Let’s Party! | Author / Editor Q&A with Melissa Iwai and Christy Ottaviano

A Q&A with Creator Melissa Iwai and Publisher Christy Ottaviano on the making of Let’s Party: A DIY Illustrated Guide to 10 Fantastic Birthday Parties
Christy Ottaviano (CO): The first book we worked on together was Toolbox Twins by Lola Schaefer. From there we published Soup Day and Pizza Day together. It was working on the food picture books and reading your food blog that made me want to reach out to you about trying your hand at a cookbook craft DIY activity book about birthday parties, especially as we were both in the throes of planning those parties for our own kids (who are all grown up now!). To me, this project was such a terrific coming together of so many of your passions—cooking, crafting, illustrating, and creating interactive content for children. Can you speak to your thoughts on the commingling of all these interests?
Melissa Iwai (MI): You’ve always been one of the biggest supporters of my cooking blog! I started it around the time my first book as an author/illustrator, Soup Day, came out, in 2010. My son Jamie was the inspiration for creating that book, and then later, for starting my blog. I’ve always loved cooking and crafting, but doing these activities with my child deepened my enthusiasm, and my desire to share them with others blossomed. As a children’s book author and illustrator, it seemed quite natural for me to write about cooking and crafting with kids. I have also always loved puzzles, such as crosswords, mazes, and hidden pictures. I first started creating the latter as an illustrator for Highlights magazine, and that led me to creating puzzles on my own, based on my picture books. I have various activities, games, and craft projects on my site for educators and parents to download. When the opportunity arose to create a book for kids that incorporated all these things I had been doing for several years, I grabbed it! I’m eternally grateful that I work in a field that allows me to do this, as well as have a champion like you supporting me!
CO: One of the things that always frustrated me as a parent interested in DIY activities for my children is that I had to consult three different books when planning their birthday parties—one for snack and meal recipes, another for the cake recipe, and a third for the craft projects. It was this frustration that made me excited to discuss with you the idea of combining these areas into one book for parents and children. Can you talk about how you approached the book and what kind of preparation went into choosing the various party themes?
MI: I remember being in your office in 2016 brainstorming possible ideas for the parties. I still have my notebook from that time, and I looked at it to jog my memory about my process during the early development stage. In my notes I had fifty-three ideas for themes! I basically came up with any theme for which I could envision creating a cake and crafts around. Some of them were too specific, such as a doll-themed party, and some were too broad, such as an ice cream social party. After paring down my list and discussing it with you, we narrowed it down to twelve themed parties—one for every month. Later, after I had developed and tested each craft and recipe and had begun illustrating the book, I realized it was too overwhelming. We decided to cut the space- and sleuth-themed parties, which we felt were not as compelling as the other party themes. I do not regret this decision, and I think it made the book better.
CO: We started this book together when we I was still working at Macmillan, and it traveled with me to Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. The great joy was being reunited with both Patrick Collins (former art director at Macmillan) and designer Angela Jun (former designer at Macmillan), as we were able to keep our core team while also working with Tracy Shaw (art director at LBYR) and Jen Graham (managing editor). Can you speak to the importance of having this continuity with a project that was so detailed?
MI: Not only was it a joy being reunited with both Patrick and Angela during the final art stage of the project, but I literally cannot imagine how I could have finished it without them! There were so many changes and revisions over the years, and it was incredibly helpful to have people who were familiar with the entire project from the beginning to the end. They know the book inside out. They have seen every iteration. The revisions and copyediting stages alone took several years to complete, because our files were not simple text-based files. Whenever there was a correction to be made in a craft or recipe, the entire layout was affected because every step was illustrated. Angela tirelessly revised and adjusted every detail, from swapping out or moving pieces of art to inputting copyedits directly into the corrected layouts. Through it all, Angela’s and Patrick’s enthusiasm for the book never waned, and I am so grateful to them both and the entire team.
CO: This book was approximately eight years in the making, as my first notes in the file about developing the idea date back to 2016. Can you talk a little about the challenges involved in taking on a project of this magnitude? How did you organize not only the book but your approach to writing and illustrating it, while also balancing other books and life in general? I think there are over five hundred pieces of art in this book (it is almost four hundred pages in length!). What did you learn from this experience?
MI: The fact that this book has lived through three different presidential administrations is a little hard for me to believe! It has definitely been a journey. In retrospect, it’s probably better that I didn’t know the true magnitude of the project or how long it would end up taking at the start. I knew it would be challenging and that I had never created anything this large before, but I really had no clue as to the extent of what it would entail.
The whole process has been one of inventing things and problem solving. You gave me the gift of not squeezing the book into a set timeline. This allowed me to set my own schedule and deadlines, based on my other book project deadlines and freelance work. Each stage of development required a different skill set and different challenges. For example, during my recipe-testing phase, I was cooking and baking everything multiple times. This involved several months alone of baking and testing the ten cakes featured in the book. I also had to learn how to photograph food and people. I organized several faux birthday parties with friends with young kids to test out crafts and taste treats and get photos in action.
During the illustration phase, which took a year or so, I was able to juggle my workload by treating each chapter as a mini book. I did this by staggering the chapters with the other books I was working on as I normally do. This means when I am in the sketch and development phase of one project, I am working on the final illustrations of another project. After my arm injury in 2017, I have avoided doing final illustrations for more than one book at the same time. For the first two years of this project, I was suffering from and then recovering from my injury. That was when I learned the vital lesson that I needed to listen to my body and stop overworking.
Throughout the entire process, I learned that even though progress can be messy and unpredictable, I could just take each step at a time, be flexible, try my best, and be okay with the outcome. To be honest, there were many times when I asked myself: “What am I doing? Is this even going to work? Who am I to think I can pull this off?” That’s when it was crucial for me to know I had supporters behind me, like my husband, you, and the amazing creative team!
CO: At a time when the world moves very fast and kids are forever enticed by screens, this special book encourages kids and parents to create, get messy, and have fun making their own niche birthday event. It encourages teamwork and togetherness and creativity on so many levels. Can you talk a bit more about how relevant this is in today’s world?
MI: Kids and adults alike face a vast array of competing media vying for our attention in this digital age. There are so many more distractions available to kids than when I was a child, and even when our own kids, who are in their early twenties, were children. We have seen, living through the global pandemic, that online interactions and learning are inferior to doing those things in person. I think our book fosters that spirit of planning, creating, and celebrating together in real life! I write in the introduction of the book that it is inspired by both my memories of being a kid doing craft projects with my parents and big brother, and creating themed birthday parties as a family when my son was little. I hope Let’s Party! inspires those same kinds of experiences with readers who use the book!
CO: Thanks so much, Melissa. I hope for the same outcome with this special book. It was a true pleasure to work together on it!
“An illustrated guide to planning delicious, craft-filled parties…. A friendly guide to inspire kids and help adults craft memorable parties.” —Kirkus Reviews
Make birthday memories that will last a lifetime!
There’s nothing quite as special as creating your very own birthday party. In this spectacular DIY birthday planner for children aged three to ten, kids can choose their favorite party theme and assist in making the crafts and recipes associated with each. They’ll learn how to bake dinosaur cakes, create robot piñatas, design superhero outfits, decorate their party setting, and so much more. Whether you’re hosting a Pirate Cove Party, a Monster Mash Bash, or a Woodland Fairy Fest, every birthday theme will inspire creativity.
The designed parties include a craft activity, a decor project with templates, and recipes for a meal, two snacks, and the ultimate birthday cake. Step-by-step instructions, DIY tips and tricks, and a list of materials for each birthday theme make this activity-recipe book the perfect gift that families will return to year after year!
Featuring these 10 unique birthday themes:
– Jurassic Party
– Superheroes to the Rescue!
– Royal Magic Kingdom Party
– Construction Site Party
– Woodland Fairy Fest
– Hawaiian Luau
– Pirate Cove Party
– Robot Laboratory Party
– Monster Mash Bash
– Wild-Animal Party