Polar Bear Island Review & Q&A Debut PB Author Lindsay Bonilla -by Kathy Halsey

Polar bears, penguins, and "flipper slippers," what could be more enticing for young readers and picture book writers alike? Today I  review my critique partner's debut. We chat about process, what happens between signing a contract and publishing and more!

Review of Polar Bear Island

Since I've been intimately connected to this book when it was still a  work in progress, I'll admit, it's hard to review it without squealing. (It's a special joy when critique partners become authors.) Therefore, I'll don my school librarian hat and review it via that lens. 

Polar Bear Island was peaceful, quiet and for polar bears only. But one day Kirby the penguin floated up, and Parker the Mayor is having none of it. Parker agrees that Kirby may stay for one day, but when the other bears see Kirby's invention of flipper slippers, they want a pair, too. Kirby writes to her family, shares her adventures and soon, they're on the island, too, bringing sled beds, snow cones, snow chutes, and lots of excitement. Parker takes a fall and the penguins soothe him and bring him back to health with their good will and inventions. Now the sign that read "Welcome to Polar Bear Island. No Others Allowed," reads "Welcome to Polar Bear Island. Others Allowed." 

Playful language, characters that children will enjoy, and a subtle message of inclusion make this a perfect book for our times. Illustrator Cinta Villalobos's palate of cool colors juxtaposed with the warm cheerful hues of the penguins add energy and fun to the story. Although Amazon and Kirkus reviews peg the book for ages 3-5 / 3-and up, elementary age students, grades 1-5, will enjoy the story, too. ( Our school librarian took the book home to her 6th grader who loved it.) Lindsay has created some great classroom extensions for welcoming others that educators will appreciate.

Our first look at the book while at Northern Ohio SCBWI conference 2018. Janie Reinart and I made Lindsay read Polar Bear Island aloud. After all, Lindsay's a professional storyteller.

Q & A with Lindsay Bonilla

K: Share with us how this book was picked up by Sterling Children's Books and how you almost didn't meet your editor. (Chance and talent made the difference.)

L: I met my editor at the SCBWI Roundtable Retreat in Michigan. I heard about the retreat from a random Facebook post. I loved the unique format and decided to apply. When I was accepted, I was super-excited, but that’s also when reality set in. The retreat location was a nine hour drive from my house. I’m not much for long drives; I was 4 months pregnant at the time. I debated whether or not to go. Ultimately, the possibility of what *could* happen is what got me there, and I’m so glad it did! 

It’s probably not healthy to go into every retreat or conference thinking that you are going to get a book deal out of it, but I think you should go full of expectations. Maybe it won’t be a book deal, but but a wonderful new friendship, a renewed sense of passion for your work, or a critique that unlocks something in a manuscript that’s stumped you for too long. Go expecting to receive something great!

K: What steps did you take to publicize Polar Bear Island from pre-order to launch?

L: I think the most effective thing I did was to start reaching out to friends and family early on to tell them about the book. As soon as it became available for pre-order, I set a goal of telling one new person about it daily, usually via an email or facebook message. I enlisted my family and friends to help spread the word too! 

I reached out to bloggers to see if they would be interested in sharing my book on their blog. This summer, while I was doing my storytelling tour visiting libraries across the state, I also passed out lots of bookmarks to build excitement! 

Then I looked into  book festivals and conferences in my area that would be a good fit for my book. This month alone I have attended/presented at the Virginia Hamilton Multicultural Literature Conference, the Books by the Banks Book Festival and the Ohio Educational Library Media Association Conference. I have made great contacts at each one! 

I think most creatives don’t like thinking about publicity/marketing, but it is an absolute must in this industry. Re-frame the idea of publicity as sharing what I'm most passionate about and making connections with others has helped me to enjoy it more. 

K: As a professional storyteller and mother of two active toddlers, how do you manage your time to write and do events? (Tips for other busy moms appreciated.)

L: Ha! I’m still trying to figure out the best way to manage my time! Let’s just say there is never a dull moment. I have to make use of nap time every single day, and I spend more than my fair share of evenings catching up. My oldest is in preschool in the mornings now. During that time I go to the YMCA with my youngest. They have a Child Watch program that your child can be in for up to 2 hours. I work out for the first hour and then I take out my laptop and write or send emails. To any author moms out there, I can’t recommend the YMCA enough!

Since I don’t have a lot of time to myself, I try to involve my children in the stories I’m writing or telling. I try out new story openings on them or play act the stories with them. The other day my oldest amazed me by being able to quote from memory the first four stanzas of one of my manuscripts. He is as invested in the story as I am! Sharing my work with my kids makes it more rewarding. 

Overall, my best advice is this: don’t think so much about the time you don’t have to write.  Focus on making the most of the time you DO have. If you can’t actually sit at your computer/notebook to write, work out as much as you can in your head! 

K: Tell us about the picture book's main theme and the "AmBEARsador Program." How did you come up with ideas that educators can use to extend the book's impact?

L: Polar Bear Island is about welcoming others and learning from those who are different. Every day that I read the news it becomes more clear how critical this message is right now. I created the AmBEARssador program with the hope of getting children to connect to the theme and make it real in their own lives and communities. First, I started brainstorming activities and questions that I thought would engage readers on a deeper level with the book’s theme. 

After that, I shared the ideas with good friend, fellow writer and immigrant researcher, Nalini Krishnankutty. Her perspective was very insightful and helped me to deepen my own understanding of the themes. I was very lucky that Sterling was 100% behind me as I developed these ideas. They did the design work for all of the extension activities which can be found here. 

K: What has been the most fun so far that you're a published author? What should other debut authors know that you learned?

L: At my launch party, a little girl I’d never met before showed up practically hugging my book. She looked at me and said, “I’m such a big fan!” I didn’t know that anybody outside of friends and family would even have the book yet. It was pretty magical. Seeing children connecting with the book has definitely been my favorite part because that’s why I write in the first place. 

Then at the Books by the Banks Festival a man came to my table and said that he’d come on behalf of his wife. She was a teacher in New Jersey and had planned to come to the festival but fell ill. My book was one of the titles she’d requested. To know that a teacher was excited to share the book with her students was also extremely meaningful to me. 

I think one of the biggest things I’ve learned on this journey is just to “do you.” By that I mean it’s easy to compare yourself to other authors and second-guess yourself, wondering if you should be doing more of what they are doing. It’s good to take inspiration from others, but ultimately, we each have to carve out our own path in the industry and determine what success is for ourselves. For me, that may mean being very choosy about which promotional events I do and how often/far I’m willing to travel because snuggling with my kiddos is pretty high on my priority list right now. 

K: Tell us about upcoming appearances. What are you working on now?
L: I have some appearances coming up at local schools and libraries — everything from telling pumpkin folktales for Halloween to doing interactive performances of my book to doing Christmas-themed folktales. Check my calendar here! 

The list of what I’m working on is pretty long — a fairy-tale mash up, a pirate tale, and a book about the power of storytelling are just a few.

Also, I can’t say much yet, but I got some good news last week and look forward to being able to share some exciting book news soon! 

Lindsay signing my book at the Ohio Educational Library Media Association conference

Lindsay Bonilla is a professional storyteller and author of children's books. You can connect with her via her web site, http://www.lindsaybonilla.com and on twitter at @lindsaybonilla. She still has openings for author visits or storytelling visits for the 2018-2019 school year.