Children’s author Tammi Sauer talks new book, ‘Mary Had a Little Jam’

Tammi Sauer, a nationally recognized children's book author based in Edmond, Oklahoma, has released a new title in her popular series.

Sauer sat down with News On 6’s Dave Davis to talk about Mary Had a Little Jam, her creative process and her love of connecting with young readers.

Q: Tell us about Mary Had a Little Jam.

A: “Well, Mary Had a Little Jam is the third book in my Mary series. First, I started with Mary Had a Little Glam, and in that book, Mary does lots of great, amazing things at her school. Then Mary Had a Little Plan—she does amazing things in her neighborhood. This time around with Mary Had a Little Jam, Mary decides to strike up a band, and at first she's really excited about things. But then things don't go the way that she wants them to. The band is just not working together, but in the end she's able to figure out how to restore some harmony, and I think harmony is a great thing for us to have right now in this world, so I'm really pleased with the book and how it turned out.”

Q: Where did the inspiration for the Mary character come from?

A: “Well, it came from the nursery rhyme Mary Had a Little Lamb. I was thinking about nursery rhymes one day, and I thought I’d try to do a fresh spin on a nursery rhyme. And I was just lucky that the words Mary Had a Little Glam popped into my head. And the thing was, I had never written a rhyming picture book before, and I was very nervous about that. When you write in rhyme, you want to make sure that the rhyme is impeccable, and so I really had to learn how to be a good rhymer before I decided to submit anything to my agent. So I read lots of rhyming picture books, I visited with lots of my writing friends who also write rhyming picture books—that really helped me. And it’s not just about the rhyme. You have to have the rhythm exactly right, too. So it was a really fun challenge for me, and I'm so glad I did it. In my first book, Mary Had a Little Glam, Kirkus, which is the tough reviewer of picture books and books in general, they gave me a starred review, and they said, ‘Sauer’s rhythm never falters.’ And that was, like, the best line I think I’ll ever get in a review. That was just a really meaningful thing for me.”

Q: You’ve worked with a variety of illustrators, and this book features art by Vanessa Brantley-Newton. What’s it like working with her?

A: “I love Vanessa. Vanessa and I have become friends over the years. Typically, writers and illustrators are kept separated because editors don’t want an author to be a bossy person towards the illustrator—it’s equally the illustrator’s book. But with Vanessa, after we wrote the first book, we got to meet each other at different conferences that we spoke at and at different book festivals. And she’s just become a really dear friend of mine. I love the energy that she brings to all of her books, I love the vibrancy. And if you knew Vanessa and you read all of the Mary books, you would know that basically, Mary is a little Vanessa. Vanessa is fabulous. She always is all dressed really well, she has a big voice, has a big personality, and I really couldn’t be paired with a better person for these books.”

Q: You live in Edmond, but travel a lot for author visits. Tell us about those experiences.

A: “Oh, I love doing author visits. I used to be a teacher and I used to be a librarian, so it’s really fun for me to get into schools. And I get to go into these schools and get kids excited about reading and writing, which are two of my very favorite things. Last week I was in Fort Worth. This week I’ll be in Kansas. Next week I’ll be in Indiana. Then I’ll be back in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. I love traveling. I love inspiring kids. Kids come up to me after the visit, saying that maybe they want to be an author when they grow up. I get really great letters from kids. It’s just a fun thing. I mean, yes. Let’s see. Last week, I was presenting to hundreds and hundreds of preschoolers, and one little girl, right in the middle of my presentation, just got up and gave me a big hug. I mean, kids are amazing. I love being able to connect with my audience, and it’s fun to connect with teachers and librarians, too. That’s just a really valuable part about my job. So I’m very happy that I get to do those.”

Q: Have you thought about writing outside of children’s picture books—maybe nonfiction or novels?

A: “Goodness, I love doing picture books so much. I love that I have a partner for each book. I have an editor who’s pushing me to maybe try chapter books one of these days, but I have to come up with an idea that I love enough to step away from picture books for a while. So far, I have 37 published picture books. I have two coming out next year, and I think I have like four or five more that are under contract. So right now I’m very busy with picture books, but I mean, never say never.”