Online Lecture
We Will Not Talk About This Picture Book
How Author, Illustrator, Editor, and Designer Brought I Will Not Walk to School to Life
Join the creative team behind the picture book I Will Not Walk To School—an uproariously funny and relatable tale of a monster who loves school, but hates the commute—as they chat about how they brought the book to life. The author, illustrator, editor, and designer will dive into how they kept a cohesive vision from the very first draft all the way to the final jacket design, and how they all worked together to make it happen.
Naseem Hrab, author
Yasemin Uçar, editorial director
Andrew Dupuis, art director
Kelly Collier, illustrator
The event is free and open to public. Please register on Eventbrite here:
Biographies
Naseem Hrab is the award-winning author of many stories for children including Otis & Peanut, How to Party Like a Snail, Weekend Dad, a Governor General’s Literary Award finalist, and The Sour Cherry Tree, a Governor General’s Literary Award winner. Her work has been praised by The New York Times,The Wall Street Journal, the CBC, NPR, Bank Street College, and more.
Yasemin Uçar is Editorial Director at Kids Can Press. She has been editing children’s books for nearly three decades, and has worked across all genres—picture books, fiction, non-fiction and graphic novels. Before joining KCP in 2012, Yasemin worked at Scholastic Canada, at Piccadilly Press in the UK, and as a freelance editor. She has worked with many popular and award-winning authors and illustrators, including Naseem Hrab, Kelly Collier and Ashley Spires.
Andrew Dupuis is an award-winning children’s book designer and Art Director at Kids Can Press. Andrew’s a lover of books, student of film and 90s comic book nerd. He lives in Toronto with his wife, one-year old son and an unruly Maltipoo named Fritz.
Kelly Collier is an author and illustrator from Toronto, Canada. Her work has been featured by the New York Times, the Canadian Children’s Book Center, CBC and ALA. Kelly was a recipient of the 2024 Douglas Wright award, and she was a 2026 Eisner award nominee. She is the author and illustrator of the Steve the Horse Series, The Imposter, Beverley, Bat Your Service and forthcoming Caterpillar Forever!