School Library Journal Starred Review (Wed Oct 01 00:00:00 CDT 2014)

K-Gr 2 Authors are asked many questions at school and library visits, such as "How many books have you written?" and "Where do your ideas come from?" In answering the question "Where does a story start?" the author/illustrator in this charming picture book demonstrates the method she uses for inspiration. Explaining that a thought can travel in many directions or go nowhere at all, Gay shows how opening up her mind can trigger an idea for a story. She begins by composing and illustrating a tale entitled "The Shy Young Giant" and midway through invites three children to assist her in continuing the fiction. The story-within-a-story technique makes the writing process clear, informative and fun. The kids have such a good time writing and drawing that when the story ends, they're excited to begin another. Engaging illustrations, in watercolor, pencil, pastels, and collage, feature speech bubbles, handwritten notes, and childlike sketches. Gay's delightful creation reveals how the combination of children's natural curiosity and imagination can be the perfect springboard for a story.— Maryann H. Owen, Children's Literature Specialist, Mt. Pleasant, WI

ALA Booklist (Wed Oct 01 00:00:00 CDT 2014)

Children's book creator Gay has written and illustrated dozens and dozens of books, and her readers have dozens and dozens of questions. Some of those questions inspired this latest project, which starts out as a jumble of queries in word balloons from a crowd of eager, inquisitive kids, and then it lands on one question in particular: "Where does a story start?" From there Gay talks about inspiration, creativity, false starts, and the playful, mind-wandering parts of her process as she comes up with a sketchy story about a giant (with the help of a few kids along the way). The joyfully overstuffed pages are full of splotches of color, bits of collage, scribbles, and scratched-out words, making each spread look like a delightfully disordered work in progress. The sideline commentary from some talkative cats and opinionated children contribute a light touch of humor, and the overall message at creativity is messy and fun! empowering. Though the metafictional structure can be occasionally confounding, little ones will likely appreciate seeing kids just like them participating in an author's process.

Horn Book (Sat Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2015)

Author-artist Gay answers questions her readers often ask, focusing especially on "Where does a story start?" So with lots of ideas and hands-on help from several enthusiastic children, she writes and illustrates a tale within a tale about a giant. Her large, whimsical illustrations--created in watercolor, collage, and other media--are well suited to this joyful and humorous exploration of the creative process.