Laugh and Learn with ‘Get Real, Lucille’ and an Author Interview

Today is the much awaited publication of Get Real, Lucille written and illustrated by Laura Petrisin, a fellow Monarch Educational Press author.

How can a young reader not be hooked into turning the page with a cover like that?

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Lucille is just a rubber chicken in a circus act… or is she? Tired of being the punchline, Lucille sets off on a journey to discover what it really means to be real. But when feathers fly and chickens start hatching trouble, she’ll learn that being real isn’t about scratching, clucking, or fluffing-it’s about shining from the inside out. A joyful, laugh-out-loud story about friendship, finding your voice, and learning to love who you truly are-because the world needs the Real Deal Lucille!

REVIEW

Here’s the opening:

Lucille, the rubber chicken, stared out the train window. “I wish I were a REAL chicken,” she muttered, “instead of a just a prop for circus JOKES.”

Peaches sat beside Lucille. “Don’t you like making people laugh?” She asked.

Lucille just sighed.

Everybody laughed, but Lucille just got…DIZZY.

Lucille takes a field trip to the farm to introduce herself to the chickens. Sadly, she is met with disdain.

The “real” chickens mock the rubber chicken and tell her to “Get real, Lucille!”

Unfazed even when the chickens pummel her with eggs, Lucille does what any circus performer with spirit does.

And with that, Lucille realizes, “I CAN make people laugh!”

She tells Peaches ways to improve their act, and suddenly, the crowd is laughing with Lucille, not at her.

On the way out of town, Peaches compliments Lucille’s suggestions. “It looks like our new act is a BIG hit.” Peaches said. “Those were super ideas!”

Children (and the adults who will read the book over and over again to young readers) will enjoy the puns and alliteration as well as the colorful illustrations that have a circus-like feel to them. I also enjoyed the facial expressions of the chickens and the easy to read font for the text.

In the picture book world, word count is very important. In only 700 words, Laura has captured the heart of everyone of us who is unhappy about who we are–until we realize that our abilities and talents make us unique and special.

Kudos to Laura Petrisin on her debut picture book. Young readers will laugh at Lucille’s antics. Adults will appreciate the message of self-acceptance that Laura gently weaves into a tale of a rubber chicken whose “Honk!” is just as good as any chicken’s “Squawk!”

AUTHOR INTERVIEW

CAROL: What was your inspiration?

LAURA: One day this thought popped into my mind – what if a rubber chicken wanted to be a real chicken? How would that play out? What would be the motivation? What would be the obstacles? I wanted the message to be one of finding your voice and loving who you are. I also wanted an example of self agency. The main character solves her own problem. Not wanting to be the butt of circus jokes, she came up with a plan to change her circumstances.

CAROL: Which came first, the story or the illustrations? (I wanted to say, “the chicken or the egg,” but that was just too corny!) How did you create the art?

LAURA: The story always comes first for me. I sketch the illustration and paint with alcohol ink to create a sense of flow, similar to watercolor. Then I scan it into Procreate where I clean it up and refine the picture.

CAROL: What was your path to publication?

LAURA: It’s a long one! Lol! I started writing stories in my early 30’s when my children were young. I sent manuscripts out to publishers but I got no bites. That was in the days of snail mail and it could get expensive. Then life happened. I raised the kids, taught school and homeschooled. After the kids left home, I taught as a GED instructor at a local drug rehab. That’s when I turned my attention back to writing stories. I self- published my own chapter book, Acorn and Button in 2022. Before that, I joined SCBWI, enrolled in Storyteller Academy and joined a critique group. In other words, I got serious. When I wrote Get Real, Lucille, I sent the manuscript out to a dozen or so agents and got rejections. Then I sent it out to Jennifer Lowry, Monarch’s publisher,  who saw the potential in it. She wanted revisions. I made them and sent it back. More revisions were suggested. I made them and sent it back. Then… silence. I took a hard look at the manuscript and the suggested changes. I really focused and tackled each one. I realized the manuscript didn’t have a lot of lyrical style so I worked on that. I sent it in for a third time and hit pay dirt! Lol! A note of encouragement to other writers – I’m 70 years old and I have my first traditionally published book. It’s never too late!

CAROL: How did you find Monarch Educational Press?

LAURA: I found Monarch through a workshop sponsored by Write2Ignite. Jen Lowry was one of the publishers who presented at the workshop. I liked her immediately. Jen is a bubbly, encouraging person.

CAROL: What advice do you have to someone trying to publish their first picture book?

LAURA: Stay open, humble and persevere. Don’t be so attached to your own story that you can’t be open to constructive criticism. Writing is subjective. That’s why it’s important to gain objectivity about your writing through other writers who read it, such as critique partners. The trap is to feel rejected or worse, offended when people point out where your work might be falling short. I think writers must be able to distance or detach themselves from their work in order to really listen to another’s feedback. The feedback may be helpful or it may not. The trick is to consider it at the very least. I’ve revised a lot of my writing due to feedback and it improved. 

CAROL: What’s next?

LAURA: I’m working on a picture book about my granddaughter who has Down syndrome. It’s a series of snapshots of her world and the hope that our perceptions of people who are different from us can be enlarged. It’s not people who are “less than,” but our perceptions of them that are often “less than.”

GIVEAWAY

Laura is giving away an autographed copy of Get Real, Lucille to one fortunate blog reader. If you share this post on social media and tell me what you did in the comments, I’ll put your name in twice. Giveaway ends August 8. U.S. addresses only.

The post Laugh and Learn with ‘Get Real, Lucille’ and an Author Interview first appeared on Carol Baldwin - Author, Writing Teacher, Speaker.