“Writing a children’s book, I think, is probably harder than just writing a narrative book,” KOOP radio host Mindy Reed mused when I went on her show, Writing on the Air, in June 2025. “I’m sure there are many people who sit and read to their kids or take their kids to Storytime at the library and they go, I could do that, because it’s what, under fifty words and whatever. But then you get into it and you find out it’s not easy at all.”
Well said, Mindy, well said!
Austin children’s book author Jennifer Ballow and KOOP radio host Mindy Reed in the studio, June 2025.
I appreciated the veteran writing instructor and APL librarian’s insight because, in my opinion, the particular challenge of writing children’s books (as opposed to, say, writing books for adults) lies in being concise. You have to get a complex message—a whole story!—across in as few words as possible. Forget the lengthy paragraphs or entire pages of text that go into describing, for example, Mr. Darcy in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, or the white whale in Herman Melville’s eponymous Moby Dick. In a children’s book, you might be limited to a single sentence, or even just a few words on a page. The heavy lifting comes from choosing the right words; supplemented, of course, by fantastic illustrations.
A Chance Encounter
The opportunity to guest-speak on KOOP came about from a chance encounter. I was tabling at Gab Fest in April 2025 when Mindy Reed herself approached my booth. After asking a few questions about, and flipping through a copy of, my Tooth-Fairy-themed children’s book Under My Pillow, Mindy handed me her business card and told me to reach out. Excited—because my father had been an excellent PR person who’d understood the power of traditional media and regularly given radio interviews—I followed up, and we set a date for June. Her show was not scripted, Mindy warned me, but more like an organic conversation. And sure enough, our topics ranged from contentious depictions of “magic” in children’s books to what I would have done differently, given the chance, in Under My Pillow, and what I’ll do differently next time.
I felt so legit with my headphones and microphone at the KOOP studio!
What’s Next: The Jewish Under My Pillow?
Two years out, there’s not much I would change about my first book Under My Pillow, except perhaps to make it even more concise than it is already. I’m proud of the book, of the families it’s helped, of the great Kirkus Review it received; and importantly, I still like it! What I’d do differently next time—am in fact doing right now, as I work on a Jewish version of the story inspired by my rabbi cousin and refined in a temple writing group helmed by poet Laraine Kentridge Lasdon—is explore other creatures (beyond the Tooth Fairy), cultures, and even formats. As Mindy suggested in our interview, transcribed below, children’s literature is ripe for stage adaptation!
It’s Brave to Go Big
Months out now from Writing on the Air, I can’t say I’ve seen a ton of engagement or sales from my one-time radio appearance. But I had fun, the interview boosted my credibility, and I made a new friend in Mindy Reed.
Those kinds of genuine connections have become increasingly important to me on the sometimes-bumpy road of children’s book authorship. It’s not just about the book; it’s also about the people I’ve met along the way. My wonderful illustrator, Aroba Sheikh. Powerhouse book maker and marketer Eevi Jones. Sweet Lois at the Happy Self-Publisher. All of my inspiring co-members of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. For everything they’ve helped me with or taught me, I don’t regret this journey for a minute. It’s brave to go big, to go hard, to follow (in the best way) your craziness!
And yet, beyond the professional milestones and creative friendships, what matters most to me is how closely this journey has always been intertwined with motherhood itself.
As I sat afterward at the very computer where I compose stories, holding my teenage daughter in my lap—once the little girl losing teeth and writing letters to the Tooth Fairy, and still somehow my baby despite her ever-growing age—I felt that strange truth of parenthood and authorship alike: children grow, books go out into the world, and somehow the seasons slip by faster than you expect.
Jennifer Ballow with her teenage daughter after her June 2025 radio interview on Writing on the Air at KOOP Radio in Austin.
For the full transcript of the show, in which Writing on the Air host Mindy Reed and I discuss timeless topics like the importance of reading and writing for a child’s development and the vital role physical books and imaginary characters like the Tooth Fairy play, as well as my experience collaborating with both an illustrator and a writing coach, see below! Tune in next time at 91.7 FM.
Mindy:
This is Writing on the Air. I’m your host, Mindy Reed. Thanks for joining me. We cover a range of writing and reading topics from fiction, nonfiction, memoir, poetry, blogs, and even songwriting. This show is for aspiring writers, avid readers, and those just curious about words. Each week we will hear from local writers about the process of writing, share some inspiration, and check out local meetups for writing and/or discussing books. The views expressed on Writing on the Air do not necessarily reflect the views of KOOP Radio, its staff, management, or the board of directors.
Welcome to the June 2nd broadcast of Writing on the Air. Today’s guest is children’s book author Jennifer Ballow, who I recently met at Austin Public Library’s Gab Fest, which is a book festival for local authors. She’s the writer of Under My Pillow. Jennifer earned a degree in social work from the University of Texas. Under My Pillow won the Purple Dragonfly book award from Story Monsters under the Family Matters category. Welcome, Jennifer. Is there anything else you would like to share about you? Your background?
Jennifer:
Yes, yes! I do have a background in social work. I got my master’s in 2016 and worked a lot with gerontology and people with disabilities. But my interest in children’s book writing came from being a mother.
Mindy:
It makes absolute sense that it would be, but I also wonder if your experience in social work influenced your writing career.
Jennifer:
Oh, yes, absolutely. Especially the aspect of emotional intelligence or emotional learning, all of that that’s going on these days in education. So having a really good grasp on that, as well as the bonds between children and their parents.
Mindy:
Right.
Jennifer:
So I encourage parents and children with this story to write letters.
Mindy:
I saw that as part of the book, and we’ll talk about that in a little while. But I also wanted to know, based on you as an author, as a mom, your professional background, why you believe writing and reading are important to a child’s development.
Jennifer:
So yes, absolutely, and I think the younger you can start, the better. One of the reasons social work is so helpful is I do get all of these professional blogs and a lot of research, and we cover a lot of different areas, especially family development—that’s very, very popular in social work. So I know that the most crucial part of a child’s development is actually zero to one years old. And a lot of people don’t think that you should maybe read to your children that young, but even that has a huge impact. So, ages one to three, reading to a child, even if it seems like it might be above their developmental stage, they actually are absorbing it and it makes a huge difference.
Mindy:
And I think the other thing that’s interesting that I learned as a librarian and being part of the book industry is that nothing takes the place of a book when it comes to children. So the iPad doesn’t take the place, the television. You would think, Oh, there’s something visual and there’s sound, but it’s different when you’re holding a book and reading it to a child as far as how they process that, how that developmental skill gets into them.
Jennifer:
Absolutely. And I wish I knew exactly the reasons why. I just know it’s better.
Mindy:
I mean, there are studies out there, I can’t quote them right now either. And I say this as somebody who isn’t an ebook and an audiobook fan, but I was recently out of town and I had the opportunity to hold a book in my hand and read it, and the experience, it was like I forgot how wonderful it feels, the tactical as well as the words. And so yeah, I encourage parents: Make sure that your kids have access to physical books, whether that be through the library or the little lending libraries that are in neighborhoods. There’s wonderful ways to get your hands on all sorts of material for kids.
Jennifer:
I also have this therapist that I go to, and she’s amazing. She’s a PhD psychologist, and I consult with her about parenting because that’s her specialty. And she would always tell me, stay away from the electronics. If your child is having any kind of behavior problem or attention problem or anything like that, just steer them toward real books, real toys, maybe ones that are wooden, tactile, not a lot that are electronic or make a lot of crazy sounds. That’s going to disrupt their calm, their parasympathetic system, that kind of thing.
Mindy:
So the other thing I wanted to talk about is why imaginary characters like the Tooth Fairy are also important to a healthy childhood for kids.
Jennifer:
And this is kind of controversial. I’ve had people come by and they love the idea of the Tooth Fairy, and I’ve also had parents that come by and say, Hey, we don’t do the Tooth Fairy. I’m sorry. My kids know, hey, the Tooth Fairy does not live in our world. And so sometimes I am just like, Okay, cool. I don’t really know how to engage with them past that, but yeah.
Mindy:
Well, and I wonder if their kids are allowed to experience any kind of imaginary friend or relationship or idea.
Jennifer:
I agree. Yeah.
Mindy:
Because it is so important.
Jennifer:
It is, absolutely. And we grew up with the idea of magic, and it was very beneficial and the kids loved it. And I have to tell a funny story. So I decided to write this book, and of course my kids know about this activity that we did with the Tooth Fairy for years, and they always knew, yes, Santa is real, and the Tooth Fairy is real. Toward the end, I had to kind of tell them, Hey, I’m a big part of the Tooth Fairy, and my daughter was 13, and she was so mad that I told her that. She was like, No, don’t tell me this, please.
Mindy:
And she may have even suspected, but she just wanted to have the imagination.
Jennifer:
Exactly. Yeah. She’s a smart girl. But yeah, it’s huge.
Mindy:
I do think, again, everything that I’ve read and known from being a librarian says that when they get to look at puppets and run around and pretend that they’re playing with Puff the Magic Dragon or whatever it is, or someone or something they make up for themselves—it doesn’t have to be one of the icons in our culture; it can be anything!
Jennifer:
Exactly. And yeah, I think it’s huge for just maybe happiness or brain development and all of those things. The idea of imagination, where does that take you?
Mindy:
Yeah, absolutely. One of the things that I thought was very interesting that you do in Under My Pillow is that you include questions and activities at the end of the book. And so why did you think it is important to extend the experience of the book beyond the end of the story?
Jennifer:
Yeah, I’m so glad you brought that up. I’m most proud of that part of the book because I think it’s the most important. Like, Yeah, you’ve read this book, but let’s talk about what this was like. How did you feel after reading this? Asking kids those questions is just a huge part of the experience of reading to children. I think at the end, asking them questions about it—How did you feel? What meant anything to you?—is just a huge part of the process and all the benefits that kids get from reading with their parents.
Mindy:
I imagine it really helps with comprehension.
Jennifer:
Oh, yes.
Mindy:
Because that’s one of the things that’s so important as well, is that when you’re done with the reading, and I think it’s maybe part of why kids like to have the same book read to them over and over again, is being able to retain and comprehend and say back what you learned from the story or what you remember from the story again as part of that cognitive development.
Jennifer:
Yeah, repetition. Kids read their favorite book over and over, and I remember also watching my favorite movie over and over again.
Mindy:
Some of the activities include writing letters. Talk about that a little bit.
Jennifer:
Yes. So this all started when my kids were five and they were losing their first teeth, and it just happened organically. But because we loved the idea of fairies and magic, it was just kind of like, Well, let’s write the Tooth Fairy a letter. Tell her, are you happy about your tooth? What do you want? Just anything you want to write. We just sort of had the idea. And they were like, Okay. And of course, they were five, and sometimes it was just scribbles, maybe their name—
Mindy:
The Tooth Fairy can read?
Jennifer:
Yes, the Tooth Fairy can read anything. So it was amazing. And they would draw pictures of the Tooth Fairy or maybe their mouth with the teeth.
Mindy:
Oh, wow.
Jennifer:
And the Tooth Fairy would write back.
Mindy:
That’s fabulous.
Jennifer:
Yes. And they just loved that. So yeah, they would get their prize. And then this letter. So we kept this up for the entire time that they were losing teeth.
Mindy:
Do you still have those letters?
Jennifer:
I do.
Mindy:
Oh, see, that’s your next book. Letters to the Tooth Fairy.
Jennifer:
That was maybe the original idea. And then someone said, Well, you might need a theme. You might need an actual book around this. But yeah, somehow I might need to introduce that whole scrapbook. I have to ask my kids’ permission now. They’re all, Yeah, Mom, I don’t want you to share that. That’s personal. So I have to kind of balance that.
Mindy:
Yeah, that’s such a great idea. Now, we’ve been talking about the content and the creation of the text of the book Under My Pillow, but writing a children’s book is really a collaborative effort, and Under My Pillow is visually stunning. How did you and your illustrator meet up and share your vision?
Jennifer:
Oh my gosh, what a great question. And this is also something that writers kind of have to figure out. Are they going to illustrate as well or just write it? So yes, while I do have an artistic background, I decided to hire an illustrator and I found her on Fiverr.
Mindy:
Oh, you did? There are several types of independent-contractor-type sites that people can have access to if they’re looking for somebody to collaborate with.
Jennifer:
Yes. And I find that’s an amazing one for illustrators or this type of artistic kind of task or whatever you need. I was working actually with a coach, and she’s the one who told me about it, and we’d looked at all of these illustrator profiles and I kind of told her what I was looking for, and she would say, Yes, I like that one, or No, I don’t like that one so much. So we found this wonderful woman, Aroba, and she lives in Pakistan.
Mindy:
No kidding.
Jennifer:
Yes. And I didn’t learn this until about halfway through, and I was hoping that maybe I could do a Zoom call with her or something like that, but it is difficult. We’re in totally different time zones. And her English is okay, but I had to kind of explain some things because she actually had to write out the words as well. The illustrator actually develops the whole page for the printer.
Mindy:
So as far as what the font is going to look like and the size of it and all of those things, that’s part of the representation on the page.
Jennifer:
Yes, exactly. So I hired her to literally lay out the book. And so we actually did the whole thing via text message.
Mindy:
No kidding. Isn’t that amazing? It’s funny because I know a lot of us find ourselves bemoaning technology and some of the different ways online seems to be taking over our lives, but it’s also miraculous that you can find somebody you never would’ve had the opportunity to collaborate with without these tools and without these ways of sharing the vision.
Jennifer:
I agree. And I never thought that it would be possible, but if you really try, it is.
Mindy:
Yeah, because an illustrator’s almost like a soulmate to the author. And as you and I were talking about earlier, writing a children’s book I think is probably harder than just writing a narrative book, when it’s just you and your words and your ideas flowing. But I’m sure there are many people who sit and read to their kids or take their kids to Storytime at the library and they go, I could do that, because it’s what, under fifty words and whatever. But then you get into it and you find out it’s not easy at all.
Jennifer:
No, it’s not. And looking back now, the most challenging, I think, thing for a children’s book author is to keep it concise.
Mindy:
Yes. Well, I think a lot of writing needs to be concise, but definitely for picture books especially.
Jennifer:
Yes. And looking at my book now, I realize it’s actually probably too wordy. I may have simplified it even more, but I had it edited two or three times, and every time I had to go to the illustrator and say, You need to change this page to have these words or Make this picture different. And so it was kind of a big deal. But yeah.
Mindy:
Well, it’s about revision. Writing is about revision. Nobody gets it out there the first time. So with the success that you’ve had with Under My Pillow, are you planning to write other books?
Jennifer:
I am. I would like to write a sequel to this or maybe make it a series. This is about this child’s first tooth that she loses and the adventure, but what happened with the second and the third? And it could kind of go on. I’d like to explore the idea of the other creatures, too. There’s a rat in Spanish and Latin cultures, the Raton, and he comes and takes the tooth.
Mindy:
I think that’s a really great idea. You think about during the holidays, you see all these different representations of Santa Claus, St. Nick. So to bring in other cultures would really be fabulous.
Jennifer:
Yeah, exactly. And play with other mythical creatures. Maybe it’s not the Tooth Fairy, maybe it’s some other type of creature that comes.
Mindy:
The other thing that I find interesting that is occurring with children’s books is that there’s a lot of children’s theater here in Austin. I don’t know if you’ve had an opportunity to partake of that, but I’ve seen several shows which are theater or play adaptations of various children’s books. So that is something else that seems possible. So you can write in multiple forms as well as the picture book.
Jennifer:
I mean, I think maybe a lot of writers, especially of children’s books, their dream might be to write the next Harry Potter or something, or even the Dog Man series. They turn into these giant enterprises and they have TV shows and movies and all these other adaptations and kind of like a farfetched dream or aspiration would, of course, to be something like that, where it turns into something more than the book.
Mindy:
Right. Yeah. And I know that’s not why you initially write, but as I’ve discussed with other authors, most writers don’t make money off their books. Not even JK Rowling and Harry Potter. They make money through having these different types of experiences, whether it be a theatrical production or a movie adaptation or something like that. So it’s good to think about after the book is already in place and being shared with kids as to, What else can I do with this? I watched a documentary about the making of Wicked, and what was so interesting me was how Baum himself did all these different adaptations of Dorothy and The Wizard of Oz, including stage plays. So it’s something that comes natural to writers, I think.
Jennifer:
Yeah, I think so. And I do love Wicked, and I’ve watched a lot of those documentaries as well. And it’s fascinating how—oh, I don’t know who the author is of the Wicked series.
Mindy:
Oh, Gregory Maguire.
Jennifer:
Yes. And how he developed the idea and took all of the ideas from Baum and created this new spin on it.
Mindy:
Yeah, it’s really quite something. So I like to ask my guests, What advice would you give to aspiring writers? How would you encourage people to get started if they think they want to write a children’s book or a chapter book or in some way get their ideas into reality?
Jennifer:
My main advice is to hire a coach. That’s it. Because once you hire, you put down money, they’re there to help you. They will hold you accountable, and you paid them money to make sure that you develop a final product. They’re going to coach you through the entire process. And there are book coaches just for that to help people.
Mindy:
And organizations like the Writer’s League of Texas, and the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. But I think you’re really right, because as I often say to writers, if you just share it with your siblings or your spouse or your parents, if you just give it to people who already love you, they’re going to tell you that they love it because they love you. You really do need to make an investment into that. Singers have coaches. Athletes have coaches. Coaching is really important if you have somebody who really knows what they’re doing and has a reputation. So I always also recommend Preditors and Editors. If you pick somebody out based on something you’ve seen on the internet, you can go to Preditors and Editors and find out if they’re the real deal.
Jennifer:
And I also want to say, I love the idea of you show it to people you love and they’re like, Oh, it’s great. I love you. And I think that’s fine. But then there’s this other aspect of, Okay, I’m going to turn my idea into an actual book. I’m going to go out there, put it on paper, and publish it. Even self-publish it. That’s the part that people don’t do. It’s so hard. That doesn’t happen.
Mindy:
Because they don’t also realize that as well as writing, finding a collaborator, you also have to market. You also have to get people to put eyes on you and on the book and make it something that the public becomes interested in. And I think that scares a lot of people.
Jennifer:
Oh yeah, absolutely. And I had major imposter syndrome when this came out. I was like, What am I doing? Do I know what I’m doing? This is crazy. I can’t believe I’m going to call myself a children’s book author, that I’m actually going to make this idea into a real thing. That was a huge hurdle.
Mindy:
And I think it is for a lot of people. Writing is such an insulary process, and you’re developing the idea and you’re sketching things out. But then when you have the product, then it becomes something else. And I think it’s just hard for a lot of people, especially new to the writing experience, to understand that you have to understand what the format’s going to be. You have to understand how many words are expected in a children’s book. You have to understand, like you said, every time you make a change, you have to go back to the illustrator. It can be overwhelming, but you were not discouraged by all of that. You kept writing, you kept going.
Jennifer:
Yes. And so I am someone who does, again, believe in sort of this coaching. And of course you can go to them and say, Hey, what should I do? What do you recommend? What do you think of this idea? And you can bounce ideas off of them. And they also know the industry so they can guide you on what to do.
Mindy:
Yeah. And I think also it’s important to have a certain professional approach of saying, Today, I’m going to accomplish this. I’m going to write so many pages. I’m going to suss out what the look is going to be. And that you keep making goals for yourself that you’re intent on meeting, whether it takes an hour a day, or a weekend, or whatever your timeframe is.
Jennifer:
I would say my other big piece of advice is, I love to read books about writing. So Stephen King has—
Mindy:
On Writing! My favorite.
Jennifer:
And then there’s the one who did Eat, Pray, Love.
Mindy:
Oh, Elizabeth Gilbert.
Jennifer:
Yes. And they have wonderful books about the process of writing. And the main thing I remember is they say, Look, you can’t—and this is true for artists as well—you can’t just write or create when you feel inspired, you have to do it every day, even if you don’t feel like doing it.
Mindy:
That is such great advice. I think that’s perfect advice to end this show on. I really want to thank you, Jennifer, for taking the time to come in and talk to us about Under My Pillow and the creative process around it. And we’ll be looking out for when you’ve got the next book ready to come out.
Jennifer:
Thank you so much. It’s been a pleasure.
