PICTURE BOOK REVIEW & AUTHOR INTERVIEW : Bitsy Bat, Snow Star by Kaz Windness
ABOUT THE BOOK
When Bitsy wakes up to see her first-ever snowfall, she’s excited to try out wintry activities with her friends at school. But sledding turns out to be harder than she thought, and making snow angels and snowmen leaves her feeling cold and wet. Bitsy tries to pretend she’s having fun…until a friendly snowball fight pushes her over the edge.
She retreats inside the school, worried her friends won’t like her anymore once they find out she doesn’t love the snow like they do. But a surprise is waiting for her—Enzo Owl and Mo are inside too! They don’t like snow either and would rather read in the cozy nook. Bitsy comes up with an indoor activity for a snowy day—making paper snowflakes—that just might give her the courage to be honest with her friends.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR/ILLUSTRATOR
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Kaz Windness is the author-illustrator of picture books Swim, Jim!; Bitsy Bat, Team Star; and Bitsy Bat, School Star, which received starred reviews from Kirkus Reviews, School Library Journal, and BookPage. She created the Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor Level 1 Ready-to-Read Graphics book Worm and Caterpillar Are Friends, which received a starred review and is a Junior Library Guild selection, and its sequel Worm and Butterfly Are Friends Always and the Level 1 Ready-to-Reads Cat vs. Vac, Go! Go! Dino!, and Squid in Pants. Kaz is also the illustrator of Ollie, the Acorn, and the Mighty Idea by Andrew Hacket and the author of When You Love a Book, illustrated by Heather Brockman Lee. When she’s not writing or illustrating books, Kaz mentors children’s book authors and artists at The Cuddlefish Academy and enjoys making deep-dish pizza. Kaz lives in Denver, Colorado, with her husband, two children, and Boston terrier.
INTERVIEW with Kaz Windness
What's the "story behind the story"?
Each Bitsy Bat book explores a different aspect of autism. In Bitsy Bat, Snow Star, Bitsy experiences snow for the first time. She’s excited to explore all the things her friends love about winter—sledding, snowmen, and snow angels—but soon discovers the cold activities aren’t for her. Unfortunately, she’s too afraid to hurt her friend’s feelings to say so. When Bitsy accidentally starts a snowball fight and has a meltdown, she finds shelter inside the school where Enzo and Mo are enjoying a cozy book nook with hot cocoa and a beautiful, snowy view. Bitsy discovers there are lots of ways to enjoy winter. I don’t like winter much myself, but I do like the peace, quiet, sparkle of a snowy day. I wrote this story because many autistics, myself included, mask heavily because they want so badly to have friends and fit in. It’s exhausting, but it can be scary for us to reclaim our agency because we experience so much rejection and othering. I hope this and all the Bitsy Bat books encourage inclusion, an understanding of differences, more accommodations, and easier friendships. I also hope they are a fun, exciting read for kids, too.
How did you go about creating the illustrations in your book?
I draw in a sketchbook or directly onto the manuscript and then I take a picture, import the drawings into a digital art program and draw directly onto the screen using a stylus. I go through many passes of sketches and revisions. When I’m creating the final artwork, I use very textural, natural-looking digital brushes along with the selection tool to trace an area of my drawing and “spray” in the paint. I build it up over several layers. I use a charcoal/pencil brush to get sharper detail or outlines. My style is a little different for graphic novels versus picture books, but style has a lot to do with handwriting, and I think you can always tell it’s me. I’m always challenging myself with every book. Sometimes it’s a different color palette or paint tool or way of designing a character. My artistic breakthroughs started happening once I’d figured out how composition and narrative storytelling in illustration worked, combined with tools and workflow that gelled. It was years of drawing and making a lot of mistakes. I still make a lot of mistakes. That’s a good place to discover new ideas and ways of doing things.
How did your series come about?
In the first book, “Bitsy Bat, School Star,” Bitsy goes to school for the first time and finds out she’s the only bat in a classroom for nocturnal animals. She doesn’t sit, paint, eat, or play like the other students. She tries to fit in and mask her differences, but this leads to a big meltdown. I wrote the first story after learning I was autistic when my oldest child was receiving their diagnosis. I saw how hard school was for them and reflected on my experiences growing up with differences that made me feel broken and excluded. I wanted to write a book that would help teachers and parents talk about autism and foster an environment of acceptance and celebration of differences. There is now a Spanish edition of the book that comes in paperback and hardcover. I’m so glad more people have access to this story.
In the second book, “Bitsy Bat, Team Star,” Crittercrawl Elementary is having their school field day, and Bitsy must face new student, Enzo Owl, in a flying race. (Enzo is non-speaking and uses a communication device and sign language.) The story deals with sportsmanship and navigating changes to a friendship dynamic.
The third book came at the request of my awesome editor, Catherine Laudone, who loved a watercolor painting I had sent her years ago of Bitsy wearing a scarf and mittens on her feet. She asked me for a winter book; I said, “I don’t like winter,” and she said, “Great. Write about that.”
There is a boxed set with all three Bitsy books available the same day as the third book, just in time for winter holiday gift giving.
Which comes first: words or illustrations?
My stories all start with a character, and usually that character appears in my sketchbook. I think in pictures, so I might visualize scenes from the book first. I often write a logline (a two-sentenced premise) to see if the idea I’m visualizing has the needed story elements. If it does, I’ll pin down some of the main plot points and then flesh out a first draft from there.
What part of the book was the most fun to write or illustrate?
The cover. It might be my favorite illustration of the whole series. I also enjoyed painting the scene where Winnie Whiskers gets hit in the back of her head with a snowball. She wasn’t very nice in the first book, and even though she likes the snowball fight, it was a bit of cathartic payback for how mean she was in book one.
So your readers have it, there are complimentary curriculum-based educator lesson plans and other fun activities for all the Bitsy books at BitsyBat.com.
REVIEW
Young Bitsy Bat experiences snow for the first time. Eager to play with her friends at school, Bitsy heads out into the snow wearing the scarf, mittens, and hat provided by her friends. After trying several different activities (making snow angels, building a snowman, and sledding), Bitsy discovers that she doesn't enjoy being cold and wet. A snowball fight proves to be the final straw and she flees inside crying. While warming up, Bitsy discovers other students in her class who don't particularly enjoy playing in the snow either, and it's okay. The back matter provides additional information about autism, communication, and the importance of expressing one's opinions and needs. Another cute story about friendship, differences, and learning to communicate with those who are different. An important addition to the growing body of literature about a topic that all of us could stand to learn more about, especially from those who experience it. A valuable resource in aiding children to develop important communication skills. Recommended.
Purchase here.
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