Cape Verde Gets Its Day In the Sun: A Q&A with Janet Costa Bates
When do librarians and teachers tend to lose their most passionate readers? There’s actually no single moment when it happens. Usually, the more likely outcome is that occurs slowly, as kids find it increasingly difficult to locate the kinds of books they love. Two distinct drop off points come immediately to mind. One happens in the middle school years, when you have that odd transition from juv to YA. But even before that, there comes the point between easy books and full length novels/upper nonfiction. Early chapter titles are exceedingly difficult to write, so any time you find one worth discovering you must clasp it tight. Even better if it’s a series too.
The Rica Baptista series by Janet Costa Bates ticks off a number of my favorite boxes. First, it’s an early chapter book series, so right there I’m interested. Next, it’s funny (always a plus). Third, it stars a kid with Cape (Cabo) Verde ancestry (please name me any other children’s book out there that can boast so much).
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This year we’ve seen the second book in the Rica Baptista series coming out (A Week of Shenanigans), which can be described by its publisher in this way:
“Rica Baptista is living the good life. Grampy, the best Grampy of all Grampies, is coming to visit, and Adventure Week, the best week of all weeks, is finally here. Rica doesn’t yet know if they will bounce on trampolines, go horseback riding, or even tour Fenway Park and watch the Red Sox play, but she knows they will have the best time ever. When Grampy hobbles into the house on crutches, however, Rica worries that this year’s Adventure Week will be adventure-less. So she pulls out all the stops with the help of her best friend, Laini (who surely has eaten enough cachupa to be at least part Cape Verdean like Rica), from organizing a family talent show to secretly planning a whole day of playing cards and eating candy. Will it be enough to keep this year’s Adventure Week from being a total flop? A sweet story of making memories during an unexpected stay-venture, sprinkled with funny and cute family moments.
Rica can’t wait for Adventure Week with her grandfather! But when Grampy arrives with a sprained ankle, can they make their own fun at home instead?”
No time like the present to ask author Janet Costa Bates more about the books, wouldn’t you say?
Betsy Bird: Janet! Thank you so much for joining me! You’ve been writing books for kids since 2010, at least. In the past you’ve worked on picture books, so RICA BAPTISTA marks a shift towards early chapter books (which we all DESPERATELY need). Tell us a bit about where RICA came from and why you decided to make the change into early chapter books.

Janet Costa Bates: Hi Betsy, I’m thrilled to be here! Thank you!
RICA BAPTISTA started out as a picture book manuscript entitled LIKE A KITE. The title was a nod to Benjamin Franklin since he played a big role in that early version.
It was clear early on that a picture book format was not the best for this piece, so I kept writing and changed it into a middle grade. Wrong move. The rejections from editors rolled in fast. The good news is that those rejections were amazing. Seriously. There was a ton of praise including one Big Five editor who commented ‘best middle grade voice ever.’ Editors loved the voice and loved the characters, but the bad news is that they said the plot was terrible. Okay, so they were all too kind to use the word ‘terrible,’ but I knew what they meant. And they were right. I had struggled with the plot, but came up short.
Finally, during a critique at a Whispering Pines Writers Retreat, Christian Trimmer, then an editor with Simon and Schuster, said that while the plot wasn’t working for a middle grade novel, the story had great voice, great characters, and a great set up for a chapter book series. Christian Trimmer, if you should happen to read this, THANK YOU!
The title LIKE A KITE was ditched since Ben Franklin and his kite were kinda kicked to the curb in the transition and play no role in any of the books so far. Sorry, Ben.
BB: I’m sure he got over it. The second RICA book is called “A WEEK OF SHENANIGANS”. The word “shenanigan” is one of my all-time favorites. Can you talk a bit about inserting humor, wacky wordplay, and other fun elements into a book for kids? How do you balance out what you find funny with what kids find funny?

Janet: Rica’s dad is second to none in using idioms so I’ve had fun inserting some into the stories whenever the opportunity knocks. Other than that, I write what comes to me and pray kids find it funny. I’m learning through my school visits that kids actually do find the RICA series funny. Even boys. It was a concern of mine that boys might steer clear of a book in which the main character and the best friend were both girls. That fear was put to rest when, during a school visit, a fourth grade boy came up to me and, in a rather gravelly voice, matter-of-factly announced ‘I like your book.’ Then he just walked away. ‘Nuff said. My day was made.
BB: Woot! Now your characters are often Cape Verdean, and that’s something I’ve literally never encountered in another book for kids before. I know that you had a Cape Verdean born grandmother. In many ways, you’re the only one talking about it with kids in America these days in books. That has to be both freeing and lonely. How has the experience been for you so far?
Janet: As far as I know, my picture book SEASIDE DREAM (published by Lee and Low, illustrated by Lambert Davis) was the first Cape Verdean themed children’s book published in the U.S. The story was inspired by my grandparents as all four of them came from the Cape Verde Islands. It was particularly inspired by my father’s mother who greatly missed, but never went back to Cape Verde. Growing up, I spent lots of time with her and listened to many stories about ‘the old country.’ She meant the world to me.
While my second picture book, TIME FOR BED, OLD HOUSE (published by Candlewick, illustrated by AG Ford), has no specific ties to Cape Verde, I returned to a Cape Verdean focus with the RICA series. About the time that LLAMAS, IGUANAS, AND MY VERY BEST FRIEND, the first book in the RICA series, came out, I happened across two other Cape Verdean children’s book writers. Denise Adusei is the author of CESARIA FEELS THE BEAT (published by Macmillan’s Roaring Brook Press, illustrated by Priscilla Soares), a story about CV singer Cesaria, due out in June 2024. Stefanie Foster Brown’s MY HEART SPEAKS KRIOLU (published by Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers, illustrated by Keisha Morris) comes out in 2025. I was fortunate to have read a wonderful early draft of it. I was over the moon to find both of these authors and am so excited for their books!
Since connecting with Stefanie and Denise, I’ve come across two recently released books which focus on teaching Cape Verdean Kriolu to kids. It’s exciting to have all these CV themed children’s books coming into the world. Like many immigration stories, the CV story is one of survival, resilience, and love. I’m proud to have found a way to help share that story and happy that there are others joining me on the journey.

BB: Gladys Jose is the illustrator of the RICA series. Were you familiar with her work prior to these books? What do you think of the final product?
Janet: The folks at Candlewick Press initially shared samples from three wonderful illustrators, but their work was different from what I had envisioned for the series. Since I’m pretty sure the very talented Candlewick team knows much more about making great books than I do, I said I would defer to them. But instead of picking one of the three, they came back with samples from Gladys. My response was a quick and easy yes. She captured the heart and soul of Rica and I think the books look fantastic.
BB: Aww. Finally, what do you have coming out next? What else is on your plate?
Janet: THE BOX OF POSSIBILITIES is the next book in the RICA BAPTISTA series. When a box from the unconventional Uncle Moose arrives, Rica can’t believe that everyone seems to be ignoring it.
It was a mysterious…sealed-up…box. It could contain anything. A magic wand. Radioactive material. Love letters from an alien world. You see? Anything!
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Rica and her best friend Laini finally decide that the box contains superpower-filled lava from a Cape Verdean volcano eruption. They won’t know for sure until Uncle Moose arrives at the end of the week, but since they’re pretty sure that the superpowers are leaking out of the box, they do their best to absorb them and then spend the week trying out their fledgling powers. They even try to use their superpowers to figure out what’s wrong with Rica’s bossy, know-it-all cousin Serenity who, for some reason, has turned into Quiet Serenity.
To keep myself busy while I’m waiting for the BOX OF POSSIBILITIES to come out, I’m working on a few picture book manuscripts. Two of the manuscripts feature grandparents since I can’t seem to stop writing about them. I’m also working on a Cape Verdean themed middle grade manuscript. Maybe it will be a novel. Maybe it will be a short story collection. Can’t say that I know yet.
I’m also working on a few other pieces that will likely never see the light of day. And, trust me, they shouldn’t. But that’s okay because all writing is good writing, even when it’s bad writing. The simple act of writing, even when it’s less than stellar, helps you to hone your craft and leads to better writing.
Many thank to Janet Costa Bates for talking with me today. You can already purchase the Rica Baptista books Llamas, Iguanas, and My Very Best Friend as well as A Week of Shenanigans in stores everywhere. Look for them!
Filed under: Interviews

About Betsy Bird
Betsy Bird is currently the Collection Development Manager of the Evanston Public Library system and a former Materials Specialist for New York Public Library. She has served on Newbery, written for Horn Book, and has done other lovely little things that she'd love to tell you about but that she's sure you'd find more interesting to hear of in person. Her opinions are her own and do not reflect those of EPL, SLJ, or any of the other acronyms you might be able to name. Follow her on Twitter: @fuseeight.
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