Williams launches latest children book
Swift Current’s Jessica Williams shared a peek into her sixth children’s book during a special reading at the Swift Current Library this past Saturday.
The year 2019 was a busy year for the prolific wordsmith, as back in March she released Scaredy Cali, in October she released My Koala Doesn’t Take Baths, the first book Williams also illustrated, and the year was highlighted by the November 12 release of You Can’t Invite a Fish to a Dance Party.
Williams was excited to share her material for a crowd of young listeners at Saturday’s library reading.
“It is super fun to read. I love reading to kids. And having a group like this is just tops for me,” she said after the book reading.
She read three of her children’s stories at the library event, and admittedly she is thrilled to have a growing selection of books she has written for readers of different interests and likes.
“It’s pretty surreal to look at them all and think I made those. I like that they’re all different. They’re all stand alone and they appeal to different people.”
You Can’t Invite a Fish to a Dance Party does share a message in the story, but Williams does not want to always push the themes of her writing.
“Kids are smarter than that. And I think when something becomes too obvious they lose interest and feel like they are being lectured to. So I try to not make it really blatant event though it’s there.”
“A story like Fish is about allowing people to make their decisions for themselves whether or not to be included or participate. Just because it looks like someone may not be able to do something the way that you can doesn’t necessarily mean that they shouldn’t be invited or wouldn’t enjoy themselves.”
This latest book release marks the fifth different illustrator she has worked with, and all have hailed from different countries. Jimena