Book Trailer Premiere: Sometimes You Fly by Katherine Applegate and Jennifer Black Reinhardt

Hello, Katherine Applegate and Jennifer Black Reinhardt ! Thank you for dropping by to celebrate Sometimes You Fly! I’ve had so much fun sharing it with educators over the past month. It makes me smile from ear to ear every single time I read it aloud.

Katherine, what planted the seed for this perfect picture book?

Katherine: Well, one of my many superpowers is my talent for making mistakes. (Apparently, it’s not something you outgrow.)  Of course, making mistakes is how we learn. But when you’re growing up, facing milestone after milestone, we often forget that before any accomplishment come lots of false starts and stumbles.

I wrote Sometimes You Fly to celebrate the highs and the lows we all face when growing up. (And while being a grown-up!)

Jennifer, what was the MOST FUN thing about illustrating Sometimes You Fly?

Jennifer: Imagining what life events could quickly communicate a whole story evolution for a character in a single page turn---- and pulling from personal family memories to do so. You said ‘thing’ so I guess I’m supposed to stop with that one. But it really was the whole entire project and the opportunity to create visuals that would enhance Katherine’s beautiful prose.

Katherine, what ran through your head the first time you saw Jennifer Black Reinhardt’s gorgeous illustrations?

Katherine: I believe I said something along the lines of:

WOWWWWWW!!!!!!!

This book was so dependent on the page turn, on the detail, on the expressions of the children as they struggle and rejoice. Every single illustration will make readers smile.

Jennifer, what would we see if we walked into your studio right now?

Jennifer: You would see a lot of quirky, eclectic antiques and collectibles. The walls are covered with artwork that I love, by my mom, grandmother, daughter, friends, and fellow illustrators. Piles of books and tons of inspiration!

Katherine and Jennifer, how will you celebrate Sometimes You Fly’s book birthday on April 3, 2018?

Katherine: With a cake (although it won’t be as pretty as the one that begins and ends SOMETIMES YOU FLY)!

Jennifer: With a huge toast and thank you to Katherine, Jennifer, Christine, Cara, Marietta, and everyone at Clarion, HMH. They are the team that allowed me the privilege of illustrating this book and I am very grateful. Of course there will be cake and maybe I should fly a kite on April 3? On second thought, kite flying is an event in my life that rarely ended well… I’ll stick with the toast!

Please finish these sentence starters:

Sometimes You Fly’s book trailer…

…gives you a taste of the gorgeous illustrations that make the book such a delight. (Katherine) 

…gave me goose bumps when the bird flew across the screen! (Jennifer) 

Before the…

…book, there are endless rewrites! (But it’s worth it.) (Katherine) 

 …Cake was the original title for the book and I’m happy that we didn’t need to put pastry on the cover. (Jennifer) 

Look for Sometimes You Fly on April 3, 2018.