Adam Lehrhaupt
Pens a Picture Book to Help Kids Deal with Difficult Emotions
by Melissa Fales
In his latest book, There Was a Hole, award-winning author Adam Lehrhaupt sets out to help children understand painful emotions and offer them tips on how to help manage their feelings when they’re hurting inside. The book follows a little girl named Lily who is struggling with a loss that prevents her from enjoying all the good things in life. “At its heart, There Was a Hole is a book about loss, grief, and depression,” says Lehrhaupt. “These emotions can be big, scary, uncontrollable, and even unwanted. That doesn’t mean the feelings don’t exist. And it definitely doesn’t mean you should ignore them.”
Lehrhaupt has always been interested in the arts. For a time, he held a prominent role as senior art director for a major company, but found the job suffocated his personal creativity. “Since I basically spent all my time creating art for other people, I found myself losing interest in making art for myself,” he says. “This wasn’t good for me professionally. The less time I spent exercising my creativity at home, the harder it was for me to remain creative at work.” When a close friend suggested that Lehrhaupt try his hand at writing, he decided to give it a shot. It was just the kickstart he needed. Once he started writing, he never stopped. Now, he writes full-time. “It turned out that I really enjoyed this new way of exercising my creative mind,” he says. “I got amped up again, and my artistic ideas flourished as a result. All thanks to writing.”
Initially, Lehrhaupt planned to pen an ambitious, complex novel. “It had intrigue, nefarious organizations, and characters with godlike powers and Stan Lee-like ideas about how to use them,” he says. “There was a great buddy cop team and a good bit of humor. Then, I sat down at my computer and began to type.” While it didn’t turn out exactly as Lehrhaupt had hoped, the exercise did help him discover where his true talent lay. “Many years ago, I happened to come across a post by actor Wil Wheaton, where he said this: ‘Sometimes we set out to do something, like write a novel, and we fail at writing that particular novel,’” recalls Lehrhaupt. “‘But in the process of failing at that novel, we can actually succeed at writing another.’ I failed at writing my novel on an epic level.”
Instead of the epic book he had intended to write for adult readers, Lehrhaupt had written children’s poetry. And not just any kind of children’s poetry. “Rhyming, sappy, puppy-and-candy type children’s poetry,” he says. “Apparently, there was a lot of that kind of thing rolling around in my head. Who knew?” Heeding the words of author extraordinaire, Stephen King, whose book, On Writing, had a profound impact on Lehrhaupt, he decided not to fight his natural inclination, but to roll with it. “One of my main takeaways (from On Writing) was to write what comes out,” says Lehrhaupt. “To not force myself to write epic fantasy if what my brain gives me is historical fiction. So, instead of forcing myself to write the novel, I wrote a poem. And another poem. Then, I wrote more. Eventually, those poems turned into stories. And stories into books.”
For someone who never set out to write books for children, Lehrhaupt has been particularly prolific with picture books. “I have 16 books out right now,” he says. “These run the gamut from out-of-the-box meta style to barnyard friends. I’ve even got a playground fight between the parts of speech and a potty-training book about a sloth.” He’s also known for the aptly titled Warning: Do Not Open This Book! where once readers lift the cover, they set free a troop of monkeys that then must be rounded up. Lehrhaupt also wrote a six-book series called Chicken in… featuring Zoey, a plucky chicken, and her loyal friend, Sam the pig in a variety of situations including Chicken in Space, Chicken in School, and Chicken in Mittens.
Lehrhaupt’s books have earned him a number of awards, including the E.B. White Read-Aloud Award honor, the Best Bet (from the Ontario Library Association), the Wanda Gág Read Aloud Book Award, and the Eureka! Nonfiction Children’s Book Award honor. For the record, if there’s one children’s book that Lehrhaupt wishes he had written, it’s The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. “It’s an amazingly well written take on updating the jungle book for modern audiences,” says Lehrhaupt. I read it again every few years. I’d love to write something like that someday.”
Lehrhaupt says he wrote his latest book, There Was a Hole, after he experienced loss within his own life. “Everyone experiences loss,” he says. “Even children’s book authors. My natural inclination whenever I experience big feelings, is to look for books that cover the experience I am going through.” Searching the library and bookstores, Lehrhaupt found a lack of age-appropriate books for children that addressed the way his loss left him feeling inside. “Unfortunately, there are times that you can’t find a book that lines up,” he says. “When this happens, a good author will take matters into their own hands. So, I asked myself, could I write a story that acknowledged the feelings I had? A story that demonstrated that they are valid, normal feelings everyone experiences? And most importantly, that there are things we can do to help ourselves feel better?”
“At its heart, There Was a Hole is a book about loss, grief, and depression. These emotions can be big, scary, uncontrollable, and even unwanted. That doesn’t mean the feelings don’t exist. And it definitely doesn’t mean you should ignore them.”
In There Was a Hole, Lehrhaupt has done just that. Lily starts to feel better when she learns that she’s not alone in her grief. A friend reveals that he also has a hole and is hurting, too, but he’s found that spending time with loved ones and being kind to others helps him heal inside. Lehrhaupt says illustrator Carrie O’Neill struck just the right tone with her illustrations, particularly in her rendition of Lily’s dog, Bagel. “She does an amazing job of showing us Lily’s inner feelings, and sometimes reflecting her outbursts through Bagel’s reactions,” he says. “Anyone who has a pet knows how in tune they can be to how we feel and act. It’s wonderful to see it shown so well in this book.”
In June, look for Lehrhaupt’s next book, Can Clam Go, illustrated by Pauline Gregory. “There is a lot that Clam can’t do,” says Lehrhaupt. “But can Clam go? When Shark zooms past, will Clam become dinner … or will Clam go for the ride of a lifetime thanks to a new, unexpected friend?”
Outside of his literary accomplishments, Lehrhaupt’s led a fascinating life. “I’ve done some pretty cool things,” he admits. “My summer job in college was working for a stage lighting company. I toured with bands all over the U.S. There were some pretty big names; The Allman Brothers Band, Dave Matthews Band, Boyz 2 Men, but also smaller ones.” Lehrhaupt also worked for illusionist David Copperfield. “He did a show on Broadway called Dreams and Nightmares,” says Lehrhaupt. “I was a part of that show. After our stint on Broadway, we took the show on the road and traveled all over the world. These experiences, and many others, are what I draw on when I’m coming up with fun and interesting stuff to write about.”
For more information about Adam Lehrhaupt, visit adamlehrhaupt.com.
