At Tundra Books, we want you to get to know and love our creators as much as you know and love their books. Our creator spotlight series will introduce you to the people behind some of your favorite titles . . . this week, say hello to Linda Bailey!
About the Author:
LINDA BAILEY has written nearly forty books for children, including The Three Little Mittens, Carson Crosses Canada, Princesses Versus Dinosaurs and If You Happen to Have a Dinosaur. Her books have been translated into twenty languages and have won multiple awards such as the Ontario Blue Spruce and Silver Birch Awards, the California Young Reader Medal, the Georgia Children’s Picturebook Award and the UK School Library Association Information Book Award. Linda has been honored for her exceptional body of work in children’s literature with the Vicky Metcalf Award. She lives in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Q&A with Linda Bailey:
Lena the Chicken (But Really A Dinosaur) is such a fun, imaginative and unique story. What sparked the idea for this story?
Chickens! And dinosaurs! I am fond of both. I once spent a few weeks “chicken-sitting” for my friend Margriet Ruurs, looking after her flock of chickens on Salt Spring Island while she went on holiday. As for dinosaurs, the first Jurassic Park movie really pulled me in and then I got hooked on all the stunning paleological discoveries that have happened over the past 30 years. In the end, it was the connection between birds and dinosaurs that triggered this story.
What is it about dinosaurs that inspires you to keep including them in your stories?
Well, they’re just so . . . odd. Aren’t they? There’s such incredible variety and eccentricity in the way they looked and behaved. Also, sheer size! And how amazing is it that they lived hundreds of millions of years ago — and we can still walk among their gigantic fossilized skeletons in museums? Generally what I feel is awe and wonder.
Was there someone that was the inspiration behind Lena?
I have never met an actual chicken like Lena. But I have known plenty of brave girls and women who have faced up to bullies like the weasel in this story. And on a personal level, I once faced a scarily large wild emu on a solitary walk in back-country Australia. I wasn’t as brave as Lena, but I did let out a loud squawk of fright. (Happy ending: the big bird ran away — just like the weasel in my story.)
If Lena were to leave the farm, what kind of adventures do you think she would want to experience?
That’s easy. In this book, Lena ends up being a guest of honor at a school science fair — and she just loves being the center of attention! I’m pretty sure Lena would want to visit lots of schools and repeat that experience again and again.
What do you hope children, and even their parents, take away after reading this book?
I hope they take away a smile and a few laughs, along with some curiosity about the evolutionary connection between dinosaurs and chickens. I also hope kids will notice that Lena was able to find her inner courage in a scary situation. And if a chicken can do that, so can they!
Books by Linda Bailey:
Lena the Chicken (But Really a Dinosaur!)
Written by Linda Bailey
Illustrated by K-Fai Steele
56 Pages | Ages 3-7 | Hardcover
ISBN 9781774880135 | Tundra Books
Lena lives in a chicken coop, and she looks a lot like a chicken. But deep down, she’s convinced that she’s a . . . DINOSAUR! She can feel it in her bones. Lena just doesn’t understand the scaredy chickens in her family, and they don’t understand her either, with her ferociousness and big ideas. The people on the farm are also baffled . . . except for little Madeline, who thinks Lena has PERSONALITY. And then, when a dastardly weasel turns up and threatens the coop, Lena’s fearful family chickens out AGAIN. It’s up to Lena to unleash her inner dinosaur like never before — to save the coop and show this silly bunch of chickens how to stand up for themselves. And when Madeline’s science fair project shows that chickens are the closest living relatives in the world to dinosaurs, Lena’s family finally starts to see that — holy hen house! — they are all dinosaurs too!
The Great Dinosaur Sleepover
Written by Linda Bailey
Illustrated by Joe Bluhm
44 Pages | Ages 3-7 | Hardcover
ISBN 9780735269231 | Tundra Books
Jake loves dinosaurs, so with his birthday coming up, he knows just what kind of party he wants — a dinosaur sleepover! Dino games, dino balloons, dino cake. Dino everything! But when the big day arrives, his friends all come down with the flu, and the party seems to be on the edge of extinction. Then, in the middle of the night, Jake hears a strange noise and goes to investigate. To his surprise, he finds some prehistoric party guests right there in his living room! They’ve invited themselves in to make sure Jake has a birthday he’ll never forget — just don’t tell the T-Rex! An unforgettable birthday tale with huge laughs and heart, this newest picture book from acclaimed author Linda Bailey celebrates friendship, inclusion and fun – and is brought to life with magnificent, cinematic artwork from award-winning animation director and illustrator Joe Bluhm.
If You Happen to Have a Dinosaur
Written by Linda Bailey
Illustrated by Colin Jack
40 Pages | Ages 3-7 | Paperback
ISBN 9781774887707 | Tundra Books
If you happen to have a dinosaur, lying around your living room, and you don’t know what to do with it . . . why don’t you use it as a can opener? It will make a terrific nutcracker too! There are oodles of uses for a dinosaur — from a fine umbrella to an excellent kite and a dandy pillow, not to mention a reliable burglar alarm and the perfect excuse to forget your homework. This delightfully absurd exploration of the domestic uses of dinosaurs — and the things dinos just aren’t good for at all — is guaranteed to tickle funny bones and spark imaginations. If you read carefully, you’ll learn how to make your dinosaur last a very long time.
Princesses Versus Dinosaurs
Written by Linda Bailey
Illustrated by Joy Ang
40 Pages | Ages 3-7 | Paperback
ISBN 9781774883655 | Tundra Books
This is a princess book! No, it’s a dinosaur book! No, it’s . . . a T. rex book? A dragon book? A rubber ducky book?! From Linda Bailey, award-winning and critically acclaimed author, and Joy Ang, Adventure Time-artist and illustrator of the Mustache Baby series, comes an irresistibly irreverent picture book in which plucky princesses and determined dinosaurs have a battle royale over whose book this is. When they start calling in the big guns — or rather, the big carnivores — and decide to build a wall to resolve their differences, princesses and dinosaurs alike learn a thing or two about open-mindedness and sharing.