To rejoice the publication of Bitsy Bat, Crew Star, the second ebook within the Bitsy Bat sequence, I interviewed the proficient author-illustrator of the sequence, Kaz Windness!
We talked about illustration, neurodivergence, encouraging children to learn, empathy, and AI. (In the event you comply with Kaz on social media, you recognize these matters are close to and expensive to her coronary heart.)
About Bitsy Bat, Crew Star
From Simon & Schuster: In BITSY BAT, TEAM STAR, Kaz Windness delivers one other considerate and inclusive story delivered to life by whimsical artwork and private insights from her personal life as an autistic creator. This time Bitsy Bat focuses on teamwork, self-discovery, and forging connections! This new installment introduces Enzo Owl, a non-speaking pupil utilizing signal language and a communication pill, showcasing the significance of recognizing and celebrating variations. BITSY BAT, TEAM STAR is a heat and inclusive story that celebrates how every of us shines in our personal distinctive method and as a part of a crew!
Melissa’s Evaluate: It’s the Critter Video games, and Bitsy needs to be the BEST flyer –at any price, perhaps even at the price of being variety. After dreaming concerning the race and listening to her mother’s encouragement to be a superb teammate, Bitsy nonetheless clings to her one purpose — successful. She begins the race, flying quick, however quickly realizes that her good friend Mo wants assist. Now Bitsy faces a tough resolution — to assist or to win? Expressive, darling character artwork completely matches this charming and relatable story about what’s actually essential. I notably love that, together with our autistic Bitsy predominant character, this story options Enzo Owl, who communicates with signal language and a pill. This is likely one of the few image books that features this essential illustration, and I really like Kaz for together with it.
Interview with Writer / Illustrator Kaz Windness
Are you as enthusiastic about this interview as me? Let’s hear from Kaz as she shares concerning the story, her ardour, her course of, and extra!
Melissa: This second Bitsy ebook consists of new illustration inside the classroom characters, together with a non-verbal character who makes use of signal language and a desk to speak. How did you resolve what characters to incorporate on this story, and why was this essential to you?
Kaz: I’m so glad you requested about Enzo Owl! Enzo is non-speaking. Though his communication variations aren’t vital to the storytelling, it is very important me to shine a lightweight on totally different facets of autism in every of the BITSY BAT books. A number of mother and father and academics have instructed me that is the primary time they’ve seen an AAC (Augmentative and Various Communication) gadget in an image ebook, but many lecture rooms have non-speaking college students. Normalizing entry to every kind of lodging and making it simpler for educators and fogeys to speak about autism has been my best honor. The symbols Enzo makes use of to talk additionally assist rising readers decode the textual content.
So far as selecting characters, there’s nothing extra inspiring than actual life. I at all times have my sketch ebook out at my children’ college assemblies. Each Crittercrawl Elementary pupil is predicated on an actual particular person or a mix of kids I’ve met. Some are from my childhood. And Bitsy is me.
Melissa: You’re writing about an autistic character from an autistic perspective. What’s it like speaking about one thing susceptible, like being autistic, to kids and their grown-ups?
Kaz: This was actually the scariest half about telling Bitsy Bat’s story. Though I’ve an autistic youngster and had recognized I used to be autistic for a number of years earlier than the primary ebook’s publication, I used to be not totally “out” as autistic. I’m “high-masking,” which implies I’ve spent years studying mimic neurotypical habits. I expend a whole lot of vitality attempting to look regular to cover my variations. This causes a whole lot of at-home meltdowns and durations of debilitating burnout. It’s not straightforward wanting regular.
After I’m instructing neurodiverse college students on the artwork school, I generally share my variations so that they know I’m a secure area. The thought for BITSY BAT got here as I used to be speaking to an illustration pupil about how going to highschool felt like being a bat in a classroom for mice. She mentioned a narrative like that might have helped her rising up. I spotted a narrative like that would assist my youngster, too. So, I began writing “Bitsy Bat, College Star” that day.
When my “Swim, Jim!” editor, Catherine Laudone, mentioned she needed to publish BITSY BAT, I spotted I must inform the world I used to be autistic. This included members of the family who didn’t perceive.
What I’ve realized is, the people who find themselves most resistant, indignant, or dismissive about me being autistic are often people who find themselves in denial about their very own neurodivergence. And that’s okay. I run up in opposition to my very own internalized ableism on a regular basis. I hope BITSY BAT, TEAM STAR fosters extra acceptance for variations like autism. I hope extra folks really feel secure to embrace their very own variations and get the assistance, lodging, and understanding they want.
Melissa: What influence do you hope BITSY BAT, TEAM STAR could have for kids and educators?
Kaz: On this story, Bitsy struggles with modifications to her friendships. She sees the brand new pupil, Enzo Owl, as competitors. Will her mates nonetheless like her if she isn’t the most effective at flying? Bitsy doesn’t at all times make the most effective or kindest decisions. However in the long run, she sacrifices successful the race with a purpose to assist a good friend. She additionally realizes that she’s lovable for precisely who she is, not what she performs or how she will be able to outshine anybody else. Elevated compassion is my purpose for all of my books, and that features compassion for your self. I hope the BITSY BAT books assist educators speak extra simply about autism. BITSY BAT, TEAM STAR can be nice for discussing good sportsmanship and dealing as a crew.
Melissa: Do you’ve educator assets to help your books?
Kaz: I do! I’ve complimentary curriculum-based lesson plans crafted by Leah Robinson at BitsyBat.com. As well as, there are exercise sheets, together with how to attract Bitsy and new directions for a way to attract Enzo.
Melissa: Do you’ve a tip for grown-ups to assist them encourage extra studying within the kids they know, educate, or mum or dad?
Not too long ago I spotted if my children don’t see me studying, all my speak concerning the significance of literacy lands hole. I’m making a concerted effort to show off the T.V. or put down my telephone and decide up a ebook whereas they’re within the room. I depart books out on the espresso desk. All types of books! Graphic novels and film books and thick sci-fi novels. How-to books on carpentry or robotics. My native library is an incredible and free useful resource.
I generally overhear mother and father on the bookstore telling their children that the ebook they need isn’t actual studying or isn’t difficult sufficient for them. I watch these children lose their spark for studying in real-time. A love for studying is far more essential than what they’re studying.
And being learn to is likely one of the greatest methods to assist children fall in love with books. I’m grateful to academics who learn aloud to their kiddos, even at the highschool degree. Extra of this!
Melissa: What’s your greatest recommendation for younger (child) artists and writers?
Please don’t let Ai steal your creativity. I’m so glad this know-how didn’t exist once I was struggling to seek out my voice or annoyed with my horrible artwork. I needed to give up so many occasions. It was painful not to have the ability to produce the concepts I might see in my thoughts. It could have been very tempting to enter a immediate and have a pc do all that work for me. What I didn’t know on the time was all that wrestle was constructing a bridge to my artwork and writing abilities. The issue meant I used to be rising. I used to be getting higher even once I felt like I used to be simply getting worse. It took time and work, however I did develop into good at artwork and writing. Now I can specific the whole lot I really feel in my artwork. There is no such thing as a higher satisfaction. And since I’m an actual particular person, my tales join with different actual individuals who have felt the identical method I’ve.
Additionally, Ai won’t ever make something unique as a result of it’s fabricated from chewed-up items of different folks’s creativity with out their permission. In the event you suppose stealing or plagiarism is unhealthy, you gained’t use Ai textual content or picture era. Belief me, your personal creativity, irrespective of how messy or imperfect, is a zillion occasions higher than no matter generative Ai barfs out.
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Thanks SO a lot for the chance to interview with you! I hope your readers take pleasure in BITSY BAT, TEAM STAR.
Melissa: Thank YOU, Kaz!
About Kaz Windness
Kaz Windness is the Geisel award-winning, genre-crossing illustrator and creator of humorous and heart-warming books for younger readers. Proudly neurodivergent (ASD/ADHD), Kaz makes a speciality of character-driven books celebrating inclusivity, grit, and kindness. Her many books embrace “Swim, Jim!,” “Worm and Caterpillar Are Pals,” “When You Love a E-book,” and the “Bitsy Bat” sequence. She is a professor of illustration on the Rocky Mountain Faculty of Artwork + Design and founding father of The Cuddlefish Academy, the place she conjures up college students to inform tales with footage. Kaz lives in Colorado along with her English trainer husband, two teen kids, and a bunny-obsessed Boston Terrier named Remy. Kaz loves making deep-dish pizza from scratch and sketching animals on the zoo. Feel free to find and follow me on your favorite social media.
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