We chat with Kathleen Bostrom and learn about her wonderful new picture book for children welcoming a new sibling into the family and the big emotions that can come with it.
Our Guest: Kathleen Bostrom
Kathleen Long Bostrom, a Presbyterian minister who now writes fulltime, followed her dreams and created a career that focuses on her two passions in life: her faith and writing.
First, Kathy earned a master of arts in Christian education and a master of divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary in Princeton, New Jersey, as well as a doctor of ministry in preaching degree from McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago. Then, in the early nineties, Kathy started writing articles about her faith. And by the end of the decade she was writing books. To date, Kathy has published over three dozen articles and more than 50 books.
Her books — primarily for children — include the award-winning Little Blessings series and multiple VeggieTales books.
Writing about faith has proved to be a successful combination for this prolific author. Kathy’s books have sold close to three million copies and have been translated into 22 languages including Chinese, Russian and Indonesian. In fact, she once found Italian translations of her Little Blessings books at the Vatican bookstore in Rome, Italy.
Another passion of Kathy’s is her family. She and her husband Greg live in Carlsbad, California. Her three grown children followed their own dreams and moved to Los Angeles to work in the film industry. Two were married in 2021, adding to the family.
Kathy is represented by Rachel Kent of Books & Such Literary Agency. To learn more about her or her writing, please go to www.kathleenlongbostrom.com.
Show Notes:
(00:00): Welcome and introduction
(00:31): Since the Baby Came: A Sibling’s Learning to Love Story in 16 Poems
(01:27): using picture books to teach literary devices
(02:18): “The Diaper Volcano”
(03:40): Big emotions
(06:28): Reader response request
(08:57): Turning to God for help
(10:18): Chasing God’s Glory (Dorina Gilmore) and Wherever You Are (Glenys Nellist)
(12:02): God, Right Here (Kara Lawler)
(12:59): Sparrow’s Prayer (Roger Hutchinson)
(13:29): Invitation to ask Kathleen questions
(14:53): Closing
Books Discussed in this Episode:
Transcript:
Terrie:
Welcome to “Books That Spark,” a podcast for parents and caregivers, celebrating books that help us with everyday discipleship every day, sparking important conversations with our children. Today we have our good friend Kathleen Bostrom with us to share about her newest book. I’m very excited for her to be with us today. Thank you, Kathy, for joining us today. I’m so excited to talk about your new book.
Kathleen:
I’m delighted to talk to you again and excited about the new book and talking about it, so I appreciate you having me on again.
Terrie:
Well, let’s just jump right in. It’s called Since The Baby Came, and it’s a siblings learning to love story in 16 poems. I love the subtitle, would you like to talk about that a little bit?
Kathleen:
Actually, the original title was Mama’s Having a Baby, and my editor had a brilliant idea to change it because otherwise it sounded like a book that was for before a baby, and they added on that title because the book is written in 16 different poetic formats, so it’s not just a series of poems that all sound the same meter and rhyme. There’s 15 ones repeated, different rhymes. So that was a wonderful way for them to find a way to not only give a better title for the book, but also to share the content of it, that it was a little bit different and unique, so that, I think, ended up being a perfect title. It’s a little long, but it’s okay.
Terrie:
True, but it’s so perfect and I love, in the back of the book you have each of the poems listed. I love to reuse picture books to teach literary devices and different skills in literature, and you’ve got all the list of the type of poem and everything in the back so we can use it in our homeschooling or in our classroom to even discuss these types of poems, which makes it kind of fun.
Kathleen:
That was exactly what I was hoping that along with children, just learning that poetry had different forms was for those parents or children who were ready to pursue that they could do so without it interrupting the story, and I learned a lot investigating all the different kinds of forms, and hopefully that will give a teaching method for homeschoolers, parents, however it’s used. So you’ve got the whole thing sticking out right there.
Terrie:
Well, and then the poems themselves, they do tell the story. I love how at the beginning, the older sibling is not quite sure what to think, feeling a little put out that everybody’s obsessing over the baby, then of course she falls in love with her little brother, but then she’s not so sure about him here and there. And there’s one poem, I just had to laugh out loud. I don’t want to give it away, but it was just so true and honest.
Kathleen:
Okay. What’s the title of that one?
Terrie:
Well, if I tell the title, they’ll know what it’s about. The Diaper Volcano.
Kathleen:
I thought kids would get a kick out of that one.
Terrie:
Yes, they will.
Kathleen:
The illustrator’s depiction of the little girl racing from the room.
Terrie:
That’s what made me laugh, it’s so cute. The illustrations are just wonderful.
Kathleen:
They’re perfect, and she really captured the personalities, the whole story, the ups and downs, the emotions, sometimes even the stuffed animals changed their expression subtly in the background, depending on what the mood is, so they kind of reflect her feelings. She did an incredible job.
Terrie:
Yeah, I agree. I think it’s just lovely. And then we won’t tell the ending, but I love the ending of the story. So it’s just really such a great book and such a great gift for a family that’s just had a baby. I’m so glad you wrote this book, I think it’s great.
Kathleen:
I wanted to affirm that children’s feelings about the whole thing. Every feeling a child has is okay and normal, and I don’t want, you know, children sometimes feel like “I can’t complain” or “everybody’s in love with this baby,” but they hide their feelings about it or they come out in other ways, so I thought this would be a good way for a child to be upset. You could be scared, you could be anxious, you could be uncertain, you could be joyful, all these things are appropriate in this kind of situation.
Terrie:
Yeah, and like you show in the book, it’s not all one thing all the time. One day the baby’s being so loud and messing up your schedule those days, what, did she want to return it or something?
Kathleen:
“I’ll pay for it, even.”
Terrie:
Yeah, and then there’s other days that there’s just love, total love between the two and that’s the way life is, so I love that, and it’ll help not only affirm what a child is feeling, but maybe give them the words they need to express what they’re feeling, and I find that was what was hard with my kids is, they didn’t know how to put into words what they were feeling and then even if they could, they didn’t know why, or how to explain what was bothering them or whatever, and so I think this book will be used in many ways to help kids that way.
Kathleen:
It is such a mystery for them. Our children are each two years apart, so the whole idea of a new baby was incomprehensible in a sense to them, even though we invited them along on the journey, and then when the baby arrives, it’s wonder and joy and amazement, but also a little scary, and what’s going to happen here? So I think at different age levels, children understand it differently, but even a two-year-old, someone could read the poems and they could enjoy the unfolding of the story ahead of time, but also, once it all starts to happen, and you’re right, giving them words for feelings or emotions they are not quite sure how to express, so maybe this gives them words to do that, and I hope so.
Terrie:
I hope so too. I think it’s wonderful for that. And I just love the older sibling acknowledges that mom doesn’t have time, mom’s tired, and if we’re used to our mom catering to all our needs cause we were the only child and now all of a sudden they don’t have as much time for us, it’s really hard to understand, so I’m glad you dealt with that as well.
Kathleen:
I can’t sit on her lap anymore, there’s no room for me on her lap and, what’s going on here? Things like that that can’t be helped, but children might feel a little bit neglected or left out because of it. “I always used to sit in mom’s lap, now I can’t.” So I like the way the father is also looking harried and hassled and a very active part of the family situation and scenario.
Terrie:
Yeah, that’s true. I love that. Okay, well anything else you want to say about this book?
Kathleen:
Yeah, I’d love to hear how people use it or find it. You’re always curious about feedback and sometimes it’s hard to know what that is, and you just have to assume that it’s getting into the right hands and places, and I just am grateful. The publisher did an incredible job. The marketing team, they let me be a part of the process from the very beginning, not only with editing, but seeing the illustrations and having some voice in that, which is unusual for an author to have any say in that. And I was a bit hesitant, but the real incredible thing was that our little dog that we’d had for almost 15 years died the day before. I met with the art team on Zoom and I was kind of in a bad place, a lot of grief, and they ended up putting that little dog in the book as a character, so our little Ellie is that little dog in the book. I sent them photographs and they sent that to the illustrator and in a week she had sketched out the design, and it’s one of those blessings that you don’t foresee, because adding that little dog in the book, I think fleshed out the book even more. The dog is the partner to the little girl. The little dog reflects the girl’s feelings when everyone else is looking at the baby. The little dog is by the girl’s side. So our little Ellie became, I think, a very significant character in the way that Janet put her into the book, so that’s just a backstory that I find remarkable that a publisher would do that, and I’m forever grateful. I have a friend in England who’s created even a little soft plush toy Ellie to send to me, so you know the fun and joy and the remarkable ways that God finds to surprise you, even when you think you have it all figured out, you don’t.
Terrie:
Well that’s wonderful. I think you told me they were going to do that. I forgot about that, and I love the little dog all through the story. Oh, that’s just so special, that’s wonderful.
Kathleen:
I think she adds to it. So they worked her into the book that even if you don’t know the backstory, I think children like animal characters and I think they’ll like Ellie, not to mention all the cute stuffed toys who change faces, so…
Terrie:
Yeah, you can stare at these pictures for the longest time, there’s so much in every illustration. And the illustrator we should say is Janet Samuel.
Kathleen:
Yes, and she lives in Wales.
Terrie:
Oh, okay.
Kathleen:
Yeah, and I also wanted children to feel, the one poem I wrote, I’ll just mention it briefly, when she turns to God and is saying, I don’t know what to do and how to express I’m upset and I’m sad, and throughout the poem, then she kind of works out her feelings in the presence of God, feeling like God can listen to all these things, and she starts to become “Well, I could sing them a lullaby, and then I feel so good and happy.” I feel like that one poem portrays all the emotions that little girls feels as she is pouring her heart out to God, and finding some resolution in prayer.
Terrie:
Yes, it’s beautiful.
Kathleen:
Thank you.
Terrie:
And I just love the whole thing, I love poetry. Anyway, so I thought it was so cute the marketing you guys did when you released the book. It had like a birth announcement in the front of the book when I got it, it was really cute.
Kathleen:
I thought that would be a fun way to announce the new book and the publishing team and the art they put together the illustration of it. So again, it was a wonderful teamwork experience with WaterBrook.
Terrie:
That’s just fun. The whole thing’s just so fun.
Kathleen:
It is fun.
Terrie:
Well, it’s so good to talk to you again, it’s been a while. What are your favorite books on your radar right now for families to read? Do you have any that you’re really excited about right now?
Kathleen:
Well, there’s so many good ones coming out and I see some from people I know, Glenys Nellist, Dorena Williamson, Dorina Gilmore. There are some people writing books that encourage children to feel good about themselves and define God wherever they are, and to explore the world with open arms and to feel accepted. I think those books, Chasing God’s Glory (Dorina Gilmore) and Wherever You Are (Glenys Nellist), two of the ones of the authors I mentioned, and I know you’ve interviewed a few of those people too, we really appreciate you getting the word out. But I just see more and more picture books and interesting illustrations and variety, so I think there’s something for everybody. It’s just harder to find because there aren’t the bookstores that you just walk into and see all these books displayed, so your podcasts and different blogs and things help families find the books for their children, which I really appreciate. It’s harder and harder.
Terrie:
My friends complain that I’m breaking their budget because I tell them about these books and they’re like, “I’ve got to go buy more books.”
Kathleen:
Yes. Well good!
Terrie:
Yeah.
Kathleen:
I’ve done that too. I saw your lineup when you do things like for Easter other times and I think, “Oh, I’ve got to get that book” or “I’m going to recommend that book to someone else I know,” cause being involved in a church and my husband serving as a pastor still, we are privy to a lot of needs people have, that we feel that’s an honor and a gift that people open up to us, and so having children’s books to recommend for grief or occasions like having a new baby, finding God in the world is so important, and so we can be conduits of that.
Terrie:
Yeah, Glenys’ book is so good for coming up on summer I feel like, but you go out, you’re outside a lot more and exploring the world, and just seeing the fingerprints of God everywhere you look. There’s another one along those same lines and I’m going to be talking about it in another podcast soon too, along with Glenys’ book, but I thought of both of these books for coming up on summer and being outside and in nature, and this one’s called God, Right Here and it’s by Kara Lawler and illustrated by Jennie Poh, and it’s similar but different from Glenys’. I mean, it’s not like they copied each other or anything, but it is just really lovely. It’s done so well and it’s about nature and seeing God’s fingerprints, His handiwork, and knowing He’s there because we see it, just like it says in the Bible, that general revelation that we all know there is a God because of nature, and so those two books are just great for starting the summer and getting out in nature.
Kathleen:
Roger Hutchinson’s book, Sparrow’s Prayer also does that with these animal characters and how they explore and understand their role and how they find God within those things that they offer, but also just in the natural.
Terrie:
I haven’t read that one. I’ll have to read that one.
Kathleen:
It’s a lovely book that also encourages finding God in ways you might not expect, but it has some beautiful illustrations of nature in it as well.
Terrie:
Okay, cool, well thank you. Is there anything else you wanted to talk about today?
Kathleen:
Well, I could go on and on forever, but I know we have parameters here, so if people want to ever reach out and ask me a question about any of my books or anything else, I always like having that contact. They can reach me through my website, which I know you’ll put on the page, and yes, I’m always happy to answer questions and just to hear what questions children have. My initial writing of books was all about questions about God and Jesus and Heaven and prayer, so I just love hearing the questions children ask and adults as well, so, happy to hear from people.
Terrie:
And I do encourage our listeners, you can always reach out through the links that I’ll have in the show notes or even commenting on the show notes at the bottom of the show notes. We have a place where you can comment, and Kathy and I will be checking that, so if you have a question or anything, please feel free to comment or ask questions on the actual blog post for this podcast.
Kathleen:
We look forward to it.
Terrie:
Yeah, I do too. Well, thank you Kathy for taking the time to be with us today, and I hope everyone gets your book, especially when they have a friend who’s having a baby. I just hope that they think of this book to give because it is so special.
Kathleen:
Father’s Day’s coming up.
Terrie:
That’s right.
Kathleen:
Dads need books too, right?
Terrie:
Yes, they do.
Kathleen:
Thank you so much, Terrie. I always appreciate talking with you.
Terrie:
Oh, I agree, I love talking with you. Thank you for joining us for “Books That Spark,” where we encourage each other to live out everyday discipleship, helping to equip our children to follow Christ with their whole hearts. If you enjoyed this episode, please like and share on social media. You can comment on our show notes, we would love to hear from you. We respond to every question and comment, and anytime you share, you’re helping people know we’re here, so we truly appreciate that. If you would like to connect with Kathleen, you can find her on KathleenLongBostrom.com, and there you’ll find out about all her books. You can join her mailing list, and like she said, she loves to hear questions children have about God, about her books and she would love to hear how you’re using her books if you’re using them in your homeschool, or just reading them at bedtime, or whatever, you bless authors when you let them know those things, and when you also leave reviews on Amazon, good reads, if you can leave reviews, it just takes a few minutes a week to leave a review, and it means the world to us. So if you have time, please make that a habit in your family, and even your children can leave reviews, and that would be a real blessing. If you would like to connect with me, of course you can always find me on TerrieHellardBrown.com, and I’d love for you to come check out what I’ve got for free on my website. If you sign up for my mailing list, I have more freebees available to you. We’re here just to bless you. We love getting to be a part of this ministry and to try to bless families, to bless moms and dads and children, and so we hope that you are blessed and that you want to be a part of what we’re doing, and most of all, we pray you feel empowered as a parent or caregiver to walk by faith and to embrace everyday discipleship every day with the children in your life.
Your Host: Terrie Hellard-Brown
Terrie Hellard-Brown writes and speaks to help children and adults find God’s purpose and plan for their lives. She teaches workshops and writes devotional books, children’s stories, and Christian education materials.
Her podcast, Books that Spark, reviews children’s books that spark imagination, emotion, questions, and discussion leading to teachable moments with our kids. Her podcast posts each Tuesday morning.
Her blog posts discuss living as a disciple of Christ while parenting our children. She challenges us to step out of our comfort zones to walk by faith in obedience to Christ and to use the nooks and crannies of our lives to disciple our children.
Terrie uses her experiences as a mother of four (three on “the spectrum”), 37 years in ministry (15 in Taiwan), and 32 years teaching to speak to the hearts of readers.
Her motto is “Life doesn’t have to be perfect to be WONDERFUL” and keeps her childlike joy by writing children’s stories, delighting over pink dolphins, and frequently laughing till it hurts.
My Newest Book: Building Character Through Picture Books
This book contains 25 devotionals for families to do together. After reading the picture book together, families can read the short devotion, discuss some compelling questions, and end with prayer together as the children prepare to sleep. The book includes questions for older siblings to think about and a section for parents to go further in the discussion with their children as needed.
I’ll be sharing about “How to Give Our Children the World” through literature, prayer, and missions at the Round Rock, Texas conference.