The Picture Book Buzz - Interview with Stephanie Gibeault
Stephanie Gibeault is an award-winning author of picture books and middle grade nonfiction for kids.
Stephanie grew up in Toronto and spent summers in the Ottawa Valley searching for snakes and racing turtles. After a career as a biologist, Stephanie became a certified professional dog trainer. Now she is a freelance writer with hundreds of articles in magazines and on the internet.
Stephanie is the author of Calculating Chimpanzees, Brainy Bees and Other Animals with Mind-Blowing Mathematical Abilities, illustrated by Jaclyn Sinquett (2024), Making Sense of Dog Senses: How Our Furry Friends Experience the World, illustrated by Raz Latif (2024), Toby Tootles, illustrated by Mary Sullivan (2023), and Can’t Get Enough Dog Stuff, co-authored with Moira Donohue (2023).
Her newest book, Dogs vs. Humans: A Showdown of the Senses, releases March 18th.
Welcome Stephanie,
Hi, Maria. Thank you for hosting me on your blog!
Tell us a little about yourself. (Where/when do you write? How long have you been writing? What is your favorite type of book to write?)
I’m a former biologist and dog trainer turned children’s author. I enjoy writing funny fiction, but my true love is nonfiction about animals. In fact, all five of my books (with a sixth coming out later this year) feature animals, although one is humorous fiction about an embarrassed bunny. I’m also a freelance writer so I spend most of my days in my office at my keyboard. I often write from first thing in the morning to dinnertime or beyond. Good thing I love what I do! I used to write research papers in my former life as an academic, but I started writing for kids in 2011. It started out with stories for my niece and nephew then quickly developed into a passion and then a career.
It's so good to "meet" you Stephanie. What is one of the most fun or unusual places where you’ve created a manuscript?
I love creating manuscripts at my family cottage in the Ottawa Valley. I feel more creative by the lake listening to waves sweep the shore. I think because I so often write about animals, it’s inspiring to be close to nature. I can go watch ducks or turtles then, recharged, go back to my laptop excited to write.
What a wonderful place to write. What was your inspiration or spark of interest for Dogs vs. Humans: A Showdown of the Senses?
I worked as a dog trainer for years, and I was always struck by how my clients would interpret their dogs’ behavior through a human lens. Seeing dogs as furry little people led to all kinds of misunderstandings, usually to the dogs’ detriment. I always tried to empower my clients with an appreciation for the canine point of view, and this book is an extension of that. I wanted to write a book that would show young kids how dogs perceive the world and foster understanding and empathy for those differences. If we value our dogs’ perspective, we can be better stewards for their care.
I love your premise of empowering a positive and strong relationship between dogs and kids. How long did it take from the first draft to publication for Dogs vs. Humans? How does this compare to the writing and publication journeys of your other books?
The first draft of Dogs vs. Humans was written in August of 2022, so it took two and a half years until publication. That’s relatively fast for a picture book and was due to a quick turnaround from first draft to final manuscript. This book was part of a two-book deal with Owlkids, so I was working with the editor from the get-go. I didn’t have the amount of time I normally do to play around or let the manuscript sit between revisions. But I knew what I wanted to accomplish with the book and with the help of my amazing editor Stacey Roderick, I dedicated myself to producing the best manuscript I possibly could.
Interesting for it to be the start of a two-book deal. Can't wait to see what book two will be. What is the hardest or most challenging thing about writing and illustrating Dogs vs. Humans? And what was the most fun?
The hardest part of writing Dogs vs. Humans was explaining the science at a picture book level. This is a companion book to my middle grade Making Sense of Dog Senses: How Our Furry Friends Experience the World (illustrated by Raz Latif), so I was covering similar information, like how vision works, but for a younger audience. I needed to scaffold the facts with what kids already know so they could follow along and learn something new. The most fun part of the writing process was the word play. I tried to infuse humor in the book with phrases like “Let’s get in touch with another sense: touch” or “Here’s an eye-opening fact” in the vision section. Hopefully, young readers will be as entertained by the book as I was writing it.
That sounds like it was fun to write. How many revisions did the text or illustrations of Dogs vs. Humans from first draft to publication?
The text went through five rounds of revision from first draft to publication. But that doesn’t include the two versions I tried in the beginning that had completely different setups. I played around with a sports theme and a carnival theme before settling on the competition theme featured in the final book. Of course, as I was under deadline, that’s far fewer drafts than my manuscripts usually go through.
Thanks for sharing your earlier themes, it's always fun to see the various ideas an author tries in settling on the right format. Did anything surprise or amaze you when you first got to see Bambi Edlund’s illustrations? What is your favorite spread?
When Owlkids mentioned Bambi Edlund as a possible illustrator, I was delighted. I had looked at her portfolio and her skill with different dog breeds is amazing. When she agreed to illustrate the book, I knew I was going to be thrilled with the final result. She’s created such a diverse cast of characters, both canine and human, and I’m amazed at how many different dog breeds she managed to fit in.
Text © Stephanie Gibeault, 2025. Image © Bambi Edlund, 2025.
My favorite spread is in the sense of smell section where a group of dogs are gathered around a fire hydrant sniffing the pee-mail while their human caretakers are reading email and the newspaper. It perfectly captures the difference between the species.
How fun. I love all the fun sidebar information and of course the various dogs! What's something you want your readers to know about Dogs vs. Humans?
I want readers to know that Dogs vs. Humans is about general abilities in the two species. It’s not meant to be representative of any one individual. We all experience the world differently, from a perfumer with a highly sensitive sense of smell to somebody with anosmia or the inability to smell, for example. Each person or dog is unique. And I hope readers will come to appreciate and value those differences.
That's awesome and I hope this book succeeds in helping build that appreciation. Are there any upcoming releases or new projects you are working on now that you can share a tidbit with us?
I have a picture book biography coming out on August 1, 2025. The Dog Who Saved the Bees (illustrated by David Hohn, published by Sleeping Bear Press) is the true story of Cybil Preston, the chief apiary inspector for the Maryland Department of Agriculture, and her sniffer dog Mack. Cybil rescued Mack from a lonely life in a garage, then faced an uphill struggle teaching the untrained and easily distracted dog to detect a deadly disease in beehives. Mack retired this past summer after nine years of service, so I’m thrilled we can celebrate his important work with this book. I will also be teaching for the Highlights Foundation again this June. My agent Jacqui Lipton and I will be explaining how to craft a compelling nonfiction book proposal in the mini course Building Brilliant Book Proposals.
That sounds like an amazing dog. Last question, what is your favorite National Park or Forest, regional park, or city park (anywhere in the world)? Or the one you’re longing to visit. Why?
My favorite park is Bonnechere Provincial Park in Ontario, Canada. It’s a small park on a lake and river with hiking trails, a sandy beach, and fabulous educational programs for kids. It’s close to my cottage, so I spend a great deal of time walking through the park and enjoying the wildlife. They also have a little free library carved out of a massive tree trunk that I love to browse through.
That is the BEST little library I have seen yet! Thanks for sharing about it. Thank you, Stephanie, for sharing with us a bit about yourself and your new book.
Be sure to come back on Friday for the Perfect Picture Book #PPBF post on Dogs vs. Humans: A Showdown of the Senses.
To find out more about Stephanie Gibeault, or to contact her:
Website: https://stephaniegibeault.com/
Commentaires