Today we are very excited to share an interview with Author Mike Petrik (ONE COOL DUCK#1: KING OF COOL)
Meet the Author: Mike Petrik
Mike Petrik is an animator by day and an illustrator of books, magazines, and wonderfully scary doodles by night. The author of The Silly Sounds of Halloween (Harper, July 2021) and The Silly Sounds of Christmas (Harper, September 2022) he is new on the scene and is an exciting new talent. He lives with his wife and three children in Oak Lawn, IL.
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About the Book: ONE COOL DUCK#1: KING OF COOL
What’s cool, anyway? Skateboards, pizza, arcade games—and being kind! This buoyant young graphic chapter book introduces Duck and pals, kicking off a series that makes real-life friendship issues fun.
Duck is feeling pretty good about himself. He can flip on a skateboard, and he’s a great friend, too. Then Cat comes along and seems so cool, with his high scores on video games—but Cat also does some mean stuff nobody likes! Then Cat gets caught up a tree and needs help. In three short chapters, perfect for readers just gaining confidence, Duck and his pals show Cat that being cool includes helping others and not dissing your friends. Each character has a distinct way of speaking, and readers will love learning how to read and pronounce entertaining slang expression from the fifties and other “cool” eras.
Hippo Park graphic chapter books are ideal for beginning and newly independent readers, with approachable page counts, easy-to-follow paneling, and artwork that supports text comprehension.
Published simultaneously in hardcover and paperback editions.
Amazon * B&N * Indiebound
~Author Chat~
YABC: What gave you the inspiration to write this book?
The idea for Duck actually came from a doodle. A lot of my story ideas start in the sketchbook, and Duck was just a fun sketch of a duck wearing sunglasses while cruisin’ on his skateboard. One day, while flipping back through my old sketches, I thought, well that Duck is cool! Maybe I can build a story around him. One Cool Duck was born!
YABC: Who is your favorite character in the book?
This is tough because they are all so different. Duck is definitely the star, but I have been having a great time writing for the character Jeff, the best friend gator surfer dude. Jeff loves to hang out, have a good time, and finds fun in any situation.
YABC: Which came first, the title, novel, or a scene?
Once I started expanding on that initial sketch of Duck, the title naturally came about just by looking at him. Man oh man, that is One Cool Duck!
YABC: What scene in the book are you most proud of, and why?
The scene where Duck rescues Cat from the tree is one that stands out. It shows how Duck doesn’t hesitate to help someone, even if that someone hasn’t been very nice to him. The scene also shows Cat taking on his fear of heights, and the proud feeling he gets when he succeeds. It also has lots of fun action of being high up in the tree, swooping down on the rope swing, and splashing into the water below.
YABC: Which character gave you the most trouble when writing your latest book?
Not exactly sure if they are asking about King of Cool here or the book I am currently working on, since they are asking about my “latest book.” So I will give answers for both!
I would say Cat was definitely the most difficult to get right. Cat comes off as an arrogant jerk, but if he leans too much in that direction, then the gang wouldn’t even bother trying to be friends with him. So Cat had to seem cool and mysterious enough that everyone is attracted to him, while overlooking some of his bad attitude. Well, everyone but Duck, of course. It also had to be believable for the reader to want Cat to stick around and be friends with the rest of the gang. If Cat was too much of a jerk, then I was afraid kids might not care at all for him, even after they invited him to be a part of the gang.
I am currently writing book three, which has a lot of wild action while the characters play a game of capture the flag. I wanted a character who is usually secondary to take center stage in this story, with Duck of course playing a role in how things happen. Turkey, who is the overly cautious nervous nellie of the group, hasn’t had much to say in the first two books. So I thought she would be perfect to bring up front for this story and make her the hero of the game. It was definitely a fine balance to keep her within the already established character traits, but for her to kind of come out of her shell a bit and show bravery.
YABC: What is the main message or lesson you would like your reader to remember from this book?
To never take true friendships for granted. Many pals will come and go in your lifetime, but those true friends that you have are worth the effort to hold onto. Get out there and have some fun adventures with your friends!
YABC: What is your favorite thing to draw?
Whenever I can’t think of anything specific to draw, I draw trees. If I need to just move, to get the drawing bug out of my system, I draw trees. Trees are infinitely fascinating, come in a seemingly endless variety, which means there are a million different ways to approach how to draw trees. Trees give so much information to a scene, just by the simplicity of the colors. Trees can lead the tone of a scene by the shape, density, lighting, etc. Drawing trees is fun!
YABC: How long did it take you to create the artwork for this book?
From the initial thumbnail sketching to completed final art, it was around 4 months. Once we started to get deep into editing, some adjustments were made to the art along the way. This added another month or so of time to the art schedule, but it was more spread out as we were looking at proofs and adjusting colors.
YABC: Which techniques are your favorites to use?
I always love the initial sketching phase of book creating. Just simple pencil on paper. Nothing fancy, but the act of doodling out ideas in your head and putting them down onto paper with a pencil is something special.
YABC: What’s up next for you?
There are three more One Cool Duck books coming out soon! The Far-Out Fort, book number two in the One Cool Duck series, will be released in the fall of this year. Book three will be early next year, and book four in fall of ’24. So much cool, so little time!
Author: Mike Petrik
Illustrator: Mike Petrik
Release Date: May 9, 2023
Publisher: Hippo Park / Astra Books for Young Readers
Genre: Graphic Chapter Book
Age Range: 6-9
