Monday, October 5, 2015

Goodnight, Manger--An Interview with Author Laura Sassi by Tina Cho


Welcome back to Laura Sassi in celebration of her second picture book, Goodnight, Manger. The book is available October 6th from ZonderKidz. You can read her first interview here about her debut picture book Goodnight, Ark. 


BOOK SUMMARY:  It’s bedtime for baby Jesus, but who knew a stable could be so loud? Mama, Papa, and all of the animals try to lull the baby to sleep, but between itchy hay, angels singing, and three kings bearing gifts, it’s too noisy. Cuddle up as everyone tries working together to shepherd Baby into peaceful dreams.


1. What was the inspiration behind Goodnight, Manger?  When my kids were little they loved playing with the little plastic nativity that we set up in the living room each December. I encouraged their play because I felt it was a good way for them to stay connected to the real meaning of Christmas in a fun, tangible way.  My daughter, especially, took a liking to the little Baby Jesus. She carried him tenderly around the house. As she played, I often overheard her saying things like, Baby Jesus crying. Its okay, Baby.  Then shed gently feed him with her imaginary bottle or rock him and sing a lullaby.  To be honest before listening to her tender play, Id never thought of Baby Jesus as ever crying. Hes certainly never depicted that way in the carols and stories we sing and read about His birth.  But, he was human (and God), and so he must have cried.  With this fresh image in mind, I had the spark of inspiration I needed to write my story.
2. How long did it take you to write this story? 
  I am a percolator. That is, I like to reflect on new stories and poems, sometimes for weeks or months, before writing a first draft.  And this was indeed the case with GOODNIGHT, MANGER. During the percolation phase I played around with rhythm and rhyme. I also made lists of the different characters who might impede Jesuss peaceful slumber as well as fun sounds and concrete words I could use to bring the story alive. As I do with most stories, I even wrote a pre-draft of the story in prose even though I knew from the beginning that I wanted it to rhyme.  Only after completing this pre-thinking was I finally ready to sit down and compose a first draft. Once I got going, it took two or so months of revisions to get the story polished and ready to submit. That was fast for me!

Watch the book trailer!



3. How long did it take this book to be published? The offer from Zonderkidz came a couple of months after my agent submitted it.  And just like GOODNIGHT, ARK, the time from acceptance to publication was approximately two years, which is pretty standard, perhaps even quick, in the picture book industry.

4. Did you have to do any research for this story?  In my percolation phase, I reread the gospel accounts of the birth of Jesus. I also reflected upon and journaled about my memories of putting my own babies to bed in the midst of commotion. I know, I know, the biblical events that occur in one night in my story, in actuality, took place over several months. For example, scholars think the wise men might not have visited until Jesus was a year old or more. But for the purposes of storytelling in this fictional bedtime story, I chose to condense events so that readers would get a very rich sense of how busy that stable must have been!

5. You like to write in rhyme. Did the rhymes for this story come quickly and naturally? What is your favorite rhyme in this book? This isnt always the case for me, but in this instance, because I had percolated for so long, the rhymes did indeed come quickly and naturally. I think my favorite verse is: 

Mama's frantic,
In a tizzy.
Who knew stables
Were so busy?

    I love it because I remember the moment when the wording came to me.  I was walking home after dropping my kids off at school. I didnt have any paper, so I kept repeating the verse aloud to myself all the way home. 


6. What was your favorite Christmas book as a child?  My favorite Christmas book as a child was The Sweet Smell of Christmas by Patricia M. Scarry. I loved the scratch and smell aspect of this book in which a little bear figures out that Christmas is almost here using his nose.

7. What is your favorite Christmas memory? My favorite Christmas memory is of staying with my grandparents for Christmas when I was in third grade. They hadnt saved any of their ornaments (my grandmother never was very sentimental) and so my sister and I spent an entire afternoon drawing angels, kings, shepherds, sheep, stars, etc. on stiff drawing paper.  We then cut them out, punched holes for ribbon and decorated the entire tree with our homemade ornaments! (Up until a few years ago when the last little high-heeled angel finally got too fragile to save, I enjoyed hanging them on our tree every year.) 

8. Were you ever in a Christmas manger play?  I was never in a church pageant as a child, but a few years ago my children and I participated in a special way at our church’s children’s Christmas Eve service.  While I read excerpts from the story of the first Christmas, my children and a couple of other kids from church acted it out. It was a lovely and memorable way to make the real meaning of Christmas real, not just for my kids, put for the packed sanctuary of little ones as well!  Here are a couple of pictures from the event. My son was the donkey and my daughter was the angel.


9. What tips have you learned from marketing your first book that you would recommend to our Grog audience?  My first tip is that having a connection/reference works better than cold calls when setting up events at schools, libraries etc., so its well worth your time to brainstorm a list of friends, acquaintances, and colleagues who might be able to introduce you to preschool directors, librarians, and book store event coordinators.  Second, I have found that giveaways are great tools getting a little extra attention for your book. After all, who doesnt love a giveaway!

And speaking of giveaways,  Zonderkidz is offering one hardcover copy - fresh off the press - to one lucky winner. And here’s the important part:  To be eligible, you must be a U.S. resident and have a physical address, not a P.O. Box. Just leave a comment for Laura about a favorite holiday memory. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:  Laura Sassi, author of GOODNIGHT, ARK (Zonderkidz, 2014) and GOODNIGHT, MANGER (Zonderkidz, 2015), has a passion for telling humorous stories in prose and rhyme. She writes daily from her century-old home in New Jersey where she lives with her husband, two children, and a black Cockapoo names Sophie.  In addition to picture books, Laura writes poetry, stories, articles and crafts for kids. Her work has appeared in Highlights for Children, Cricket, Ladybug, Spider, and Focus on the Family’s Clubhouse and Clubhouse Jr.  Visit Laura Sassi at www.laurasassitales.wordpress.com




24 comments:

  1. I LOVE Goodnight, Manger! and I really enjoyed this interview with one of my favorite authors. And Laura, I can totally relate to your comment about walking home and getting the rhyme for a section of the book...and having to repeat it all the way home...like the little piggy crying "wee, wee, wee..." I do that often and I'm sure my neighbors are used to "Crazy lady Jacobson" talking to herself yet again. Congratulations on a wonderful PB!

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  2. This is a beautiful book. Since I have a copy for review don't enter me in the drawing.

    Great interview and, Laura, I love this verse, too!

    Mama's frantic,
    In a tizzy.
    Who knew stables
    Were so busy?

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  3. Such fun learning how the story that my kids and I already love came to be. Your rhymes and rhythm are so smooth and fun that my 6 year old has started singing the book every time she cracks it open! Looking forward to sharing this book with many friends once it releases to the public! Congrats. Laura!

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  4. Sweet visit with the author, Tina.
    Great to know this is a series.
    Appreciations to Laura, too.

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  5. This looks like a lovely book. I love those moments when a piece of verse pops into your head, not necessarily when a pen's available. Good for you for memorizing that stanza!

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  6. The start of a busy month! Congratulations on another lovely book. I tweeted this so others could see too. xo

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  7. The book is as lovely as its author. Thank you for the interview.
    I had a friend who gave a home to many animals who one never thinks live together peacefully in small quarters. His housemates, of all varieties, got along beautifully.
    His house was tiny. I always called it Noah's Arc. It's an ideal image for a bedtime book.

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  8. This sounds like a perfectly charming book. I look forward to reading it. I guess my favorite Christmas memory is of stringing cranberries and popcorn and making construction paper chains with my sisters to decorate the tree.

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  9. Stringing popcorn for the tree is definitely a wonderful memory!

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  10. Stringing popcorn for the tree is definitely a wonderful memory!

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  11. Thanks for this, Tina and Laura! Always interesting to hear the backstory of a PB. I remember sneaking into our livingroom when my Mom had gone to bed, and watching the kaleidoscope of hues projected by a color wheel onto our silver tinseled tree. Mesmerizing . . .a vintage memory.

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  12. I'm LOVING all the comments. Thank you for having me, Tina. Tinsel and popcorn and cranberries! It feels like Christmas!

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  13. Thank you Tina, for the great interview! I'm looking forward to hosting Laura on my website soon!

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  14. Thanks for all your comments and memories for Laura & I to read through. We'll pick a winner Oct. 13th--a week.

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  15. What a lovely story about the "birth" of a book. Thank you Tina and Laura for collaborating and sharing with us. I loved the trailer - looks like such a lovely book. Congratulations!

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  16. So fun to read your interview responses, Laura, and I'm really excited about your new book. One of my favorite Christmas memories is going up in the hills to cut a Christmas tree with my siblings. It turned out to have a big gaping hole where there weren't any branches, so we (well, it was really my older sibs) wired an extra branch into the space, and we decorated it and enjoyed it as much as any perfect Christmas tree.

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  17. Sounds like an adorable and important picture book for children to read at Christmas. Thank you, Tina and Laura!

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  18. Keep the comments coming! I'm LOVING all the Christmas memories. I can just picture that tree branch, Ev. Funny! Thank you all for stopping by to share in the celebration of the release of GOODNIGHT, MANGER. It's fun, after all the waiting and anticipation, to finally have it be available and out in the world.

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  19. I think Good Night Manger will become a new Christmas classic. I look forward to reading it. Great interview!

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  20. I think Good Night Manger will become a new Christmas classic. I look forward to reading it. Great interview!

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  21. I can't wait to get my hands on this one, Laura! My favorite memory of my childhood Christmas involves a book. We opened our gifts on Christmas Eve. So, after bath and jammies, we all would climb into mom and dad's bed and read The Night Before Christmas. "Santa" would ring the bells the reindeer wore and shout "Merry Christmas!" after he left the gifts and we would all come flying down the stairs. With fourteen feet flying down the steps, how someone didn't fall on the way, I'll never know!

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  22. Thank you all for sharing your memories and thanks, again, to Tina for this fun interview.

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  23. AND THE WINNER IS EV CHRISTENSEN! Congratulations, Ev, on winning Laura's book!

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    1. Woo! Hoo! Congrats, Ev! The book should arrive within 7 - 10 business days. =) Thanks again for having me, Tina!

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