- Feb 25
- 3 min read
Every Monday, Mabel wakes up early and peeks out her window to make sure she didn’t miss the one thing she’s been looking forward to the whole week. She drags her chair down the hallway, past her big sister and Mom and Dad, out the door, and waits. What is Mabel waiting for every Monday?
Max's Boat Pick:
EVERY MONDAY MABEL
By Jashar Awan
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers (Feb. 25 2025)
Thanks for stopping by again, Jashar! There are so many different ways to get into Every Monday Mabel, which is what makes it so smart. I'm curious how it came about.
Jashar Awan: "Again, my son was the initial inspiration for Every Monday Mabel. On Mondays, he always made sure to set up his chair at the end of the driveway and wait for the garbage truck to arrive. Afterwards, he’d come back into the house and announce, 'Every Monday, I do the most boring thing!' He loved the garbage truck, but hated the waiting!
My son’s love of trucks got me thinking about childhood interests. Growing up, I wasn’t a truck kid—I liked comics and superheroes, which, in those days, felt very niche. When you’re a kid, the world can feel small—it’s only as big as your family or your school or your church. It might be hard to find people with common interests, but they’re out there! You just haven’t met them yet. (When I was sharing the dummy with the book’s designer, Lucy Ruth Cummins said, 'Oh! This is about art school!')"
Jashar Awan's early sketches and final spreads for Every Monday Mabel (above)
"The first draft was written in 2021 and titled 'Every Monday Melvin.' When I dusted the draft off a few years later, my wife suggested making the main character a girl since I hadn't done a book with a female lead yet. We came up with so many 'M' names for the character before landing on Mabel. (Max took notes on a post-it while we were brainstorming.)"
Jashar Awan's early sketches for Every Monday Mabel (above)
I love how Mabel has this very self-confident/assured viewpoint that never wavers, despite everyone else's differing perspectives. Was that a strong through line that you wanted to get across (that she marches to the beat of her own drum, and doesn't care what other people think)? Yet, there isn't a whiff of didacticism. Any tips for how to avoid that? (Asking for a friend, of course.)
"Thank you! I’m glad that Mabel comes off so self-assured and that the story doesn’t feel didactic. When I’m writing, I tell the story I want to tell and then I figure out what is being said by that story. When I revise the text, I can nod to the themes without spelling it out for the readers. I don't start with a message and then work backward to build a story around it. The story has to come first. There has to be something that engages me beyond a message."
Jashar Awan's early sketches and final spreads for Every Monday Mabel (above)
What's a book that you think does this particularly well?
"A book that does this beautifully is We Are Definitely Human by X. Fang. She tells such a thoroughly entertaining story about aliens who crash land on earth that when you get to the end of the book, the message of the story almost feels like a surprise. When you reread the book, you realize that it is right there on every page. It’s like a magic trick—you’re so focused on what the magician is doing with one hand, you miss what is being done with the other."
What forthcoming picture books are you most excited about?
"I can't wait to read Papilio by Ben Clanton, Corey R. Tabor, and Andy Chou Musser. Each author-illustrator tells a different part of a caterpillar’s life cycle. I love the idea of an anthology picture book."
"I’m really looking forward to Jerrold Connor’s Big Rhinoceros, Little Rhinoceros, in which a pair of rhinos go for a walk and learn together. You know how much I love those 'Big Animal, Little Animal' books! Jerrold is making his picture book debut earlier this year with Jim!, a biography of James Marshall."
"And speaking of picture book biographies about picture book makers, I can’t wait for Outside In and the Inside Out: A Story About Arnold Lobel by Emmy Kastner. It looks so cute! I love Lobel so much and I can’t wait to see how Emmy tells his story in her own way."
- Feb 24
- 2 min read
Toad and his tow truck are always on the move to lend a hand to anyone who needs help. Pop does his best to try to get Toad to slow down and take care of himself, but there always seems to be someone else who needs to be towed by Toad. How can he say no?
Max's Boat Pick:
TOWED BY TOAD
By Jashar Awan
Publisher: Tundra Books (September 3, 2024)
Welcome back, Jashar! It's always a pleasure to have you on Max's Boat. Let's start the way these interviews always start. What inspired Towed by Toad?
Jashar Awan: "My son loves trucks! One day while we were talking about vehicles, the title popped into my head—”Towed by Toad.” The words together made me laugh and suggested a jumping off point for a story—a toad drives a tow truck.
Jashar Awan's early sketches and final title page for Towed by Toad (above)
"I made a list of vehicular trouble that would require a tow but Toad driving around and helping other animal motorists—while cute—isn’t much of a story.
He would need some help along the way, too. I added scenes where Toad skips meals in his eagerness to help others. He doesn’t stop until he breaks down.
A funny thing about writing is how revealing it ends up being. What you write is informed by where you are or what you’re going through or what you’ve been through. I thought I was writing a funny animal / truck book and ended up making a book about burnout and self-care."
Jashar Awan's early sketches and final pages for the breakfast scene in Towed by Toad (above)
Jashar Awan's early sketches and final pages for the lunch scene in Towed by Toad (above)
I love the homophonic wordplay. What's next for Toad? If I remember correctly, it's going to be a series? Any news you can share about the forthcoming Toad books?
"I’m working on the next Toad book right now! I'm continuing to explore the themes of helping others and being kind to yourself. It should be out next year!"
Jashar Awan's early sketches for Towed by Toad (above)
Are there any books that directly or indirectly influenced Towed by Toad?"
"Towed by Toad starts off with a series of comparisons that were definitely inspired by Big Dog…Little Dog: A Bedtime Story by P.D. Eastman. That was a favorite of mine growing up. I love the rhythm of that book."
"Of course, it’s hard to write a picture book about an animal driving a vehicle and not think about Richard Scarry! When our son was born, we got him “The Biggest, Busiest Storybook Ever”—a collection that included Busy, Busy Town, Cars And Trucks And Things That Go, and The Best Word Book Ever. We read that book into oblivion. All that’s left of it now is the cover! I think that’s the fate of most childhood copies of those classic Busytown books."
- May 6, 2024
- 3 min read
When a young pelican wakes up hungry, pelican parents know just what to do! Take a trip to the seaside and cheer for a marvelous bird who can fly, soar, dive, and more!
Max's Boat Pick:
THE PELICAN CAN!
By Toni Yuly
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (May 14, 2024)
Hello Toni! Welcome aboard! Can you tell me how The Pelican Can! came about? Toni Yuly: "I got the idea for The Pelican Can! on one of my frequent jaunts to the Washington coast. I LOVE the Washington coast and being at the ocean. It is really my very favorite place to be. I like to walk and walk and look and look...and one day I was walking and walking and looking and looking and I saw some pelicans. I have seen pelicans before but this time there were tons of them (a 'brief' of pelicans) and I soon noticed that they were... soaring down close to the shore and then... flying up high in the sky... and then...well you get the idea! I was totally enchanted and stood and watched them for most of the day and it was that encounter with brown pelicans that gave me the idea for the book. While watching them I even started saying, The Pelican Can! The Pelican Can!"
Toni Yuly's early sketches and works in progress for The Pelican Can! (above)
What a great story! It was certainly meant to be. My favorite line is "A pelican does what a pelican can...." It's interesting that the pelican doesn't focus on what it can't do. I'm curious if there's a deeper meaning behind this sentence? "That is my favorite line, too! I haven't thought much about it but I think you are on to something...animals seem to focus on what they can do and do that. I think we can learn a lot from observing animals and all of nature."
Toni Yuly's early sketches and works in progress for The Pelican Can! (below)
Your artwork is absolutely stunning. Can you share your process? TY: "Thank you! I made the book with torn paper, tissue and other kinds of papers. I also used ink for drawing the pelicans and put it all together in Photoshop.
Toni Yuly's early sketches and works in progress for The Pelican Can!:
You can see examples of torn tissue paper in the sunset and torn paper in the rocks that the pelicans are nesting on. The pelicans are rendered in black ink."
An interior spread from Toni Yuly's The Pelican Can!:
"The SPLASH spread shows torn paper for the water and black ink for the pelican's wings and blue water splashes."
An interior spread from Toni Yuly's The Pelican Can!:
I did a rough count and got to 120 words. And I'd wager the average word count for each of your books is under 200. What are some of your favorite board books or picture books for the younger set?
"I actually don't think of the age of the reader when I make a book. I guess that my writing style and sensibility loves simplicity and getting to the essence of what I am feeling and trying to say. I always hope that all ages, from baby to grandparent can love my work.
My picture book recommendations:
The Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss and Crockett Johnson
Little Owl Lost by Chris Haughton
Wave by Suzy Lee"
What's next for you?
"My next book is Go, Sloth. Go! I can not wait to share it with you in about a year!"