The Picture Book Buzz - Interview w/ Susanne Gervay and Review of Guess How I Was Made?

Maria Marshall
3 days ago
8 min read

Susanne Gervay writes for young people to laugh, learn, love and be courageous in a challenging world. She writes for adults to explore with kids about ideas that excite and empower them.

As the child of refugees, story is the secret ingredient as a pathway to home and self-belief. Presented with the Lifetime Social Justice Literature Award for her body of work by the International Literacy Association and an Order of Australia, Susanne’s books are recognised as capturing hope. be it the joyous and playful cockatoos in or the heroic kids in Heroes of the Holocaust. Her loved ‘I Am Jack’ series has become a rite of-passage on school bullying adapted into a play that toured across Australia and USA, while Harmony Day is at the centre of Elephants Have Wings. Endorsed by Room to Read, Cancer Council, Life Education, anti bullying, literacy, many organisations, Susanne takes her stories from the Outback to Istanbul to everywhere, because kids matter.

Collage of 9 of Susanne Gervay's book cover.

She is the author of 19 books, including Ships in the Field, illustrated by Anna Pignataro (2024), Whose The Gang on Our Street, illustrated by Nancy Bevington (2023), Boy in the Big Blue Glasses, illustrated by Marjorie Crosby-Fairall (2019), and the chapter book series I Am Jack, illustrated by Cathy Wilcox, and the MG novels Parrot Palace (2025) and Heroes of the Secret Underground (2021).

For additional information about Susanne, see our earlier interviews (here).

Her newest picture book, Guess How I Was Born?, releases on August 5^th in Australia and February 26^th in the U.S.

Welcome Susanne, thank you so much for stopping by to talk about your newest book and your writing.

What was your inspiration for Guess How I Was Born?

Book cover - A child in a green dinosaur suit and another child in a tutu, pants, sneakers, a floppy puppy ear headband and a cloth tail are surrounded by balloons and question marks.

I was a single parent with two much-loved children. My daughter was diagnosed with kidney disease in her late teens. She has had a rugged journey which became increasingly harder. At thirty, she was encouraged by her doctors to harvest her eggs in the hope of a baby for the future. It was too dangerous for her to carry a baby. IVF is a difficult process with self-injecting, invasive procedures and fluctuations of emotions with an array of challenges. My daughter did not have a partner as she felt unable to share that kidney burden with another person. She had 6 IVF procedures among many operations on her kidneys. She was in despair at the failed IVFs, when the USA offered her hope. Despite covid and endless compliances to get to the US, she made it. Her doctor and his team were amazing and did two IVF’s. The IVF implantation was successful. It was a long and dramatic journey, with surrogacy and the many complications involved, but my daughter at last received a gift. Her beautiful baby girl, Violet Rose.

It is Violet Rose’s story but also the stories of all children. Guess How I Was Born is fun filled with the quirky and humorous interactions of kids and parents. However, woven into the narrative are diverse families and the many ways children come into the world. This book encourages every child to feel included and know that they belong. Single parent, mixed ethnicities, adopted, step, LGBTQ, nuclear … IVF. And IVF is complex from the many IVF failures, women harvesting eggs, male infertility, the ways sperm and eggs connect, surrogacy, and the stories of each family.

As a specialist in child growth & development, I advise all families. "Your baby arrives through love and special journey of the most wanted baby in the world. You."

What a wonderful gift you've created for your daughter and granddaughter. How long did it take from the first draft to publication for Guess How I Was Born? How does this compare to other books you’ve written?

This book is close to my heart. I wanted to celebrate all our babies, especially Violet Rose. I had push back from publishers, who talk about inclusion, diversity, and equality. But are they really committed to it? I found a courageous publisher, Larrikin House. That publisher didn’t care about what other publishing houses think. His partner had an IVF baby and he enjoys challenging the status quo. I got the go ahead. The only provision Larrikin House made is that it had to make kids laugh. I embraced the challenge.

It carries the precious endorsement of Jackie French who is one of the most renowned children’s and adult authors in Australia.

"Every child is a miracle in Susanne Gervay’s truly glorious Guess How I Was Born, a book of joy, wonder and science, and endless love as well." - Jackie French AM.

Publication is always difficult to achieve. The added pressure for Guess How I Was Born was the confusion and conflict over the right to have a baby, if you are gay and/or have scientific assistance through IVF and/or blended families and/or the varied ways to create family.

I'm glad you kept it a wonderfully diverse celebration of families. Did anything surprise or amaze you when you first got to see Carolyn Daly’s illustrations? What is your favorite spread?

Carolyn Daly took the images of Violet Rose and created a character with orange hair, blue eyes, and joy. Thank you Carolyn. That touched me. Guess How I Was Born is Violet Rose’s special picture book.

Internal spread of various families - two dads, a combined family, single mom, adopted, interracial, and Violet Rose - the IVF miracle.

Text © Susanne Gervay, 2025. Image © Carolyn Daly, 2025.

Almost to the end, this spread shows Violet Roses' friends and their diverse families. Though, my favorite spread is the last page.

A baby arrives and everything changes.

Our world gets bigger, heart grows fuller,

and life becomes more meaningful.

I love that the last page leaves space and encourages the reader to fill it with their own special, precious family. But I'm glad you chose another spread to feature; we'll leave it to the readers to discover the ending for themselves. What was the hardest or most challenging part of writing Guess How I Was Born?

The most challenging part was seeking acceptance of diverse families. I just hope that readers will see the humour, the funny things kids say to each other, and the friendship of all the children.

You definitely bit off a big challenge! What has been the most rewarding part of the publishing process for Guess How I Was Born?

Selfie photo of Carolyn Daly and Susanne Gervay together holding the cover of the book. © Susanne Gervay

The most rewarding part was when I discovered that the illustrator Carolyn Daly had a daughter who went through 9 years of failed IVF and now carried a baby. The fertilized egg was a gift from her sister and science. She was so happy to illustrate this book. My heart swelled with happiness.

That's so great; it's awesome that Carolyn also had such a strong connection to the story as well. Is there something you want your readers to know or hope they discover about Guess How I Was Born?

Parents want a go-to-book to make kids feel safe and accepted. I’d love them to know - "Keep it early. Keep it simple. Keep it direct. Keep it honest. Keep it diverse. Whatever way families are formed, they are our families."

I want readers to discover that.

As children get older, their questions become more sophisticated. However, at the beginning a picture book like Guess How I Was Born puts away fears and doubts. It allows the exploration of diversity, acceptance and inclusivity, cross-cultural perspectives, LGBTQ, community, science, and relationships with family and friends.

I think it's a great early book on the topic and leaves room for the parents to fill it in as is appropriate for their own child's needs. Are there any projects you are working on now that you can share a tidbit with us?

I am working on another picture book. “Ants in Your Pants.”

Ants in Your Pants

The sky is pink. It must be morning. Playtime. Jump out of bed. Stomp on the floor. Twirl. Bang and bump.

Dad always says. ‘Sophy, you have ants in your pants.’

I’ve checked. They aren’t any ants in my pants.

Sounds fun and funny. Best of luck with it. Last question, what animal or natural feature (place) do you want to learn more about? Why?

I’d love to go to Japan. Sushi classes, cherry blossoms, hot baths. There’s so much to experience there.

Thanks so much, Susanne for stopping back by. It was wonderful to chat with you again.

To find out more about Susanne Gervay, or contact her:

Website: https://sgervay.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sgervay

X (formerly Twitter): https://x.com/sgervay

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/susanne_gervay/

Review of Guess How I Was Born

Celebrating a diverse range of families, this sweet and humorous book also offers a basic introduction to IVF babies and the assurance that each child is a miracle loved by their families.

Guess How I Was Born

Author: Susanne Gervay

Illustrator: Carolyn Daly

Publisher: Larrikin House US (August 5, 2025)

Ages: 3 - 5

Fiction

Themes:

Family structures, IVF, miracles, acceptance, friends, and uniqueness.

Synopsis:

Meet Violet who is having the best day ever at a dress up party with all her friends. But it wouldn't be a party without a few hiccups! Guess How I Was Born explores diverse families and all the ways a child may come into the world. This book encourages every child to feel included and know that they belong. Delightful, honest and fun, this book creates opportunities for children to celebrate their uniqueness.

Opening Lines:

I’m Violet Rose, and today I’m a puppy.

Well, I have ears and a tail.

I’m having a party with my best friends.

What I Liked about this book:

Beginning with an adorable red-headed, blue-eyed girl, Violet Rose, we meet an eclectic and diverse group of friends at a dress-up party. In addition to a Cinderella and a Superboy, George came as a dinosaur, Min as a magician, Charlies as a giraffe, Amir as a wizard, and Eva as a sunflower. Everyone's excited and ready for some party fun.

Internal spread - on the right, a girl, in a purple polka-dot jumpsuit, pink tutu, sneakers, and puppy ear headband, holds a stuffed puppy and is surrounded by balloons. On the left a boy in a full piece, green dinosaur suit with a football taped to its tale ("dino-score") and yellow gloves and galoshes grabs at a balloon.

But before we get to the party, we are introduced to a fun question and answer refrain that runs throughout the book - "Guess how I was born . . . you'll never ever guess." Susanne Gervay's sense of humor (including bodily humor from Grandma) is equally matched by the cheekiness of Carolyn Daly's colorful illustrations.

Internal spread - on the left, a baby sits on a purple polka-dotted blanket holding a stuffed dog with big questions to the sides of her head. On the right, a baby with a pacifier, wrapped in the polka-dotted blanket, lies in a asleep in a shopping cart near shelves of bananas and yogurt (and banana yogurt squeeze tubes).

Each successive question offers hints both texturally or visually about the wide diversity of her friend's families. "I wasn't born with two dads like Charlie." Nor does Violet have two moms, stepsiblings, adopted or bi-racial parents. As they lead the little readers to guess how Violet was born, Susanne and Carolyn create a very welcoming, diverse, and universal group of friends and families.

As with many kid's parties, there are hurt feelings, a disaster, and tears. Accompanied by lots of laughter, excitement, and hugs. So, overall, a very good party. Having listed or shown most of the ways to form a family, The refrain switches up a bit - "Have you guessed how I was born yet? You’ll never, ever, ever, ever guess." Then Violet Rose dares the reader, "Can you guess NOW how I was born? Wait for it … wait." and she joyfully announces . . . "I am an IVF baby." The book leaves it open for parents and caregivers to answer questions and explain how Violet Rose is a modern science miracle.

Internal spread - on the left, a girl jumps in the air spread-eagle, with balloons and streamers floating around her. On the right, a scientist in a lab coat holds a vial and a test tube, while an orange cloud to her left has a clipboard, beakers, atomic symbols, and a molecule model in it and lightning bolts and a light bulb float around the scientist.

This is a wonderful celebration of all types of families, big and small, each with their own little miracles. All just a little different, but each one full of love. The ending offers the reader a chance to add their own family to this celebration. This is a humorously sweet book which offers little kids a brief introduction into IVF and a sincere grounding in the knowledge that no matter how their family formed they are precious.

Resources:

draw a picture of your family. Do you have a special stuffed animal, doll, car (toy), or pet? How about other family members? Who else makes up your family.