Picture Book Buzz - Interview with Matt Forrest Esenwine and Review of Tractor Dance

Matt Forrest Esenwine is a poet, author, voice actor, a professional radio broadcaster, and commercial producer.

While numerous adult-oriented poems have been published in various journals and books, it's Matt’s love of children's poetry - writing it and teaching it - that truly motivates him.

He’s the author of The Thing To Remember About Stargazing, illustrated by Sonia Maria Luce Possentini (Tilbury House 2023), Everybody Counts illustrated by Emma Graham (The Little Fig 2023), A Beginner's Guide to Being Human illustrated by André Ceolin (Beaming Books 2022), I Am Today illustrated by Patricia Pessoa (POW! Kids, 2022), Once Upon Another Time, illustrated by Andres F. Landazabal (Beaming Books 2021), Elliot the Heart-Shaped Frog, illustrated by Anna Kubaszewska ( (Rainstorm, 2021), Don't Ask a Dinosaur, illustrated by Louie Chin (POW! Kids, 2018), Flashlight Night, illustrated by Fred Koehler (Boyds Mills & Kane, 2017), and has children’s poems in the following anthologies - Lee Bennett Hopkins’ Construction People (Wordsong 2020), School People (Wordsong 2018), and J. Patrick Lewis’ The Poetry of US and The National Geographic Book of Nature Poetry (National Geographic Children's Books, 2018/2015).

His newest picture book, Tractor Dance (Susan Schadt Press), released October 8th.

Welcome back Matt, nice to chat with you again.

This book had a bit of a different path to publication. Do you mind sharing about this journey?

Tractor Dance might be called the Little Board Book that Could. The manuscript was originally picked up by the same publisher as Elliot The Heart-Shaped Frog, way back in Feb. 2019. Their assistant editor had told me they'd really like to publish a board book about anthropomorphic farm equipment, so I said I'd give it a go - and submitted Tractor Dance a few weeks later.

They loved it, and we signed the contract. We also signed a third contract for three other manuscripts - a second Tractor book along with two picture books. Then 2022 rolled around and the publisher's parent company, a large multi-national group, decided to pare down their projects and put the kibosh on ALL FOUR BOOKS. None of them would be published, period.

Having been working with these folks on a work-for-hire basis with no royalties, my manuscripts were legally theirs, so I didn't have the option to shop them elsewhere. The publisher and editor with whom I'd been working felt awful because they were the ones who had signed these manuscripts, and they had wanted to turn them into books - but it was out of their hands. So, I thought about it and came up with a solution. In exchange for getting the rights back to all four manuscripts, I offered to provide writing and editing work to the company for the same value they had paid me; we would simply swap intellectual rights, basically. They thought that was a fantastic idea - so they had a contract drawn up, we signed, and I've been doing work-for-hire for them for a couple of years now. (Two of my books are What Fun, You're One! and Look At You, You're Two!, and I also assisted with editing their books A Little Bit of Sunshine and I Love Us.

As for Tractor Dance, Jen Taylor’s artwork had already been done, the book already formatted - it was completely ready to go to the printer when the parent corporation pulled the plug! So, rights to the artwork and everything was included in the contract we signed. I now had my three manuscripts back along with a board book ready for publication; I just had no idea how to do that, ha!

Enter the CYBILS Awards. Last fall, one of the books nominated in the Poetry Category I was judging had been published by Susan Schadt Press of Louisiana. Never having heard of this publisher, I investigated and determined they were a hybrid publisher. Lila Duray: A Collection Of Delightfully Delectable Poems, by Emily Morrison, was a very well-written collection, and one I'd have never guessed had been self-published or published via a hybrid publisher. I chatted with Emily briefly and she told me how happy she was with the process and recommended them highly - so after spending months trying to figure out how and where to self-publish, I opted to go with a company I felt I could trust and would have my best interests at heart.

In fairness, Susan and her assistant, Lauren Esthus, who has an art background, refer to Susan Schadt Press as an artisan publishing house, as they are particular about the titles they take on; not only do they want the company to be respected but they want all their books to do well in the marketplace. They have a vested interest in seeing their books succeed and take pride in their work.

Wow, what an odyssey! But I'm glad that a little creativity, a dab of luck, and a pound of persistence paid off to get this book published. I imagine Jen was as well. Besides a suggestion from the publisher, what was the inspiration or spark for choosing to make the plot a Tractor Dance?

Book cover - in the foreground, an adorable red tractor bounces to music of a frog playing a guitar and a frog singing, while a cat sits on it's fender and a chicken sits by its wheel. In the background is a barn, festooned in lights, the sheep grazing between the barn and the tractor.

All I had been told was that they wanted a board book about anthropomorphic (i.e., having human characteristics) farm equipment, so my options were wide open. I wasn’t going to do something that had already been done, like “Bob the Builder” or Sherri Duskey Rinker’s “Good Night, Good Night, Construction Site” series, which meant I needed to think about what kind of story a bunch of tractors and balers might tell. Having spent most of my adult life surrounded by music – working in radio, as an event DJ, and as a dance instructor – it didn’t take long for the concept of a barn dance to materialize!

It is a really fun premise. Was there any portion of the rhyme that was trickier than the rest?

I wouldn’t say there was a part of the rhyme that was trickier – my first rough draft was pretty similar to the finished book – although figuring out the conclusion took a while. I mean, it’s great that all the farm equipment is having a big dance party, but how does it end? What’s the surprise, the pay-off? That probably took longer to nail down than anything. I had to play around with which pieces of equipment I wanted to include, too, and ended up having to say so long to Pickup and Loader, alas.

Ah, poor Loader! You did a great job with the twist at the end. Is there anything you want your readers to know or maybe learn about Tractor Dance?

I think the one thing I’d remind pre-published authors is that even something that may seem as simple as a board book can go through mountains of edits, revisions, and even publishers before it becomes a book!

Originally titled “Barn Dance!” this book didn’t even have the Tractor as the focus in my initial draft; it took time to figure that out, and to make sure there was alliteration and rhythm and pacing and such. So never assume that your first version is the final version. And never assume the final version is the final version – until it’s a book, ha!

Ouch! Great advice for all of us! Did anything surprise or amaze you when you first got to see Jen Taylor’s illustrations? What is your favorite spread?

I was amazed when I first saw the cover! Jen Taylor is an award-winning illustrator, having worked with folks like Disney/Hyperion, Two Lions, and many others – and has done a lot of anthropomorphic cars and trucks in the past, now that I think about it! But the bold colors and friendly sensibility of that cover just knocked me out. As a board book, you want the cover to be inviting – and she nailed it!

Internal spread - in the foreground, on the left a frog plays a guitar and on the right, a frog sings. Behind them, a mower cuts hay two horses nibble grass, and a tractor heads toward the barn as the sun sets.

Text © Matt Forrest Esenwine, 2024. Image © Jen Taylor, 2024.

As for my favorite spread, I think I’d have to say the very first one, which probably seems strange since none of the main characters are in it! But it sets up the story so well: it’s dusk, we see the frogs and crickets proudly singing their hearts out, and the colors really set the tone for the rest of the book. I love that Jen includes so many animals throughout the book, too, like raccoons, owls, rats, and even a kitty! A book about farm equipment, dancing, and animals – what young child would not enjoy this book??

I totally agree with and really enjoyed this opening spread, too. Little kids will love this book! What was the most fun part of writing Tractor Dance? Why?

Only a children’s author (or an actual child) can probably appreciate this, but I had a lot of fun thinking about what type of dance each piece of equipment would do! Combine loves country music, Plow prefers a polka, Backhoe is a fan of ballet – but it wasn’t just the alliteration I was going for, I really wanted the styles of music and dance to fit their personalities. Yes, we children’s authors spend an inordinate amount of time contemplating these things.

Yes, we do. And it is amazing when the illustrator creates those very machines so beautifully that these dreamed of personalities shine through! Are there any new projects you are working on now, or are next to be published, that you can share a tidbit with us?

Quite a few, actually! A week ago (Oct. 1), Charles Waters and Irene Latham’s new anthology The Mistakes That Made Us: Confessions from Twenty Poets from Carolrhoda Books was just published, and includes a poem I wrote about falling off a bicycle. (You can see me and the other 19 contributors on the cover!) Also, in December my poem “Irony” will be included in Ryan Van Cleave’s witty new school-themed anthology Schoolapalooza from Moonshower, and ANOTHER anthology, 40 Poems for 40 Weeks: Integrating Meaningful Poetry and Word Ladders into Grades 3-5 Literacy (Routledge, 2024) is due out before the end of the year! Edited by my good friend David Harrison and Tim Rasinski, this book is designed for the educational market and provides a different poem for each week of the school year, with accompanying word ladders to aid in building vocabulary and word study. (Tim’s word ladders are famous throughout the educational world and he has published several through Scholastic.)

The REALLY SUPER AWESOME COOL PROJECT I have on the horizon, however, is my very own poetry anthology, A Universe of Rainbows: Multi-Colored Poems for a Multi-Colored World which arrives this spring from Eerdmans Books for Young Readers! Twenty-three poems span a literal universe of rainbows – from prisms and birds to rivers and mountains, and even the Rainbow Nebula in the constellation Orion. Dedicated to the late children’s anthologist Lee Bennett Hopkins, it is a Who’s Who of Lee’s friends I’ve brought together, including Rebecca Kai Dotlich, Georgia Heard, Nikki Grimes, Jane Yolen, Charles Ghigna, and many, many others. I couldn’t possibly be more excited! (The official cover reveal will be happening soon.)

Thank you Matt for stopping back by to share with us your newest picture book.

Thank you, as always, for your friendship and support, Maria!

To find out more about Matt Forrest Esenwine, or to contact him:

Website: https://mattforrest.wordpress.com/ or http://mattforrest.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MattForrestVW

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MattForrestVoice

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mattforrestvw/

Review of Tractor Dance

My nephew and my neighbor's kid would have adored this book. It combines three of their favorite things - adorable machinery, wiggle inducing dance moves, and silly animals. They'd have wanted to read this adorably fun rhyming board book again and again.

Tractor Dance

Author: Matt Forrest Esenwine

Illustrator: Jen Taylor

Publisher: Susan Schadt Press (2024)

Ages: Baby to 3

Fiction

Themes:

Rhyming, tractors, farm machines, music, and farm animals

Synopsis:

As night falls on the farm, join Tractor and his friends as they kick-up their wheels for a farm-wide hoedown! Children will love to see their favorite farm equipment come to life in this clever rhyming story with a musical twist.

From the crickets and frogs, to the cats and dogs—everyone is invited to the barnyard hoedown! With banjos strumming and accordions humming, the big farm machines can’t help but dance the night away! Children will delight in the late-night rhythmic antics of their beloved farm machines, like the plow who loves to polka and the tractor doing a jig.

Tractor Dance is a warm and light-hearted story that merges the worlds of farm equipment and music and dance. Charming illustrations infuse delightful personalities in every baler, combine and backhoe. The story offers a new and refreshing angle to these big machines that spawn so much curiosity and interest in young children. It’s a story both parents and children will reach for again and again—cozying up together for a short bedtime story and tuning in to their favorite farm machine melody.

Opening Lines:

When darkness settles on the farm

and tools are put away…

when laughter turns to dreams…

frogs and crickets start to play.

What I LOVED about this book:

Matt Forrest Esenwine is a master poet and he does a great job setting up a bouncy, lively end rhyme poem for little kids, that parents won't mind reading on repeat. And Jen Taylor's colorful, imaginative, cartoonish illustrations (when you'd last see a frog with a guitar?) will quickly capture a young child's interest. I love all the expected - cows, sheep, cats, dogs, and chickens - and more unusual - frogs, crickets, racoons, rats, and owls - animals Jen speckles throughout the farm. Most, like frogs, provide the beat or vocals for the various dances.

I appreciate the farm vocabulary which Matt Forrest Esenwine weaves through this board book - such as buildings (silo) and farm vehicle names (combine). Tractor and vehicle loving kids are going to adore each of the super cute farm characters. It would be fun to see these characters as plushies. And little kids who prefer animals will have plenty to keep them entertained as well.

Internal spread - backhoe and tractor in between the barn and the silo, under stands of lights, humming along with the crickets and frog and getting ready for a Hoedown.

Out behind the silo,

by the barn, and near the shed

Tractor and his friends don’t sleep—

it’s HOEDOWN time, instead!

As the night goes on, these adorable machines show off their moves in a jig, a promenade, ballet, shimmy-shake, and even a polka. Jen Taylor's images of tractor doing a jig and backhoe doing a pirouette are loaded with so much personality! She even added a cat with an accordion and a frog with a tuba for Plow's polka.

Internal image - in the field, with the barn in the background, tractor and plow dance a polka. As a cat plays an accordion and a frog plays a tuba.

When dawn begins to make an appearance, the expected "snuggle down in the barn" ending has a fun twist. It's a great board book with playful language, lively illustrations, and a sweet little snuggle moment that combines farm machinery and dance. A book that both kids and adults will enjoy reading and wiggling to.

Resources:

what music does your baby love to wiggle along with? Here are some action songs for babies. What is your toddlers favorite music to dance to? Here are some songs to get kids moving.