanted to share a recent boo-boo with us. ALL the kids wanted to show me their boo-boos! They all got up and came up to peel back their bandages and show me their cuts and scrapes. It was pretty awesome. Kids are so funny that way — they just go for it!

SD:

What do you hope kids / young readers will take away from this book?

KS: 

My biggest hope for the book is that it’s used as a tool to help kids through tough moments. The most powerful picture books are the ones whose stories infiltrate our lives beyond the book, and I could see how parents and educators might say, “Looks like Bob is back again!” when a kid gets a small boo-boo, adding some levity to a difficult situation. Giving kids tools to help build resilience is one of the most rewarding things about the work we do in making kids books. I also love that this is a story about an unlikely friendship (after all, who wants a boo-boo hanging around?), and there are some powerful takeaways on the themes of friendship, caring and kindness, which feel important in the world today. 

KS:

Now that the French version of the book has been out for a few years, what have young readers taken away from the story? 

MS:

Several parents and educators have told me that the book helps children better accept their little boo-boos. This makes me very happy. “He calls his boo-boo ‘Bob,’” they tell me, referring to their child or their student. The boo-boo becomes a sympathetic presence, a part of life and one that must be cared for. An educator also told me that Bob helped one of her children living on the autism spectrum transform his relationship with his body, to allow himself to be touched.

SD:

Do you think there should be similar messaging for adults, when it comes to boo-boos? 

MS:

Yes! I feel there aren’t many adults in this world, only big children (in the sense of growing bodies) who seem surprised to see themselves getting older every day, ha ha! I see how the workplace, politics and home are like a schoolyard, full of jealousy, rivalry, sulking, insecurities, a need for validation, power games and hair pulling — followed by hugs and “I love yous.”  We don't always know how to handle our emotions as adults, apart from a few moments of clarity. We are all toddlers who need love, care, a boo-boo like Bob. Writing this book also allowed me to offer myself comfort.

_____________________________________________

Mélina Schoenborn is a children’s book author and ceramic artist. She is the author of the picture books Squirrels!, This is Not a Book about Dinosaurs, and Bob the Boo-Boo. What she loves most, when she’s not writing or creating ceramic bowls, is eating donuts before dinner. Mélina lives in Montreal, Quebec.

Sandra Dumais is an author-illustrator / giant kid based in Montreal, Quebec. Originally from Toronto, she moved to Montreal on a whim and has (mostly) been there since 2001.