Creator Corner: Author Pawan K. Singh and Illustrator Meneka Repka
Welcome to Creator Corner, a blog series where we interview the creators of our recent and upcoming books. For this post, we interviewed Simmy and Maddy’s Snow Day author Pawan K. Singh and illustrator Meneka Repka, whose book is publishing November 3, 2026!
Owlkids Books: Pawan, why did you begin writing children’s books?
Pawan K. Singh: I started writing picture books because I loved them growing up, and later, I loved reading them to my own children. Picture books can open up so much for young readers—magic, humor, relationships, and so many other things—and I wanted to be part of creating that experience for children. What really hooked me into writing them myself was taking a writing course, which gave me both the tools and the push I needed to start.
Owlkids Books: Meneka, what’s your favorite thing about illustrating children’s books?
Meneka Repka: In all honesty, I love everything about my job and truly feel like this is my dream career. I love drawing, and being able to spend my days drawing is very fulfilling and satisfying. That said, there is something very special about seeing children interact with and enjoy things that I’ve illustrated. I think my favourite part is knowing that even one child, somewhere, could be inspired by a book.
OKB: Pawan, what inspired you to write this book?
PKS: Growing up, winter was always my favorite season—the snow, the quiet magic of it all. One of my favorite stories as a child was The Snowman by Raymond Briggs, and I loved how purely magical it felt. That sense of wonder stayed with me, and when I started thinking about writing a story of my own featuring a snowperson, I wanted to bring in a cultural element that felt personal to me—which is how the sari became part of Simmy and Maddy’s Snow Day.
OKB: Meneka, what was the inspiration for your illustrations in this book?
MR: For the narrative component, I was very inspired by a book from my childhood called The Black Snowman by Phil Mendez. In it, a Black boy struggles with his skin color and identity, but develops a better understanding of himself through the magic of a Kente cloth and a snowman. I think both Simmy and Maddy’s Snow Day and The Black Snowman use cultural textiles as important symbols in helping children connect with diverse identities. From a visual standpoint, I took a lot of inspiration from classic, vintage books, and greeting cards. I wanted the book to have a warm and cozy feel, despite the majority of it taking place outdoors in the snow.
OKB: Pawan, what was the most enjoyable part of bringing this story to life? What was the most challenging part of the process?
PKS: The most enjoyable part of bringing this story to life was the dreaming up and writing of it—letting the idea take shape and finding my way into the story. The most challenging part was making sure all the elements came across clearly as a wordless picture book, which it did!
OKB: Meneka, what was the most enjoyable part of illustrating this book? What was the most challenging part?
MR: The most enjoyable and also challenging part of illustrating this book was figuring out how to technically execute the conceptual parts. One of the challenges with a wordless book is trying to convey a clear story, without making everything too literal, and providing opportunities for readers to take meaning and understanding from a variety of places in the book. I had a strong idea that I wanted both main characters to be mirrors of one another, though they appear physically different and have different cultural backgrounds. One way I tried to show this was through the breakfast table scene, where the reader sees two different versions of how breakfast can look, yet also understands that these neighbors have connection, community, understanding, and shared experiences with one another.
OKB: What do you hope readers will take away from this book?
PKS: I hope readers feel that same magical feeling I had growing up, playing outside and building snowmen. But I also hope this book shows kids that they can make whatever they want using their own imagination, and that there’s real joy and fun in that kind of open-ended play. On top of that, I hope readers see how something personal and culturally meaningful can become part of that imaginative play too, and that blending the two can feel just as magical as the play itself. I hope the book opens another way of seeing and celebrating winter and shows that cultural traditions aren’t separate from imagination and fun—they can be woven right into it, the same as anything else a child loves.
MR: There are many ways to engage with a wordless book—an adult can narrate the story to a child, a child can tell the story to someone else, a child can read it to themselves, and probably many other ways too. I hope readers can find a way to tell stories that are personal and important to themselves.
Thank you so much Pawan and Meneka for taking the time to do this interview and creating a wonderful book! We hope readers enjoy Simmy and Maddy’s Snow Day as much as we did!
Pre-order your copy today!
