19 May Lydia Lukidis and GROUCHO THE GROUCHY GROUNDHOG: THE TERRIFYING TURNIP TAKEOVER plus a GIVEAWAY!
EL: Happy Tuesday! I’m so happy to welcome Lydia Lukidis back to the blog. Her new book, GROUCHO THE GROUCHY GROUNDHOG (Volume 2): THE TERRIFYING TURNIP TAKEOVER (Volume 2), is a super fun and funny sequel to volume one, where we first meet characters, Groucho and Blork. In this new book, although Groucho is still grouchy and would much rather be eating pancakes, the evil Lord Turnip has other ideas. Kids will laugh out loud at every page. The hilarious text by Lydia Lukidis and the vibrant and equally funny (yet endearing) art by Tara J. Hannon combine to make this early graphic novel a true delight.
Welcome back, Lydia. Please tell the people who may not know you a bit about yourself.
LL: I live in Montreal, Canada, with my beautiful daughter. Writing poetry and short stories has always been my main hobby, and I feel grateful that I managed to turn that into a career. As you can imagine, in my spare time, I read a lot of kidlit! Outside of that, I love baking fancy cakes and crafting. These are great ways to channel my creativity. I always say, I’m the happiest when I’m creating. It’s a crucial part of who I am.
EL: What types of books did you enjoy when you were a child?
LL: As a child, I was a voracious reader. I was a big fan of horror back then, and I also read a lot of detective books, including Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys. I mainly read fiction and fantasy. I was not so much into nonfiction. It’s funny because as I grew into a professional writer, I seem to gravitate more towards nonfiction. I think that has a lot to do with the fact that I studied science in college and I’m eternally curious.
EL: You are not just prolific, but you write several genres, and your books are so different. You can go from humor to serious subjects, to lyrical, and on and on. How do you decide which type of story you want to write at a specific time?
LL: Thank you! It wasn’t intentional. I started becoming known as a nonfiction author because that’s where my passion lies for many of my ideas. When I wanted to write GROUCHO, I doubted myself. I can be funny naturally, but could I write funny? My advice to other authors is to never be afraid and continue to experiment and push yourself. Now, I’m learning that I can write funny, but as you mention, the pull towards more serious subjects remains. I love mixing in lyricism with STEM, that seems to be my main voice. But I also write more casually. I try not to censor myself, and just write what I want before I think about marketing and what editors are looking for. I just wrote 2 novels in verse, so we’ll see what happens there!
EL: Ooh…I’m looking forward to your novels in verse! Back to Groucho–How different is it to write a graphic novel than a “regular picture book?”
LL: Writing a graphic novel is very different from writing a picture book. Of course, picture books are a ton of work. But writing a graphic novel is a whole other beast, it takes a lot of time, and you’ll need to be really patient. You go much deeper with character development and plot, but the main difference is that you want the last panel in each spread to end with a “pang.” So, you’ll need to create a mini story arc in that spread while you maintain the overall main story arc. The other main difference is that you need to write a ton of art notes, which we normally don’t do with picture books.
I would not have submitted a graphic novel with just words. I’m sure others do, but I thought it would be a stronger submission with visual samples. I approached Tara J Hannon, and luckily, she accepted. She made various samples, and once we got a two-book deal, she created all the images (which took so, so long and required many, many edits).
EL: I have to ask. How did you decide on a turnip as an antagonist? I LOVE it!
LL: I’m inspired by Aaron Blabey, who wrote Bad Guys. I laughed so hard when he created an evil genius guinea pig. I’m also inspired by Dav Pilkey’s Captain Underpants. That’s what I love about kidlit and especially graphic novels, you can be silly. Why create a character based on a regular animal or vegetable? A turnip is much funnier. It also helps that I myself was terrified of turnips when I was younger and hated eating them. 😊
EL: I guess those turnips can be pretty scary! 🙂 Thank you so much for joining us today, Lydia. I know this book will be a hit!
Here’s a bit more info to get to know Lydia even better.
Bio
Lydia Lukidis is an award-winning author of 60+ trade and educational books for children. Her titles include UP, UP HIGH: The Secret Poetry of Earth’s Atmosphere (Capstone, 2025), DANCING THROUGH SPACE: Dr. Mae Jemison Soars to New Heights (Albert Whitman, 2024), and DEEP, DEEP, DOWN: The Secret Underwater Poetry of the Mariana Trench (Capstone, 2023). She won numerous awards such as the Crystal Kite Award for the Canada and North America division, a Forest of Reading Silver Birch Express Honor, and multiple Cybils Award nominations. Another passion of hers is fostering a love for children’s literacy through the writing workshops she regularly offers in elementary schools across Quebec with the Culture in the Schools program. Lydia is represented by literary agent Miranda Paul from Aevitas Creative Management. For more information, please visit www.lydialukidis.com.
Social Media Links:
Website: http://www.lydialukidis.com/
Blog: https://lydialukidis.wordpress.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/LydiaLukidis
FB: https://www.facebook.com/LydiaLukidis/
Insta: https://www.instagram.com/lydialukidis7/
Book links:
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/235991708-groucho-the-grouchy-groundhog-volume-2
Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/groucho-the-grouchy-groundhog-lydia-lukidis/1147556324
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Groucho-Grouchy-Groundhog-Terrifying-Takeover/dp/B0FCDBY2HV/
And now it’s time for a
Lydia is happy to give away a copy of her new book to one lucky winner. Just comment on this post and let me know if you are a subscriber or you’ve shared it for and extra chance to win. Good luck!
Congrats to Lydia!
Until next time,
Ellen
PS: On a personal note, I’m thrilled that the newest version (a reimagination of a reimagination!) of Don’t Eat the Bluebonnets by Ellen Rothberg and me, beautifully illustrated by Joel Cook, is available at these links!
Laura Roettiger
Posted at 21:43h, 19 MayWe love Groucho in my house and I’ve tried multiple times to be at the library when the children’s librarian is there to request that they purchase this sequel (I know the first one is in the collection) but I keep missing her. Congratulations, Lydia!
And congratulations, Ellen on Don’t East the Bluebonnets being back in print! Hooray!
Marcia Strykowski
Posted at 05:53h, 20 MayI love graphic novels and really enjoyed Lydia’s first Groucho book. How fun to have a sequel! I’m looking forward to reading, and I subscribe. 😀 Congratulations to Lydia and Tara!
danielle hammelef
Posted at 12:45h, 20 MayCongratulations on your fun graphic novel! I love that this is a sequel to keep readers invested. I’m a subscriber and shared this post on tumblr.