Last week, on Perfect Picture Book Friday, I shared YOU GO FIRST, a highly relatable story for all ages that addresses the fear of trying something new, especially when that something new is a playground slide that’s BIG and CURVY and might be TOO exciting and provide TOO much fun. Today, as promised, I’m happy to bring you the interview with Ariel Bernstein.
Me: Can you take us back to the exact moment you knew you wanted to write books for children?
Ariel: I don’t have an exact moment as it was more a build up over time. I loved reading books for children back when I was an actual child of course! And then I fell in love with children’s books again when I started reading them to my kids. It was when I was reading them to my kids that I began to think of some story ideas, and realized I needed to learn how to write a good manuscript.
Me: What were the first steps you took on your journey toward publication?
Ariel: I found critique partners, joined SCBWI, and attended a conference. I also researched a lot online through websites like kidlit411.org and subitclub.com.
Me: What is the most challenging or favorite aspect of writing a picture book?
Ariel: The most challenging aspect can be figuring out how to improve a ‘good’ manuscript to something worth submitting to editors. That’s when critique partners can be incredibly helpful for getting an unbiased opinion on what still needs work.
My favorite aspect of writing a picture book is creating something from scratch that I end up being proud of. You don’t have to write a picture book to do that of course as it happens anytime someone creates something new like a song or dance, etc. But it just feels very cool whether it ends up being published or not.
Me: An idea pops into your head. (I love it when that happens.) Take us through the steps you take to write a picture book.
Ariel: I’ll read a bunch of picture book mentor texts to get into the ‘picture book mindset.’ I write down whatever notes I have about the idea. Sometimes before I write I’ve already thought of a character, or line of dialogue, or even the title. But mostly I just start with a sliver of an idea that seems interesting and see what comes up when I start writing. If I get stuck, a walk helps a lot, and sometimes taking little breaks. Often when I sit back down to work on it again, I figure out another layer of the story until I finally reach the end.
Me: Where do you most love to write, and what makes this place special to you?
Ariel: I love writing in my living room, either at my writing desk or on the sofa. It’s a very relaxing area with big windows that get some nice sunlight with lots of pretty trees to look at. If I’m not working on non-book things, I appreciate having the room to myself during most weekdays when my kids are at school so there aren’t many distractions.
Me: For each manuscript I’ve written, I remember the Ah-Ha moment that sent me running to my laptop to type up my ideas. Can you share the source of inspiration for your book, You Go First?
Ariel: I wish I could, but I can’t with this one! The original story was told in first person and was about a pig who was scared to go on a diving board. It kept changing with every revision so there really wasn’t an ah-ha moment. It was more of a gradual progression to the current version.
Me: If you could go back to the first months of your writing journey, knowing what you know today, what advice would you give to yourself?
Ariel: You don’t always have to say yes to everything. It’s okay to pick and choose what works for you, whether it’s a writing schedule or which critique partners you work with or what promotion you feel is a good investment. I burned myself out a bit in the beginning by doing too much, and eventually realized it’s not necessary or the best way to manage my time.
Me: What was the best comment or reaction you received from a child about your book?
Ariel: I got a message through my website from a young reader telling me how much he enjoyed the WARREN & DRAGON chapter books and asking very politely if I could please write some more. I felt bad having to explain that it would only be a 4 book series, but gave him a ton of other chapter book recommendations. It was just so nice to know directly from a reader how much they liked the books and wanted more. It also felt great to hopefully lead him to some other wonderful titles.
Me: What were your favorite books/authors when you were a child?
Ariel: Definitely Maurice Sendak, Beverly Cleary, Bill Watterson, and Shel Silverstein. I would have read anything CALVIN & HOBBES countless times.
Ariel is the author of eight books for children, so if you love You Go First as much as I do, I hope you’ll check out her other books. Click on the titles to read more about each one on Amazon.
and her four-book series: Warren & Dragon
You can visit Ariel at her website: https://www.arielbernsteinbooks.com/
See you next Friday!
Leslie
Leslie Leibhardt Goodman 
