Today I am delighted to being a very special early chapter book with you: The Girl Who Became a Fish. It sensitively tackles the themes of change and fear in a way which is appropriate for its intended audience.
Make sure you scroll down to read a special Q&A with author, Polly Ho-Yen and illustrator, Sojung Kim-McCarthy!
“Ita is afraid of lots of things. She’s afraid of talking to her classmates at her new school. She’s afraid of walking through her new town. But most of all she is afraid of water. When one day she realises the river in her new town turns her into a fish, she is forced to face up to her fears. In doing so, can she bring her family together again?”
Q&A with author Polly Yo-Hen and illustrator Sojung Kim-McCarthy
Polly, Can you tell us a bit about your new book?
POLLY: ‘The Girl Who Became a Fish’ is all about a young girl called Ita. She’s facing a lot of change in her life. Her family have upped and moved to a new town and she feels like they’re slipping away from her, when the ultimate change happens to her. She discovers something very strange happens when she dips her fingers into the river she discovers in her new town. Ita’s skin becomes covered in shimmering, perfect fish scales. She’s always feared water and has never learnt to swim and so she immediately pulls away from her discoverybut she’s also fascinated by it. In the story, she’s on a journey to learn to overcome her fears and embrace the changes in her life.
Where did you get the inspiration for this story?
POLLY: Wild swimming is one of my very favourite things to do in the world. It feels so exhilarating and demands every bit of your attention. It’s as if you undergo a kind of transformation as your body plunges into very cold water. It’s startling but then you find the strength to move through it. I feel keenly aware of how my family is changing at the moment; my daughter was born three years ago, I’m pregnant right now, I’m lucky that I have my parents although I worry deeply about some of the health challenges they are facing. The idea that I need to face these changes, just as I do with cold water, is the underlying, personal inspiration for this story.
What did you think when you first saw the illustrations for the book?
POLLY: I was blown away when I first saw the illustrations – although after working with Sojung Kim-McCarthy with ‘The Boy Who Grew a Tree’, I was also not surprised by how much I loved them. Sojung creates images that have such tenderness and an incredible emotional literacy that I knew she was the right woman for the job. It’s a special collaboration when you feel the illustrations are imbued exactly with the feelings you have writing the story.
Sojung, how did you feel when you saw the final book?
SOJUNG: I couldn’t get over how beautiful it was inside and out, I spent all day just staring at the book! It was such a joy to see all the design elements sitting in perfect harmony with the illustrations, all thanks to the art director Sophie. From the stunning title branding to all the final touches line by line, she did an amazing job of making this book such a special thing. (Now I’m looking at my copy as I’m saying this and I… can’t take my eyes off…)
Can you talk about any early sketches and how you approached the look of the characters?
SOJUNG: The first sketch I made was Ita’s character design. I didn’t have to try different designs of Ita because I already had a clear idea of how she should look before I put it down on a page (and thankfully it was immediately approved so I didn’t have to make a new Ita). I wanted Ita to have a hairstyle that could look like she had fins, so that her fish-ness would be there even when she was not in the river. Ita’s fish scales and fins represent strength in the story, and Ita initially feels like it comes from somewhere outside of her (the river). But actually, she already has that power and courage in her even when she doesn’t realise it and I wanted that to show in the character design.
The other initial sketch I made was of Ita’s family all standing together so I can have an idea of how tall they are in relation to each other, and I can (kind of) keep the consistency throughout the book. I wanted them to look like they belong to one family – one world, so I put different combinations of the parents’ features on the kids’ faces. For example, Ita has Dad’s big eyes and Mum’s piggy nose. Both brothers have Mum’s eyes, Greg has Dad’s nose and Frankie has Mum’s nose.
How does it work fitting the illustrations and text together – are you told which spaces you’ll have to fill, or does the publisher work the text around your illustrations?
SOJUNG: Not every book is made the same way – but for this book, the art director Sophie layed out where the illustrations would go, as well as what she wanted me to draw. She was open to my suggestions too, of course, but her initial plans were so spot on that I only needed to follow her direction. I made my sketches to roughly fit in the suggested spaces and Sophie checked if the text flow around the pictures well. Sothere was a bit of back and forth until we had the final illustrations happily sitting on the pages, but overall, this project went swimmingly and we didn’t have to make dramatic changes to the layout in the process.
What do you hope readers will take from the book?
POLLY: I hope readers will take comfort and courage from this book, that they might feel the tiny part of them that is like Ita light up and walk towards the challenges that they are facing, with a little more courage in their step.
How do you hope schools might use the book?
POLLY: I’d love schools to use the book in any way that their students might enjoy reading it! I’d hope it may encourage discussion where students could voice the fears they are facing in their own lives. Though I know wild swimming with a class would be an impossible feat, it’d be fantastic if schools could seek out wild water near their school and spend time in that environment. Quite often these are hidden places that have their own brand of magic and spending time there is not only inspiring but is generally good for the soul.
Has your career as a teacher influenced your approach to writing for children?
POLLY: I think the most important influence on my approach to writing for children is any interaction I have with children. When my work takes me there, because I’m doing school visits or running writing workshops, that’s really invaluable.
Were you a reader as a child?
POLLY: I was a reader as a child. I particularly enjoyed re-reading which is something I rarely do now, but I think re-reading back then has helped me no end with my writing now.
I had a battered copy of ‘The Hundred and One Dalmatians’ that I loved as a kid – although when I first received it as a birthday present I wasn’t at all interested! I also have vivid memories of my teacher reading aloud Rumer Godden’s ‘The Diddakoi’ to my class and being completely spellbound.
And now, there are so many fantastic authors writing that I’m loving – SF Said, Michael Mann, MG Leonard, Jenny MacLachlan, Jennifer Killick, Nadia Shireen, Piers Torday, Abi Elphinstone …. I could go on and on. It’s an exciting time to be writing and reading!
And I read a lot of picture books at the moment with my daughter – some absolute beauties are ‘Mr. Mornington’s Favourite Things’ by Karen George, ’Mr. Leopard’s Bookshop’ by Alexa Brown, ‘Would you like a Banana?’ by Yasmeen Ismail. They are all friends of mine too and so perhaps I’m a bit biased but we love and re-read them over and over in our house. Some other classics that I’ve only discovered recently include ‘Cloudland’ by John Burningham and ‘Zagazoo’ by Quentin Blake.
What are your top tips for budding young writers (children)?
POLLY: Read, read and read some more. Read what you love, read what you feel unsure of, read something you’re sure you won’t like. Ask yourself why you like what you like and why other books don’t do it for you. Re-read stories you feel you want to re-read. Just, read!
The Girl Who Became a Fish by Polly Ho-Yen, illustrated by Sojung Kim-McCarthy is published by Knights Of. www.knightsof.media.
It’s a real treat hearing from both author AND illustrator. I love hearing how the words and pictures are woven together on the page to create something really magical. I urge you to seek out a copy for yourself or perhaps for someone who you think might need it.
Jo.
*Many thanks to Knights Of for inviting me to be a part of this blog tour*
Library Girl and Book Boy 