- Super Goat Girl is a story about knowing your worth and building the confidence to be who you are. Can you tell us a little about how the story came to be and the illustrative collaboration to get that message across to young readers?
T: I was a teacher for many years, and I’ve seen a lot of new kids struggle finding their place. I also know how much kids love zany adventures and superheroes, so this was a good combo. I was very excited when Nancy Paulsen suggested Dapo as the illustrator. I was already familiar with his work, and I was excited. But he was so busy, we had to wait. It was well worth it!
Did I give you a lot of notes for the illustrations? I don’t think I did. I feel like you read the story and just ran with it.
D: lol, nope, no notes were given. Which was actually a really good thing this time around. I really appreciated the freedom i had on this book. It allowed me to explore some pretty fun ways to bring the world to life. You did such a good job lining up Goat Girl’s emotions in the text, that it was really easy for me to pull that out visually. I used a sort of repeated three beat structure to show her going through the feelings of joy, doubt, and being encouraged through out the book.
- Starting a new school can be a place filled with joy but also sometimes a place that can make you anxious around new people until such time you make friends or feel a little more at ease. Do you have any tips for anyone starting at a new school, just like Super Goat Girl?
T: The best thing to do is be yourself. It sounds simple, but you want to find the friends who really get you, and I promise they’re out there. Let people know what you like to do, if you have pets, the books you like to read, your favorite bands. You’ll find your people fast.
D: yup, just be yourself, your people will find you and you will find them. It never failed me when I was a kid. New people are just new friends waiting to be made.
- Robo Kid, Laserbeam Lass and Noodle Boy are some of the characters in this story, where there any supers that you wanted to add but there wasn’t enough space or storyline to include them all?
T: It was for sure my choice to keep a minimum number of supporting characters. I do love the ones that Dapo imagined for their classmates, though, and I really want to hear how he did that!
D: Oh that was just me having fun. I’m a comic book kid and this book was my first chance to show some love to that side of my childhood. I really enjoyed getting to draw my versions of some of the fun characters I grew up reading.
- Everyone needs a Miss Damsel in their life, someone to look up to and know they are there should you need them. Do you have a super someone from when you were at school, or even now, that is a great support to you in your life or your creative work?
T: My husband and my mom are my biggest cheerleaders. My husband is probably most like Miss Damsel. They both keep things moving and look on the bright side. My mom would still be chasing down those aliens!
D: My Nan is and always has been my biggest champion in life. She’s always there to remind me who I am when the world makes me forget.
- If you had a super power, what would it be and would you have a cape?
T: I’m from the Edna Mode school of thought on no capes. But they do look great blowing in the wind. I’d love to have the power to teleport. I love traveling but I do not love the stress of getting to the transportation device, whether that’s a plane or train.
D: lol, Edna was definitely on to something with that. I’d want the ability to fly and not be affected by the climate. Or i’d love Aquaman’s powers. It would be incredible to be able to swim at high speeds and deep depths without worrying about breathing or water pressure. Both these powers would be fantastic for exploring this beautiful planet we live on.
- What are you both working on next, if you’re allowed to share with us?
T: I’d love to work with Dapo again on a sequel. What do you think, Daps?
D: Oh i’m definitely down for a whole series in this world, I intentionally approached the artwork with the intention of showing the potential for that to be the case. I’m doing a number of things at the moment. I’m working on my first fully authored projects, where I’m doing both the writing and drawing. The most i can say at the moment is that there’ll be a focus on community, human interaction, adventure and there might be dragons.
Dapo Adeola is an illustrator, author and character designer who was awarded Illustrator of the Year at The British Book Awards in 2022. Dapo rocketed into the picture book world with his greatly acclaimed illustrator debut, Look Up!, written by Nathan Bryon and published by Puffin in 2019, which won the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize in 2020. Dapo illustrated My Dad is a Grizzly Bear and My Mum Is a Lioness written by award-winning author Swapna Haddow (both published by Macmillan Children’s Books), and collaborated with Malorie Blackman on their picture book We’re Going to Find the Monster. Dapo made his author debut in 2021 with the Puffin published picture book Hey You!: An Empowering Celebration of Growing Up Black, featuring 18 talented Black British illustrators, which also went on to win Illustrated book of the year at The British Book Awards in 2022.
Born in Britain and of Nigerian heritage, Dapo is an avid believer in the importance of equal representation in the creative arts. He currently lives in Manchester.
