Six Questions with Stephanie Henson

Stephanie Henson is a writer and poet. Her first children’s poetry book was published in affiliation with indie publisher Experiments in Fiction. Her new picture book, No School, My Rules!, was illustrated by  Mai Tran and published by Tielmour Press in August 2024. Stephanie lives with her family in West Chester, Pennsylvania, but is originally from central New Jersey. She has a degree in communications and a publishing and professional writing certificate from Rider University. She's also a member of SCBWI. Visit Stephanie's website to learn more about her work.

1. Who was your favorite author when you were a child? Why?

I have always been a huge fan of Judy Blume and I remember the Fudge series as being one of my favorites as a kid. She just has this way of writing in an accessible manner for children and I remember just devouring her books. Are You There God, It’s Me Margaret is another favorite of mine and I just read it recently ahead of seeing the movie and I can honestly say the movie was great and did the book justice.

2. Did you have a favorite teacher when you were a child? What made them so special?

YES! I actually dedicated my debut picture book, No School, My Rules!,  to my favorite teacher. His name was Mr. Lucuski and he taught me in fifth grade. But I knew him even before that. I was new to the school in third grade and had very bad school refusal. Mr. L kind of took me under his wing and made sure that I was always comfortable and OK. He even gave me a special part in the fifth grade play, which I will never forget. He always made school fun and seeing his students thrive gave him joy. He passed away a while ago. I wish he could see me now and realize how much he meant to me.

3. Do you ever feel lonely being a writer or illustrator? If so, how do you deal with that?

Yes. Writing, by nature, is a solitary activity. It’s hard sometimes when you are writing and so engrossed in the emotions associated with that. I find it’s hard for me to share what I am going through with non-writing friends. That is why it is so important to me to be able to connect with the writing community on Twitter/X. It can be so supportive and there are people who understand exactly how hard it is to be querying or on sub which makes the process less lonely.

4. Where did you get the idea for this book? What was your inspiration?

No School, My Rules! was written for my younger self and for my son. I had very bad school refusal as a child which was the result of undiagnosed anxiety. No one was really able to help me make sense of why I was not wanting to go to school. There was not as much focus on mental health and resources back then as there are now. Fast forward to when my son was in third grade, he had the same symptoms of school refusal as I did, but I was able to recognize the signs and get him the help he needed. However, during one of his tantrums he said something like “If Elsie (our dog) did not have to go to school, then he didn’t either. This turned a lightbulb on in my head years later because I always knew I wanted to write a story about not wanting to go to school and his statement served as the framework for the entire book.

5. How was the editorial process? Did you do any revisions? Did you have a lot of collaboration with the illustrator?

The contract actually came as a result of an R&R (Revise & Resubmit) from Tielmour Press. In the original version there were not clear rules established which was a problem since the title is No School, My Rules! There also were not valid reasons given as to why the main character did not want to go to school. As a result of the revision process, we were able to establish clear rules for the story and tighten up the point of view. Tielmour Press was a joy to work with during this period.

I did not meet the illustrator, Mai Tran,  but I was able to see her work as the drawing process went on and see the direction she was going with the story and I can say that she totally nailed my vision.

6. Who should read this book?

 Any child, parent, or teacher who is experiencing school refusal on any level. It is a great tool for parents and teachers to have on hand for kids who are going through a hard time with anxiety related school refusal. It also lets kids know that they are not alone in how they are feeling towards school and the story might help give them a different perspective associated with attending. The repetitive text and refrain makes it fun to read and the expressive and vivid illustrations make the story come alive.