The Picture Book Buzz - Interview with Louise Aamodt
- 1 day ago
- 6 min read
Louise M. Aamodt (rhymes with ‘comet’) is hooked on picture books. The only thing she likes as much as reading picture books is writing them, usually while drinking copious amounts of tea. She wants her own books to evoke curiosity about the natural world and instill hope in readers.
Louise has been teaching English Learners for over a quarter of a century, from preschool through high school. She loves delicious word choices, organic gardening, traveling, Oxford commas, and learning. She lives in Minnesota with her husband, sons, and assorted critters nobody else wanted.
Louise’s debut picture book, A Forest Begins Anew, releases on May 12, 2026.
Welcome Louise,
Thank you, Maria, for having me!
Tell us a little about yourself. (Where/when do you write? Is there something not in your bio that you’d like to share with us?)
As a teacher, I’m lucky to interact regularly with kids. I see how they act, notice what they wonder, and get to be a part of that precise moment when they understand something new and amazing. My brain is trained to make a topic accessible without watering it down.
Working with kids all day also means that by 3:00 each afternoon I’m completely exhausted and muddy-headed. So, I discipline myself to get up at 5:04 am on workdays in order to squeeze in some precious writing time while I’m fresh. The earlier I can get myself moving, the bigger my reward pays off in terms of minutes I can write. I’m more flexible on weekends and school vacations. I try to not beat myself up if I need to spend a little more time on seasonal tasks, like launching the new school year, planting my spring garden, canning the fall harvest, etc. I know the writing season will also come back around, and hopefully I’ll be refreshed for it.
It is wonderful to "meet" you! What is one of the most fun or unusual places where you’ve written a manuscript?
Great question! During author visits at schools, I show photos of me writing inside, outside, at the library, at school, on a train, and at summer camp. Wherever I can squeeze it in. Then I ask if they want to see the strangest place I’d ever written and reveal a photo of me on a cot inside a cave. I explain my three weekends spent in a winter cave with the Boy Scouts, and tell them how each night I’d snuggle into my sleeping bag, click on my head lamp, and record all the things I’d discovered or wondered about the cave that day. I still haven’t written a manuscript specific to caves, but if that day ever comes, I’ll be ready!
Wow, that does sound like an unusual and fun place to write. I hope you do get to write about a cave someday. What was your inspiration or spark of interest for A Forest Begins Anew?
I once read a few lines about how burnt wood can attract a kind of beetle, which then produces grubs that feed woodpeckers. Later, bluebirds nest in the old woodpecker holes. It stopped me in my tracks. As I pondered the marvelous interconnectedness of it all, my brain started popping off question after question, and I soon fell deep into the research rabbit holes.
I adore these rabbit holes. They are so fun and can lead in so many wonderful directions. Sometimes the hardest part is climbing out of the hole to write. What was the hardest part of writing A Forest Begins Anew? What was the most fun part?
The hardest part was learning the NF ropes, including finding valid sources, and documenting which sources I’d still referred to by the time I got to the final draft, #15. I learned so much by doing it all wrong and having to begin anew. (Hah!)
Choosing the right voice and format was the most fun. I wanted to try something reminiscent of The House That Jack Built because of how the story events are all interconnected, but it took a lot of experimentation to find the right balance of repetition, rhyme, and breaks from the meter. I feed off the energy of that breakthrough moment when a vexing word choice finally clicks into place.
Nonfiction does have a bit of a learning curve, but I think others might think the rhyming portion would be the hardest part. How long did it take from the first “seed” of the idea to publication for A Forest Begins Anew?
Usually, I get really excited about a new topic and dive right in, but with this book I forced myself to think about it much longer before starting. I completed the first draft in the spring of 2018. A year later, draft 6 (?) won the SCBWI Marvelous Midwest’s manuscript contest. It caught the eye of agent Emily Keyes soon after that, with whom I signed in 2021. She sold it almost immediately to Astra, and it took another 5 years (15 drafts total) to turn into a real book. So, about 8+ years? But I took my first kid lit writing class way back in 2006, so this has actually been a 20-year journey!
That will be encouraging to many! Thanks for sharing this glimpse into your creative journey. Did anything surprise or amaze you when you first got to see Elly MacKay’s illustrations? What is your favorite spread?
Text © Louise Aamodt, 2026. Image © Elly MacKay, 2026.
I’m a big softie when it comes to animals, so the animals seeking safety is my very favorite spread. The layered artwork there is just mesmerizing. My second favorite is of the fox picking its way through the burnt forest, mainly due to an inside story: I’d been told that kids couldn’t handle the word “dead,” but I disagreed. My mentor, author Janet Graber, coached me through keeping that word by immediately throwing kids a lifeline that transitioned to the rebirth portion of the book. Janet just happens to love foxes, so seeing Elly’s fox appear on that very page was perfect.
I agree that we underestimate what kids can handle. And I love the "lifeline" you throw the adults, so they don't worry, which gives us all a breather. Is there anything special you want your readers to know or hope they discover about A Forest Begins Anew?
A lot of people skip over a book’s back matter. As much as I’d love for each and every reader to slow down to learn more about the history of fire suppression in the United States, or to linger over the "Hot Facts" from the story, what I’d really like them to pause for is the author’s note. I dedicated A Forest Begins Anew to everyone searching for hope, and I want each reader to feel like this book was written just for them. We all have struggles, whether or not they’re visible to others, but we have to believe it will get better. Someday that hope can lead to empowerment and tangible actions that better our world.
What a great offering of hope and confidence to be interwoven and underlying your book on a forest's regeneration. I think you will touch a great many hearts and lives. Are there any projects you are working on now that you can share a tidbit (or tease) with us?
I currently have two more nonfiction books under contract–one about a surprising seed dispersal method, and another about how a certain common object can make us feel–but I can’t share anything more specific about those quite yet. I have oodles of other manuscripts I THINK are ready for submission. They’re all nonfiction, mostly lyrical or rhyming, and focus on some aspect of our natural world. Fingers crossed they’ll turn into real books one day.
Intriguing! I can't wait to see these two books. Best of luck with your other projects. Last question, what is your favorite National Park or Forest, regional park, or city park (anywhere in the world)? Or the one you’re longing to visit. Why?
© 2026 Lakeville Convention & Visitors Bureau.
I’ve traveled extensively, yet my very favorite place is Ritter Farm Park, my own city’s 340-acre park. It offers many interconnected trails, and I mix and match the segments depending on whether I feel like an easy meadow stroll or a workout of steep hills through the forest. When my son needed to complete community hours for Boy Scouts, he created a map of each and every bluebird house for the city to use as reference, so I can honestly say I’ve walked every trail segment.
What a fun park to have in a city. Thank you, Louise, for sharing about yourself and your debut picture book with us.
Thank you so much for having me here! Picture Book Buzz was probably my very first kidlit blog I ever subscribed to, so it’s surreal to finally be one of your featured authors!
Wow! Congrats on your gorgeous debut book and I am excited to feature both you and your book on the blog.
Be sure to come back on Friday for the Perfect Picture Book #PPBF review of A Forest Begins Anew.
For more information about Louise M. Aamodt, or to contact her:
Website: https://www.louiseaamodt.com/home
X (Twitter): https://x.com/LouiseMAamodt
If you are in the area, be sure stop by for The Forest Begins Anew book launch:
Red Balloon Bookshop, 891 Grand Avenue,
Saint Paul, MN Register
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