Creator Corner: Author Deborah Kerbel and Illustrator Dawn Lo

Welcome to Creator Corner, a blog series where we interview the creators of our recent books. For this post, we interviewed What About an Octopus? author Deborah Kerbel and illustrator Dawn Lo, whose book published August 15, 2024!

Owlkids Books: Deborah, why did you begin writing children’s books?

Deborah Kerbel: The books that sparked my love of reading and made the biggest impact on my life were the ones I read when I was a child. When I started writing books of my own, it was with the hopes of igniting that spark in someone else and, hopefully, inspiring young kids to fall in love with reading.

Owlkids Books: Dawn, how did you begin illustrating children’s books?

Dawn Lo: As a child, I knew I wanted to pursue a career in art, and being a window display designer was one of my interests. It wasn’t until I took a picture book class at university with the wonderful professor Calef Brown that I discovered the possibility of becoming a children’s book illustrator. After graduating and refining my portfolio, an editor from Kids Can Press found my work on social media, leading to my first published picture book!

OKB: Deborah, what inspired you to write this book?

DK: I watched a fascinating documentary on Netflix called My Octopus Teacher and it opened my eyes to what incredible creatures octopuses are. I immediately wanted to learn more about them and, in the process of doing so, was inspired to write What About an Octopus?.

OKB: Dawn, what was the most enjoyable part of illustrating this book? What was the most challenging part?

DL: I found the entire book quite enjoyable! My fascination with painting different bodies of water, especially swimming pools, made illustrating the underwater scenes especially fun. The biggest challenge was maintaining consistency in the octopus character to ensure readers didn’t feel disconnected, despite the octopus’s ability to transform its body in various ways.

OKB: Deborah, what was the most enjoyable part of bringing this story to life? What was the most challenging part of the process?

DK: Observing the illustrations develop and watching Dawn bring the story to life on the page was incredible. Most definitely my favorite part of the process. The most challenging part was deciding which octopus facts to match with which elements of the story. There are so many great octopus facts!

OKB: Dawn, what was the inspiration for your illustrations in this book?

DL: To truly capture the essence of the octopus, I created a playlist of videos showing different octopuses in motion (also a good excuse to rewatch the film My Octopus Teacher).

OKB: Deborah and Dawn, what do you hope readers will take away from this book?

DK: I hope readers will come away with a deeper understanding of, not just octopuses, but the wonders of the natural world itself. Reading and learning about other species, especially in a fun and interesting way, is a great way to encourage protection, compassion, and respect for the extraordinary animals (and cephalopods) with whom we share this planet.

DL: Nature is truly incredible, and if you do spot an octopus, a friendly wave from a distance will be more than enough!

OKB: Deborah and Dawn, what’s a fun fact people may not know about you?

DK: That I, like many creators, am a little bit octopus-like myself. Shy, introverted, and highly sensitive. (Oh, and I also love to eat shellfish!)

DL: Here’s a fun fact about me: I really dislike cilantro. I think it’s in my genes!