A podcast interview with Lauren Castillo on The Growing Readers Podcast, a production of The Children’s Book Review.
In this heartfelt episode, award-winning author and illustrator Lauren Castillo shares the personal experiences and meaningful inspirations behind her latest picture book, Just Like Millie.
Castillo opens up about how her own childhood, hometown, and beloved pets influenced the story of a shy young girl who finds courage and connection through her new canine companion. From exploring themes of anxiety and friendship to sprinkling in local Easter eggs, Castillo offers a glimpse into her thoughtful creative process and layered approach to storytelling through both words and art. Join us for an intimate conversation that will make you laugh, cry, and fall in love with “Just Like Millie” before even turning the first page.
Lauren Castillo Talks About:
- Her latest picture book Just Like Millie and its themes of shyness, anxiety, courage, and friendship
- Personal experiences that inspired the story, including interactions with a shy child and her own dogs
- Setting the book in her hometown of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and including local Easter eggs in the illustrations
- Dedicating the book to her recently passed dogs and incorporating them into the story
- The power of pets and companionship in helping children navigate challenging emotions
- Her creative process, including using ink, watercolor, and soft pastels for the illustrations
- Capturing the emotions of characters through details in facial expressions and color
- The significance of the book’s endpapers and jacket flap information
- Hopes for how the book will resonate with readers, especially shy or socially anxious children
- Experiences as both an author and illustrator, and how her process differs for each role
- The collaborative nature of creating picture books with a publishing team
- Revisiting her childhood and Nana in her previous book Nana in the Country
- The importance of reading dedications and acknowledgments to understand the author’s heart
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Read the Transcription
Coming Soon
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Just Like Millie
Written and Illustrated by Lauren Castillo
Publisher: Candlewick | ISBN-13: 9781536224818
Ages 3+ | 40 Pages
Publisher’s Book Summary: In a gentle story from Caldecott Honoree Lauren Castillo, a shy young girl finds exploring her new city and making friends overwhelming—until a rescue dog helps her uncover the bravery that was always in her.
A young girl and her mother move to an apartment in a new city. Despite her mother’s efforts to take her out, the girl would rather play by herself in their cozy home—she feels just fine on her own. Introductions to children her age have her hiding behind her mother’s legs, and invitations to group activities have her in tears. That is, until she meets Millie, a rescue dog who is not too big, not too small, and kisses her arm when the girl nervously reaches out. With Millie, saying hello to new people isn’t so scary . . . and maybe making a friend isn’t either.
Through emotionally honest prose and soft, expressive illustrations, Lauren Castillo explores one girl’s shyness and anxiety—and how one dog’s love helps her open up—in a warm picture book that reminds readers of how the right companion can make the world feel like a less frightening place.
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Show Notes
Lauren Castillo has illustrated many books for children, including Happy Like Soccer by Maribeth Boelts and Yard Sale by Eve Bunting. Lauren Castillo is also the author-illustrator of the Caldecott Honor Book Nana in the City. She lives in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania—the setting of Just Like Millie—with her two rescue dogs, who helped her acclimate to the city when she first moved there.
Resources:
Find Lauren Castillo at laurencastillo.com and follow her on Twitter @studiocastillo.
Just Like Millie on Amazon and Bookshop.org.
Nana in the Country on Amazon and Bookshop.org.
Thank you for listening to the Growing Readers Podcast episode: The Power of Pets, Place, and Personal Experience: Lauren Castillo on the Inspirations Behind ‘Just Like Millie’. For the latest episodes from The Growing Readers Podcast, Subscribe or Follow Now.
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