A very Happy Book Birthday to HENNY PENNY’S WEATHER WORRIES by Lynne Marie, illus. Wendy Carrick-Hadinger (Mac and Cheese Press), which released recently! See Book Launch info below.
About the Book: When Henny Penny receives a plop on the head, she jumps to conclusions. “The sky is falling! The sky is falling!” One by one, classmates join in until it’s classroom chaos. Finally, Penny and friends learn that a deep breath and a little thought might save the “sky” from falling. Or will it?
Readers may remember our meetup with Lynne Marie and her co-author Brenda Sturgis to chat about their book, BROOMATES last October. We’re happy to welcome her back on the blog!
Did we mention she’s a kidlit dynamo?
In addition to being an award-winning author, Lynne Marie is an Editor at The Little Press, the Director of RateYourStory.org, a Mentor at ThePictureBookMechanic.com, the Creator of March On With Mentor Texts (www.rateyourstory.org/march-on) and Mentor Text Talk, a Co-Host of #SeasonsOfKidLit (www.seasonsofkidlit.com) and a Feature Columnist at Children’s Book Insider (https://writeforkids.online/).
Let’s ask some questions!
Inspiration
Q 1. What was the inspiration for this fun, fractured fairy tale?
Lynne Marie: Because of the school market success of The Three Little Pigs and the Rocket Project, my first book in the Fairy Tale Elementary series, I wanted and needed a follow-up.
Lynne Marie: I had a few ideas, but since that story was inspired by my daughter’s class science project, I thought about her again. She had Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) and notoriously became hysterical in stormy weather. It would often affect the whole class.
Her teacher and I had to teach/reinforce coping skills and prompts so that she could ground herself and not spiral (or cause the class to spiral). You can see this threaded into the book, in the most fun way that I could possibly present it.
written by Lynne Marie, (Mac and Cheese Press).
On Process
Q 2. Which came first, the weather myths or the stormy weather in your story?
Lynne Marie: The stormy weather, as above. I was always fascinated by weather myths (my mother grew up on a pheasant farm and told me many), so I incorporated those into the story. I love adding extra layers of takeaway to a project!
Luckily, the myths helped inform which fairy tale characters I would feature. Trying to balance the myths and characters was both challenging and fun. But it all came together so nicely!
Q 3. How is the process of publishing a book through your own Mac and Cheese Press (congrats!) different from working with publishers like Little Press (BROOMSTICKS) or YeeHoo Press (THE PALACE RAT)?
Lynne Marie: While in many ways I prefer traditional publishing, I am lucky to have enough experience under my belt to effectively pull off self-publishing. The one major benefit (at least to me) of publishing my own books is that I get to choose the illustrator that I feel best matches with the project.
written by Lynne Marie, (Mac and Cheese Press).
Lynne Marie: I think Wendy Carrick-Hadinger is perfect for this series. She takes the words and adds humor and cartoony personality to them with her illustrations, and brings them to life with engaging movement. And to be honest, she doesn’t need a lot of art directing. She’s a master!
Q 4. Further to the previous question, what led to you embarking on this Mac and Cheese adventure?
Lynne Marie: Thanks for asking. It’s important to note why I embarked on this independent publishing journey. Many of my The Picture Book Mechanic (www.thepicturebookmechanic.com) clients look to self-publish and ask me questions. I wanted to be able to answer in a way that was informed and helpful, so I basically did it as a test. But my first book was so well-received in the school market, I decided to do another.
What’s next?
Q 5. Are there other books in the queue? Can you share anything about them?
Lynne Marie: Wendy and I are getting ready to focus on a Greek Myth next – A Titanic Pet Problem. I love Greek Myths and studied them in college (as I did fairy tales), so I am very excited about this one, too and can’t wait to share it with readers, young and young-at-heart!
BONUS: We hear there’s a virtual Book Launch party happening soon! Please share the details.
Lynne Marie: I’d be happy to! ALL are invited to my Henny Penny’s Weather Worries Launch and Learn Webinar on Wednesday April 23, 2025 at 7 PM EST.
A FREE copy of my book is included in the Registration. Email LiterallyLynneMarie@gmail.com with Launch and Learn in the subject line for more information.
Excellent! Thanks for joining us on the blog today, Lynne Marie.
To learn more about her books check out her website
and follow her on Twitter/X (@Literally_Lynne) or Instagram (@Literally.Lynne.Marie).
Up next on the blog:
We celebrate the Book Birthday of Dianne K. Salerni’s
new mg historical-comedy-mysetery,
THE TONTINE CAPER
with illustrations by Matt Schu (Holiday House).
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