Hip Hip Hooray! It’s time to welcome another beautiful book to the world!
Does this book cover look a bit familiar? Maybe you remember the cover reveal back in September of 2022. And now it’s time for SOMETHING WILD to kick up a ruckus in bookstores! Why not hop over to your local indie and see if it’s there?
Here’s a little bit about the book from the Amazon sales page:
Performance jitters lead to some imaginative what ifs before a little girl finds her confidence.
Hannah loves to play her violin—as long as no one is watching. On the day of the recital, she’s wishing something wild would happen so she won’t have to go. Perhaps a dolphin will jump out of the fountain and carry her away, or a giant rabbit will abscond with her violin. Hannah’s big imagination dreams up all kinds of entertaining scenarios that could change the course of her day, but what actually happens is the most amazing of all!
Children and grown-ups alike will relate to Hannah’s stage fright and get a laugh out of all her wishful thinking. Most importantly, they will be right there beside her on recital day when something wild—and beautiful—happens.
I know we can all relate to performance jitters…it happens every time I have a presentation – but as soon as I start sharing about my passion for writing, I feel much better. I’m sure that many children will relate to this as well.
And guess what? Molly stopped by to chat a bit about her path to publication for this book. It’s really helpful to all of us who are on this writing journey to hear the behind the scenes stories and the inspiration for a manuscript.
MOLLY: A fun note about creating Something Wild: Something Wild’s beginnings are from a sequence of illustrations I created in a class taught by Marla Frazee, back when I was pre-published. When our class was given the task to illustrate a sequence, I was inspired to illustrate something I had recently been experiencing. I painted a short narrative of a girl who was afraid to perform in a recital, but when she took the stage and remembered how much she loved to play, the world around her transformed into something wild and beautiful. When I completed the assignment, I was excited by the idea that it was the start of a book! It took me several years to figure out that it was the end of a book!
Interior spreads from Something Wild, written and illustrated by Molly Ruttan. Nancy Paulsen Books, Penguin Random House ©2023.
And here’s a little bit about Molly:
Molly Ruttan is an author/illustrator of children’s books. She grew up making art and music in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York and earned a BFA from the Cooper Union School of Art. Molly now lives in the diverse and historic neighborhood of Echo Park in Los Angeles, where her family has recently grown with the joyful addition of a granddaughter. She played violin as a child, and now plays drums, sings in a community choir and has just started the viola. She loves exploring all kinds of fine art and illustration mediums, including making her own animated book trailers. Her life is full of art, music, family, friends and all kinds of pets and urban animals.
Molly’s titles include her author/illustrator debut, The Stray, (Nancy Paulsen Books); I Am A Thief! by Abigail Rayner, (North South Books); and Violet and the Crumbs: A Gluten-Free Adventure by Abigail Rayner (North South Books). Something Wild is Molly’s second author/illustrated book and has received a starred Kirkus review. She has two additional books forthcoming.
Molly is represented by Rachel Orr at Prospect Agency, www.prospectagency.com. Find her online at www.mollyruttan.com; https://linktr.ee/mollyruttan
If you would like a signed copy of the book, order from Molly’s local bookstore:
https://www.shoponceuponatime.com/event/something-wild
Remember, Molly is generously offering a copy of SOMETHING WILD as a giveaway – one lucky person will win the book and a bunch of book swag! Please make sure you leave a comment. Maybe you can share if you were ever nervous about a recital or performance as a child or as an adult. And please share the post on social media…that helps spread the word about books that are launching!
I hope you all have a wonderful week. Tomorrow we have another Book Birthday…for BUTTERNUT AND BUTTERCUP by Jill Dana – and then on Friday, #50PreciousWords opens!
VIVIAN KIRKFIELD - Writer for Children 
This book looks lovely and it is something children can relate to.
I have published one children’s book ‘Jonathan and the Dragon’ (Julie Y Check).
I have 4 more written and edited. Have artists for 2 of them but cannot find one for one of them.
It is so classical that it needs true looking people. No big heads etc but like a Vermeer painting and I have just written 2 more stories to go with it.
It is really hard to find classical artists.
Do you have anyone that could paint like that?
Julie Didlick.
(have 9 children, 30 g’ kids and 4 g’ g’ kids – so far)
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Such a great idea and lovely cover illustrations! I used to get nervous for school plays.
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Oh man do I relate to this book! As a child I desperately wanted to be an actress, but I would shake every time I stepped on stage! Kids need this book so much. Thank you for writing it and congrats!!
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Congratulations, Molly! Such a beautiful–and relatable!–story. I wasn’t nervous for my first piano recital until I made my first mistake … and couldn’t remember what keys to play next. I stumbled through and made it to the end, but my education in accepting imperfection was just beginning. 🙂
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Looks like a wonderful book! I played violin as a child (and adult) and can definitely relate to those jitters.
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I feel nervous every time I speak in front of my staff. I overcome the jitters every time. The journey evolves, but it never ends. Thanks for this story and the interview!
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Wow, this book looks FANTASTIC. Our whole household would love and relate to this. Here’s my cool performance-anxiety story: when I was in middle school, I got to be great friends with a girl who secretly wrote music. She let me listen to cassettes she’d made of her singing and playing piano. Her sounds were AMAZING. I kept encouraging her to share them, and finally, finally, she got brave enough to perform one in a talent show at our summer camp. It was her first public performance. I helped her through that anxiety and NOW she’s a multi-album, Grammy-nominated singer. So I always think of her whenever I–or someone I love–has performance anxiety.
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Love this book idea! I have seen this play out with my kids with music and sports. Thanks for giving the world this book.
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Congratulations, Molly! Such a relatable story, I’m sure kids and adults will enjoy reading it. I know I can’t wait!
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I got nervous all the time as a child (I still do as an adult) so I totally relate to this. Happy book birthday!
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What a beautiful book! Continue to be wild…
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What a lovely book! I too played the violin as a young girl and so relate to performing in front of other people. To this day I love listening to violin and fiddle music and will most definitely get a copy of this book.
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wow! You are multi-talented, Molly. I can’t wait to read the ending of this book!
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I still get performance anxiety for every solo I have while playing with my concert band currently. I’m excited to read this book as see the imaginative ways this character thinks about not having to perform at all. Despite my anxiety, not performing turns out to be the worst scenario–I had practiced hours and hours for my solos and duets for a March 2020 concert and then the world shuttered.
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I love the movement you create in your illustrations! Beautiful! I look forward to reading your book to my kids- stage fright is so relatable!
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Love the illustrations and story -so relatable and inspiring! Congrats!
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I love the concept of this book–so relatable! This book looks fantastic. Congrats, Molly!!
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My husband is a performing musician and I get nervous FOR him when he plays gigs! I loved playing in school band as a kid, but used to get very nervous at piano recitals. What a great idea for a unique PB. Thank you for posting and congrats on the book release!
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I can definitely relate to this book!! This book looks amazing and so imaginative, I can’t wait to read it!! Congrats, Molly!!
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Congratulations! Love to see books about children learning music and performing. Brings back memories. Thanks.
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