Erin Dealey

Today we’re talking to Kidlit author Kate Hosford about her latest release:

You and I are Stars and Night, a beautiful, lyrical picture book

illus. by Richard Jones (Beach Lane Books).

I am so glad we didn’t miss this one!

It’s the perfect read –and interview– for National Great Poetry Reading Day (April 28th)

or any snuggle-up-and-read Bedtime.

About the Book:

You and I are Stars and Night is a rhyming picture book filled with metaphors

celebrating a loving relationship

between child and caregiver

on a playful, imaginative journey before bedtime.

Hosford’s melodious rhymes and Jones’s serene, soft-edged paintings highlight a caregiver and child’s grounding partnership in this lullaby-like story. . . . As the companions venture forth, “You and I” becomes an iterative refrain that sees the duo’s connection expressed as common pairings (“boat and sail,” “fork and spoon,” “ebb and flow”). . . . Employing dusty blues, purples, and pinks, the illustrations generate a dreamy effect, and concluding pages see the subjects’ adventuring shift into cuddles in this anchoring bedtime send-off.  —Publishers Weekly

Bedtime preparations kick off a romp through the imagination. Hosford’s soothing first-person text, told from the perspective of the grown-up, combines with the comforting deep blues and greens of Jones’ digitally finished acrylic and watercolor illustrations for a natural bedtime read that’s also likely to be a popular gift among new parents. A soothing, poetic look at a common nighttime routine. — Kirkus 

About the Author:

Kate Hosford is a picture book author, children’s poet, and a former fifth/sixth grade teacher. She loves school visits and has taught poetry in the New York City schools, as well as at the National Conference of Teachers of English where she shared her passion: “Getting to the Heart of the Matter: Helping Students Find Their Inner Poets.” She is the author of seven picture books and two poetry collections, whose accolades include: American Library Association Notable Book, Bank Street Best Book of the Year, and Junior Library Guild Selection. Kate lives in Brooklyn with her family.

Hmmm… might they be the original …Stars and Night?

Let’s ask some questions:

Inspiration

Q 1. What was the inspiration for You and I Are Stars and Night? Did it begin as a poem, or did you always see it as a picture book?

Kate Hosford: I always imagined …Stars and Night as a rhyming picture book about love told in the mother/caretaker’s voice.

I started out with an image of a mother and child in a European village being called by the wind in the middle of the night and running down to the seaside. I then concentrated on getting the meter and rhyme right in the first stanza, which eventually became:

The wind is calling. Hear it sweep

 through our village fast asleep.

Will you sail away with me?

You and I are salt and sea.

Rhyme and Meter

Kate Hosford: I find that when I concentrate on rhyme and meter, my subconscious starts to open up and help me find the story.

Soon the mother and child were sailing over a stormy sea, traveling to an island for lunch, swimming with mermaids, playing in an enchanted forest. The story takes them lots of places before heading back to the comfort of home and the bedtime routine.

It soon became clear that every stanza was going to end with tag lines that were all structured the same way: you and I are salt and sea, boat and sail, fork and spoon, etc.

Illustration Surprises

Q 2. What surprises did illustrator Richard Jones bring to the project?

Kate Hosford: There were so many surprises, and they were all good! The world building that Richard Jones did here is incredible.

In the first spread, we see that all the houses in the village are dark, except for one where the light is on:

On the next pages, we see a child taking a midnight bath, while the mother is holding a toy sailboat and asking the child if she would like to sail away on an adventure.

In the third spread, the mother and child travel through the bathroom window, which acts as a magic portal; the bathroom tiles dissolve, the furniture is cast into the sea, the rubber duck and toy dog come to life, and the bathtub becomes a boat.

The idea to anchor the story at bathtime was Richard’s. And by doing so, he gives the story a lovely circularity where the bedtime adventure happens out of time, and mother and child return to the bedtime routine near the end of the book.

More Illustration Surprises…

Kate Hosford: Throughout the magical adventure, the duck and dog continue to accompany the mother and child, and many other pairs of animals and magical beings are either in plain sight or slightly hidden, which makes the book even more enchanting.

The presence of all these creatures underscores the message that everyone has someone, and no one must go through life alone.

ED Note: Oooh — I love this!

Favorites and Unexpected Treasures

Q 3. Which spread is your favorite?

Kate Hosford: Every spread in this book is gorgeous, but I chose this one because I adore all the hidden treasures that Richard has tucked away here, and the uncanny valley feeling of things being both familiar and strange.

Look closely.

Kate Hosford: Some trees are what we might realistically expect to see, while others are red and blue.

We see not only mother and child playing hide and seek, but other pairs of animals interacting.

The rubber duck and toy dog are hiding from one another.

There are monkeys in the trees (one of whom is wearing a sweater), a family of  tiger-like creatures in the background, owls cozied up together, a pair of squirrels scampering, rabbits who seem to be in conversation, and a bird returning a hat to a family of elves.

I am sure upon repeated readings, children will discover all of these hidden delights. I later found out from Richard that this was the first illustration he did for this project, and it helped him set the tone for the book.

Takeaways

Q 4. What do you hope young readers will take away from the story?

Kate Hosford: I tried to strike a balance here between the expected and unexpected.

The reliable and soothing parts of the story are embedded in the repeated testaments of love on every page. The rhyme and meter also offer a structure that is predictable, but the paired metaphors are not as easy to predict.

The path of the adventure is unexpected as is the ending of the book, where the mother and child return home, finish the bedtime routine, fall asleep, and then take an even bigger boat into dreamland—the biggest adventure of all!  Ultimately, I hope that children will find the adventure compelling and will also be reassured that we all have someone who will set sail with us on the journey of life and love us unconditionally.

What’s Next?

Q 5. What are you working on next?

Kate Hosford: I have some picture books I’m working on, and a couple of poetry collections based on animal fathers and the collective behavior of different groups of animals.

Animal science is a great love of mine, as is dance. At the moment, I’m researching ballet, which is such a joy, especially when the research involves live performances, or observing classes. And I also love writing about love. So if I can find a new way to do it, I probably will.

Many thanks to Kate Hosford for joining us on the blog today.

And Happy (Belated) Book birthday to You and I Are Stars and Night !

To learn more a bout Kate and her work,

check out her website: khosford.com

Link/tree: https://linktr.ee/katehosford

And follow her on social media:

Facebook: Kate Hosford

Instagram: katelhosford

Next up on the blog:

We chat with Roxanne Troup about her new picture book:

Happy Birthday, America!

illus. Jennifer Doehring (Albert Whitman)

Wait –a Fourth of July book in May?

Come back next week and see for yourself! (Meanwhile… Keep Reading, friends!)