Creator Corner: Author and Illustrator Dave Whamond

Welcome to Creator Corner, a blog series where we interview the creators of our recent and upcoming books. For this post, we interviewed Shake This Book! author and illustrator Dave Whamond, whose book is publishing October 20, 2026!

Owlkids Books: Dave, what is your favorite thing about writing and illustrating a children’s book?

Dave Whamond: Doing the actual artwork is my favorite part. It’s one of the few vehicles left as an illustrator where you have a huge space of blank double-page spreads to create your own world. And you get to do that 15 times or more in a book!

But I also love getting the initial idea for a book. And then, many months later, you get to actually hold it in your hands. What began as just an idea bouncing around in your head, becomes something real. It never gets old!

Owlkids Books: What was the inspiration for writing this book?

Dave Whamond: When I was a kid, I loved books that were interactive. So I thought a book that would have an action and a reaction would be fun. And shaking a book? How much fun is THAT for a kid? I know I would’ve loved it.

OKB: What was the most enjoyable part of bringing this story to life?

DW: It was so fun brainstorming with my kids on some of the animal amalgamations. Hippopota-moose, a kanga-rooster, a crabbit, and a lady pug. The possibilities were endless! And some schools have sent me notes about their students making up their own fun animal combos:

“l wish you could have heard all the fantastic new animal crossed names…laughter everywhere!”

It’s so great when people dig your book. And especially if it makes them want to do their own version!

OKB: What was the most challenging part of the process?

DW: The most challenging was getting all the characters and the backgrounds of the scene to be consistent throughout the book. I tend to get bored and want to change things but, in this case, it was imperative that it all stayed exactly the same, as it was the same scene in the same book, after all.

OKB: What do you hope readers will take away from this book?

DW: I hope they will take away the fact that they can change their environment if they are bored or want to make a change. Just use your imagination. It’s all really up to you. And, sometimes, we all need to… SHAKE THINGS UP!

Thank you so much Dave for taking the time to do this interview and creating a wonderful book! We hope readers enjoy Shake This Book! as much as we did!

Pre-order your copy today!