Justice for Little Sibs! A Conversation with Casey Lyall and Sara Faber About The League of Littles

Do you remember when it was hard to get your hands on new graphic novels for kids? I sure as heck do. In that dark ages before the rise of Telgemeier I ran a little book group for kids in New York City. One of my readers was a voracious graphic novel fiend. She was only in 2nd or 3rd grade but she devoured them. Each week she’d come up to me in the library, eyes wide with hope, and ask if any new graphic novels had come in. And almost every week I had to disappoint her.

Would that she had been a child today. Now we’ve a plethora of the things. So many that it can be hard for new ones to stand out. Today, we focus our attentions on one such book. The League of Littles (out June 17th) is by veteran children’s book author Casey Lyall, and illustrated by Sara Faber. For Sara, this is her first book! The description of it reads:

“The League of Littles is an international organization that protects and supports the needs of youngest siblings—and trainees Lexi, Mo, and Eli are finally ready for their first mission. Another student at their elementary school has lost her big sister’s hamster, Chester, after she borrowed him for show and tell without permission. Gabi needs the L.O.L.’s help to find Chester before the Band of Bigs (protecting and supporting the needs of—you guessed it—oldest siblings) find out that Chester is missing.

This hilarious young middle grade graphic novel combines humor, action, friendship, school, pets—and of course, sibling relationships. It is perfect for newly independent readers and fans of Babymouse, Lunch Lady, and the Bad Guys.”

Today, we get to talk to both Casey and Sara about the book, its origins, and their own paths to publication:

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Betsy Bird: Casey! Thanks so much for joining me here today. And congrats on the publication of The League of Littles! Okay, we’re going to need a rundown on the plot. Tell us what we can expect from this graphic novel.

Casey Lyall: Hi, Betsy! Thanks for having us! We’re so excited to share this book with everyone. The League of Littles is about an organization that helps youngest siblings when they run into problems with their older siblings. In the book, Lexi, Mo, and Eli are members of a brand new team and they’re super excited to receive their first ever mission: to help a youngest sibling track down a missing pet hamster named Chester (that she might have borrowed from her older sister without permission.) They’re determined to be successful, but quite a few roadblocks pop up along the way. Readers can expect a lot of laughs and shenanigans from start to finish.

BB: Perfect. And Sara! Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my questions today too. In your case, how did you first learn about Casey’s book? What did you think when you first saw the manuscript?

Sara: Thank you so much for having us! I learned about Casey’s book because Chad, my agent, showed me the project – I got to read the manuscript and loved the kids and the humor of the story right from the start! While reading, I could already picture some of the character’s facial expressions and scenes in my head and that made me laugh. I did some character tests and got accepted to get on board!

BB: Casey, I think I can’t keep avoiding the obvious next question: Are you a littlest sibling yourself? And (though this may be repeating myself) how’d you get the idea for this book?

Casey: I’m actually a middle kid! The Switzerland of sibling dynamics. The idea for this book came to me during one of the later lockdown periods of the pandemic. I wanted to challenge myself with working in a new format so I started researching how to write a graphic novel. I also wanted to let loose and play around with something fun and silly. I was hit with the idea of siblings battling out their issues Spy vs Spy style and before I knew it, my brain was running around with agents from the League of Littles, the Band of Bigs, and the Middles and Onlys Guild and I was calling up my sisters to pick their brains on all of the things we’d done to annoy each other growing up.

BB: Huh! Well, Sara, how about you? Surely you’re a little sibling yourself?

Sara: I am the oldest of two. My little sister and I are 10 years apart, and she is a true gem! I’m so lucky to have her in my life.

BB: Wow! Okay, well in that case, I think that in the interest of complete transparency I am obligated to tell you that I’m an eldest sister. Even so, I can see the need for a League of Littles out there. The spy elements are particularly keen in the book. Casey, were they there from the beginning of your concept? And what changed about the book as it went through the editing process?

Casey: You’ll be happy to know that there’s a group for you too – the Band of Bigs! The spy elements were definitely there from the beginning. I liked the contrast of kids being in charge of these very official organizations and taking their duties seriously. I always tend to write shorter drafts so I think the biggest change was expanding the world more as the editing process went on. There was an uptick on the antics front, for sure.

BB: Well, and each character in this book has such a distinctive look. Sara, did you work with Casey at all on establishing how the characters presented or did you come up with their style entirely on your own?

Sara: Thank you so much! Casey had a great vision for each of the characters’ looks, their backgrounds, as well as their personalities. My job was to translate her descriptions visually, and Casey, our editor Martha Mihalick, and art director Sylvie  Le Floc’h gave me a lot of creative freedom to add my own spin to it. So I’d say it was a team effort!

BB: What are some of your illustration inspirations? And who did you enjoy replicating when you were young?

Sara: I grew up with anime, Disney, and 90’s cartoons, and my mom got me into comics because she loved reading those. So that has had a huge influence on my art today. I always wanted to be able to draw the characters I loved so much – and I probably tried drawing them all – but I remember I often drew Jasmine from Aladdin, Donald Duck, Ash from Pokémon, and the Powerpuff Girls. Also, who remembers Disney’s Recess? My mom always says that all of my homework and school notes were full of little drawings on the margins, but honestly I can’t remember. While my childhood got me into art and shaped my art style, I’ve since discovered so many incredible artists online, and their work continues to inspire me every day.  

BB: Speaking of which, Casey let’s talk a bit about Sara Faber’s art. Were you familiar with Sara before working together on this book? Was there any give-and-take during the process or was it hands off until the art was finalized? And what do you think of the final product?

Casey: I wasn’t familiar with Sara’s art before she was brought up as a potential illustrator, but as soon as I saw her samples, I totally loved her style. I was so happy when she signed on because she completely got the characters, the humour, and just the whole vibe of the story, right from the start. I think the whole process was definitely a team effort. There was lots of collaboration between the two of us and the team at Greenwillow. And oh, my goodness, I LOVE the final product. Sara brought this whole world to life in such a fun way and it was such a treat to watch it all come together.

BB: And Sara, as far as I can tell, this is your debut graphic novel for kids. What was it like for you? Was there anything about the process that surprised you?

Sara: Yes, it is! I’m beyond grateful that Casey and the team at Greenwillow Books trusted me with a big project like this, even though it was my first graphic novel. I completely fell in love with the process and, for the first time in seven years of being a full-time artist, I felt like my art finally found a place where it belongs. Working on my first graphic novel felt really good – it was such a different experience from how I usually worked. I used to focus on shorter, fast-paced projects, jumping from one to the next when I was running an active Patreon. So now, staying with one story and watching it grow over many months, getting to know the characters on a deeper level and bringing their world to life was amazing. There were many things that surprised me. Most of all, how incredibly labor intensive comics are! I learned a lot about storytelling, and ever since working on this graphic novel, can’t watch shows like a normal person anymore – I analyze every scene of every show I watch – their choice of pacing, camera angles, expressions, compositions, everything:)

BB: That’s awesome. Okay, finally, what else do you two have coming out next?

Casey: I have a picture book coming out in July called Vampire Jam Sandwich! It’s illustrated by the amazing Nici Gregory and it’s another project that I’m super excited to share with everyone. It’s spooky, silly fun!

Sara: I am currently working on the second graphic novel of the series, which I started pretty much right after finishing the first book. I am also writing my own graphic novel, which is super exciting!

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Casey Lyall lives in Southwestern Ontario where she also works at her local library (and waits for Management to discover they’re actually paying her to have fun.) When she’s not writing, Casey loves to bake, doodle, and learn extremely groan-worthy jokes to tell her friends. Casey is the author of humorous books for kids such as GNOME IS WHERE YOUR HEART IS and A SPOONFUL OF FROGS (illustrated by Vera Brosgol.) Her upcoming titles include THE LEAGUE OF LITTLES (Greenwillow Books, 2025 – illustrated by Sara Faber) and VAMPIRE JAM SANDWICH (Tundra Books, 2025 – illustrated by Nici Gregory.)

Sara Faber is a Berlin-based comic artist and illustrator. Her work is inspired by the simple moments of everyday life, expressive characters and captivating stories (and magic too!). Her favorite themes are slice of life, coming of age, friendship, romance and fantasy. She is currently working on her second graphic novel “The Band of Bigs”, written by Casey Lyall and published by Greenwillow Books. When she is not working, she loves drawing in her sketchbook, working on personal comics, reading and going to coffee shops.

Thanks to both Casey and Sara for taking the time to answer my questions today! The League of Littles is out June 17th so be sure to look for it then!

Filed under: Interviews