From pretend to published
According to author and illustrator April Blampied, the story of her first book, Po Plays Pretend, and the story of its creation, are both about learning to see things in new ways.
“I didn’t set out to make a book,” she said, explaining that the project began as an illustration project with her art concentration students at Alexander
Galt Regional High School three years ago. “The idea was to take one object and see it as something else by looking at it from different perspectives.”
To get her students thinking creatively, Blampied took collection of toys from her kids’ room and challenged the students to use them as inspiration. Once the students had made their choices, there was just one small, yellow and pink plastic teapot sitting on her desk.
“What I did, basically, was just look at it from different angles and see what else it could be other than a teapot.”
The art teacher said that after that project was finished in class, the drawings she made of the teapot fell by the wayside and the idea got shelved.
Then, the following year, Blampied unexpectedly found herself having to look at her own life from a whole new angle.
“I got sick, and my life kind of got turned upside-down,” she said, explaining that she suddenly began experiencing episodes in which light, noise, and movement of various kinds would result in a debilitating inability to talk or walk. “I had to go through therapy to kind of teach my brain how to do things again,” she said, adding that although some aspects of that process took up a lot of time and focus, the resulting inability to go back to work left her with time to consider creative projects.
“Someone said, ‘you should illustrate children’s books,’ and I thought; great! I have one of those already!”
“Covid is actually what got this started again,” she reflected, sharing that the opportunity to see the existing project in a new light and a push to seek out publication from her supporters really got the book back down off the shelf.
Po Plays Pretend is a simple story for young children or early readers, told in English and French, of a young girl named Po exploring the world around her and the discoveries she makes along the way.
“Po is actually me as a little girl. My sister couldn’t’ say April; she called me Ay-po,” the author said, explain that it didn’t take long for ‘Po’ to catch on as a nickname among family and friends.
Although the pictures of Po and her adventures came first, Blampied said that coming up with the text to go with didn’t take her long at all.
“The pictures came first, in my head, and the words just sort of landed in the artwork.”
For the French the author said that she drew on help from teaching colleagues Mathieu Michaud and Olivia Grenier for translation.
In the 2021 school year Blampied returned to her teaching work parttime, but she said that after her experience with this first book, she fully intends to make another.
“I already have ideas for Po’s next adventure,” she said. “My plan is to have another book ready for next spring.”
Po Plays Pretend is currently available at Black Cat Books in Lennoxville and Brome Lake Books in the Town of Brome Lake, as well as through www.cornerstudio.org, where a number of activities and puzzles related to the book can also be downloaded and printed, free of charge.