Author: Alexandra Penfold

Suzanne and I are very fortunate to have enjoyed a close partnership. We directly collaborate on all of the books, which is unusual in the children’s publishing world where more typically the author writes the text and the illustrator brings to life the visual narrative.

Our book series started with the original book All Are Welcome which was inspired by a beautiful, inclusive poster Suzanne created for her children’s school. The poster featured many children from different backgrounds with the message “All Are Welcome.” When I saw the poster I was charmed by the children’s joyful faces and struck by how much they reminded me of the diverse student body at my own children’s schools. I’ve been fortunate to send my children to incredibly warm, close-knit, diverse schools where the administration made sure that all students felt welcome and seen. I wanted to write a story that would share that message so that any teacher or administrator could read the story aloud and use my words to create a culture of safety and belonging in their classroom and school.

We think of our books as conversation starters. The texts are written to be warm, inclusive and welcoming and the art allows the children to follow the characters in the illustrations and bring themselves into the story.

The original draft for All Are Welcome came to me in rhyme. I think of it as a sort of song for starting the day and starting the year. I’ve found that children connect to the rhyme and the repetition of the refrain in the story and it helps them feel safe and grounded. It also allows them to participate in the read aloud with their teacher which helps them feel connected to the story and message.

Teachers are some of the most wonderful and influential individuals in our children’s lives. They work so hard and they love and fight for their students. When I write, I write to give them words to help them express the love and care they have for their students and the joy of school.

Illustrator: Suzanne Kaufman

I love drawing from real life and all of the characters in the book are inspired by friends, family and people in our communities. Representation was incredibly important for me in bringing the story to life. I wanted to make sure all children from different backgrounds and with different abilities were able to see themselves in this book. I also love to create a visual narrative that goes beyond the written text so readers can follow any character throughout the book and see their interactions with others and the way that the characters grow in confidence and joy. Kids are so smart and they pick up on so many small details in the art. It has also been extremely touching to speak to people who didn’t see themselves represented in picture books as a child after they found themselves and their children in our book. We want all of our readers to see themselves in stories and hope that will empower them to write and share their own stories someday.

I do a lot of sketching in my design development work. I think about the characters and their families as well as their personalities. I have tons of notes on each of the characters so I can bring them to the page in ways that feel authentic to their stories.

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Many thanks to Alexandra and Suzanne for sharing their experience.  You can find the full selection of the Bloomsbury Young Readers series below.