Bethany works as Editor in Chief for Naturally Healthy Publications.
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About the Book:
Title:
There’s a Bumbie Under My Bed
Author: Bethany Ramos
Publisher: Saturn’s Moon Press
Pages: 24
Genre: Children’s Picture Book
There’s a
Bumbie Under My Bed tells the story of a boy who can’t go to
sleep because of all the monster bunnies keeping him up at night. Told in the
first-person narrative, the little boy delays bedtime, using his flashlight and
hand to create scary and silly bunny shadow puppets on the wall. According to
the boy, friendly, spooky characters like the Bumbie (bunny zombie), Were-bunny
(werewolf bunny), Bunny-stein (bunny Frankenstein), and Count Hop-ula come to
visit him in the night. At the end of the book, his mother comforts him to
sleep by telling him to let his imagination rest — and put the flashlight away.
Amazon
Thanks for this interview, Bethany. I’ve always wanted to write children’s
books. When did you determine that
writing for children was for you?
I have always loved writing, even as a child and a teenager.
But I didn’t start writing until I started blogging for a job about eight years
ago. Around that time, I got the first idea for my first children’s book, which
was Lions Can’t Eat Spaghetti that
finally came out this year. I actually started writing children’s books just
before having my kids, who are now 3 and 4.
What was the inspiration behind your children’s book, There’s a Bumbie Under My Bed?
This was a really fun one because it was directly inspired
by my 4-year-old son, who has gotten into the notorious stage of putting off
bedtime. A little while ago, we gave him a flashlight because he started
getting scared of “ghosts” and other characters that he saw in cartoons. I
taught him how to use the flashlight to make little characters on the wall,
like rabbits, which turned into using the flashlight to make scary characters
so that he wouldn’t be afraid of the dark anymore.
How do you get into the mind of a child to create a fun
reading experience? Are you around
kids? Are you a kid at heart?
I’m around kids almost all the time with my own two sons at
home, and beyond the regular parenting frustrations, I love it! I think this is
my favorite stage so far, the toddler and preschool age, because they are
learning so much and have such wild imaginations. And that also works out well
to inspire my children’s books.
What was your favorite book as a child?
I am all about Shel Silverstein — I love his books. And as a
child, I was a huge fan of Dr. Seuss and all of his nonsensical rhymes that
actually make perfect sense.
What kind of advice would you give writers who would like
to write children’s books?
I would tell other aspiring writers, and especially those
who want to write children’s books, to read, read, read as much as you can.
Some of my best inspiration came about recently when I was spending time in the
children’s section of the library, something I loved to do as a child. Get back
to that place where you are reading for pleasure, and then writing is easy.
What are your goals for the future? More children’s books?
I definitely hope to write another children’s book next
year! I have had so much fun with this process and in my partnership with the
illustrators. This is also a great time in my life to pursue children’s book
writing since my kids enjoy reading my books — for now. J
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