It’s-a Me! Luigi! Q&A with Michelle Knudsen & Kevin Hawkes About Luigi, the Spider Who Wanted to Be a Kitten

You know, if 2023 taught me anything, it’s that not enough people are sufficiently fond of spiders (read into that statement what you will). It would be nice if there some sort of Intro to Adorable Spiders picture books out there to pick up the slack but, as today’s double quick time interview proves, the gap in the market exists. Fortunately, my friends, fortunately we have two people out there willing and able to take the hit and give us the kind spider storytelling we all deserve. The fact that it comes from the same duo that brought us Library Lion? That’s just the icing on the cake.

Luigi, the Spider Who Wanted to Be a Kitten (out this week!), by Michelle Knudsen and illustrated by Kevin Hawkes, is the story of one little spider and the part he was born to play, baby. Here’s the official description for the curious amongst you:

“On a street of old houses, a big hairy spider is searching for a home with dark corners to hide in. But when he wakes up, he finds a hand reaching for him and a lady proclaiming that she has always wanted a kitten—and will name him Luigi! At first, a somewhat puzzled Luigi, used to being left alone to creep and dangle and spin webs, resists her kind advances. But soon, tasty breakfasts and getting tucked into bed (no one’s ever wished him good night before) have him thinking that kittens surely live magical lives. I will be a kitten! he decides. But how long can he keep up his facade, and what might be at stake in pretending to be someone you’re not? The award-winning duo behind Library Lion delivers another classic in the making, marked by humor and depth, endearing characters, and the assurance that the right people will accept and adore us, unconditionally, just as we are.”

Enough of my chit chat! Let’s chit chat with the creators in question:

Betsy Bird: Michelle! Thank you so much for answering my questions today! First and foremost, spiders are having an absolute picture book heyday recently (as seen with Jessica Lanan’s JUMPER) but aside from Tony DiTerlizzi’s SPIDER AND THE FLY they’re rarely the heroes. Where did Luigi come from for you?

Michelle Knudsen: Several years ago I was staying alone at a friend’s house in upstate New York, and there was a very large spider who it turned out was also staying at my friend’s house. I have been terrified of spiders my whole life (I did exposure therapy in my 20s, which helped a lot, but they still make me VERY UNCOMFORTABLE) and so this was a bit of a problem for me. Small spiders I can trap in a cup and put outside, but this guy was huge and there was no way I could make myself approach him with any kind of container. And I don’t kill spiders—I know they’re good and helpful creatures and it’s not their fault they scare me. So I named him Luigi to make him seem more friendly and talked to him a lot about staying on the other side of the room or maybe just inside the walls where I never had to see him.

Maybe it was residual guilt at not being a more gracious involuntary roommate to the spider, but I kept thinking about him, and eventually I had this idea about a lady who adopts a giant spider as a pet, thinking it’s a kitten. In the first draft the story was told from the point of view of the lady, who was a different lady than the one in the final book, and the spider never really developed as a character. And while I liked the silliness of that early version, it was missing something in terms of heart. It wasn’t until I tried telling the story from the spider’s point of view—when Luigi’s own hopes and fears began to take shape—that the emotional component started to feel right to me.

BB: Awww. And Kevin, thanks for coming as well. So how did you first hear about LUIGI?

Kevin Hawkes: Michelle and I were doing a joint interview with a library organization in the UK when Michelle mentioned she had another story she was working on.  I think she may even have said it featured a spider.  At any rate, I asked if the project had an illustrator yet.  She responded it did not.  A few weeks later, a manuscript arrived from Candlewick Press and that is when I first met Luigi.  

BB: Batta bing, batta boom. Michelle, let me ask you a little bit about your process. You’ve worked with Kevin before (LIBRARY LION and all that) so when you got the idea for this particular book how closely did you work with him right from the start? Did you come up with the idea entirely or did you bounce any ideas off of him or did you work collaboratively? Basically, what does the working relationship of you two resemble?

MK: As with many author-illustrator parings, Kevin and I didn’t actually work together in real time on this book. Sometime after Candlewick had acquired LUIGI, Kevin and I did a Zoom interview together about Library Lion. At some point I mentioned the new picture book I was working on, about a giant spider mistaken for a kitten, and Kevin asked, kind of joking, “Hey, do you have an illustrator for that yet?” I was immediately super excited that he might want to work on it but wasn’t sure whether he had been serious or just kidding around. I told my editor, though, right away, and she was also super excited about the idea. And then I guess she spoke with Ann Stott, our fabulous art director, and some behind-the-scenes things happened, and then they sent me the wonderful news that Kevin had agreed to illustrate the book. I of course love Kevin’s work so much, and so I couldn’t wait to see what he would come up with. But my involvement with the artwork is very minimal. I did get to see sketches down the line, and here and there I had a tiny comment or question, but even then I didn’t ever talk to Kevin directly about the artwork. It’s my job to stay out of the way at that point and let the illustrator work his magic.

BB: Well, that also brings up a question I had about the art itself. So, Kevin, I know a few librarians who literally cannot look at a book with a spider on its cover without wanting to scream and run away. You had the job of doing what some might consider impossible: creating an adorable spider hero. What was your process for making Luigi? How did your early sketches of him evolve? And what, would you say, is the key component of making an illustrated character cute (I figure the eyeball-to-body ratio probably has something to do with it)?

KH: I started making sketches of Luigi on large sheets of newsprint using soft pastels.  I wanted these early sketches to be loose and free.  I created dozens of characters and began sending them to Ann Stott, the art director at Candlewick, who forwarded them to Michelle.  They gave me lots of great feedback.  We needed to find something between scary and cartoony. The early sketches were way too realistic and scary.  All had long spidery legs which gave me the creeps!  We all knew that the character had to be just right and so we kept making adjustments and changes to the character well into the process which is unusual for me.  Slowly Luigi developed a larger head and much smaller body.  The eyes got bigger too but he was still creeping me out until I drastically shortened the legs and made them soft and furry.   Viola!  Luigi was born!   

When I teach kids how to draw, I have four rules for making something cute:

1). Fur helps.  Soft and fuzzy is always cute.

2).  A small face on a large head makes something look younger which is cute.  

3)   Give it a small body, really small.

4). Make it do something unexpected.   A baby dinosaur riding a skateboard is cute.  

BB: Well, I look forward to your future skateboarding dino endeavors. Michelle, when you were initially writing the book, how much did the text change from your earliest draft to the final product? What were some of the notes you received along the way?

MK: As I mentioned earlier, the biggest change was the switch in point of view, which really transformed the whole tone and feel of the story. My editor, Sarah Ketchersid, is very smart and wise (among many other excellent qualities), and it was her suggestion to try writing it from the spider’s perspective. Also, in the first few versions, the lady had lost her glasses, which was why she didn’t realize her kitten was actually a spider, and Luigi spent a lot of time trying to prevent her from getting new ones. Sarah helped me see (ha, no pun intended) that the glasses bit was getting in the way and encouraged me to let it go. She also suggested lots of little places to cut, which is always a struggle for me. As you have probably noticed, my picture books are often a bit long compared to some, and the early drafts are even longer!

I also got feedback and encouragement along the way from my writing retreat group (a bunch of lovely Vermont College of Fine Arts MFA friends), who helped me to keep believing in the story over the years (yes years!) it took me to get from that first draft to the final version. I wrote the first draft in January 2017, got the offer from Candlewick in early 2020, and continued to revise it until late 2022.

BB: Ah yes. The instantaneous art of picture book creation. Kevin, my favorite clever little detail in the art is how Luigi uses is two front legs to look like pointed kitten ears. Was that an idea you had right from the get-go or did you come by it in time?

KH: I had the idea of using the legs as ears the first time I read the manuscript.  The tricky part was finding something for all the legs to do.  Eight legs on a spider/. Two ears, four kitten legs, one tail equals seven.  What to do with the final leg?  In my early sketches, I had one leg draped over his head making a stripe on his forehead like some kittens have.  However, this was too confusing so in the end, for the sake of clarity, we left that out and you will notice that Luigi the kitten has a subtle, fifth leg tucked close to one of the other four kitten legs.  Something for kids to look for!  

BB: The answer to this question could easily be no and, if so, don’t worry about it. Are there any Easter Eggs in LUIGI for lovers of LIBRARY LION?

MK: Not intentionally, although apparently Kevin’s and my shared creative space is picture books about older women with unusual animal friends. I feel like we should do a third one to round out the set.

BB: Kevin, was there anything initially that you wanted to do with the book that eventually didn’t make it into the final product?

MK: At first I included several house flies in the sketches.  Luigi eyeing them hungrily as they crawled around walls and furniture.  It became clear that the focus needed to be on Luigi and Betty and flies are always a distraction – so we left them out.  

BB: Now here’s one for the both of you. Have you ever had a pet kitten? For that matter, have you ever had a pet spider?

MK: I have indeed had several pet kittens in my life. At present we have four-year-old fluffballs (whom we adopted as kittens) named Dr. Felix Starfighter (aka Felix, aka Buddy) and Princess Winifred Feisty-Face/DJ Freddie (aka Freddie, aka Tiny). They are very good snugglers and writing buddies.

I have not had nor would I ever have a pet spider. Unless he were literally Luigi. I am getting a pet snake for my birthday, though!

KH: I’ve never willingly owned a spider although a few have taken up residence in my house.  I have always had a fascination with spider and loved watching them eat flies and other insects in the garden.

I did have two kittens as a child:  Muff and Puff, whom I loved dearly.  

BB: Finally, what are you both working on next?

MK: Right now I’m revising my next middle grade fantasy novel, which involves two girls who travel between worlds and get caught up in a magical war. It also has tree-magic and shapeshifters and a kitten named Scallion. That one should be out from Candlewick sometime in 2025!

KH: To be completely honest with you, I am currently looking for my next project. I suppose in that way, I am a bit like a spider, happily waiting to see what will come along.  

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But wait! There’s more! Here’s a video of Michelle and Kevin talking about the book:

Michelle Knudsen and Kevin Hawkes discuss LUIGI, THE SPIDER WHO WANTED TO BE A KITTEN from Candlewick Press on Vimeo.

Many thanks to both Michelle and Kevin for taking the time to answer all my questions today. And thank you too to Laura Rivas and the team at Candlewick Press for helping to put all this together. Luigi has already hit bookstore and library shelves everywhere, so go on out and grab yourself a copy stat!

Filed under: Interviews