Autumn is a season of change—in nature and in the classroom—and the perfect opportunity to showcase Anything (Chronicle, 2025), a new title that presents the picture book debut of Newbery Medalist Rebecca Stead and illustrations by Gracey Zhang, recipient of the Ezra Jack Keats Illustrator Award. Their tender story follows a father and daughter as they move to a new home, providing a heartwarming and honest look at the complex mix of uncertainty and excitement that comes with any big change—and on the power that comes with sharing your wishes. Already honored with six starred reviews, the title is sure to become a favorite for young readers seeking reassurance during their own life passages.
Here, Stead and Zhang talk with Lisa Bullard about the impact of change on children, how they approached the creation of the book, and the power of shared wishes.
Rebecca, why were you compelled to tell this story? What do you hope young readers will take away from Anything?
Rebecca: Anything is a story about a fun day that is also a hard day. The book starts with a chocolate cake and three wishes (fun!), but a little girl is sad about leaving her old home, and she struggles to say that out loud (hard!). I guess my greatest hope is that readers will finish the book feeling understood and loved. Long ago, I heard Vera B. Williams speak about her iconic book “More More More,” Said the Baby. She said that some books are made to show the child at the center of their universe, and I really responded to that. No child gets a perfect world, but feeling loved makes even the hardest day better.
No child gets a perfect world, but feeling loved makes even the hardest day better.”
‒ Rebecca Stead
Spreads from Anything
Gracey, what resonated most with you when you first read Rebecca’s story? How did that reaction help determine the approach you took to your illustrations?
Gracey: I sat with Rebecca’s text for a while after reading it; the story left me with feelings that came in waves. It had me reflecting on how quiet but powerful the act of acknowledgment of a child’s discomfort can be in validating their experiences.
I didn’t know exactly how I wanted to approach the story, but I knew I wanted to focus on the inner life of the girl and how foreign the new environment of hers felt. I did some different final art experiments. I typically work with brush, ink, and gouache paints, but it wasn’t coming together to serve the world I wanted to convey. There is something very intimate about the scrawl of a ballpoint pen, and ultimately I found satisfaction in the results with the scribbles of the pen.
Did either of you take inspiration from your own childhood experiences when you were thinking about how you wanted to approach the story?
Rebecca: Yes, it’s also a personal story for me: Anything was inspired by my many apartment moves with my dad growing up. He did paint me a rainbow stripe in one of my new bedrooms.
Gracey: I drew a lot from my own memories of the first home I was born and raised in; how large the small space felt. I also inserted a lot of pop culture Easter eggs within the father’s belongings and moving boxes from my own memories of moving homes in New York.
Rebecca, Anything is your first picture book after several award-winning novels for older readers. Was writing a picture book a new goal for you, or was it something you’ve wanted to do for a long time?
Rebecca: I carried the idea of this book for a long time—about twenty years!
Gracey, for some of your picture book titles you’ve been both the writer and the illustrator, and for others, you’ve illustrated someone else’s words. How does your creative process differ in those two circumstances?
Gracey: I love being able to do both! There’s much more workshopping when I both write and illustrate. I’ll workshop the text much more in tangent with how I’d like the illustrations to flow, and it works a different part of my brain.
Illustrating texts by other authors offers me the chance to look at and research a world I may not have thought of exploring on my own. It’s a real treat to take on a project where I get to dive into a subject I’m unfamiliar with.
Illustrating texts by other authors offers me the chance to look at and research a world I may not have thought of exploring on my own.”
‒ Gracey Zhang
Anything focuses on a character who is grappling with change. What do you each see as the biggest changes you needed to make when it came to your roles in this book?
Rebecca: Picture books are wildly different from novels—the age adjustment didn’t feel difficult, but the word count certainly did. I normally “feel my way in the dark” while writing a novel. I start with a character and a question, and I write scenes without knowing where I’m going. For Anything, I needed to know the shape of the whole story before I started. This will always be my biggest challenge with picture books, because I can rarely conjure a story unless I’m in the act of writing.
And the editorial process was completely different in a wonderful way. With a picture book, it’s possible to have a truly collaborative experience—you can try things out together right in the middle of an editorial conversation. Novel-revising is generally much lonelier.
Gracey: Working on the final art, I felt like I got to go back to a more intimate process. There’s something very satisfying about just letting a pen do all the work in creating the values of an image. Rather than a change, it felt like returning to the basics, and it reminded me of all the drawing I used to do in between notes in a classroom.
Readers are often very curious about whether authors and illustrators collaborate directly on picture books. What was the process like for this title? Did the two of you interact during the creation phase, or did you keep things very separate? Was there something that especially surprised you in working on this book?
Rebecca: I was really curious about this too, to be honest. I didn’t know what to expect. Gracey and I were in the “very separate” column. I was really happy when she agreed to illustrate the book, because I think Gracey has an intuitive understanding of children’s emotions that shines through everything she does. Her art style for Anything is different from her earlier books. I was surprised by that, but far from disappointed. I feel like it’s exactly what I had no idea how to wish for.
Now I understand why writers and illustrators are often kept in parallel universes. I sometimes think of a book as a house that I build and then quietly leave so that readers can come inside, explore, and draw their own conclusions. I don’t want to stand there saying, “Do you see this? And this? And look, that matches that!” It’s better if readers—and illustrators—can make their own observations and draw their own conclusions about how to render the world of the story.
Gracey: Typically, the book-making process is kept very separate between authors and illustrators. Publishers do this in order to allow both creators their creative freedom in their respective roles. There are often author/illustrator duos that work collaboratively, though I haven’t worked in that capacity in the past. I feel fortunate that all the authors I’ve had the opportunity to illustrate for have been so supportive and open. I started working in bookmaking, so I didn’t have the chance to meet many of the authors I worked with until a bit later. It was so fortunate that Rebecca also lives in New York, and we were able to do some events together in person once the book was out!
I sometimes think of a book as a house that I build and then quietly leave so that readers can come inside, explore, and draw their own conclusions.”
‒ Rebecca Stead
Could each of you share your best advice for young people who have a “wish still inside” of them like the girl in the story?
Rebecca: My advice is to share your wishes freely—even if they’re hard ones; especially if they are hard. Keeping things inside often made me feel lonelier as a kid.
Gracey: My advice would be to take steps towards your wish. It might not come quickly, but soon it’ll be close, and then it’ll be here. I recently watched Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest in Coney Island, where I saw Joey Chestnut make his return to the stage. He beat the rest of the contestants by a landslide of 70.5 hot dogs consumed in ten minutes. I think he had to start somewhere; maybe one day he only ate one hot dog, and then two, and then that became 70.5.
Take steps towards your wish. It might not come quickly, but soon it’ll be close, and then it’ll be here.”
‒ Gracey Zhang
Do either of you have a secret wish for yourself that you’d like to share with your readers?
Rebecca: I have gotten much better at saying my wishes—none of mine are secret anymore.
Gracey: I had many wishes as a child and teenager. My wish to be Britney Spears when I was five did not come true, but that’s probably for the best if you’ve ever heard me sing. Though I’m happy to say many other wishes did come true.
What would each of you like to tell your fans about your forthcoming books?
Rebecca: I have a new middle grade book called The Experiment (Feiwel & Friends, 2025). It’s about a kid named Nathan who knows his family is from another planet. They are part of a very noble, very scientific expedition. (Maybe.)
Gracey: I’m currently working on a book with Travis Jonker that involves 1,000 horses. My wish is to be better at drawing horses, so I’m getting closer to that wish by drawing 1,000 of them.
What are the best ways for educators and librarians to connect with each of you or to follow you on social media?
Rebecca: Instagram is my social media outlet, but I take a lot of breaks from it. My email is rebeccasteadwriter@gmail.com.
Gracey: My email is graceyz.art@gmail.com! I also have an Instagram, @graceyyz, which is my main form of social media although recently it’s become an archive of some of the places I’ve travelled to around the world—which was also one of my wishes when I was a young person. 🙂
