Episode Summary
In this episode, I chat with my cousin Denyse, the illustrator of the Caring Critters series, about the impact of Felipe the Feeling Frog and our new character, Trixie the Thoughtful Turtle. We discuss fostering social-emotional skills like decision-making through positive language and reflect on the joy of children’s artistic responses to our work. Denyse shares her vision for Trixie as a character that challenges stereotypes while promoting playful learning. Join us as we explore the importance of storytelling in early childhood education and inspire meaningful connections between parents, teachers, and children.
I created these stories to help the kids in my class teach particular social emotional skills that I knew kindergarteners needed at that time of year.
~ Zeba from Ep. 61 Introducing Trixie the Thoughtful Turtle
In this episode I share:
- Behind the scenes of the reactions to the Caring Critters series
- Celebrating Felipe the Feeling Frog
- Introducing Trixie the Thoughtful Turtle
- The making of Trixie and other characters
- Understanding expected vs. unexpected behavior
Felipe the Feeling Frog Companion Curriculum
Trixie the Thoughtful Turtle Companion Curriculum
Related Episodes:
Resources Mentioned:
Connect with Denyse:
- Instagram – @denysewithawhy
- Website – denysewithawhy.com
Connect with Zeba:
- Instagram – @kindergartencafe
- Facebook – @kindergartencafe
- Website – www.kindergartencafe.org
- Tik Tok – @kindergartencafe
Read the Transcript
Zeba McGibbon [00:00:00]:
Hey, teacher friends, it’s Zeba from Kindergarten Cafe here. And on today’s episode, I have a special guest, Denyse, my illustrator for the Caring Critters series, but also my cousin and I thought that we could go behind the scenes of what it’s been like to hear the reactions about Felipe the Feeling Frog, which has been out in the world for about a year now, which is so exciting. And then to give you guys behind the scenes on life with our very newest Caring Critter, Trixie the Thoughtful Turtle. Uh, you can get Trixie in stores now. Bookstores can order it, or all the links can be found to order online on my website, kindergarten cafe.org trixie so definitely check those links out down below. And I hope you enjoy listening to the making of Trixie the Thoughtful Turtle with Denyse. And if you want even more visual behind the scenes, Denyse posts a lot about the process of how she made Trixie the Thoughtful Turtle on her Instagram. And when we were talking, we didn’t get a chance to share that with you.
Zeba McGibbon [00:01:03]:
So her Instagram is Denyse with a Y. And we’ll put that link down below as well. So. And constantly sharing on my social media as well. So enjoy the episode.
Zeba McGibbon [00:01:19]:
You’re listening to the Kindergarten Cafe podcast where kindergarten teachers come to learn classroom tested tips and tricks and teaching ideas they can use in their classroom right away. I’m Zeba, creator and founder of Kindergarten Cafe, and I help kindergarten teachers with everything they need from arrival to dismissal in order to save time, work smarter, not harder, and support students with engaging and purposeful lessons. I’m here to cheer you on through your successes and breakthroughs and offer support and resources so you never have to feel stuck or alone, ready to start saving time and reducing your stress, all while using effective and purposeful lessons that students love. Let’s get started.
Zeba McGibbon [00:02:09]:
Hey everyone. Zeba here. And I’m here with my awesome cousin Denyse. And she is very special to the Kindergarten Cafe world because not only is she my cousin and an art teacher, but she is also the illustrator of the Caring Critter series. And so I brought her on because it’s been about a year of Felipe the Feeling Frog being out in the world. And I want to sort of talk about how that’s been going with Denyse, but also introduce everyone to our new Caring Critters book, which we’ll get into. So stay tuned on that. So let’s talk first about Felipe.
Zeba McGibbon [00:02:44]:
So, Denyse, what has been your favorite moments looking back on the year with Felipe?
Denyse Walker [00:02:50]:
Oh, my favorite moments, definitely my Very, very favorite is when you sent me the picture of the class drawings of Felipe. That’s my highlight because I’m an art teacher who’s sort of stepped away to do the illustrating. And there’s a little part of me that misses the little faces in real life of teaching. And then to get the drawings that they’re doing of the character that I created, it’s just filled with so much love and light just to see all their little drawings that it made that teacher y feeling come back of just, like, making a difference in the world, I guess. Right.
Zeba McGibbon [00:03:27]:
I 100% knew you were gonna say that. I was gonna ask you a question. And I was like, Denyse is gonna say, I hope she says those cards. Cause that’s what I thought you were gonna say.
Denyse Walker [00:03:36]:
Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, obviously, there’s, like, the personal takeaway of, like, oh, I’ve created this book, and I have put all this time and effort into making these characters come alive. And there’s something so sat about having an actual book in your hands to flip through so you can see it on the screen all day. You know, Know what the characters look like in your heart. But then to get the physical book is so cool.
Zeba McGibbon [00:04:00]:
Yeah. That feeling was really special.
Denyse Walker [00:04:02]:
It’s really special. Right? I think also just, like, seeing, like, when someone goes, oh, where can I buy your book? And you’re like, oh, you can just look it up on Amazon. And they’re like, wait, really? And you’re. And they’re like, what? And then they do it. They, like, put in their search your book, and then, like, your book that you spent so much time making happen just pops up like a real product. That’s pretty cool too, right?
Zeba McGibbon [00:04:25]:
But I did know how much those cards meant to you. Like, so basically, to fill everyone in, some teachers had read Felipe the Feeling Frog to their class. And then the kids wrote cards as, like, a thank you for the book. And what, like, rating the message of the book. And they all drew little Felipes on.
Denyse Walker [00:04:44]:
The covers with, like, rainbows and, like. And they’re all their own versions of Felipe, which was just super inspiring as an artist, too, to just watch that happen. It’s really fun.
Zeba McGibbon [00:04:55]:
See all their little drawings. I loved that too. I just love, in general, any feedback from kids in particular about, like, what the message of the book meant to them and, like, writing that it’s all feelings are okay and writing that it’s okay to be sad. And I learned it’s okay to be mad. And I. You know, the kids will say Like, I learned I can take deep breaths when I’m upset and I’m like, oh.
Denyse Walker [00:05:18]:
Yeah, they wrote that in their cards. They each had their little, like, tape away thing that they loved about it the most. And I also really love getting pictures from like family or friends or even just sometimes it’s like far away people. Social media bought a book for my 3 year old and then you get this random picture sent to you of this adorable little three or five year old sitting reading their books. Like they love the character, they love Felipe, and they read it over and over again and yeah, that’s tremendously rewarding in that way that, like teaching can be, you know.
Zeba McGibbon [00:05:50]:
Yeah. Well, to know that we can help kids far beyond our own classrooms, far beyond our own families.
Denyse Walker [00:05:57]:
Yeah.
Zeba McGibbon [00:05:57]:
Is really, really special. And that we can keep on helping them is just really cool to think about. Yeah. Without us even being there.
Denyse Walker [00:06:06]:
Right.
Zeba McGibbon [00:06:06]:
I think my favorite moment was reading my book to the kids for the first time. Like holding the book in your hand. Yes. In my classroom with my students.
Denyse Walker [00:06:16]:
Yeah.
Zeba McGibbon [00:06:16]:
And you know, I read so many books to them that I was like, I have a book for you today. It’s called Felipe the Feeling Frog. So a little backstory. If you didn’t listen to the introduction to Felipe the Feeling Frog, I explained in that episode and I’ll link that below. I explained in the episode how the Caring Critters came to be, which is that I created these stories to help the kids in my class teach particular social emotional skills that I knew kindergarteners needed at that time of year. And I just knew kids would relate to characters more, relate to animals, relate to the stories. And so I wrote them down, put them on Google Slides and found really bad. Just like Google images of like any.
Zeba McGibbon [00:06:57]:
I just typed in like, you know.
Denyse Walker [00:07:00]:
Yeah, yeah.
Zeba McGibbon [00:07:00]:
Whatever I could grab for free that I could just drag over, like frog crying, you know, like there’s. And they’re all different frogs.
Denyse Walker [00:07:07]:
I was gonna say they’re all different frogs. They’re all mismatched.
Zeba McGibbon [00:07:10]:
Oh, yeah. And the kids, like, whatever, they don’t, they don’t really care. But then to have that story in my actual hands, like with your drawings of your Felipe, the Felipe, like, to have that tangible in my hands, to reach them was so cool. So then I say, like, I have this book to read to you. And I’m like, they’re not reacting like they. Hello. Like, you guys should be more excited.
Denyse Walker [00:07:34]:
They didn’t realize it’s written by you.
Zeba McGibbon [00:07:36]:
Well, no. And so then I tell them like, it’s written by me, and I’m the author. And again, like, not processing because, like, this is kindergarten in October and, like, just not getting it. And it wasn’t until I turned over the back of the book where they have the pictures of the author and illustrator. It wasn’t until I did that and I showed them my picture that they were like, you’re the author. Like, that’s what it took them. Was showing them the picture. But then, like, ever since then, just all the support with students, previous students, current students, hearing from families has been really, really, really meaningful.
Zeba McGibbon [00:08:13]:
And then, just like you said, people on the Internet, people out in the world, people in bookstores.
Denyse Walker [00:08:17]:
Yeah. Because I feel like it comes from, like, randomly out of nowhere. I’ll get, like, a random text from, like. Like, my brother will be sending me the text, but it’s like, oh, my coworker bought a book for their family members, children’s birthday. And then I’m like, it’s so far removed.
Zeba McGibbon [00:08:32]:
Yeah.
Denyse Walker [00:08:33]:
And then you get the picture because it somehow made its way back to us, and it comes out of nowhere. You’re just like, oh, my gosh, there’s another little person loving my book.
Zeba McGibbon [00:08:42]:
Yeah.
Denyse Walker [00:08:43]:
And they’re usually in their own space. That’s. I kind of love that, too. They’re usually, like, all snuggled in with, like, their stuffies and enjoying their book, or they’re with their, like, other siblings and they’re teaching. You know, it’s usually with some kind of memory of, you know, like, some little, like, commentary of, like, oh, this kiddo was suffering from, you know, being angry or upset or whatever. And they now they feel so good about having their feelings. There’s, you know, I find that that happens a lot, too.
Zeba McGibbon [00:09:09]:
Yeah. They feel validated. It’s okay to have those feelings. And, like, oh, and here are some strategies that I can use that’s really meaningful.
Denyse Walker [00:09:17]:
We’ve run into parents a few times at book readings that we’ve done, and we’ve had parents come up to us and say, will meet the kiddo. Say, this kiddo is having trouble with their emotions. And so this book is going to be so great to help us manage this at home, you know, and that is also so fun to hear. It’s not just teachers. It’s not just little, like, enjoying their stuffies. It’s also, like, parents who grab the book and they’re like, this is going to be really helpful. We’ve been struggling with it, you know.
Zeba McGibbon [00:09:42]:
Yeah. I think the parents really appreciate having the, like, common Language that they can use because it’s tough. Like, what do you say when your kid is upset? If you’re not trained in child development, like, of course you wouldn’t know. Or like, what are some good strategies to teach kids? This gives parents a chance to talk about those when the kids are in a nice, calm, happy place. So that way the next time they are upset, they can rely on the book and be like, remember Felipe? And yeah, but I’ve also found, like, each kid that I hear from, like, identifies with a different part of the story. More like they’ll be like, it totally felt like Charlie. When I was set at soccer, that exact thing happened to me. And I’m like, oh, good.
Zeba McGibbon [00:10:21]:
Like, did you use the strategy like Charlie used? And you know.
Denyse Walker [00:10:24]:
Yeah. Yeah, I loved drawing those scenes. Cause I have little. I have. You know, they’re teenagers now, but they’re still playing soccer. And I’ve done those exact stories in my house that they’ve been so mad about a ball being kicked that shouldn’t have been kicked or.
Zeba McGibbon [00:10:38]:
Yeah, they’re relatable to kids. Okay, so I want to share with everyone our newest caring critter.
Denyse Walker [00:10:45]:
Oh, my gosh, so exciting.
Zeba McGibbon [00:10:47]:
She’s actually in Felipe the feeling Frog. And so one of the great things I think about the Caring Critters is that they’re gonna keep popping up in each other’s stories. They’re like, in their own little Karen critter world. So this next book is Trixie the Thoughtful Turtle. And I wrote Trixie’s story because I knew that kids needed help with decision making for social, emotional learning. That’s a big area for young kids, is making choices and choices about your behavior and how those choices affect others. And one of the things that I hate hearing is like, that’s a good choice or that’s a bad choice. I think that puts the kids that are hearing, like the bad choice word a lot.
Zeba McGibbon [00:11:32]:
It affects their self esteem over and over again of like, it’s a bad choice. That was a bad choice. Like, eventually they can internalize that as like, I’m bad. And like, I don’t ever want a kid to feel that as a result of their decision making or like, you know, lack of impulse control and self regulation, you know, or just location.
Denyse Walker [00:11:55]:
Right. Like, we’re teachers and I’m. I’m a parent. It’s like running is acceptable and. Or expected, to use the terminology, expected in certain places and not expected in other places. And so you’re not bad for running. You’re not Bad for making silly faces. We just have to know when to make the silly face or when to make the joke.
Denyse Walker [00:12:14]:
And that’s in kindergarten. They’re not. They’re not coming into this world knowing definitely not when to make the joke. I mean, gosh, as adults, we don’t always even know when is it. We’re all just doing our best. I am so excited about Trixie, and I loved drawing her so much because I think she’s super relatable to all of us. And I love the story that comes full circle. Not to, like, spoil anybody.
Zeba McGibbon [00:12:41]:
Spoiler alert, everyone.
Denyse Walker [00:12:43]:
But, you know, she’s still silly. She’s still herself. She’s learned this lesson, and she’s still exactly who she is. Like, she’s not. We haven’t, like, taken away her personality, her spunk. She has so much spunk. And as an illustrator, I tried to, like, draw her in a way that showed that she had this really unique personality that was full of energy.
Zeba McGibbon [00:13:07]:
Full.
Denyse Walker [00:13:08]:
Of unique personal style. And I didn’t want that to be taken away at the end. That was, you know, like, if you’re constantly trying to get a kiddo to do a specific thing, sometimes that can be translated as changing them. Right. But Trixie gets to stay her awesome self through the whole.
Zeba McGibbon [00:13:24]:
Yeah, that was important to me too, because like you said, it’s about learning, like, when we can do that. And, like, she’s being silly at times that are taking away learning from other kids. That’s kind of how I talk about it in my class of, you know, calling out like, that took away the learning because now we’re not talking about the lesson or, like, doing that dance move on the rug right now. Taking away the learning from everyone.
Denyse Walker [00:13:47]:
Yeah, taking safety from everyone. Right. Like, they’re not safe in this specific spot, but you could do it on the playground. You do that exact on the playground.
Zeba McGibbon [00:13:55]:
And then it would be great.
Denyse Walker [00:13:56]:
Yeah, that is possible.
Zeba McGibbon [00:13:57]:
So I. That was important to me of, like, not changing who she is, but just helping Trixie. And there’s so many students that I can think of that when I think of Trixie and how when I wrote Trixie, like, I was definitely thinking of certain students. I also purposely wanted her to be a girl because I feel like often the class clowns, or quote unquote, the class clowns are the boys, and I’ve.
Denyse Walker [00:14:22]:
Sort of to the silly shenanigans a lot. Right. Or they get blamed for it.
Zeba McGibbon [00:14:27]:
Yeah, that’s a good way of phrasing it. Yeah, they’re definitely Called out more for it. So I purposely wanted to be a girl because one, like, girls are silly like that too. And I think showing it that it doesn’t have to just be the boy that’s always class. That’s always the class clown. I don’t know. I had strong feelings about it being.
Denyse Walker [00:14:46]:
Yeah, no, I totally get that. And I felt like, you know, to sort of like, pair on that, building the character visually. She’s more of a sort of neutral character. Right. She’s got her little mohawk and her turtle. Character colors are not traditionally girl colors, but she’s got a tutu on because she’s got this little rock and roll personality with, you know, her dancer self and her mohawk self. And I also felt like that was important to develop her character as, like, just. She’s not one type of kid.
Denyse Walker [00:15:17]:
She’s many different kinds of kids. You know, like, there’s room for it to be a super girly girl and there’s room for it to be a boy. There’s. You know, I’m not sure exactly what I’m trying to say here, but.
Zeba McGibbon [00:15:29]:
No, there’s. There’s ways for all kids to identify with Trixie.
Denyse Walker [00:15:32]:
Yeah.
Zeba McGibbon [00:15:33]:
Yeah, right. And even if they’re not the Trixie in the class, their class probably has a Trixie, has a kid that’s wanting to be silly, that’s wanting to make their friends laugh, and not necessarily going about it in an expected way. So coming back full circle, like, why I was saying I didn’t like the language. Good choice, bad choice. The language that we’ve been using in our school in my classroom is expected and unexpected because, like you said, like, it’s expected that you’re running on the playground, that’s fine. But in the classroom, that’s. Whoa, that’s unexpected. People are not expecting you to do that.
Zeba McGibbon [00:16:08]:
It’s not safe. And people are surprised by that, caught off guard. So it really puts it on, like, how people are reacting to your choice versus an inherent character trait of, like, you’re good, you’re bad.
Denyse Walker [00:16:19]:
Yeah.
Zeba McGibbon [00:16:20]:
So the kids might not be the trixie in the class, but they probably have a Trixie in their class. They probably have someone making unexpected choices and that kid. It’s important for me that kids don’t just see them as, like the quote unquote, bad kid in the classroom, that they see them as someone who’s learning when to make those choices and how to make those choices and that they’re not the bad kid in the class. And so some of the characters Some of the kids might identify more with. With the other characters in the book and how they respond to Trixie as well. So I feel like there’s something in it for everyone. And in fact, I had some friends read it to their kids and, like, they were saying that they’ve had some kids like Trixie in their class and their teacher responded the same way. Or like, they didn’t.
Zeba McGibbon [00:17:03]:
You know, they’ve heard the language of unexpected and expected in their classroom. And so it’s, like, really relatable to be like, yeah, we have a someone like Trixie in our class. And, like, knowing that, yeah, they’re not the bad kid, they’re just being silly and they’re trying to make their friends laugh and learning about how to be in school.
Denyse Walker [00:17:20]:
Yeah, well, that’s her motivation, right? Her motivation is to make her friends laugh. She loves. She’s a little bit of a showman. She’s got her tutu and her mohawk and her sparkly, glamorized glasses, you know, so she’s. She just wants to make friends. And I think, you know, that’s what most kids want to do. They. I just really, really want to see their friends laugh.
Denyse Walker [00:17:43]:
And then that at a young age means, oh, if I’m making someone laugh, then I’m making a new friend that feels good, you know?
Zeba McGibbon [00:17:50]:
Absolutely.
Denyse Walker [00:17:51]:
So I think that, you know, there’s a point where you have the teacher circle back after some really great choices that Trixie is making to be able to have, like, the appropriate time to do the things that she was trying to do in the unexpected places. And so then she gets to be silly. And that is really, really great. She gets to tell jokes when she wants to. She gets to, you know, she’s out playing in the playground with her friends. And so as the illustrator, I worked really hard to make sure that we did that. And we, like, worked on that and we worked on the visual of the reaction of the other kiddos, too. I think you had talked about that, like, yeah, there’s a particular moment where one of them gasps Trixie’s unexpected behavior.
Denyse Walker [00:18:32]:
And, you know, that character knows this is not expected. You shouldn’t be doing this. But I think there’s also, like, some really great moments I as me as for an illustrator, like, you and I had to go back and forth as far as, like, there’s this scene where they’re all in the rug and Trixie’s doing something unexpected. And not everybody responds the same way. Some of them are like, oh, yeah, that’s time to do some unexpected moves.
Zeba McGibbon [00:18:58]:
Yeah, you’re right. Yeah.
Denyse Walker [00:19:00]:
And they’re not all. You know, they’re. They’re. They’re kids learning, and they’re not all. We are not always doing the expected thing. It’s just about learning and trying your best, and it doesn’t make you bad if you’re doing the unexpected thing. It just. It gets easier if you keep making those expected decisions in the expected way.
Denyse Walker [00:19:19]:
So.
Zeba McGibbon [00:19:20]:
I love thinking about those illustrations too. I mean, just. I haven’t held the book in my hands yet.
Denyse Walker [00:19:25]:
You haven’t, But I have. I’ve gotten to hold the proof in my hand. It’s a little bit annoying because it has, like, a special banner across all the art.
Zeba McGibbon [00:19:34]:
I know it’s just, like, for sale.
Denyse Walker [00:19:36]:
But it’s still waiting.
Zeba McGibbon [00:19:39]:
I’m waiting for my copy. Well, I’m gonna order it soon. I haven’t ordered yet, but I’m waiting. As we’re recording this, I’m like, okay, I can probably order some copies, like, now.
Denyse Walker [00:19:48]:
Yeah, you can, but, yeah.
Zeba McGibbon [00:19:49]:
So I haven’t held it in my book in my hands yet, but just seeing the pictures, like, seeing my words come to life is so cool.
Denyse Walker [00:19:58]:
Mm.
Zeba McGibbon [00:19:59]:
So grateful for that because, like, I knew these words would help kids, but even with Felipe, like, I knew the message would help kids. But mostly when I’m showing the book, I hear, like, oh, I love this frog. He’s so cute. And I’m like, he is. He is so cute. Also, the book is good, too.
Denyse Walker [00:20:18]:
Oh, my gosh. Felipe at it. Felipe is with Trixie, too. They’re in the same class, actually.
Zeba McGibbon [00:20:23]:
I know Felipe.
Denyse Walker [00:20:25]:
Our Felipe fans get to see.
Zeba McGibbon [00:20:27]:
I actually got some feedback on that because I said I shared it with a couple of parents to share with their kids and, like, see what they thought. And their big thing was, like, the kids were so excited to see Felipe again.
Denyse Walker [00:20:37]:
Oh, that makes my heart so happy. I can’t wait to see and hear. I want to see Trixie drawings. Actually, I’m. I’m looking. Things to look forward to.
Zeba McGibbon [00:20:46]:
Yeah. Trixie drawings, Trixie reaction. So when you all get Trixie, please send along pictures, stories, reviews. We want to hear it all. It makes it really. Every time that someone sends something to me, I always forward it to Denyse. Like, just. It means so much to us to see and to hear how these stories are impacting you and your kids and in your life.
Denyse Walker [00:21:11]:
Yeah. Just seeing them loved is, like. Means so much. It makes every single tiny minute that goes into the hours upon hours of doing it Completely worth it.
Zeba McGibbon [00:21:22]:
Hours and hours. And just a little, like, side thing that I love is there was no teacher in the last book, and there’s a teacher in this one. And.
Denyse Walker [00:21:32]:
Oh, yeah, when you first wrote the book, there is no. There’s no. You don’t refer to her. It’s sort of.
Zeba McGibbon [00:21:38]:
She’s just the teacher. Yeah.
Denyse Walker [00:21:40]:
And, like, there’s not like. Yeah. And I was. I was like, we got to make a teacher.
Zeba McGibbon [00:21:44]:
Mm. And in Felipe, there’s no teacher, so it’s like, oh, we really.
Denyse Walker [00:21:48]:
There’s Mama.
Zeba McGibbon [00:21:49]:
There’s a mom. Yeah, yeah.
Denyse Walker [00:21:50]:
There’s Mama. Felipe.
Zeba McGibbon [00:21:52]:
And you, drew. You illustrated the teacher as a zebra.
Denyse Walker [00:21:56]:
I did, because why?
Zeba McGibbon [00:21:57]:
Because my name is Zeba.
Denyse Walker [00:21:59]:
Yeah, your name’s Zeba. And here’s the thing. Like, we’re family. We’re cousins. But, like, often when little kids meet Zeba, they genuinely ask you if your name’s Zebra. Right. Are they? Like, there’s always some zebra joke. Even if it’s like, a family member at a table, like, some new person who comes in, they’re like, oh, like a zebra.
Zeba McGibbon [00:22:18]:
Like, I can’t wear black and white stripes.
Denyse Walker [00:22:21]:
Right. So I. So I did. When I thought of the teacher, I was like, zeba, are you comfortable? Like, first of all, what animal is this teacher?
Zeba McGibbon [00:22:29]:
Which I had never thought about, and then went back and forth on a couple of times. We didn’t want the classic or the classics.
Denyse Walker [00:22:35]:
I was going to say, there are the classics. There’s, like, the owl is always the teacher. There’s, you know, the clever fox. So we went through all of it.
Zeba McGibbon [00:22:43]:
It was.
Denyse Walker [00:22:43]:
That was actually a really fun brainstorming sesh for us to go, like, all the different animals and what they’re associated with. And I just kept coming back to the zebra, and I was like, I think her name should be Ms. Z or Zeba, which is so kind of like an honor to you. Well, and of course, now we’ve made her. I’m sure she’ll show up in the other books, right? There are others.
Zeba McGibbon [00:23:04]:
Well, I know that critters who have classroom moments, I would say almost all of them are now in the classroom. Felipe was kind of like, the only one not in the classroom. So she’s. Ms. Z is coming back for sure.
Denyse Walker [00:23:18]:
Coming back. Well, you know, one of my very favorite things about making Ms. Z, because as a teacher, too, this is one of my favorite things about teaching is the wardrobe. And I was gonna say that what she’s gonna wear.
Zeba McGibbon [00:23:31]:
All of your details are spot on.
Denyse Walker [00:23:35]:
Yeah. You know, I was going through the book and I realized I never actually put her water bottle in the book. Like, I drew it as her character thing. Like, you know how we like added all kind of.
Zeba McGibbon [00:23:44]:
We like put, yeah.
Denyse Walker [00:23:45]:
Tom’s shoes on her. We put some Stanley cup, her lanyard. She’s got some like. But she’s got so many outfits that don’t make it into the book. We just. This book, she’s just in one. It’s just one day. It’s just what she’s wearing and well, we’ll have to in the future have.
Zeba McGibbon [00:24:02]:
Some good Stanley cup will make a reappearance or whatever’s, you know, in with teachers. Then who knows? I know Stanley cups might be out. I mean, I just don’t see that happening.
Denyse Walker [00:24:15]:
Except I was just at a store the other day and I was looking at some Stanley cups and they now have these like, straw covers. Have you seen them? They’re like these little covers and they go on the straw and then they’re little animals that plug up the top of the. Of the Stanley Cup. Like you can have like, let’s say you had a zebra. You can cover your. Your straw.
Zeba McGibbon [00:24:32]:
So you’re going to add that detail to the Stanley Cup.
Denyse Walker [00:24:36]:
That’s how you get inspired. Right.
Zeba McGibbon [00:24:38]:
Well, anyway, Stanley cup animal, straw cover to be decided. But I’m just so glad that we could share about Trixie with everyone and I hope that everyone will check her book out and we’ll put all the links that you need down the show notes and like I said, let us know your reactions because we love to hear them. So thank you so much, Denyse, for being on the podcast. First time guest, first time, not the last time.
Denyse Walker [00:25:05]:
Oh, well, thank you so much for having me. I love talking about the books and of course, all the work that goes into them.
Zeba McGibbon [00:25:10]:
Well, and you put a lot of work in. Like I said, to put my words to life is really special. So, yeah. Thank you.
Denyse Walker [00:25:18]:
Yeah, you’re welcome. Anytime.
Zeba McGibbon [00:25:25]:
Thanks so much for listening to the Kindergarten Cafe podcast. Be sure to check out the show notes for more information and resources or just head straight to kindergartencafe.org for all the goodies. If you liked this episode, the best ways to show your support are to subscribe, leave a review, or send it to a friend. I’ll be back next week with even more kindergarten tips. See you then.