Erin Dealey

Today we’re celebrating the Book Birthday of My Life as an Asthmanaut by Jake Lockett,

illus. Adriana Predoi (Free Spirit Publishing),

part of The Disability Books for Kids Series series

which explores visible and invisible disability,

as seen through the eyes of children and written from lived experience. 

About the Book:

When an asthma attack occurs, Jacob feels like an astronaut floating off to outer space― with an empty air tank. Sometimes outer space is lonely―Jacob can’t always join his family and friends when they exercise or play outside during allergy season. But he knows to use his tools to manage his asthma, and when Jacob sees someone else who’s low on air, he helps them find solid ground too.

About the Author:

Jake Lockett writes books and stories for children, including My Life as an Asthmanaut. His short stories for young readers have appeared in Smarty Pants Kids, Skipping Stones, and Spider. Jake enjoys learning about space, exploring nature, building Lego sets, and watching movies on his home theater projector. He resides in the forested Allegheny Mountains, where the night skies are clear and blanketed with countless stars! Jake knows what it’s like to grow up with asthma. Asthmanaut is his traditional publishing debut.

Let’s ask some questions!

Real Life Inspiration

Q 1. I read that your own challenges growing up with asthma, an invisible disability, were the inspiration for this book.  Can you tell us more? 

Jake Lockett: Yes, I suffered many asthma attacks as a kid, and it was pretty scary to live with. Having asthma was a lonely affair, too. I was left out of certain activities, and I often felt like I didn’t have much to contribute to others, given how sick I was. 

Luckily, I was able to get my asthma managed to a certain extent. But asthma is a lifelong illness, and I’m sometimes reminded of how bad it can get when I’m not careful.

The Publishing Process

Q 2. Hooray! Asthmanaut is your traditional publishing debut. Congrats! Was the process of seeing your story brought to life at Free Spirit what you envisioned? 

Jake Lockett: It was a fun process with many surprises. Production took a lot longer than expected. The book’s release was scheduled for fall 2025 for a long time until it was pushed to April 2026.

I also went through a lot more revisions than I had anticipated. These revisions were mostly to get my story to align more with the other books featured in the Disability Books for Kids series.

I ended up shortening my character’s time in his imagination, as well as expanding the section where my character helps the girl at the comic-con.

Surprises and Discoveries

Q 3. What was one of the most surprising discoveries you made in creating this book? 

Jake Lockett: That I could successfully write about a health topic for young readers in a non-fiction format. Previously, I had tried to write about another health subject for the same age range in fiction, but I struggled, and the story became too long for a picture book.

When I discovered Free Spirit’s call for disability books for kids in nonfiction, a genre I had never attempted to write before, I decided to try something new in my mission to help people and make a difference with my words. During the writing process, I focused hard on the publisher’s guidelines, which helped give me direction and inspiration. And I’m so happy that the publisher responded so enthusiastically to my manuscript!

Q 4. What surprises did illustrator Adriana Predoi bring to the book? 

Jake Lockett: I was just so awestruck at how Adriana captured the meaning of my text so beautifully and emotionally, amplifying what I wrote with a colorful flair. It’s certainly one of the most eye-catching picture books I’ve ever seen.

I love all the creative costumes she designed for the comic-con guests on the cover and in the book itself. The thing that surprised me the most was how much Adriana captured my likeness as a kid without seeing a single picture of me from that time. She’s just that good.

Wait –WOW — That’s YOU in the book, Jake! How cool!

Favorites

Q 5. What is your favorite spread/ lines of text? 

Jake Lockett: My favorite line: “Calm is my courage.” My favorite spread has to be the one where my character is helping the girl through her asthma attack at the end.

Dr. WHO?

Q 6. I love that as a young fan, particularly of the Eighth Doctor, you had several reviews published in Doctor Who Magazine.  If you could meet any character in the Doctor Who series, who would it be? 

Jake Lockett: Without a doubt, I’d love to meet the Doctor, especially the 8th, 10th, and 11th incarnations. It would be so much fun to go on adventures through time and space with the Doctor as your ultimate guide.

New Projects?

Q 7. Are there other Kidlit projects you’re working on? Care to share? 

Jake Lockett: I’m currently querying a humorous Christmas picture book that took about a year to get right. I’m waiting to see how people respond to it before writing some other picture books I have in mind.

Takeaways

Q 8. What do you hope readers will take away from reading My Life as an Asthmanaut ? 

Jake Lockett: I hope asthmatic kids will better understand their disability and feel understood. I want them to realize that asthma, while scary at times, can be controlled, and to remember that they are not alone and have support that can come in many forms. 

Most of all, I hope readers, with or without asthma, will walk away from the story with a sense of empowerment, knowing that they can not only rise above their struggles, but help others rise above theirs, too.

Thank you so much for joining us on the blog today, Jake.

And Happiest of Book Birthday Debuts to My Life as an Asthmanaut!

To learn more about Jake Lockett and his work, check out his website: JakeLockettAuthor

and follow him on BlueSky: @jlockettauthor1.bsky.social

and Facebook: Jake Lockett

Next on the blog:

We celebrate this beautiful picture book, You and I are Stars and Night

with a converation with author Kate Hosford.

See you then!

PS: Happy #EarthDay from DEAR EARTH…FROM YOUR FRIENDS IN ROOM 5

by Erin Dealey, Illus. Luisa Uribe (Harper Collins) –> Bonus YouTube Read-aloud Here