Happy Perfect Picture Book Friday, dear friends. Today’s featured book launched earlier this week….and I am thrilled to help author Julie Hauswirth celebrate. Julie and I are old friends…back in 2023, she was a winner of Sylvia Chen’s Book Boast Challenge…and I was the prize…a 30-minute Ask-Me-Anything Zoom Chat. I was impressed with Julie’s passion for writing and I know our conversation lasted way more than 30 minutes. And she has also participated in #50PreciousWords and was in the prize winner’s circle in 2024. When I heard her debut book was launching, I asked her if she’d share the story behind the story…so please make sure you scroll through the entire post because her words will inspire you!
IF MY SISTER WERE A WORM
Written by Julie Hauswirth
Illustrated by Jessica Goecke
Published by Holiday House (October 20, 2026)
Ages: 4-8
Themes: Sibling rivalry, imagination, humor
ME: And here is Julie to tell us about the book and her path to publication. Welcome, dear Julie! I’m so happy you stopped by Picture Books Help Kids Soar.
JULIE: Thank you so much for inviting me, Vivian! It’s a joy to be here.
About the book:
If My Sister Were a Worm is based on a true story…
…Just kidding!
But sort of. It’s a story about Maggie, a younger sibling who grows tired of always feeling overshadowed by her big sister. What do you do when your sister steals your thunder? You turn her into a worm, of course. Worms don’t pop your birthday balloons. They don’t “help” you open your presents or prematurely blow out your candles. They don’t steal your favorite seat on the school bus!
On the other hand, worms can’t play with you before bath time. They can’t be your sidekick at family weddings, and they definitely can’t make s’mores with you at summer camp. Plus, they’re REALLY easy to lose.
If Maggie isn’t able to turn her sister back into a human, she’s in for a lifetime of parental blame and worm-hunting. There may be only one thing left to do… Are two worms better than one?
What inspired you to write this story:
The idea for this story came to me during Susanna Hill’s May Mini Mix n’ Match Challenge in 2023. One week, the challenge was to select a subject from column A (You, my sister, my grandpa, etc.) and pair it with a “condition” from column b (elastic, worm, movie star, etc.). Participants would then write a 100-word cause and effect story similar to If You Give a Mouse a Cookie or When Your Lion Needs a Bath. I chose sister and worm, and then had a blast writing from the perspective of child Julie living with a worm for a sister. Since the challenge was just meant to be creative and fun and there were no winners, I didn’t feel the pressure to churn out a “perfect” entry and was able to just have fun with it. I imagined a worm-sister at a birthday party or sharing a bedroom or avoiding the family parrot at dinner. When I ran out of space and needed to wrap it up, I ended with a short “I’ll turn her into a kitten instead” and planted the idea that the narrator used some sort of magic to turn her sister into a worm. After the challenge was over, I decided to expand on the original story and turn it into a full picture book manuscript.
As I added scenes and developed my characters, I began to draw a bit more from my relationship with my own sisters. I have two: Jaclyn, who is 3 ½ years younger than me, and Colleen, who is 11 years younger than me. My sister Jaclyn and I had more of a typical sibling relationship: we were different, we bickered, but we were also best friends and constant playmates. With each new scene or revision, the narrator became more and more like my sister Jaclyn, and the worm-sister became more and more like me. So while it’s not really based on a true story, the relationship between Maggie and her sister comes from a very real place.
And don’t worry, I didn’t leave out my sister Colleen. She’s featured in the book as Maggie’s “Aunt Colleen” in my favorite spread!
Any humorous moments and/or challenging incidents on the path to publication:
After gathering feedback from my critique partners, continuing to revise, and polishing the story to the point where I felt it was ready to query, I shared it with a well-known critique service to get some professional feedback and make sure I was on the right track. But the feedback I received from this service was not at all what I had been hoping to hear. The person who critiqued the story felt that the main character was not likeable, that the story relied heavily on telling rather than showing, and that it didn’t follow a traditional narrative arc. They encouraged me to keep revising. At first, I was sad to hear that my main character wasn’t likeable to this reader. But so much of what they suggested I change was intentional choices I had made about character development, pacing, and structure. I wasn’t sure their feedback was really in line with my vision for the story. I gave myself a day to feel upset, and then I sent it out anyway. I knew of an editor who was accepting unagented submissions, and I shared this manuscript and one other with them. Within a few days I had a response: the editor loved the story and was taking it to acquisitions!
While that editor didn’t end up acquiring my story, their interest in it led me to sign with my agent. We did a round of revisions together; she had one suggestion, completely different from what the critique service had recommended, and it made a huge difference while remaining true to the story I wanted to tell. We had an offer within just a few weeks of going on submission. I’m so glad that I trusted my gut about the feedback I had received. I love getting feedback and I’m not afraid to revise, but I also think it’s important to take the feedback that resonates with your vision for a story and leave what doesn’t behind.
ME: What a fabulous story, Julie! Definitely another case of DON’T GIVE UP! and HAVE FAITH IN YOUR STORY!
And here’s a little bit about the author and the illustrator and how you can get your own copy of this fabulous book…and how you can help the book become a success!
Author Bio: Julie Hauswirth is an educator and children’s author. She grew up in Connecticut with two sisters who probably wanted to turn her into a worm at one point or another. Julie now lives in Florida with her husband and two sons.
Illustrator Bio: Jessica Goecke (she/her) is a writer and illustrator of children’s books. Her debut pilryasibling rivlarysibling rivalrycture book is Billy and the Hole. She lives just outside Seattle with her husband, two kids and miniature schnauzer, Duke.
Ways to help get this book into the hands of kids:
Buy the book
Review the book
Put the book on your Goodreads Want To Read Shelf
Tell friends about the book
Ask your local library to purchase copies for their collection
Thank you for spending your precious time with us. I hope you all have a lovely weekend!
