Civics Light
After a decade-long journey, I’m publishing the first book in my civics-themed series of early chapter books later this year.
Long before Aaron Sorkin gifted me with the tagline of a lifetime, I was serendipitously introduced to the only illustrator I’ve ever fallen in love with.
It was July in New York City, terribly muggy, the kind of day where you wonder how anyone ever romanticizes New York in the summer.
My literary agent had just sent me on a field trip to Books of Wonder on 17th Street and told me not to leave until I’d found 2-3 illustrators I liked. I couldn’t find a single style that felt right. At that time, the characters were all in my head and words on a page, and I wondered what kind of deal I’d have to make with the devil if I ever wanted to see them come to life (color??).
I left the bookstore with my weekend bag and hopped on the train east in search of a fresh breeze, feeling discouraged and anything but in the mood to chat up donors at the Southampton Animal Shelter fundraiser. I plopped down next to someone so engaging, I forgot all about the misery of writing a children’s book that might never be illustrated the way I hoped it would be. We talked about all of it. I have an illustrator for you, she said.
And the rest is history. (Sending hugs to you Helen!)
Six years later, Anne Le Guern is my ride or die on this magical journey. She patiently watched me make lots of choices - some good, some bad, all necessary. In the end, I wanted parents to love reading my books with their kids just as much as I want kids to connect with and see themselves in my characters, and Anne’s aesthetic is so deeply everything I ever imagined.
I’m sharing below a description of the first book, A New Home for Henry, along with a sneak peak of one of Anne’s spectacular illustrations. The topic for this week’s upcoming guest post was inspired by one of the main characters, so I wanted you to know a little bit about them and their world.
More soon,
Sarah
A New Home for Henry
Written by Sarah Vacchiano & Illustrated by Anne Le Guern
Isabelle, an eight-year-old raccoon, loves how everyone works and plays together on her snowy mountain. They take ski lifts up and down to school, go sledding on yoga mats, and snack on maple pine-scones.
When a mudslide hits a nearby mountain, some members of the community aren’t sure they want to help. The choice sits with the Mountain Assembly, and it’s not looking good.
After hearing about a young raccoon named Henry whose family has been displaced, Isabelle isn’t taking no for an answer.
She rallies her friends: GiGi, a sensitive and painfully shy groundhog; Ollie, a grumpy, know-it-all bear; a spirited squirrel named Taylor; and a bookish, science-minded deer named Frankie.
Determined to bring Henry to the Mountain, they form a club, gather donations and even get celebrity help from a young musical prodigy, Rocky the Raccoon.
But when Isabelle has the chance to go before the Mountain Assembly to stand up for what she thinks is right, will she have the courage to speak up on behalf of the Mountain’s youngest animals?