Author and illustrator share otter fun and chocolate cravings

Sure, children learn their numbers from Four Otters Toboggan: An Animal Counting Book, BUT – this book is unique because author Vivian Kirkfield and illustrator Mirka Hokkanen also educate us about the environment, endangered animals, and the joy of preserving our planet. An ambitious theme, but here Vivian and Mirka have created easy access to sharing and understanding these values with children.

Four Otters Toboggan covers the time from dawn to dusk and we meet animals in their natural habitats. This begs the question, which is more intriguing? Dawn or dusk? Both are magical and creative times for different authors.

Vivian: “I favor dawn…everything is so fresh and new. Although I’m rarely up then because these days I go to bed so late. I’m always writing or critiquing until the wee hours of the morning and so I usually sleep in. But when I was teaching and when my kids were growing up, I had to be up early, of course. I’m really enjoying being retired…but I find I ‘work’ more hours than I did when I was really working.”

If one of the endangered animals from your book could be a tame pet in your house, which one would you choose? “If it wouldn’t endanger it any more, I guess I’d be quite entertained with those tobogganing otters, although I’d need more than one so they could keep each other company.”

And if your collaborator, Mirka, were an animal from the book, which one would she be/which animal do you see her most aligned with? “Maybe the fox…beautiful and clever."

Unbeknownst to Vivian’s loving answer, Mirka responds: “I think I would be a little shaggy, gray pony. A bit stubborn and rough around the edges, but a sweet pal at the end of the day.”

Mirka, who was serious about being an artist “from before I can remember” says, “I always liked to draw, paint and tinker (tape was the best medium for tinkering, you could use it to combine just about anything if you were creative enough). I drew a lot of animals, and nature scenes. I loved horses, and would practice drawing horses for most of my formative years. Big horses, small horses, running hoses, sleeping horses. Horses from the front and horses from the back. There might have been some other random animals in between, but it was all about the horses. Neigh!”

Let’s talk colors! Vivian, if you described your writing as a blend of two colors, which ones would they be? “Red for heart and warmth and blue for bold and strong.”

Mirka, any favorites? “I gravitate towards muted color palettes over bright ones in general. Maybe red, because it is always a good accent color, in an otherwise muted illustration.”

And favorite go-to snack? “Hmm, that’s a tough one. Does chocolate count? I probably eat way too much chocolate.”

Vivian: “I love a big bowl of air-popped popcorn…but I’ll never say no to anything chocolate – and ice cream is quite a favorite of mine.” Ah, guilty pleasures!

Should you be stuck in an elevator… “I’d love it to be with any kid-lit friend…or a person who knows how to get out of stuck elevators!”

Mirka says, “I think either Emily Hughes or Adam Rex. I am a big fan of both of their work, and just have so many questions on how they generate ideas and work.”

Your heroes? Mirka: “Tove Jansson. I love the world she created for the Moomins, her sheer creativity, and breadth of career that she had. It’s a dream of mine to finish a picture book biography of her in the next year.

Vivian: “Ordinary people who do extraordinary things, people who give up their lives for others. And people who stand up for what they believe, no matter what the cost, like Nelson Mandela.”

Pomegranate’s Four Otters Toboggan: An Animal Counting Book is lovely lyrically, and beautifully illustrated with unique wood engravings. There’s no doubt both of these talented women have bright futures in the kid lit community. Still, it may be fun to dig up something precious and creative from the past…

Mirka: “I have a memory from when I was about 12 years old, of creating a set of watercolors of animals, and then wanting my mom to go over to the art gallery in our neighborhood to see if they would show and sell them for me. She didn’t think it was such a good idea, and those paintings still wait for their debut in a drawer in my parents house.”
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Published on June 21, 2019 00:20
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message 1: by Marian (new)

Marian Grudko Vivian and Mirka are delightful! Good interview, Raven, with true kindred spirits.


message 2: by Vivian (new)

Vivian Kirkfield Thank you so much, Raven! I love this Q&A...and am honored you gave Mirka and me such a shining place here. And it was totally lots of fun learning more about Mirka!


message 3: by Raven (new)

Raven Howell Vivian wrote: "Thank you so much, Raven! I love this Q&A...and am honored you gave Mirka and me such a shining place here. And it was totally lots of fun learning more about Mirka!"

Nothing like having you BOTH participate! What fun!


message 4: by Raven (new)

Raven Howell Marian wrote: "Vivian and Mirka are delightful! Good interview, Raven, with true kindred spirits."

Thanks so much, Marian! I can tell they are both "heart and soul" in our creative community, and to the kids' lives they touch through their writing and artwork.


message 5: by Diane (new)

Diane What a beautiful interview with two beautiful ladies.


message 6: by Raven (new)

Raven Howell Diane wrote: "What a beautiful interview with two beautiful ladies."

Thanks! I agree - both Vivian and Mirka are wonderful souls!


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