Chronicle Books | 978-1797215037
In WAKE UP, WOODLANDS, author Karen Jameson and illustrator Marc Boutavant‘s beautiful companion to Woodland Dreams, readers are invited into the arrival of one of my favorite seasons. As the bears and butterflies, fawns and foxes greet warmer days, kids will relish the call to take in the sights and sounds of the woodlands in spring as friends and family gather for a picnic celebration.
This ode to the bright and glorious season of sunshine and new blooms is sure to delight young readers everywhere.
I’m so pleased Karen is back on ReaderKidZ to talk about her latest book!
DIANNE: Welcome, Karen and congratulations on the release of WAKE UP, WOODLANDS! Your previous titles with Chronicle — Woodland Dreams, Farm Lullaby, and Where the Wee Ones Go — were bedtime books, but this is your first true follow-up/companion. Can you share the backstory to this book and any challenges you faced in writing it?
KAREN: Thanks, Dianne! I’m very blessed that my books have found such a wonderful home at Chronicle Kids. Here’s the backstory…It was mid December 2020, a gloomy pandemic winter with no end in sight. Yet, in the midst of darkness, some wonderful news arrived! Chronicle was offering me a spring companion book to my top seller, WOODLAND DREAMS! Could I send some sample stanzas to take to acquisitions? Deadline – the first week of January. A terrific opportunity, but the timing was terrible. I’d been battling a severe case of writer’s block all year, and wondered if I had it in me. How could I even begin to evoke the spirit of spring in this dark season? All I knew was that I had to try.
And so I plunged into all things spring in an effort to regain my creative spirit. Immersing myself in spring books, poems, songs, nature walks, movies and the like, I willed the inspiration and the story to come. Slowly, slowly, spring began to trickle in and I entered the zone. Magically, the words began to flow once more. Fast forward to January 2021 and the book was acquired. WAKE UP, WOODLANDS released on March 5, 2024 and I couldn’t be prouder of this book!
DIANNE: I’m wondering about some of the decisions you made as you began to write – things like which animals you would include, the order of the animals, and the decision to end the story with a picnic with loved ones. Can you talk about your choices?
KAREN: Good question! Revisiting the same WOODLAND DREAMS (WD) setting meant that the habitat – North American coniferous forest- would be the same. As for the animals, a mix of WD animals, with a few new ones sprinkled in, seemed like a good balance. Of course, spring brings baby animals, so even though I kept the familiar bear, bunny, fox, etc., they were joined by their adorable offspring.
As WAKE UP, WOODLANDS is categorized as informational fiction, I had to verify that each animal species would actually be in the coniferous forest in spring and confirm that their actions were realistic. Once the animals were in place, I experimented by ordering them in different ways, but ultimately left it up to the editor (who, other than moving the mouse to the first spread, left it as is).
About the picnic…that was the illustrator’s contribution and a surprise at that! I had very few illo notes in this book, but did say that I imagined the characters coming together to celebrate spring at the end. My own childhood memories of family nature walks often included a picnic lunch, so it feels extra special. A joyful book spread and quite literally a “spread” of goodies!
DIANNE: Were there any pleasant surprises you had while working on this book?
KAREN: Yes! I loved finding out that the painted lady butterfly (which was edited out of the first book) fit perfectly in the second. You’ll see her fluttering happily among the flowers. The picnic scene held another surprise – a hidden animal hunt for kids! Brilliant illustrator idea! See if you can find them all.
DIANNE: Can you share a favorite spread?
KAREN:Beyond the picnic scene, I’m especially drawn to the bear cubs peeking out at spring. Why? A friend, upon seeing that WOODLAND DREAMS had won the SCBWI LA Sue Alexander award, asked her teenage granddaughter to illustrate the bear stanza as a gift. That special art was framed and presented to me at my teacher retirement party! It’s displayed prominently above my writing desk. When I saw the bear spread in WAKE UP, WOODLANDS, I did a double take! The composition and scene are so similar to my own framed bears. Serendipity, for sure.
DIANNE: What can your readers look forward to next?
KAREN: Another, as yet unannounced picture book, is scheduled for 2025. In the meanwhile, I’m doing a deep dive into all things jellyfish for my next Chronicle title, THE SECRETS OF THE JELLIES. This collaboration with illustrator, Marie Hermansson and editor, Naomi Kirsten, was pitched as an aquarium exhibit within a picture book. Can’t wait to see it on aquarium shelves and in book stores everywhere in 2026!
DIANNE: As always, Karen, thanks for joining ReaderKidZ and for writing such beautiful books for young readers.
Check out these previous ReaderKidZ interviews with Karen:
