Bea
asked
Jess Keating:
I was at my younger siblings' elementary school book fair and found "Pink is for Blobfish." I bought it without hesitation and it is my now pride and joy; it is currently on display on my bookshelf. Will there be other color-related animal books like this in the future from you?
Jess Keating
Hi Bea! That's so great! Thank you so much for reading BLOBFISH! I do have a few sequels in the works for this series, but they are not color-related! (I think there are some amazing books about the variety of animal colors out there, and I wanted to do something different!)
As BLOBFISH is about subverting our expectations (in this case, relating to the color pink and gender), the other books in this series will follow that example! In Book 2 (What Makes a Monster?), readers will get to dig into animals typically described as "scary" or "monsters", and have a chance to examine those prejudices by getting a more well-rounded view of each creature. In other words, I'd love for readers to see that an animal need not be judged as "scary", simply because it is different from us! (On a personal note, I think this is an important issue to tackle, especially in this day and age!) The subject of diversity applies to animals as well, and my hope is that readers learn about all sorts and make space for them in their lives and on the planet!
In Book 3 (Cute as an Axolotl), we check out the world's cutest animals (a difficult task, I know!) and examine the ways in which we might be limiting these animals by our judgments of them. In other words, there is so much *more* to these animals than their cuteness, and I'd love for readers to see them not simply as cute, but as incredible, awe-inspiring examples of biodiversity. As with Pink is for Blobfish, where we learned that pink can be so much more than what we expect, my hope is to do the same with 'cute'!
I hope this helps! One thing is for sure—you can expect the fun design, full-color photos, and hilarious cartoons (courtesy of David DeGrand!) to be in the coming books too! Thank you so much for your question! Hope you continue to enjoy the series!
-Jess Keating
As BLOBFISH is about subverting our expectations (in this case, relating to the color pink and gender), the other books in this series will follow that example! In Book 2 (What Makes a Monster?), readers will get to dig into animals typically described as "scary" or "monsters", and have a chance to examine those prejudices by getting a more well-rounded view of each creature. In other words, I'd love for readers to see that an animal need not be judged as "scary", simply because it is different from us! (On a personal note, I think this is an important issue to tackle, especially in this day and age!) The subject of diversity applies to animals as well, and my hope is that readers learn about all sorts and make space for them in their lives and on the planet!
In Book 3 (Cute as an Axolotl), we check out the world's cutest animals (a difficult task, I know!) and examine the ways in which we might be limiting these animals by our judgments of them. In other words, there is so much *more* to these animals than their cuteness, and I'd love for readers to see them not simply as cute, but as incredible, awe-inspiring examples of biodiversity. As with Pink is for Blobfish, where we learned that pink can be so much more than what we expect, my hope is to do the same with 'cute'!
I hope this helps! One thing is for sure—you can expect the fun design, full-color photos, and hilarious cartoons (courtesy of David DeGrand!) to be in the coming books too! Thank you so much for your question! Hope you continue to enjoy the series!
-Jess Keating
More Answered Questions
Lynn
asked
Jess Keating:
How do you deal with writer's block? I'm an aspiring author who suffers from lack of inspiration. P.S. I love your My Life is a Zoo series, it is hilarious. One time high school boys were spraying cologne on my bus, and when I got to school I smelled like cologne, so I tried to cover it up with scented germ-x which made it worse. My best friend goes, "Didn't Ana teach you ANYTHING?" :)
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