New York Times Bestselling Author Sherri Rinker Comes to Columbus Children's Book Festival This Weekend!

Written by Carrie Beth Wallace

Images via Sherri Rinker

The Columbus Children's Book Festival is a beloved annual event in our community, and this year's lineup includes Sherri Rinker – author of the Steam Train, Dream Train, Silly Wonderful You, and the Goodnight Goodnight Construction Site series.

We had the privilege of interviewing Rinker about her interesting career and her new book debuting this holiday season.

Read on to discover her journey to becoming a bestselling author, and make plans to meet her in-person Satruday, May 17 from 10AM-3PM at the Columbus Children's Book Festival at the Columbus Public Library on Macon Road.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Sherri Rinker

Q: How did you get into writing children's literature?

A: I started college working towards a journalism degree, and then pretty quickly felt like that path wasn't going to be creative enough for me.

I always had an interest in art. I took art classes all through high school. When I decided journalism wasn't right for me in college, I looked through the school major's catalog and decided graphic design was much more along the lines of what I wanted.

The great thing about graphic design is that you're still writing, but it's also art. I ended up graduating with a degree in visual communications. I've always loved that combination of art and words put together. That's what I did in my career as a graphic designer: put words and art together in a harmonious way, in an attractive way.

I loved books growing up. I loved picture books when I was small. I had a really tumultuous childhood, and books were definitely my escape.

But, of course, you don't think about picture books much until you have your own children. But when I became a mom I was obsessed with them.

Q: I had a similar experience. I fell in love with children's literature all over again when I became a mom.

A: Exactly! When I had my first son, picture books were experiencing this wonderful renaissance. It it was just a sense of newness to all of the stories, and publishers were hiring real artists – artists who still painted on canvas, artists who did collages, and they were really looking for all kinds of beautiful unique things.

The art lover in me and the story lover in me was so attracted to all of the picture books. I just never said no to a book for my kids! If we were at Barnes & Noble or at a bookstore, they knew they could pick out a book. I would never say no to a book.

Q: This is also true for our children. I still can't say no to a book!

A: Some of them I was more enchanted by than my kids, but I forced them on them because I thought they were so beautiful. When I had my second son, he was just vehicle obsessed from the time he was born. We laugh because we would take him to the park or the zoo and he only wanted to play on the trucks or tractors. They had these tractors that were parked in the play area, and the kids could pretend to drive them. That was the only reason he wanted to go to the zoo was to play on the tractors! His obsession also extended to the library. He didn't want to check out any book that wasn't about trucks or trains.

Q: I had a little boy like that, too!

A: It was all he cared about. Sometimes, if there was a construction site or a new high rise being built in the city, we would take a sack lunch and park the car where we could watch through the fence. We would just sit there and eat our lunch and watch construction trucks like it was television.

Once, when putting him to bed, it occurred to me that the more we read to him, the more excited he got about the trucks and the more excited he was to tell us everything that he knew about the trucks. Reading at night started to have the opposite of the desired effect because instead of him drifting off to sleep, he would just be really excited to think more about trucks. Would always say our prayers, and of course, mom and dad never made it in. It was like, "Thank you for bulldozers, and thank you for tractors!"

Q: That's precious.

A: One night after tucking him in, I went to bed, put my head on my pillow, and literally shot up with the idea for Goodnight Goodnight Construction Site. And I mean, like, my heart was pounding. I was so jolted! It was like I've been struck by lightning. I had the whole idea fully-formed in my head in minutes.

I had his five favorite trucks in mind. I had the title, the concept, and I was so wired, I couldn't fall to sleep! I remember laying there and thinking "Okay. I'm a graphic designer with an idea for a children's book. Now, how do I do this? How do you make a book?

By this time, I'd had a long career in graphic design, marketing, advertising. So I figured surely, I knew somebody that knew something about this.

But I didn't. I mean, the more I called people, the more I realized how little I knew, and the more dead ends I found. But then my miracle story happened! Finally, someone connected me with an author who pointed me to an organization that really nurtures first time authors and illustrators for children's books. So I joined right away.

Q: How wonderful! What a great resource.

A: It really was. But then in those days, everything was mailed to you. Now it's all online and immediate, but back then the approach was all done by mail. So I got this book called A Guide to Children's Publication. It taught you how to write a cover letter, what to expect in a contract as a first time author, what to expect if you're an illustrator, etc. It was very helpful!

So I put together a set of documents and started submitting to publishers. I decided if I didn't hear from a publisher in four months, then I'd assume they're not interested and move on.

Q: That's so brave of you. You just started out on your own?

A: Yes. But at this point, it was all background work for me. I still was working, raising the boys. So I thought this is just a fun little piece of hope. It sort of felt like buying a lottery ticket.

Submitting a book just gives you a little hope to dream. However, about three months later, I received a call from the woman who became my editor saying, "We would really like to publish this book." She left me a voicemail, and when I called her back, I didn't get her and I left her a voicemail as well. I thought they might not be interested, but then a contract came in the mail!

Q: That's amazing!

A: It was not very much money, but I thought if I could even if I could just publish 500 copies and sell 500 copies, how fun would that be to have this reminder of raising little boys? To honor their passions and our love of reading and remembering reading to them. It was just a token reminder of this wonderful time in our lives. I had no idea at all that it would become what it became! It's been the most amazing journey. It was about two years later that I got a call right before the book debuted that it was debuting at number nine. It was just surreal.

It it has been the journey of a lifetime. I'm so, so, so blessed. I get to meet with these kiddos and sit down with them and share a love of reading with them. You know, now my boys are big so I don't get to do that anymore!

Q: Do you have a new book coming out this year?

A: I do! It's a continuation of the Steam Train, Dream Train series and it's called Next Stop Christmas! It will come out this holiday season and I am so excited to share this book with the world. It's up for pre-order and I'll be sharing about it at the Columbus Children's Book Festival, so I hope everyone will come out and hear a short reading from it that day. I'd love to meet young readers and share this book with them!

If You Go...