KidLit ALERT!
Interview with Kidlit Author
Ana Siqueira
Ana, you’re a teacher, an author, and a champion of Latinx voices—if you had to describe your journey to becoming a children’s book writer as a recipe, what would the ingredients be?
My kidlit book recipe would be:
Mix and stir lots of laughs and adventures for kids around you. Students, kids, and grandkids are the best.
Read a mountain full of books.
Watch webinars. Learn from others as much as you can.
Let your critique partners add some sugar - or salt - to your recipe. They are your taster friends.
The recipe will need lots of tweaks. So, keep on pouring a little of this, and removing a little of that.
Then polish your story by looking at each single ingredient or word. A thesaurus is a useful tool.
When most of your taste budders agree everything tastes good, share your recipe to the world.
But be aware, not everyone will love your recipe. The same way I don’t love coconut cake, no matter how delicious it might look. Well, I hate coconut, so a coconut cake is not a good fit for me. So be sure to check and try out different agents and editors. One of them will love your cake, that is, your story.
Right now, we can preorder your upcoming book, Vera la Valiente is Scared, illustrated by Teresa Martinez. Why is it important for authors to have pre-orders?
Pre-orders are a way to measure customer interest. And the more customer interest retailers see in your book, the more they will acquire. The more they acquire, the more you will sell. It’s a circle of book love. Also, publishers will be happier and add marketing and publicity strategies to sell more books.
I would super appreciate pre-orders of my upcoming book, Vera la Valiente is Scared, anywhere books are sold. Check out some options here: https://www.beamingbooks.com/store/product/9781506499185/Vera-La-Valiente-Is-Scared
Did you have a hand in choosing the illustrator? In other words, how does that happen for picture book writers behind the scenes?
Normally, publishers will ask for your favorite illustrators and then send you a list of five to six illustrators, and you can tell them your favorites. But the final decision is theirs. You can always ask them to eliminate one if you don’t like them.
We all have challenging experiences in our background. How do you harness that heavy energy to create heartwarming, culturally rich, and empowering books for kids?
I did write some books about heavy topics such as domestic violence and grieving. I wrote my book Abuela’s Super Capa after my mom died. It was about death, but my editor, Luana Horry, asked me to change it to Abuela getting sick instead. And to make it less heavy and heartwarming, I added some humor with the cupcake criminales (pets) and fun superhero images.
Heavy topics are important to be written,
but we need to find a door
to the kids’ world
and make it accessible.
If you could have a magical capa (cape) like Abuela, what power would it give you?
I would love the power to teleport so I could visit my grandkids in Seattle and Pensacola whenever I wished and visit my family in Brazil and some other fun places.
How many books have you written, and do you have a favorite? If so, why?
What would you love your readers to know about you or your books?
In all my books, I try to show how we all connect through universal feelings. We are all different, but we are basically the same. My books are action-packed and filled with humor and heart.
What’s the creepiest creature you’ve ever imagined while writing, and did it appear in one of your books? If not, is it coming?
Funny thing that you mention creepy creatures. My chapter book series- The Creepy Creature Catchers - is all about a group of kids chasing Brazilian creepy legends. The first one is Cuca. Cuca is not a Cucuy or Cuco. Cuca is an alligator witch with a blond wig who boils kids in her cauldron. The next book of the series will be about the Brazilian werewolf - olobisomen.
I would love for Fernanda Torres, the Brazilian actress, to play the bruja. She does a lot of super funny roles, but she has now been nominated for the Oscar as Best Actress for the movie We’re Still Here, which is a drama about dictatorship in Brazil.
You’ve written about baking, babysitters, abuelos, fears, and even superstitions—what’s a story idea you haven’t tackled yet but would love to?
I have been trying to tackle lots of different ideas, and most of them are based on experiences I went through myself or with my kids and grandkids. I did write a book about the death of my brother and one about my experience as a survivor of domestic violence. But these are hard to sell. And my brand is humor. So, we will see if one day I can go back to work on these.
If I gave you a megaphone and the whole world would listen - what one sentence would you shout?
We all need to respect and
understand each other.
As I’ve mentioned before, I believe we’re all the same despite our differences.
Hmmm… A very slow-cooked Brazilian bean stew, but before I start cooking it for real, I let it marinate in my brain. I write the idea in a document. I read a mountain of books related to the theme/subject. I keep writing ideas as I read and get inspired. Then, I outline and write it. After that, it’s time to tweak the recipe over and over again with the help of my critique partners.
Can you share a hilarious or heartwarming moment when your grandkids inspired your writing? How do they react when you have a new book coming out?
Most of my stories are based on the experiences I had with my kids and grandkids. But my favorite story is the one based on my daughter’s experience which inspired me to write If Your Babysitter is a Bruja.
I still lived in Brazil, and she was three years old. I took her to the beach, and she didn’t want to leave. So, I had to use my teacher’s voice and say, “We must leave now.”
That’s when it all started...
She cried and cried through four blocks while I carried her with a red face. She cried and screamed, “You’re not my mom. You’re a witch. I want my mom back.”
It took me a while to convince her I was still her mom, but the story never left my brain until I was able to write it. Of course, I change the mom to a babysitter and the setting from a beach in Brazil to a Halloween story.
Tip: Never let the truth
get in the way of a good story.
Writing can sometimes feel lonely. Who are your biggest cheerleaders, and how have they helped you along the journey?
I have so many amazing critique partners, but I must shout out to Las Chicas Latinas. This was my first critique group, and we’re still supporting each other. It’s so fun to see them all achieving their dreams.
A big shout out to Maria Antonia, Sara Fajardo, Aixa Perez-Prado, Rachel Funez, and Zoraida Rivera.
If you could have dinner with any author or illustrator—past or present—who would you choose?
I would love to meet my critique partners from Las Chicas Latinas.
What’s a favorite Spanish or Portuguese word that always makes you smile?
If you could collaborate with any author or illustrator, who would it be and why?
I would love to work with my critique partner and fabulous author-illustrator Aixa Pérez-Prado. And we did author a story together. Let’s see if it’s going to sell. I am also dreaming of having one of my books illustrated by Tatiana Gardel, a talented Brazilian illustrator.
What’s the most unexpected place you’ve ever gotten a story idea? And how do you keep track of them - write them on your phone, a notepad, index cards, or just your memory?
I always participate in the StoryStorm event hosted by Tara Lazar. During these days, I wake up extra early to read the blog and many picture books to get inspired. I write them in a document. During the year, I look at them and use my notes on my cell phone to write ideas for each one as they come. My stories normally come from my experiences, but sometimes they can come from a movie scene or a picture book.
If you could spend a day inside one of your picture books, which one would you choose, and what would you do?
I would spend the day in the book If Your Babysitter is a Bruja because if she is a Bruja, she probably knows other Brujas and monsters, and...I would love to be transformed into a Bruja for a day and go live aventuras with monsters. I would also scare some people who deserve a scare, especially these orange ogres.
What’s one piece of advice you’d give to young kids who feel like they aren’t good at anything—just like Bella at the beginning of Bella’s Recipe for Success?
At the beginning of the story, Abuela says, “We are all good at different things.” And when Bella keeps making mistakes and failing, she says, “Sometimes that happens. We can always try again.”
So that’s my advice. Do not listen to others when they say you can’t do it. Don’t listen to yourself when you want to quit.
If you are passionate about something,
keep practicing and working hard,
and you will get there.
Where will you be next so my readers can support you? A SCBWI event? A conference? Book signing?
Please support me by requesting my books at your library. I will be at the FLA conference in Orlando on May 14th and then at the Orlando Book Festival on May 17th. I hope to go to NCTE, too.
And for all those hesitant writers out there, how did you know you wanted to write for kids? And what is the best step you ever took toward that goal?
I always loved telling stories when I was a kid. In Brazil, I got two books published when I was in my twenties. A long time ago. Then in 2019, my Spanish students asked me to write a story about the video - The Duck Song - I wrote the story to teach Spanish and sold it to the educational market.
That’s when I decided to go back to writing.
To achieve this goal, I had to study a lot the crafting, read a lot of books, swap manuscripts with lots of critique partners, and even get some paid critiques from authors such as Lynne Marie and Helen Stemple.
Dedication, persistence, flexibility, and creativity will take you places. But it’s not an easy place to get. Even after you sell books, you will go through lots of ups and downs.
My advice is to take a shower with crocodile skin soap every day. You will need a super thick skin. Well, to be more accurate, use sea otter skin soap. I just learned by playing a Trivia Game with my grandson that sea otters have the thickest skin of all.
Contact Ana Siqueira at anafiction.com
Bio: Ana Siqueira is a Spanish-language teacher and an award-winning children's book author based in Tampa, Florida. Her books include Bella's Recipe for Success (Beaming Books 2021), If Your Babysitter is a Bruja (S&S 2022), Abuela’s Super Capa/ La Supercapa de Abuela (HarperCollins 2023), Our World Brazil (Barefoot Books 2023), La Mala Suerte is Following Me (Charlesbridge 2024), Vera la Valiente is Scared (Beaming Books 2025), Sticky Hermana (Charlesbridge 2025), Mami’s Heart (HarperCollins 2026), If Your Abuelo is an Astronaut (Simon&Schuster 2026) among others. She also has a chapter book series coming out titled Carolina and the Creepy Creature Catchers. Ana co-founded Latinxpitch, a pitch event to promote Latin authors and illustrators. She is a global educator and PBS Media innovator. She lives in Tampa Bay with her husband and loves to play with her Cuban-Brazilian-American grandkids.
If you would like to follow Ana - click the links.
Ana on Instagram
She's on X (Twitter)
Check out her website - Ana - The Teacher and Writer
