Ask the Author: Barbara Odanaka
Answered Questions (6)
Barbara Odanaka
No question—the Wonka chocolate factory! Slurp, gulp, sigh, repeat!
Barbara Odanaka
Getting to create fun, fantastic worlds to spark the imaginations of young readers! Also, getting to work in pajamas, with my cat at my side.
Barbara Odanaka
Spend lots of time at the library. Read as much as you can. Reading many, many great books is the best writing instructor of all.
Barbara Odanaka
Besides overdosing on chocolate?
Barbara Odanaka
Three or four books at once! I'd rather not say too much on this point. For me, talking about my future books often takes the steam out of the actual work of writing them.
Barbara Odanaka
As with most of my books, Construction Cat was born on a hike! I usually hike 3-4 days per week on the trails near my house; doing so lets me get away from screens and other distractions, and the rhythm of my pace often produces bits of rhythmic phrases to enter my brain.
On this particular hike, something in my brain just popped up with "Construction Cat wakes up at dawn...grabs her boots and tugs them on." It sounded like a good start to me, so I kept repeating it in my head until more lines started coming to me. Sometimes, I break my "no screens" rule on hikes to quickly dictate a text to myself so I won't forget those lines!
I imagined Construction Cat as a female character (a mom, in fact) from the start, which I'm glad about. So many construction-themed books are about men and aimed at boys. I know some wonderful women in construction, so I was happy to honor them with this character. And the fact that Pa Cat stays home to mind the kittens seemed extra fitting!
On this particular hike, something in my brain just popped up with "Construction Cat wakes up at dawn...grabs her boots and tugs them on." It sounded like a good start to me, so I kept repeating it in my head until more lines started coming to me. Sometimes, I break my "no screens" rule on hikes to quickly dictate a text to myself so I won't forget those lines!
I imagined Construction Cat as a female character (a mom, in fact) from the start, which I'm glad about. So many construction-themed books are about men and aimed at boys. I know some wonderful women in construction, so I was happy to honor them with this character. And the fact that Pa Cat stays home to mind the kittens seemed extra fitting!
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