Spotlight on Doreen Cronin

Doreen Cronin is the author of many bestselling and New York Times bestselling picture books, including Click, Clack, Quack to School!; Click, Clack, Surprise!; Click, Clack, Ho, Ho, Ho; Click, Clack, Peep; Click, Clack, Boo!; Dooby Dooby Moo; Thump, Quack, Moo: A Whacky Adventure; Bounce; Wiggle; Duck for President; Giggle, Giggle, Quack; Bloom; and the Caldecott Honor Book Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type as well as The Chicken Squad series and Cyclone. She lives in Brooklyn, New York. 

Q: You’ve written for children of all ages, from the middle grade novel, Cyclone, to picture books and The Chicken Squad chapter books. Which age level do you find most challenging to write for? Most surprising?

They are all such different undertakings! Picture books are actually the hardest for me to write. Every word is a decision and it’s so easy to throw off the cadence. I can spend a week looking a single sentence that is driving me crazy—trying to figure out what’s wrong with it! Or if I should scrap it altogether and start over. Cyclone was, by far, the most challenging thing I’ve done as a writer. I lean heavily towards an economy of words—less is more—only not so much in a novel! I think the first draft was only 85 pages or so! Finding the emotion of it and the heart of it was a tough exercise. Not to mention the craft of structure, plot and pacing! Picture books feel like a puzzle I’m trying to put together, but writing the novel felt like baring my soul while running a marathon—neither of which I do very well! I had to be pushed—and sometimes carried!

Q: In your newest chapter book, Bear Country, The Chicken Squad embarks on their sixth adventure. Why are you so drawn to writing about animals? Have you had any funny real-life experiences with them?

I have actually had very few experiences with animals, save our family dogs. My closest encounter with a “wild” animal was being licked by a cow while covering the Penn State Agriculture show as a reporter for the college newspaper. It was not a pleasant experience for me! Sugar, Dirt, Poppy, and Sweetie just make me laugh. I sit down at my desk, I set them up, and then I feel like I just follow them around and take notes! Once I discovered what they looked like (thank you, Kevin Cornell) it just became so easy to make them ridiculous. These chickens are 100% autobiographical. There were four of us Cronin kids growing up and there are four chickens. We were out in the yard (and then neighborhood) every day entertaining ourselves without much (any) supervision and so is The Chicken Squad. I think there’s a lot of nostalgia in those stories for when I was young enough to get in trouble!

Q: Click, Clack, Quack to School covers a universal milestone—both anticipated and sometimes dreaded, depending on the child—but with a hilarious twist. What aspects of this story do you think kids will most relate to? Why did you decide to center a book around this topic?

I think kids worry about being perfect in school. About sitting still. About knowing the rules. About managing all that energy to wait their turn, wait for the bathroom, wait in line, etc. I love the release at lunchtime, at recess, and when the day is over! I also wanted to show that laughing, talking, joking, running, playing, singing, yelling, and skipping are all part of school life, too, just like they are a part home life. You will have fun there! You can be your cow-y self or your chicken-y self or your quiet self! I am secretly Farmer Brown in this one (as opposed to Duck) because I get excited every time I get invited to a school!

Q: What are you working on now? Is there more in store for the Click Clack gang?

I have such a hard time working on one thing, so I usually have my head wrapped around a few stories at once. I am always sketching out picture book ideas and constantly writing out dialogue and descriptions for manuscripts that haven’t revealed themselves to me yet! I am always curious about what Duck and Farmer Brown and the cows have in store (or what Duck is currently plotting), but it’s one of those things I have to wait for! When they’re ready, they’ll let me know.