Debbie Ridpath Ohi: I Want to Read ALL the Books

Debbie Ridpath Ohi’s writing or art has appeared in over 20 books for young people. She is the award-winning author and illustrator of Where Are My Books?, I Want to Read ALL the Books, and Sam & Eva with Simon & Schuster. Her illustrations appear in books by Judy Blume, Michael Ian Black, and Linda Sue Park, among others. Debbie lives with her husband in Toronto, Canada. For more info, see DebbieOhi.com. Also, find her on Bluesky, Instagram, and X.

In this interview, Debbie shares how social media posts led to her most recent picture book, why she doesn’t jump on ideas right away, and more.

Name: Debbie Ridpath Ohi
Literary agent: Ginger Knowlton, Curtis Brown Ltd.
Book title: I Want to Read ALL the Books
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers
Release date: September 17, 2024
Genre/category: Picture Book
Previous titles: Sam & Eva; Where Are My Books?
Elevator pitch: An insatiably curious girl decides the only way to answer all her questions is to read ALL the books.

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What prompted you to write this book?

Two major factors inspired this book.

As a child, I used to dream of someday being able to read ALL the books that ever existed. Just like Hana, the main character in my story, I remember being crushed when I realized this was impossible.

As an adult, I try to make regular time to read but also constantly have a gigantic “To Read” pile. The latter prompted me to frequently post on social media about my dilemma, and often with a drawing or animated gif with the message, “I Want To Read ALL THE BOOKS!”

Literary agent Brenda Bowen replied to one of these posts, suggesting I turn this idea into a picture book. It hadn’t occurred to me to consider this possibility until I saw her post! I’m going to send her a copy of the book when it comes out.

How long did it take to go from idea to publication? And did the idea change during the process?

After Brenda inspired me to turn my bibliophile mantra into a picture book in 2016, I let the idea marinate for a couple of years. I’ve learned not to jump onto a book idea right away. I find it easy to come up with ideas, and all ideas sound exciting and wonderful in the beginning. The challenge is finding an idea that will CONTINUE to excite me through the ups and downs of the creation process as well as when the book eventually comes out a couple of years later and I need to promote it.

While the heart of the story didn’t change from idea to publication, almost everything else did. Originally I wanted to try a more lyrical writing style and work in a more serious theme, with the child using books as a comfort after her family moves to a different city.

I could tell something wasn’t working, though. My writing critique partners gave me some feedback but ultimately I decided to send what I had to Justin Chanda, my editor at Simon & Schuster, asking for advice. Justin helped me figure out what I really wanted the book to be about, and then gave me suggestions on how best to achieve that. In the process, I realized that I was trying to fit too much into my story, and was able to pare everything down.

I’m saving all the elements I didn’t use in the final story for potential future picture books!

Were there any surprises in the writing process for this book?

Just how much I continue to LOVE the creative collaboration process, even after all these years, and how I learn something new in every project.

I know this seems obvious, but I used to think that the initial creative act of writing would always be the most enjoyable for me. I can’t speak for all writers, of course, but I find I get just as much joy from working with an editor I trust.

What do you hope readers will get out of your book?

I hope that I Want To Read ALL The Books will help encourage readers to turn more often to BOOKS for finding answers to their questions, rather than always using the Internet or AI-powered apps which may or may not give us actual facts.

I also hope to encourage readers to share the books they love with others.

If you could share one piece of advice with other writers, what would it be?

Don’t be overly fixated on one way of telling one story.