Creator Corner: Author Nancy Hundal and Illustrator Ellen Rooney
Welcome to Creator Corner, a blog series where we interview the creators of our recent and upcoming books. For this post, we interviewed When Bryn’s Ear Went Quiet author Nancy Hundal and illustrator Ellen Rooney, whose book published January 27, 2026!
Owlkids Books: Nancy, what inspired you to write this book?
Nancy Hundal: I was inspired to write this book because just like the girl in the story, I wear cochlear implants. She experiences hearing loss in one ear as a child and then she and her parents decide that the surgery is a good choice for her; I experienced hearing loss as an adult and had the surgery in both ears. I am deaf without my implants, but with them I hear almost normally.
Owlkids Books: Ellen, what was the inspiration for your illustrations in this book?
Ellen Rooney: Nancy’s text was my biggest inspiration. I loved the charming way her character of Bryn tells the story. Images in the text like the chirping birds, running squirrel, and toasty yellow sunlight influenced the style and colors that I used. I also visited Boston Children’s Hospital and looked at photos of other children’s hospitals to see how those kinds of places might be designed to be welcoming and cheerful.
OKB: Nancy, what was the most enjoyable part of bringing this story to life? What was the most challenging part of the process?
NH: The best part about writing this story was feeling that it might help even one child who was facing cochlear implant surgery, or more generally, any type of surgery or a hospital stay. To have the surgery was daunting even for an adult, so I hoped to demystify it a bit for kids by examining the whole process. The most challenging part of the writing was that the surgery for a child wouldn’t be exactly as it had been for me, as an adult. Luckily, the kind audiologists at my clinic read over my manuscript and then sent it to the audiologists at the children’s hospital in Vancouver where children have the surgery, to make sure the text and illustrations reflected how the surgery process would go for a child.
OKB: Ellen, what was the most enjoyable part of illustrating this book? What was the most challenging part?
ER: Creating colors and textures is always fun. I like to make handmade textures using different papers and materials and use them in the artwork. I have more freedom to experiment while making the textures compared to more challenging technical tasks like showing models of the ear and the cochlear implant.
OKB: Nancy and Ellen, what do you hope readers will take away from this book?
NH: I hope that people will be a bit more familiar with the whole idea of what cochlear implants are. They are still relatively uncommon, but more and more people are having the chance to have this amazing surgery. Also, I hope that my story might make a hospital visit just a little less intimidating for a child.
ER: Bryn is a charming character, and I hope that kids will enjoy reading her story. I like to think that someone who has read this book might feel less afraid if they need surgery or a trip to the hospital.
OKB: Nancy and Ellen, what’s an interesting fact people may not know about you?
NH: I used to sing in a trio, but had to stop when my hearing seriously deteriorated. For me, my cochlear implants have been amazing for connection with people, but not so great for music. I’m now trying to relearn how to hear and produce music. A work in progress!
ER: A couple of years ago I joined a dragon boat team, and now in the summer I escape from my studio to paddle with my teammates on our beautiful local lake!
Thank you so much Nancy and Ellen for taking the time to do this interview and creating a wonderful book! We hope readers enjoy When Bryn’s Ear Went Quiet as much as we did!
Grab your copy today!
