
We’re so thrilled to welcome Gianna Marino to the blog, in celebration of her lyrical new picture book,
I LOVE YOU, LITTLE HORSE.
(Philomel)
I first met Gianna Marino at an SCBWI SF South conference at Asilomar many years — and almost twenty amazing picture books ago. Gianna now writes & illustrates, and rides in southern Colorado.
What a delight to catch up with her today!
About the book:

” A sweet message of love from a horse to its child… Many caregivers and children reading together will see themselves in the equine pair’s loving bond, especially if the book is shared at bedtime… Lots to love.” —Kirkus

“It’s a loving, lyrical tribute to how the empowering constance of a trusted adult
can support free-ranging exploration.” —PW

Let’s ask some questions!
Q 1. What was the inspiration for I LOVE YOU LITTLE HORSE? Did it evolve from your own experiences and love of horses?
Gianna Marino: I have always loved the poem The Summer Day by Mary Oliver. I love the investigation of a tiny moment in time, taking notice of how a grasshopper moves its jaws. Who, I must ask, EVER does that?! This, then the broader question, “Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”
What ifs
I wondered how I could share this question with children, wondered what that might look like in the form of a story. What animal could I use to tell this story? The poem is so much about being present in the moment and when I asked myself what brought me into the present moment, it was horses and my connection with them since I was a child.
Did you know a horse can hear your heartbeat from a great distance? They are very aware of what is around them and, in being with them, it can cause us overly-busy and preoccupied humans to do the same.

Q 2. Did you have a particular horse in mind for I LOVE YOU LITTLE HORSE?
Gianna Marino: Though I have been riding since I was very young and have had many horses in my life, I did not have a particular horse in mind when creating I Love You, Little Horse. I thought about the lessons I have learned in working with all the horses I have spent time with. One horse I worked with was very sensitive to his surroundings and if I entered his pasture, halter in hand and ready to work, but was not present (maybe I was even on my phone, or thinking about something else), he would just walk away from me. That horse wanted no part of someone who was not going to be “there”. Lesson learned!
Beginnings
Q 3. Which came first with this lyrical love letter – the text or the illustrations?
Gianna Marino: With most of my stories, I go back and forth between the text and the illustrations. Some start more with the text, some start more with the illustrations. Sometimes I don’t write or draw anything for a long time, and just let it percolate in my thoughts. I wish I could figure out a “method” so I didn’t have to feel like I was starting all over with each book! But, not the case. They are all so different.
Q 4. Can you take us through the process after the initial idea sparks? Do you go to your sketch book? Work out a story board? Run it by a critique group, your agent, or editor? Does your process differ with every book?
Gianna Marino: The early versions of this story were tiny 2×3” scribbles and text on the side. When I am playing with a new idea, I like to work very small so I don’t fall in love with any of the drawings and they are easy to change and move around. I sketch on tracing paper because it is soft and easy to erase, overlap, etc. With the text I usually get a ballpark of where I want the story to go, but even when the illustrations are completely finished, I often change the text quite a bit.

I LOVE YOU, LITTLE HORSE (Philomel).
Gianna Marino: I work with a storyboard and I still use pencil and paper, as opposed to digital. I don’t like to share a story too early with anyone, as I am trying to sculpt this fragile thing. Too many voices just take away from the innocence of the original spark. There are many directions to go with any story idea and holding on to that early inspiration is important. Though, with that said, there also has to be the freedom and courage to let a story unfold into what’s going to be the strongest version.
I have always wanted to have a group of people develop either the same idea for a story, or use the same first line. It would be incredible to see all of the different variations on one similar idea!

Discoveries and Challenges
Q 5. What was one of the most surprising discoveries you made in creating this book?
Gianna Marino: As a very shy child, my mother encouraged me to try everything (painting, sculpture, film, ceramics, cello, violin, flute, piano, dance, etc). She was like the elder horse in my story, both encouraging exploration and also asking questions. I didn’t realize, until after the story was done, how much both my parents and my connection with horses, taught me to be present and to be unafraid of the unknown. It was my mother, by the way, who introduced me to Mary Oliver and The Summer Day. It was one of her favorite poems.
Q 6. Which spread is your favorite? Which was the most challenging?
Gianna Marino: My favorite spread is the one of the foal and elder coming together after their long day, with the shadows of them taking up most of the page. I have been obsessed with shadows for a long while and hope to create a shadow book at some point. Shadows are magical!

Gianna Marino: The cover was the most challenging. I was STUCK on using the big shadows, in some form, on the cover. But it was just not working and it took some time to find what was the right layout for the cover. We wanted to feel the connection of the elder and foal, see their eyes and get a sense of who they are. I did, however, keep insisting on this other shadow version and the final book has both a jacket with the current cover image, and another image that is the hard case cover.

Illustration Process
Q 7. What medium did you use? Did you know from the start that was what you would work with?
Gianna Marino: I have used gouache for all of my books. I keep trying and experimenting with different mediums, but I come back to gouache each time. Sometimes I use mulberry paper over the watercolor paper to create more texture. I went back and forth with color swatches trying to figure out how to best illustrate this story, what colors the horses would be, etc. When I tried the mulberry paper, I loved the organic feel and with so much expansive land in the illustrations, it was a perfect fit.
Q 8. Do you have any tips for illustrators just starting out in #kidlit?
Gianna Marino: I think our strongest stories and art come from what is close to us. Write about what scares you, or makes you laugh or cry or jump for joy. Write about what you THINK you know, then ask the questions. Ask the “why?”, ask the “how?”. Go deep into these things and see what part of it you think might inspire a young reader. Don’t follow trends, don’t listen to the rules. Create what you love and what makes you feel good!
A Horse Lesson
Q 9. Can you give me an example of how a particular horse taught you something new?
Gianna Marino: I have been riding since I was 10 and they have been in my life in a big way since then. I decided to try my hand at training one that had almost no handling. I was lucky this first little horse was far more shy than I was. It is one thing to work with a horse that has energy, that looks at you, faces you, SEES you. But this little horse was so shy, she just kept turning away from me quietly in a manner that felt like, “if I don’t look at the human, it won’t exist”.
I had no idea WHAT to do with this horse. I didn’t want to further scare her to get her attention, but in her mind, I was not even there! So I learned to go directly behind her, where a horse cannot see. They have a very broad spectrum of sight, but behind them is a blind spot. I was far enough away to be out of the kick zone, but close enough that she couldn’t stand not seeing what I was doing.
And then…
She finally turned to look at me, for the first time. Of course I wanted to go hug her! But I turned away and taught her that her looking at me, would take away the pressure of simply looking at her. From this, she started to trust me and was soon following me around.
What this taught me (and this goes for us two-legged creatures as well) is that we are all different. Some of us are shy, or scared, or agitated or silly or serious or preoccupied. But when we show up, when we are present, we can figure things out. We can face our fears and step forward to learn something new.

Q 10. For those readers who might be learning about you and your books for the first time, what would you want them to know about your almost 20 published books?
Gianna Marino: Someone asked me recently if I was going in a new direction with my stories and art. I had a hard time answering that. As an artist, I believe we are constantly changing and creating new things that reflect what is happening in our lives.
Because all of my stories come from some event in my life that I can turn into a tale, I am hoping they each tell a different part of a life. I like to try new ways of depicting my characters, sometimes as simple as changing the paper, or the perspective. Each book I have created is different than the last, yet I hope they all come together under one umbrella.
Warm thanks to Gianna Marino for sharing these wonderful insights about I LOVE YOU, LITTLE HORSE and her ever-evolving process. I LOVED learning from her horses as well, didn’t you?
To learn more, check out her web site:
And follow her on social media:
FB : giannamarino
Insta: giannamarinobooks
There’s also a wonderful segment that Publisher’s Weekly posted recently:
Four Questions for Gianna Marino by Libby Morse.
Up next, we chat with author Nicole M. Hewitt about her debut middle grade novel,

THE SONG OF ORPHAN’S GARDEN.
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