How Mom Met Mama, from Reycraft Books, Mixes Love and Family with Imagination and Magic
The picture book tackles a question all children wonder about their parents, using wizards, pirates, and mythical creatures.
NEW ROCHELLE, NY, TKTKTKTK—Leading children’s trade publisher Reycraft Books is pleased to present How Mom Met Mama, a new picture book that focuses on a question every child asks at some point: “How did my parents meet?” Written by C. Rowen MacCarald, illustrated by Georgia Stylou, and published on May 7, 2024, the book transforms the answer to that question into a tale filled with magic, pirates, and mythical creatures including dragons, mermaids, and unicorns.
“There’s a universality to this story,” editor Wiley Blevins said. “It’s a sweet look at how a little girl’s parents met. The unique part is that the mother, in telling the story, infuses a heavy dose of imagination by including the little girl’s favorite fantasy characters into the storytelling. It’s the kind of story that will spark children’s wonder and creativity.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
C. Rowen MacCarald is a genderqueer parent and author of more than 40 nonfiction books for kids. They and their daughter love plotting stories together. When not playing with words, you can find them in their home in the woodlands of New York starting fires in the woodstove or herding toads off the driveway.
ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATOR
Georgia Stylou works as an illustrator for children's books around the world. She studied Graphic Design but realized that what she really wanted to do was create images for children´s stories. She lives in Greece with her husband and their two children, who serve as inspiration for creating beautiful scenes and images.
In the story, the parents of the little girl are both women. MacCarald, a genderqueer parent, said they wanted their daughter to be able to read a book that featured a family similar to her own. “My biggest inspiration was the love of creating and telling stories, which my daughter and I have shared since she was very young,” they explained. “After she was born, I became aware that very few of the families in picture books resembled hers. So sometimes I would add queer content to stories on my own. For example, in one book telling the story of ‘Snow White, Rose Red’ the prince looked androgynous, so I just made him a princess while I was reading out loud. Telling a family’s origin story as a fairy tale seemed a natural next step.”
That origin story, MacCarald said, has been brought to colorful, vivid life through Stylou’s charming artwork. “Georgia’s characters are so sweet and approachable, even the villain,” they said. “I love the whimsy and the playful perspectives her illustrations bring to the story.”
MacCarald added that with How Mom Met Mama, “I’d like readers to feel inspired to create their own stories, by themselves as well as with family and friends. I also want them to feel empowered to see themselves and their loved ones as main characters, no matter who they are.”
ABOUT REYCRAFT BOOKS: Reycraft Books partners with award-winning and up-and-coming authors and illustrators, primarily from underrepresented communities, to provide high-quality books that delight, inform, and honor the voice and vision of all children. Founded in 2019, the imprint publishes authentic stories—engaging picture books, chapter books, middle grade books, graphic novels, and more—that build knowledge, perspective, and connection, meeting the diverse needs of children, families, and educators.