Make sure you check your pants!

Michelle Harrison has made a foray into picturebooks and I, as editor love it, I think our readers do too. I’ve known Michelle a long time now and have been a fan of her middle-grade books for a long so it is wonderful to have had this opportunity to ask her about this new aspect to her work

Thanks for taking the time to be here on our Blog Michelle. I think readers are going to love it! The new books have truly struck a chord with our younger readers and are incredibly funny too! Louise

Thanks so much, Louise! That’s lovely to hear.

Firstly, I have to ask, what made you choose sharks as the subject for this book, though I wonder if there is also a holiday theme coming through…

Ha! Good question.

It all began with THERE’S A BEACH IN MY PANTS, my first picture book. I think most people can relate to coming home from the seaside with clothes, bags and cars full of sand. It gets everywhere!

When I was asked to write a book two, I knew it had to be even more exciting, so I immediately thought of the absolute worst thing someone might find in their pants at the seaside . . .

Have you ever been up close with a shark?

The closest I’ve been to them is at the London Aquarium, and that’s close enough for me. I’m fascinated by sharks and can watch endless reels and clips on them, but I don’t believe in tempting fate.

I’d never get into one of those underwater cages with sharks circling – I think I’d die of fright!

This is a story of a family and their holiday, is any of it inspired by your own memories of holidays?

Oh, yes, definitely. Not the shark part, but lots of happy memories of going on pedalos in Greece, snorkelling, boat trips into caves and that sort of thing.

Not to mention zooming down huge water slides into pools and ending up either losing your pants or getting an almighty wedgie!

You write and David Tazzyman illustrates – can you tell us a little more about how this partnership works?

I write the stories to be as entertaining as I can make them, and from there the art department sits down with David and they talk through what they think will work for each spread.

David has a habit of going rogue and quite often has to be reined in – for instance, on the second page (the plane scene) if you look closely you can see the mum is reading Jaws! They made him remove the title, but you can still recognise the iconic artwork.

He’s very clever at bringing extra layers to the illustrations that are not in the story, which is testament to how gifted he is.

This is a holiday shark story. There are also pants. Why do you think appeal to younger readers?

It’s toilet humour, isn’t it? I think most kids – and many adults – enjoy the silliness of pants, bums, farts, and poo. Because those things apply to us all, no matter how sophisticated we like to think we are!

While I haven’t quite strayed into the farts and poo territory (yet), I’ve always enjoyed writing about yucky things.

The text rhymes wonderfully, it’s perfect for reading aloud. Does the rhyme come naturally as you write or is it something you work quite hard on to get right?

Thank you. I love writing in rhyme. I’ve always had a knack for it, but it’s something you do have to work at. Some parts flow easily, and on a good day I might write five or six verses. On a trickier day I might only manage half a verse – it all depends on the words you choose to suit the narrative. Sometimes it just doesn’t work and you have think of new ways to say things.

The most important part is scansion – if it’s wrong then it throws your reader off. As I go along, I’ll read aloud constantly to ensure it’s working, and I’ll ask other people to read it aloud back to me, too, to check they don’t stumble over any parts.

How do you create a scary climax but ensure there is a calming, funny ending so children are not scared?

I couldn’t write a story about a shark and not mention the possibility of being eaten. I believe we’re all conditioned to like scary stories, or at least some form of peril to be overcome, such as in the fairy tales we’re introduced to in childhood.

It’s fine to be a little bit scary provided you bring young readers back to a safe place. I thought the best way to do this was with humour – how might a shark react to an inflatable toy one?

The story is filled with fantastic puns, do you include these for the adults undoubtedly reading the book or think the children understand them too?

I do like to put in a little something for the adults. As a parent who’s had to read the same book to a toddler, day in, day out for months, I’m aware that adults are my audience, too. I bear that in mind and try to make my stories as entertaining as possible – or as much as they can be, on the fiftieth read!

I know you are a very experienced author but how do you keep your ideas fresh and appealing to children?

I think the brain is like a muscle. The more you use your imagination, the easier it is to come up with ideas. Being around children helps because you can see what interests them. And it’s about being receptive.

I had the idea for THERE’S A BEACH IN MY PANTS on a drive home from Leigh-on-Sea, when my son was grumbling about having sand everywhere. I came up with the plot in seconds, and couldn’t quite believe it hadn’t already been written.

The ending of this story hints that there might well be another coming, is that the case? Any hints?

Yes, there’s another on the way and it’s even sillier! The siblings go to work with Mad Uncle Mark on an archaeological dig for the day, so this time it’s a dinosaur. A T-Rex, naturally.

Thank you so much for answering these questions to share with Armadillo’s readers. One last question ~

Do you have any plans for your next holiday and if you could go absolutely anywhere where would you choose?

It’s been my pleasure.

I’m hoping to take my son away over the summer and would love to go somewhere with calm, clear waters, plus a nice pool for when it’s time to have a break from sand. The Greek islands would be perfect: the food is delicious, and we’re unlikely to come across any sharks. At present, our plans are a little different – we’re going camping with friends, so I’m hoping the weather isn’t a washout!

There's A Beach In My Pants and its companion story There's A Shark In My Pants are both out now, published by Simon & Schuster. My thanks go to Michelle Harrison for her brilliant answers and to Elizabeth Irwin at S&S Children's for making this Blog possible.