In Turning a Memoir Into a Picture Book

Ryan Rae Harbuck’s award-winning debut memoir When I Grow Up I Want to Be a Chair offers a keen look into her life after a spinal cord injury in her teens made her a wheelchair user. She’s on a mission to change the narrative of disability, one word at a time. Her new picture book with the same name as her memoir, When I Grow Up I Want to be a Chair, follows Vo, a young girl figuring out who she wants to be.

“Let me know if you’d ever be up for writing a children’s book based off of your memoir!” A moment of pure happenstance from a senior editor at Barefoot stirred something inside of me.

It’s safe to say that I wrote it that very day.

But turning a memoir with themes of grief and overcoming trauma into a story meant for kids should be harder to write, right?

That’s just the thing, though, I think that story had been sitting in me, idly, waiting for the chance to come out. Waiting quietly for nearly 30 years.

Having been paralyzed by a car accident

Research, Reconcile, Repeat: When Sources Don’t Agree

Dr. Laura Gehl is the award-winning author of more than fifty books for young readers, including picture books, board books, lift-the-flap books, and early readers. Her new Barefoot titles Bunnies Know & Grow and Puppies Know & Grow launch the Baby Animals series and follow young animals as they develop.

Often, when I visit schools, kids ask me, “What was the hardest part of writing this book?” For some books, I don’t have a simple answer. But if kids ask me the hardest part of writing these little nonfiction board books about bunnies and puppies, I will know exactly what to tell them. The hardest part of writing these books was that my research sources often did not agree with one another!

For example: When I was researching Bunnies Know and Grow, I had one source that said newborn bunnies open their eyes when they are around 10-12 days old. A second source said the same thing. So did a third source. Great! I could feel pretty confident

Zamzam for Everyone – A Child’s Hajj, A Universal Muslim Story

Razeena Omar Gutta is an acclaimed children’s book author known for her bright and joyful picture books centering young Muslim characters. Her new picture book, Zamzam for Everyone, is her third picture book published with Barefoot Books, and follows a young girl as she experiences Hajj for the first time.

“To place this book in the hands of Muslim children across the world is to connect them with a heritage that spans centuries. And for non-Muslim readers this is a chance to glimpse the beauty and humanity of the sacred journey of Hajj.”

For many Muslims, Hajj is a story we hear about before we can fully comprehend it. It is a sacred journey woven into our earliest memories – watching Tawaaf around the Kaaba on TV or YouTube, visiting friends or family planning to make the trip, receiving special gifts from those who return after Hajj. Over time, this shapes our understanding of worship, sacrifice, and the vast, tender embrace

What Disability Pride Means to Me

Jenna Elyse Johnson is a children’s author, teacher and bookseller with a particular passion for writing stories that highlight disability joy. Having grown up with cerebral palsy, and now living with other chronic illnesses, Jenna enjoys creating stories that feature all types of characters. Her new picture book, Every Body Move!, is an original singalong celebrating kids with disabilities and the tools that help them access our world.

When I talk about disability joy or disability pride, I sometimes get confused looks from others. “You are happy to be disabled?” someone might ask me. Or “So, you’re never upset about being disabled or chronically ill?” The answer is…well, it’s complicated!

I want to preface this by saying that I cannot possibly speak for the entire disability community. I am speaking from my personal experience, though I know many people within the disability community share my opinions. Still, everyone is entitled to their own views

Some Days I’m the Wind: My Illustration Process and the Concept Behind the Art

Poetry, Picture Books, and the Power of Feelings: A Conversation with Rebecca Gardyn Levington

A New, Wide-Lens Look at Bird Migration

The Remembering Candle: Conjuring Delight

The Sleeping Bag Story and Fictionalizing Fragments of Memory