Former youth librarian Samantha Edwards illustrated some family stories about her little brother… well, younger brother… and along the way, crafted a narrative that gained the attention of educators and creators alike.
Since “A Tale as Tall as Jacob” was published in 2021, it has been praised for its handling of ADHD. Indiana University Southeast’s Library put the book on its ADHD “Graphic Medicine” list. Appalachian State listed it with other Literature Featuring Characters with Disabilities. It won the 2022 Midwest Book Award for Children’s Fiction and Edwards herself would take The Pitch’s 2023 Best of KC award for Best Local Artist. She’s now hard at work with a follow up titled “Once Upon a Samantha.”
We sat down with her to discuss her career to this point, ADHD, and comics as a medium. Also, an age old anime debate may have settled along the way. We would also like to thank her for her time.
This interview has been lightly edited for clarity
I understand you just got back from the Heartland Book Festival
Samantha Edwards: Yeah! The library put it on. It looks like it was the Missouri Council for Arts funded it. And then the Kansas City Public Library. I can’t remember the others. They kinda all collaborated on it. Mostly local. They had flown in a few authors. I think it was mostly local people which is cool.
On top of that too, you– was it 2022 you won a Midwest Independent Publisher Association Book Award?
SE: Yeah! For the Children’s Fiction. That was pretty cool.
And now The Pitch’s Best of Kansas City too!
SE: Yeah! I don’t know how that happened. It’s weird because [laughs] in my mind I know I make art, but I don’t think of myself as an “artist” the way that someone who sells paintings is an artist. I looked at the list and everybody else on there was a fine artist or a painter. They were in galleries. So I’m really the odd one out in the group of fine artists, because illustration is always seen as something else. Even in art school, it probably was something else.
And that’s for a book that came out in 2021?
SE: Like the very tail end of 2021.
But you also have a new book coming out too. Do you have a timeline for that? Do you have a title?
SE: The title’s going to be “Once Upon a Samantha.” It’ll be a sequel to “A Tale as Tall as Jacob,” continuing the story themed titles. It’ll be a similar story about the same family, same siblings. Continuation of all the silly chaos and shenanigans. I have a tentative final date. The Fall or Winter of 2025 is when I turn everything in. Then sometime in the Fall of the next year I think it’ll come out. The publishing timelines are just insane, and long, and can shift so easily. I could throw a date out there. But if I learned anything from the last time, it’s “those things don’t matter.” Especially– the last book was during the shipping crisis that was going on, because that boat got stuck, and COVID, and all that thing. So– I think it was supposed to come out in October and actually didn’t hit the shelves until September.
What was the inspiration behind “Tale as Tall as Jacob,” other than– I know it’s based on your own family, and it’s a fictionalized account. Why this story? Was it just “I wanted to talk about ADHD?” Was it “My brother is a big goof and I want to write about him?”
SE: It’s kind of a little bit of both. When I left art school, I wanted to make kids’ books. I was kind of working on that. I started working at libraries. And I stumbled across Raina Telgemeier’s books “Smile” and “Sister.” And I thought “This is amazing! I could do this!” And I love how the format told the story of siblings. That’s kind of my favorite type of story. Ones about families and siblings and growing up. You know, coming of age, realistic fiction stories. And my brother in particular is this mythical figure in my family. To the point where– I have a ton of cousins on my mom’s side of the family. Like 21 just on my mom’s side. A lot of them are younger and they didn’t know Jacob as a kid. But they know the stories. Because when we all get together we tell the stories of Jacob like he’s this hero. That’s why I got the idea for the title “A Tale as Tall as Jacob.” He’s like the Paul Bunyun of our family.
Continued belowSo it’s a combo of just growing up hearing those stories told over and over again, and then at the right moment seeing the format that I thought would bring the book to life best. And then my mom has also, a long time ago, wrote a little picture book version— I think she called it “The Tiny Tornado” or something— about Jake. And I had found that. She wrote it on the back of one of our grade cards. All in pencil. And I remember finding it my Senior year of high school and thinking “Oh! This is so cute!” I illustrated the whole thing as a picture book. I really enjoyed it. And it was first kind of my first foray into illustrating books. Amateurishly. My mom loved it and kept it all these years. So it was kind of a natural progression I think into making it a full graphic novel. Just little pieces along the way building up to it.
You went to art school. You were a children’s librarian. What exactly was your training? What exactly were your influences going in? You mentioned Raina Telgemeier.
SE: As a kid, I loved cartoons, I loved comics. I read a lot of “Calvin and Hobbes.” I would say that is one of my biggest influences. Love “Calvin and Hobbes.” And I also watched a ton of cartoons. I still watch a ton of cartoons as an adult. SpongeBob humor is probably my main type of humor [laughs]. Steven Universe, love Steven Universe. I watched that as an adult. Just anything to do with animation or comics. So I knew from a very young age that I wanted to be an artist of some sort. And as I got into high school, I was like “Okay! I know what type of art I want to do. Either illustration or animation.” Kind of nixed the animation thing because I didn’t want to move out to the West Coast. I’ve learned now also that I dodged a bullet because it’s a pretty rough industry [laughs].
Primarily I was thinking picture books, because it’s where illustrators really get to have their moment. And honestly, comic books and graphic novels were barely just getting their start for kids around that time, so I wasn’t really aware of them. And then I went to art school at [The University of Missouri], where I focused mostly on drawing, because they don’t have an illustration program there. While I was at MU, I took a graphic novels class, and it reminded from when I was a kid how much I liked “Calvin and Hobbes.” Because I kinda put it down for a long time, then as an adult came back to graphic novels, and I was like “Whoa! I totally forgot about this format!” For some reason I can write down words and draw pictures with them and it doesn’t really come out right. I’ve tried to write chapter books and it doesn’t come out right. But when I sit down and sketch out the thumbnails of a graphic novel, it’s like it just pours out of me. So I feel like it’s the format I just eventually gravitated to.
Then I graduated from college and I thought I could get a job at a bank or something. Kind of rough it. Or try to work as an artist somewhere. But I didn’t really have the skill set I think to be a graphic designer or anything like that. I thought about going into grad school to be an art teacher. But I quickly learned through a little research that working in the bureaucracy of a school wasn’t what I was interested in either. Then while in college, I was working at the MU library for the two years I was there. I talked to some of the librarians and told them what I liked. Working with kids. I like education but not formal education. They were like “You should be a librarian! It’s the perfect thing!” Plus… you know… books! It all fits! So I applied to grad school right at the last month of my undergrad. Got in and got my Masters. Got a job at the Kansas City Public Library. And it’s been the perfect— I think if you want to be a book writer of any sort, working at a library is the best type of job to support that.
Continued belowYou’re not wrong. Especially since a lot of your research material is right there.
SE: Yeah! I felt like I was being paid to just stay on top of reading material. You look up “How do I write books for kids?” It’s like “Constantly read other books written for kids.” I was doing that as part of my job. I was constantly spending time with kids, making comics with kids. I had clubs I was doing. I was getting constant feedback from the kids. I met my editor and my agent at library events through the networking. So it’s just all of those things combined. It’s just a really good job to have.
You mentioned too the book is a fictionalized account. What are the percentages there? How much of it is fiction? How much of it is true to life? Is it just enhanced a little bit to fit the story structure? Or is it just “I changed a couple names?”
SE: I tell the kids everything that happened in the book did happen. All of the events happened. It may not have happened in that order. Or necessarily with those particular people. Because I have a huge family. I have four siblings. And my mom is the oldest of seven. So I have all these uncles. And some of them are even like my age. Or closer to my age than my Mom. So a lot of those things do happen with my uncles around, my cousins around, So it was just too much. I tried to write them in the first round. And it was just way too many characters. Just too much. So I decided I needed to just focus on the relationship between the brother and sister, the main characters. So a lot of that stuff kinda got siphoned off. So everything in it happened. It just didn’t happen to necessarily those people or at that time in our lives or things like that.
What does the actual Jacob think of the book? Is he like “Yeah! Tell ‘em about the time I hit the kid with the stick!?” Or “Why’d you have to put me almost killing your fish in there?!”
SE: [Laughs] Like I said though! All these stories are stories he grew up hearing about himself from a very young age. I think he always really loved when we would tell stories. We’re sitting around, talking, and he’d just be grinning like “Yeah, I did that.” And so when I saw him after I had published it, and he got to read it, I said “What did you think?” He’s a man of few words. He folds his arms… and keep in mind, this guy is like 6’3” now. Huge guy. Like a foot taller than me. He leans over and he goes “You took some liberties.” And he smiles, puts me in a big ol’ hug, and squeezes me all tight. I think he liked it. My family loved it. They’re all about airing their dirty laundry in a public setting. They think it’s hilarious.
That’s just family in general! So he wasn’t really part of the creative process?
SE: Yeah, I tried to keep the story from the perspective of me, rather than the perspective of Jacob. I did a few places where I imagined what it would be like to be him. But for the most part, it’s from my own perspective. In my mind, it was less about this boy with ADHD as the main character, and more about this sister, and what it’s like to have a sibling who has maybe some special needs or takes more attention. You almost get parentified and you also have higher expectations put on you. Like “We have to worry about Jacob, so we need you to get your act together and help out.” That almost kind of resentment, but also that strong attachment you form with that sibling as a result. I think those feelings are difficult for a kid to navigate. That’s why I wanted to write from that perspective.
Growing up with someone with ADHD, there was a lot you saw firsthand. Was there additional research you did after the fact too?
Continued belowSE: It’s interesting, because when I started writing it, I was not writing a book about ADHD as a topic. I didn’t even think people cared about it. To me, it was just the thing my brother had. And actually, multiple siblings had it. Then I was diagnosed as an adult. So it wasn’t something I thought there was advocacy around and support groups. The whole neurodivergency movement has become a thing. I had no clue about any of that when I started writing this book. And so when I started researching things and started getting into more of the online world of this, I did some research to make sure it was as accurate as possible. But I didn’t set out to write a book about ADHD. It kind of morphed into it when I realized how important it was to the story. And how important it was to other people too.
Is that something that’s in the back of your mind when you write the sequel? Have you gone back to your original headspace of “I want to write about my brother?” Or has that shifted into “This is what the book became? Maybe I can do more of a focus on neurodivergency in the next chapter?”
SE: That’s a good question! In the process of writing this is how I became aware that I was undiagnosed. Not only because of the research I was doing, but the process of writing a book is not the most ADHD friendly activity [laughs]. By the time I ended the book, that’s when I got formally diagnosed, and was able to get medication and treatment and stuff. Looking back at my childhood through that lens has really shifted my perspective on things. So I am going into the second book kind of with that headspace. Like “Okay! Now I know I have it!”
I kind of planted some easter eggs in the first book that maybe Samantha may have some issues as well. You know… with the late homework assignments, and the little bit of impulsivity, and the daydreaming, all that fun stuff. So I’m probably going to focus even less on the brothers, and focus a little more on the main character, and talk about ADHD from the perspective of a girl. Especially a girl whose ADHD goes unnoticed.
Have you gotten any feedback from libraries and schools? Since it’s only been fairly recently that there’s been a shift towards YA and Middle Grade graphic novels after years and years of Bang! Zoom! Comics aren’t for kids anymore!
SE: I haven’t gotten any personally. I feel like if I interact with a teacher or librarian, it’s because they like graphic novels and they’ve read my book. I just know from my professional experience how much more accepted they’ve become. I feel like public librarians are more on the vanguard of accepting new formats like that. Whereas you go to a school library setting or teachers, they might be a little more hesitant to call them real books. I know School Library Journal just did a huge survey about graphic novels and they’re just putting out some of their findings. It honestly surprised me how many people still don’t see them as real books, and how many parents and teachers don’t want their kids reading them, because they don’t feel like they’re learning from it.
It’s been interesting. I always loved comics. Growing up in a family with kids with some learning issues, anyway you can get someone to read is a good thing, whether its a traditional book, or… my sister really struggled with reading. But she watched a lot of anime and was able to bring her reading grade up with all the subtitles she was reading. So whatever way you can get someone to read, I don’t care how. It’s just a skill you need to know.
So I guess there’s actual science behind it… subs not dubs.
SE: Exactly! [Laughs]
“Tale as Tall as Jacob” is available now from Andrews McMeel. You can learn more about Samantha Edwards from her website.
