Today we are very excited to share an interview with Author Kate Hosford (YOU AND I ARE STARS AND NIGHT)!
Meet the Author: Kate Hosford
Kate Hosford is the author of seven picture books and two poetry collections, garnering accolades such as being named an American Library Association Notable Book, a Bank Street Best Book of the Year, a Junior Library Guild Selection, and a New York Times Best Illustrated Book. Her books have been published in eight languages. She is a graduate of Vermont College of Fine Arts where she earned her MFA in writing for children and young adults. Kate lives in Brooklyn with her family. To learn more, visit khosford.com.
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About the Book: YOU AND I ARE STARS AND NIGHT
This whimsical picture book celebrates the loving, playful, and imaginative relationship between caregiver and child through a shared dreamy journey before bedtime.
The wind is calling. Hear it sweep
through our village, fast asleep.
Will you sail away with me?
You and I are salt and sea…
And so, bathtime turns into a magical expedition. A grown-up and child embark on the voyage together, meeting mermaids in the sea, playing hide-and-seek in an enchanted forest, and soaring with the birds before sailing home to read and snuggle in for bedtime, which they know is just another adventure beginning.
Through it all, they cherish the most important thing in both dreamland and the real world: being together.
~Author Chat~
YABC: What inspired you to write this book?
This story came about quickly and intuitively, which is a rare but welcome experience.
The first image I had was the wind calling out to a mother in the middle of the night, and
the mother and child running to the sea together. I started writing in rhyme, which often
allows my logical brain to work on the technical aspects of poetry while my
subconscious provides the story. Eventually, the story became about the bonds of love
between a caretaker and a child who embark on a magical bedtime adventure together.
Each stanza has a metaphorical refrain related to the content of the spread: you and I
are boat and sail, fork and spoon, egg and nest, etc. I hope children find the metaphors
for steadfast love throughout the book, playful, varied and reassuring.
YABC: Which spread in the book are you most proud of, and why?
I am over the moon about all of Richard Jones’ lush and magical artwork! A duck and a
dog who are bath toys at the beginning of the book come to life and accompany the
caretaker and child on their journey. In addition to this pair, Richard has created an
entire magical world, complete with pairs and families of all sorts in every spread.
However, many of them are so well integrated into the landscape that the reader may
not find them all until after many readings. Just the other day, I found two tiny seahorses
with their tails hooked in the mermaid spread:
In the ‘hide and seek’ spread below, pairs and families also abound. These creatures
underscore the message that no one needs to go through life alone.
YABC: What do you like most about the cover of the book?
Everything! It is pure magic. The cover depicts the last page of the book, where
caretaker and child have returned home from their seafaring adventure to finish their
bedtime routine. But as they both fall asleep, they drift into dreamland on an even
bigger boat which promises even bigger adventures. It still takes my breath away every
time I turn to the last spread. I hope the subtext is that sleep does not have to be boring
but can be something that children anticipate with pleasure.
YABC: What is the main message or lesson you want your reader to remember
from this book?
Between the pandemic, climate change, and our increasingly divisive and violent
culture, children have a lot of problems they must face. The message of this book is that
children have special people who are on the journey of life with them, through good
times and bad. One spread that expresses the ups and downs of life’s journey is this
one.
YABC: What are your favorite themes or tropes?
Steadfast love is a recurring theme in my work. My last two books, You and I are Stars
and Night and You’ll Always Be My Chickadee are about reassuring children that
someone will always love them. Mama’s Belly is about a pregnant mother reassuring
her daughter that she will have enough love two children once the baby is born. Infinity
and Me is about a girl who defines infinity as the love she feels for her grandmother,
Feeding the Flying Fanellis and Other Poems from a Circus Chef is about a chef who
loves his job, and How the Queen Found the Perfect Cup of Tea is about learning how
to love others.
In addition, I really enjoy writing poetry and researching animal science. I have
published one poetry collection on the science behind how different animals sleep, A
Songbird Dreams of Singing: Poems about Sleeping Animals, and am working on other
animal science poetry collections.
YABC: Do you have a playlist you listened to while writing?
I am so easily distracted that I can’t even listen to wordless music when I write. I need to
have total silence. If I were to listen to music with lyrics, I’m sure I would end up
inadvertently writing them into my stories!
YABC: What would you say is your superpower?
I think I’m good at coming up with new ideas. Sometimes, ideas can be like dreams; you
think you’ll remember them all but then you don’t. I keep a list of ideas, and when I go
back and look at the list, I’m frequently surprised by what I find there. I also love writing
in rhyme and often find it easier than writing in prose. When writing poems, I like to use
lots of different poetic forms like the roundel, triolet, pantoum, double dactyl, rhymed
couplets and monorhyme. Sometimes, I even try making up my own poetic forms.
YABC: What’s up next for you?
I always have picture books and poetry collections that I am working on. I’m also
working on a middle grade ballet novel about friendship in a competitive environment.
YABC: Is there anything that you would like to add?
There is a free, downloadable activity kit for You and I are Stars and Night which can be
accessed both on the Simon & Schuster website, and also on my website. I also hope
to visit lots of schools with this book, and work with children on creating their own love
and friendship metaphors for special people in their lives.
Title: YOU AND I ARE STARS AND NIGHT
Author: Kate Hosford
Illustrator: Richard Jones
Release Date: 2/3/26
Publisher: Beach Lane Books/Simon & Schuster
Genre: Picture book
Age Range: Ages 4-8
