Whenever my nephew is upset, I grab his giant tub of bubbles, pull out the wand, and surround him with floating orbs of soap. He calms down almost immediately, transfixed by the dozens of bubbles that circle around him and stares intently at them with each new batch. What is it about bubbles that center us? From the moment Glinda the Good Witch floats down in her giant pink one in The Wizard of Oz to the thousands that populate the fizzy lifting drink room in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, there is something about bubbles that invoke a sense of calm and fun.
However, bubbles are temporary, appearing only for a few seconds before they pop and disappear. That’s as certain as the fact that they will be round and float and clear as a prism with its own little rainbow contained inside. They are consistent in their existence yet short-lived. That’s the message that Karen A. Wyle’s picture book, You Can’t Kiss a Bubble, sets out to explore.
You Can’t Kiss a Bubble book summary
You Can’t Kiss a Bubble talks to the reader directly, using second person narration to explain all of the different things that you can do or not do with bubbles. The title is meant to be playful rather than discouraging. It’s matter-of-fact in the things that you can’t do with a bubble, such as kiss it, string it as a necklace, or keep it as a pet. Bubbles are limited in what you can do. You can’t control bubbles beyond how you blow them into existence and handle them after they float off of your wand. But you can appreciate them for their rainbow colors, their dancing movements, and their brief existence.
In that way, they’re like people. You have to appreciate people for who they are and the time that you have with them. That time may be brief, or they may not always be what you want them to be, but if you accept them for who they are, you can have a lot of fun within the parameters of what you can give to each other.
The writing
Wyle’s story is simple yet deep. Young readers will grasp the surface-level points that she is trying to make. Yet, it will make readers both young and old think about bubbles in a deeper light.
Each page contains no more than a few sentences, lingering on each thought and its corresponding image. The text is able to say so much in so few words. And the book is short enough that it will keep the attention span of toddlers is able to be read a few times before bed or even throughout the day whenever the reader is in the mood for a little bubble talk.
The story does touch on the sad thought that bubbles aren’t permanent. However, it doesn’t dwell on this sadness but rather appreciates its brevity. Should that lead to deeper conversations in older readers, such as death, or major life changes, like moving away from your friends, this book can help readers to see that change is not only a necessary part of life but a normal part of life. Just as our world changes around us, so do we.
The illustrations
I read a copy of this book on my black and white Kindle. So, I didn’t get to appreciate the full scope of the illustrations. However, judging by the cover and the sample pages online, Siski Kalla’s illustrations compliment the story perfectly, using gentle but colorful images and interesting perspectives that highlight all of the things that a bubble can and cannot do.
The illustrations have a watercolor feel to them with multiple dimensions, particularly in wider illustrations of outdoor landscapes, such as neighborhoods, parks, and shops. These allow the see-through nature of the bubbles to overlay each drawing.
I also like the way that people are drawn in the illustrations. They have a lot of exaggerated yet realistic-looking movements. And while they have simple facial features, they also have a lot of character and personalities that shine through from one character to another, including the animal characters. The main subject of the story is a little girl. However, there are plenty of other children engaging and interacting with the bubbles to help represent a wide variety of readers and better help connect them with the “you” that is being addressed in the narration.
My recommendation
I recommend You Can’t Kiss a Bubble to all picture book readers who love gentle, simple, and short stories with a fun yet deeper message behind it. I think this book will inspire a lot of further conversation about the reader’s understanding not only of bubbles but about change, lifespans, and human nature.
An interview with Karen A. Wyle
1. Was this story inspired by a particular event or moment?
I wish I could remember! I’d guess it came to mind when I was blowing bubbles with one or both daughters, or saw other children blowing bubbles.
2. What audience did you have in mind when you got the idea for this story?
Preschoolers and early readers
3. I like how the story takes on a realistic yet gentle tone. How mindful were you of telling the story like it is while still keeping an optimistic tone?
Very. I tried to strike a balance between enjoyable silliness and the underlying “moral” or lesson.
4. What do you want readers to take away from your story?
That we can take joy in those aspects of life that are transitory (which is, ultimately, all of them . . . but I didn’t want to go that far).
5. The illustrations compliment the story so well. How closely did you work with the illustrator to make sure that the two elements fit together?
Quite closely. Siski was very responsive and willing to discuss how best to show the action and the concepts. We probably had the longest back-and-forth about the second-to-last illustrated spread, because the text for it is relatively abstract. She’s the one who suggested the ice cream, which I thought was a brilliant addition.
6. Change can be a scary concept, especially for young readers who crave structure and routine. What advice do you have for parents and caregivers in explaining and dealing with hard topics?
I wish I were wise enough to have a good answer to that question. For what it’s worth, I’d suggest finding the right time, whatever that means with the particular child — unless events force the time upon you; telling the truth in as gentle a way as possible, and without unnecessary difficult details (unless they’re necessary as answers to the child’s questions); and if there’s any bright side to the particular topic, highlighting it.
7. Your body of work is really diverse. How do you decide what genre and topic you choose to write at any given time? How does the writing process change from one book to the next?
When I was a child, by age nine or earlier, I intended to be a novelist — in fact, the youngest novelist ever published. I lost out in that race (a British girl had a novel published at age nine, and I learned of it by the time I was ten), but I did write 200 penciled pages of a very strange picaresque novel when I was ten years old, as a gift for a beloved teacher.
I started and abandoned another novel at age fourteen, then turned to poetry and (in college) short stories. After an instructor in a short story class helpfully informed me, and the rest of the class, that I’d done well on an assignment for someone who “wasn’t a born writer” — exactly what I’d always told myself I was — I allowed that to be a last straw.
For many years, I wrote only an occasional poetry fragment or haiku. Then, while pregnant with my older daughter, I was sitting on our front deck one day, enjoying the oak trees and looking about for acorns, when the text of a very short picture book came to me, eventually titled Mommy Calls Me Acorn.
I actually had an agent for my picture books, though that led nowhere. Once I started self-publishing novels, I waited until I thought the available technology had got to the point where I could publish picture books, and then began the delightful task of finding illustrators for same. You Can’t Kiss A Bubble is the first one to make it through the illustration, formatting, and publishing process.
NaNoWriMo
Many years later, that same daughter found and introduced me to National Novel Writing Month, aka NaNoWriMo — and I wrote the rough draft of my first science fiction book, Twin-Bred (eventually a series with the same name). At that time, I’d been reading science fiction for several decades, and generally saw both the world around me and any news items through a science-fiction lens. With one exception — an afterlife fantasy, whose main character was very loosely based on my late brother — I wrote science fiction until 2018. By that time, I’d begun reading romance, especially historical romance.
As I approached NaNoWriMo that fall, a historical romance plot and characters appeared in my head. With a great many changes, they led to the first of my three Western historical romances, What Heals the Heart (Cowbird Creek 1). I haven’t given up on science fiction, though I doubt I’ll write any more near-future novels anytime soon (and in fact gave up on one at a very late stage, for a host of reasons). As I look ahead to this coming November, I don’t know whether I’ll continue my long-neglected Twin-Bred series, come up with another SF plot — or strike out into the unexplored territory of non-genre fiction, for which an idea has occurred to me…
My one nonfiction book arose from my joint identity as author and attorney. It initially grew out of a guest post I wrote for a blogger, about how to write legal fiction without getting the details wrong (as happens occasionally in novels and all too often in movies). The book addressed the same need, at far greater length, and in fact — an act of exceptional hubris — attempted to summarize American civil, criminal, and constitutional law.
Publishing
I published that book as Closest to the Fire: A Writer’s Guide to Law and Lawyers. However, I realized, during the publishing and promotion process, that it could be of use and interest to law and prelaw students, visitors to this country, and Americans who wished to better understand the legal landscape in which we live. When I got around to updating the book six years later, I retitled it Closest to the Fire: A Guide to American Law and Lawyers. I don’t know that I’ll do another update, but it might happen.
The writing process for my picture books usually consists of jotting down some lines, then rereading, then rewording and rearranging with possible illustrations in mind (rinse, repeat). To find the right illustrator for a particular book, I look through, and sometimes post on, Facebook groups for children’s book illustrators or authors-plus-illustrators, as well as the many Instagram accounts I’ve been accruing. I then pay for sample illustrations from several, based either on a line of the illustrator’s choice or a line of my choosing. I found my book designer, Jacob Dunaway, by asking for recommendations on the same Facebook groups.
As for novels, I’ve so far written all the rough drafts during NaNoWriMo (or its non-November equivalent Camp NaNo), put them aside for a month or so, then spent from seven to ten months revising, editing, sending drafts to beta readers, reviewing and addressing beta reader comments, and proofreading. (The formatting is relatively simple.) I also work with a cover designer during that time.
Closest to the Fire initially took me about a year and a half, crammed in between work on novels and my day job as an attorney. During that time, I took note of any new legal developments and incorporated them in my draft.
Formatting
The most challenging aspect of publishing this book: formatting! The ebook edition included a great many hyperlinks, while the paperback had headings and subheadings and required styles for each. My aging Microsoft Word software had great difficulty accommodating this complexity. Between the first edition and the recent update, I posted relevant changes on the book’s website.
When I put together the new edition, I had the same formatting challenges to overcome, complicated by the fact that I had no desire to redo the entire hand-curated paperback Index, and therefore had to keep my pagination changes to a minimum. In the meantime, my cover designer had semi-retired, but was fortunately willing to update the cover with my new subtitle.
8. How long did it take you to write this book? How many edits did you go through?
I wrote the initial manuscript many years ago, but assuming the first version in my files is in fact the original version, I made remarkably few changes over time.
9. What kind of feedback have you received from this book, either from friends, family, or strangers? What feedback stuck with you the most, positive or otherwise?
To my joyful surprise, the feedback to date has been uniformly positive. A great deal of the credit for that reception goes to Siski, whose illustrations have charmed one and all.
10. What’s next for you?
I hope to publish my next picture book, When It’s Winter, illustrated by Barbara Dessi, by mid-October or early November. I’m currently reviewing samples for the picture book after that. I’m also playing with ideas (see above) for my next novel, I and hope to fix on one by the beginning of November, aka the beginning of NaNoWriMo.
I also hope to visit schools and/or afterschool programs to read You Can’t Kiss A Bubble to children there. I’m in the process of arranging a reading and/or book signing at a local independent bookstore. I’ve already donated copies of that book to our local Fire Protection District, for the distraction and comfort of children affected by fires, and will do the same with future picture books.
Author and illustrator links
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I love the title of this book and the illustrations sound lovely! Where the story came from and how it took shape comes together beautifully in the interview too. <3