The Journey of a New School Year with Andrew Hacket

Andrew Hacket, author of In This Classroom (Red Comet Press), illustrated by Arthur Lin, joins Matthew to talk about the journey of a new school year and never having exactly the same class again.

Listen along:

About the book: In This Classroom by Andrew Hacket; Illustrated by Arthur Lin. Published by Red Comet Press.

In This Classroom is a heartwarming celebration of the school year, capturing the joy, struggles, and growth of students and teachers as they embark on an unforgettable journey of learning, friendship, and personal achievement.

In Andrew Hacket's classroom manifesto, young readers are invited into a vibrant and supportive classroom where they can explore the beauty of making mistakes, embracing challenges, and celebrating unique differences.

This empowering picture book helps children understand that school is a place of opportunity, where they will learn from setbacks, support each other through difficulties, and ultimately grow in ways they never imagined. With whimsical illustrations and a message of perseverance and community, In This Classroom encourages every student to feel valued, confident, and excited about the endless possibilities a new school year brings.

This book is not just for students--it's for teachers too, as it provides a framework for fostering a positive classroom environment where every child can thrive. Whether read at the beginning or end of the school year, In This Classroom is a heartfelt reminder that the journey of learning is a shared experience, and together, we can achieve greatness.

More:

Visit Andrew Hacket online at www.andrewhacket.com 

Learn more about Boyds Mills and their upcoming programs by visiting www.boydsmills.org. 

Transcript:

NOTE: Transcript created by Descript. I've attempted to clean up any typos, grammatical errors, and formatting errors where possible.

Andrew: Being home my brain did not settle. It did not quiet down. I was used to a certain pace. And I thought while I was, playing timekeeper for my children to get on their Zoom calls, like I've always said I want to do this and I always say I don't have time. If ever there's a time to invest in learning something new, this is probably the only time I'm ever gonna have to do it.

Matthew: That is the voice of Andrew Hacket, author of Curlilocks and the Three Hares, illustrated by Jan Dolby, Ollie, the Acorn, and the Mighty Idea, illustrated by Kaz Windness, and Hope and the Sea, illustrated by Svetla Radivoeva. Andrew’s brand new book is called In This Classroom (Red Comet Press), and it is illustrated by Arthur Lin. 

Welcome back to the Children’s Book Podcast, where we celebrate the books and creators who help young readers feel seen, supported, and understood. This episode is brought to you in partnership with Boyds Mills, positively impacting kids by amplifying the voices of storytellers who inspire children to become their best selves.

I’m your host, Matthew Winner—teacher, librarian, writer, and a fan of kids.

This episode is releasing just two days prior to our last day of school, and here I am already thinking about next year! Andrew is a teacher, too! And this book feels so much like a love letter to his class. It’s going to find such a home in classrooms everywhere!

Here are a few of the things I learned in this conversation: 

NUMBER ONE: Andrew talks about how you’ll never have exactly that classroom again. Maybe you or your kid, if you’re a parent, or your class, if you’re a teacher or librarian, fits this mold. The way that the class has a certain imprint that will never be repeated in all of your years. It’s just the right magical combination of personalities and experiences. That’s the joy and the mirror Andrew brings to this latest book.

NUMBER TWO: Grace. Andrew talks about grace in the context of finding time to write. We are all so very busy. Writing is there for us. Storytelling and making art and writing books is there for us, so long as we make time for it, but also give ourselves grace when time doesn’t come so easily.

And NUMBER THREE: Following that spark. It’s a writing tip that comes up frequently on this show: find what makes you excited to create and follow it.

So, a little about In This Classroom (Red Comet Press) from the publisher:

“In This Classroom is a heartwarming celebration of the school year, capturing the joy, struggles, and growth of students and teachers as they embark on an unforgettable journey of learning, friendship, and personal achievement.

In Andrew Hacket's classroom manifesto, young readers are invited into a vibrant and supportive classroom where they can explore the beauty of making mistakes, embracing challenges, and celebrating unique differences.

This empowering picture book helps children understand that school is a place of opportunity, where they will learn from setbacks, support each other through difficulties, and ultimately grow in ways they never imagined. With whimsical illustrations and a message of perseverance and community, In This Classroom encourages every student to feel valued, confident, and excited about the endless possibilities a new school year brings.

This book is not just for students--it's for teachers too, as it provides a framework for fostering a positive classroom environment where every child can thrive. Whether read at the beginning or end of the school year, In This Classroom is a heartfelt reminder that the journey of learning is a shared experience, and together, we can achieve greatness.”

Ready to fill our time with moments to remember?

Please welcome Andrew Hacket to the podcast.

Andrew: Hi, my name's Andrew Hacket, and I am a father of three, a second grade teacher, and the author of the picture author of picture books, including my latest, In This Classroom with art by Auth- Arthur Lin and published by Red Comet Press. 

Matthew: Welcome, Andrew. And welcome to having friends connect.

I never mentioned this to you when we met at ALA, but the way this show started out 13 years ago was literally I would interview one person and then I would ask them if this felt like a good fit for you, could you recommend one to three friends that I might interview next? And you're here because of our dear friend Kaz Winans- Yes

and I love that. It feels so good to vouch for people and to have a friend say, "I think you're really gonna this person." And so I'm so glad that Kaz connected us, and I told [00:02:00] you over email I'm really glad I had a chance to read In This Classroom, because I think it's, I think it's fantastic. But more- Thank you

I'm also just glad that we got a connection through Kaz. She's a dear person. 

Andrew: She's absolutely wonderful. Possibly one of my favorite people in kid lit, that I'm so happy that we got connected through our first book together. And we didn't know each other, and since then have just become amazing friends that, we were texting the other day.

So it's just so wonderful to have this new sense of community in the kid lit world that I didn't have previously. So it's been wonderful. 

Matthew: Yeah. No, that's great. Andrew, I'm catching you in the evening. I wonder after this long week of school and this long Friday, what's giving you hope today? 

Andrew: Oh, I love that question.

When I heard that question coming, it brought me back to a few weeks ago. So not specifically today, but it's my students. And being a second grade teacher, I get this wonderful opportunity [00:03:00] to be with 20 seven and eight-year-olds who just say it like it is, but also have really unintentional wonderful lessons to share with the grownups they interact with.

And we were reading Nora's Crescent Moon as part of our learning about Ramadan. I have a very diverse group of learners, and we try to make sure all beliefs are shared and learned about so we can understand one another. And as part of it this really organic natural conversation started happening as elements of Ramadan were brought up that some of my students, they, they didn't know what it was.

They had no experience with the culture- And they just started to talk without my fac- facilitating amongst themselves of, "Oh, is that like this? Does your beliefs have an important book?" And these kids from so many different backgrounds just had this kind of round [00:04:00] table discussion about beliefs that was totally lacking of judgment of there being a right or wrong.

And I just sat there and reflected a little bit on this will be a moment I'll remember from my teaching of the kids are all right. The kids get it. The kids are accepting. And in that moment of just really honest curiosity that they had amongst each other I felt, there's a lot of hope here 

Matthew: I feel that.

That's beautiful. Yeah. I'm glad that they could reveal that to you. I feel like a lot of what we do in teaching is witnessing if we do it right. And children reveal a lot to us. It's a great privilege to witness how they experience the world. Yeah. Andrew, you've got a new book coming [00:05:00] out, as of recording this, coming out.

When's the date of this- Coming 

Andrew: out ... 

Matthew: release? 

Andrew: Yeah. June 9th. 

Matthew: Okay. We're kinda- So we're getting there ... I guess by the time people hear this, but we're recording it ahead of time, but when people hear this, it'll be right there. Could you share a brief book talk of In This Classroom for those that upon hearing this haven't yet heard or read the book- Absolutely

or encountered it? 

Andrew: Oh, I would love to. In This Classroom, it is a heartwarming celebration of the school year. It captures the joys, but also the struggles, the growth of students and teachers as they embark on the journey of a new school year of learning, of friendship, of personal achievement. And for me, it was really this culmination probably isn't the right word, but it was the first time I married my teaching life with my author life.

Matthew: Yeah. 

Andrew: And just everything that I hold true about being a classroom teacher and what community is and what that magic that takes [00:06:00] place in a classroom, because every year it's a different mix of kids and there's a different magic. I was able to bottle that all up and put it into this book.

So it feels... I love all my books, of course, but it feels extra special to be dipping into multiple facets of my life with this one. 

Matthew: Yeah, I can imagine. I it feels like a book that a lot of teachers will want to use at the beginning of the school year because it feels like a book- That

It feels like, I'm realizing as I'm looking over my questions that, oh, funny, I must have thought this question when I was w- ... writing things down, but never wrote it, so I get to gift it to you now. It feels like a manifesto. It feels like a, "This is what we do in this class. This is who we are." I love talking to children who are in conflict or who are [00:07:00] m- just feeling maybe like something is off in our space.

I love talking to the group and saying, this is not who we are in this space." "I see how you're acting and I understand you're feeling something, you're reacting in a way, but that's not who we are in this space." And who we are is all of these things that we talk about, that we strive to be, and in this classroom, to me, feels like a manifesto to remind us what we're striving to be.

Yes. And in that way, and this is the, what I really wanted to make sure I got to say to you before I ever forgot, it feels like a great reminder for when things are off for us to help get back to where they can be on. It feels off. Oh, I'm not showing up the way I'm supposed to, 'cause if we're all doing it right in this classroom, this is the way we show up.

So I'm grateful that your years of teaching those second graders, as well as your your [00:08:00] years of writing for children have come together in this way. This is a great voice you have for readers and for students especially in this. 

Andrew: Yeah. I'm so hopeful and I think I definitely at first with the book think of it as that back to school book.

Let's launch our community building. What are those characteristics that are important to us as a class? But just like you're saying too, I view it as that, oh, w- we need a little fix-up. Let's pull this book off the shelf again and let's remind ourself where are our values and how are we showing up for them and where does that need to be fixed up or repaired?

One of the things I really loved after I knew the book was coming out was, I am a I am my audience for this book. Yeah. 

Matthew: Yeah, 

Andrew: you're right. And I was thinking, like, how would, how do I make this usable or most effective for my own classroom? So I, I had a lot of fun developing teacher [00:09:00] resources to go with it of I have a memory book that kids can go to monthly.

It addresses one of the values, has a place for them to have, like... It's called The Memory of the Month to track what their year was and be able to reflect at the end of the year, to look back at all the growth they've made- as reported by themselves- Yeah ... and to see how has their writing changed, how has their drawings changed, to look at what that memory was from September and be like, "Oh my goodness, I forgot that happened," and have that reflective time, and really celebration at the end of the school year.

Because in most instances, I know there's exceptions but in most cases, each year, each classroom is a unique set of characters, and there's often some mix-up of who those players are from year to year, and you'll never have a classroom that exactly that classroom again. So I wanted to develop something to [00:10:00] help those students each year, and teachers capture those memories to really kids feed off of us, and if we make it a point as the grown-up in there that we value our time together, it's special enough to write down and to talk about these memories. We're helping impart to the kids that this is a good way to be in life. Like- Yeah ... celebrate the little joys and come together for the struggles that we've got this support network built in by being this class.

And really just using and celebrating everyone's strengths. So it's been... This is, I think, my first interview I'm doing about the book. Yeah. So it's really my first time getting to, I don't know. I'm excited about it, but to feel that coming out- 

Matthew: Yeah ... 

Andrew: just through the conversation of books take a long time to make.

Yeah. So to finally have this on the horizon [00:11:00] and think about it getting into classrooms and the amazing work that can come from it through being in the hands of teachers, I'm just so excited to see that happen. 

Matthew: Yeah. It's about to not be yours. I know. One of my favorite interviews with Mo Willems. He was on NPR, and he said something like when people...

They were- He was being asked about when people see different things in his book than maybe he intended or whatever, and he said, "That book is 49% mine, but before it's released in the world, I own all of it. I own... The 49% is everything. But as soon as that book comes out and it's in the hands of a reader, it's 51% theirs.

Therefore, whatever they see is v- is true for them." And, Yeah ... they can and will, and teachers can and will see things in your story that you couldn't see 'cause you were too close to it. Or maybe you couldn't see [00:12:00] 'cause you're not projecting them onto it the way that we naturally would project ourselves onto it.

But as I was prepping to talk to you, Andrew, it occurred to me- To ask you a question that I've never asked anyone before, and so I hope you'll humor me with it, 'cause I don't know, I don't know how you'll take it. Okay. I thought Arthur's art was great in this approach. I think to make a book about the classroom, if we want everyone to feel reflected in it, we have to be really mindful of what that may look like.

It causes me to think about Ari Chang's book Mixed, which I love his picture book Mixed, but to just use simple color blocking becomes a really sophisticated and a sort of deceptively simple way to, to help us project ourselves onto those characters. I would love to know, 'cause I don't know what your art notes were on your manuscript.

I'd love to know when you received art back from [00:13:00] Arthur, what you perhaps discovered in your story through how Arthur picked up that half and created the storytelling alongside your work. 

Andrew: Yeah. First and foremost, Arthur knocked it out of the park. It- 

Matthew: Beautiful, great work.

Andrew: Beautiful ... the illustrations are exactly what they need to be, and at the same time, nothing that I imagined them to be. 

Matthew: Oh, no kidding. 

Andrew: It's, And I do wanna also Arthur's teamwork with our editor Mike at Red Comet Press really brought this all together. When the book was first acquired and I was having conversations with the editor he was the first one to bring up to me "I'm thinking not humans."

Matthew: Oh, 

Andrew: yeah, sure. And I was like, "W- what?" 'Cause the teacher in me, back-to-school books, I'm thinking diverse casts. I'm picturing human characters in a classroom. It's just where my brain went. And he's very I'm thinking [00:14:00] of blobs of color." It's like a little taken aback. And he, through his searching, had come across Arthur's portfolio.

And he had a sample in his portfolio that was somewhat reminiscent of what became the characters In This Classroom. And so the way m- whatever their discourse was that, brought this to fruition, really when I got the book in my hands and I saw it all together my, my feeling was this is exactly what it needs to be.

My language in the book in some places is a little higher level or higher level concepts, and I think this artwork makes the book so approachable for pre-K, K, And at the same time, it makes maybe some of these bigger concepts attainable to them by seeing this really approachable [00:15:00] artwork. So I was so thankful for what they put together and how they imagined this story in a way that I never

I could have made really rough sketches. Not an illustrator here. But I could have sketched out 10 different ways that I saw this book, and I don't think it ever would have been what they did. And what Arthur came up with was perfect. I think what I love about it and it was a bit in your question, the lack of the human form in this really makes each and every character on the page approachable for every student.

Matthew: Every kid can be every character. 

Andrew: Yeah. That there's not the ... There's a page where it depicts a student having trouble on a math problem, and if that was you know, the tall, skinny redhead doing it, you're automatically taking out your audience or making someone who does [00:16:00] relate with that maybe feel a negative feeling because of that connection.

And the way these colorful characters that kind of don't really have a form it just lets every child connect with whichever part resonates with them. And I don't know I could have predicted that. But seeing it, I now am just so grateful that more kids will have the opportunity to connect with the words of the book as a product of Arthur's illustrations.

Matthew: Yeah. I think it's, I think it's great work, and I think it's a wonderful balance of limited text and big, bright illustrations that we can really study- Yes ... while those words are hitting. I love a good- ... a good pause before a page turn, and this is a book that makes you feel like, "Oh, we're just gonna sit on that for a minute."

It's great. 

Andrew: Did you- Absolutely. And that- 

Matthew: Go 

Andrew: ahead ... that was a thing I did not expect. I've pretty [00:17:00] much been in the 32 page camp with my other books. 

Matthew: Oh yeah, okay. 

Andrew: And with Red Comet, they they wanted to give the book and the words room to breathe. And I've read it to my own classroom.

And just in that read-aloud bit of it, having the intentional pause with the page turns it gives time for those words to sink in. So I'm super grateful that was allowed to happen on this book. 

Matthew: Yeah. It, as much as a picture book is a drama being performed, it really helps for us to be- able to sit with it and see us in it. See our class, see one another. It's great. Yeah, it's great. I also have the bias of feeling of feeling what it must feel like to read to a class of kids, and I... it makes me wonder as we're talking about this, what that one kid is gonna see, when that one kid and the parent is reading with them, or the teacher is reading with them, or the other adult is reading with them, or [00:18:00] they're reading to their younger sibling or whatever.

It's a wonderful thing. I wanted to ask you, thinking of your time teaching, I know you told me off recording that you've been teaching around 20 years or getting close to that. Getting there. Yeah, getting close to that. How, let me first ask you, was writing always an interest for you?

Andrew: It was, but ver- Did 

Matthew: you start teaching while you were kinda starting writing? 

Andrew: No, not exactly. Oh, okay. So it's always been in the background. 

Matthew: Cool. Same. 

Andrew: It's always ... I th- I think with going through teaching-related things, there's always been this little trail of creative writing class in high school where it's like, "Hey, write a picture book."

Similar in college education courses, children's lit was- 

Matthew: Yeah ... 

Andrew: study these picture books. Write one. And I always talked about I want to do this, and I put in zero effort to learn about it. And it wasn't until, through my own teaching and teaching students how to write a fiction story definitely got my wheels turning as I was modeling the instruction [00:19:00] for them.

And then really for me, my wife is also a teacher. And when COVID came around we had three children, young and she had just had three maternity leaves and so it was my turn to step up and take time away from work to support our children. And what I learned really quickly was, being in education how many decisions you make in a moment.

Matthew: Oh, yeah. 

Andrew: Being home my brain did not settle. It did not quiet down. I was used to a certain pace. And I thought while I was, playing timekeeper for my children to get on their Zoom calls, like I've always said I want to do this and I always say I don't have time. If ever there's a time to invest in learning something new, this is probably the only time I'm ever gonna have to do it.

So I really dove into social media side of kid lit, making connections, contests to kinda dip my feet into it. 

Matthew: Okay. 

Andrew: And had a little success [00:20:00] there which was enough reinforcement for me to really start pursuing it seriously. So around 2020 is when I started really- pushing my skill set and my learning and with the view of I, I want to be published at some point.

Matthew: How have you kept it going balancing... we're beyond COVID, right? We're back in the classrooms. Yeah. Things are busy. We can... I don't know you've been in... I teach pre-K through five, so my day is always varied.

Andrew: Yeah ... 

Matthew: but I know that all teachers, we're all kind of burning the candle at both ends.

W- have you figured out yet how to... what writing looks like for you? How- 

Andrew: Yeah. It varies day to day. 

Matthew: Sure. 

Andrew: And I would say it's definitely a lot of flexibility and a lot of grace with myself. That's 

Matthew: good ... 

Andrew: especially if I'm talking to aspiring writers or other people who are, have multifaceted things going on in their life.

I say I have three full-time jobs. I'm a parent, a teacher, and an author. And I can never do more [00:21:00] than two of those jobs at a time, and I can never do more than one of those jobs well at a time. 

Matthew: Yeah. 

Andrew: And it's just picking and choosing. From the writing side, when inspiration strikes, I make time for it.

I follow that spark. I will wake up early. I'll stay up late. And then there's times, like this year I've written very little as far as anything new because it's just where my family is.

We've got a lot of after-school activities. It's, working on promotion for the next book. And I just trust the process now more.

That if I have an idea if I know I have a deadline, I can find time and I can make it work. Sometimes this winter it was typing, with gloves on at the hockey rink 'cause my son had practice. And that's... I need to be there, but I'm not coaching. I'm not on the ice. So it's really just those nooks and crannies of life is where I squeeze in my writing.

And when [00:22:00] I'm feeling that impetus or I've got that motivation I make time for it. And, having a super supportive spouse who understands that and can also pick up in areas when I know there's a place that I need to be doing something else or more is what makes it possible. 

Matthew: That's great.

I'm glad that... I'm glad that you're finding your way, and following that spark and allowing yourself the grace, as I hope we all do to know that I can only do one thing well at a time. It's okay for me to have a couple things to do, but only one thing well at a time. I'm grateful, Andrew, that we had the time to chat, and congratulations on more books in the world and the closing of another school year, and just congratulations on The Rhythm, man.

Andrew: Yeah. Thank you so much. I so appreciate the opportunity to get to, to chat again and- 

Matthew: Yeah ... 

Andrew: talk books, especially with someone who I know is also in the school and knows what it's all about. 

Matthew: Steeped in it, for sure. Okay. Speaking of [00:23:00] those students Andrew, I'll see a library full of children, not tomorrow morning, but pretty soon.

Is there a message I can bring to them from you? 

Andrew: Oh, my goodness. I think for me it would be keep finding the magic in books. Find themselves in books, find the adventures, learn about other th- others through books. And then when they've had their fill of that, add their own magic to the world in whatever creative outlet that is for them.

But just knowing that they have that power, that you don't have to wait till a grown-up to bring good into the world, that they're probably best suited for it now and they should use all those wonderful gifts and just, share it with everyone around them.

Matthew: Thank you to Andrew Hacket for joining me on the Children’s Book Podcast. 

You can pick up your own copy of In This Classroom (Red Comet Press) wherever books are found. Consider supporting independent bookstores by shopping through Bookshop.org.

Our podcast logo was created by Duke Stebbins (https://stebs.design/). 

Our music is by Podington Bear. 

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You can support the show and buy me a coffee at matthewcwinner.com or by clicking the link in the show notes.

And on that note…

Be well. And read on.