A Q&A Interview with Sarah Coyle

Sarah Coyle is author of a new picture book series of ‘pick your own’ adventures. Stories in the Pick a Story series invite readers to take charge of the story, making decisions for the lead character, and in the process exploring three different worlds. Pick a Story A Pirate Alien Jungle Adventure was published late in 2022 and Pick a Story A Dinosaur Unicorn Robot Adventure is out now. Sarah answers our questions about the books here.

The Pick a Story format is unusual in picture books. What makes it so effective for very young children?

Kids love making choices. Even really little kids. Perhaps especially really little kids. Day to day, they don’t get to make too many, otherwise it’d be beach shorts in February and marshmallows for breakfast. So I wanted to write a book that would grab our younger readers’ attention. Something that would get them excited about books in general. By giving the reader control over the narrative and making them feel real ownership over a story I hope to harness that attention – at least for a while.

How do you go about planning the picture books?

Ha! That’s a good question. Usually when I write a picture book I simply have an idea and run with it. Pick a Story was very different. Before writing could even begin I needed journeys, endings, stitch backs and magical combinations of worlds and characters. Naturally this was only discovered en route. The first early drafts of Pick a Story took a lot of re-working. Post Its, maps, coloured chalk and blackboards were heavily involved.

How closely do you work with your editor on creating the books in the series?

Oh my, super closely. I have been very lucky with the editors I have worked with. Melissa Fairley from Farshore was there from the start to gently coax some sense out of my initial hectic splat. Alison Green came aboard for both of the first two books to lend her expert expertise and Emily Lamm (also from Farshore) is heading up the exciting next stage. Having wise eyes on the books has been utterly invaluable. They can be unwieldy beasts to manage!

How does your background in theatre and film feed into the books?

I do like to get a bit of drama and a few crescendos into my work. Theatre and film are all about story in wonderfully visual and emotive ways. I hope that any knowledge I have of both mediums soaks into the writing. When you devise theatre or start working on a show you often begin with nothing but empty space, exactly like that first, blank page. I still love the collaborative elements of performing but I suspect writing suits me better. I’m happiest in my own unreality.

How are children responding to the books (eg at events)?

Ownership has been thoroughly embraced! When I’m doing Pick a Story events I want the audience to have plenty of opportunities to get involved. The worrying bit is what happens if no one wants to. So far, that hasn’t happened. I am usually greeted with so much enthusiasm that I have to do a lot of involving the whole audience with hand raising and shouting out. That way everyone gets to enjoy the sweet taste of narrative control.

Are you planning more Pick a Story adventures?

Absolutely, I am. I’m currently polishing the third book and pondering on the fourth. I can confirm that the worlds to explore will be as colourful as dinos, unicorns, jungle, pirates, robots and aliens have been so far. It’s not difficult to think of exciting topics to explore. Kids like good stuff.

Pick a Story A Dinosaur Unicorn Robot Adventure by Sarah Coyle, illustrated by Adam Walker-Parker, is published by Farshore, 978-1405299053, £7.99pbk.