Season 9 Bonus: Celebrating Christmas in July with Sonia Anderson

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Full Transcripts available at http://www.valeriefentress.com/blog

In this episode of Bookworthy, host Valerie interviews children's author Sonja Anderson about her book 'A Christmas Wish for a Little Dala Horse.' They discuss the inspiration behind the story, the incorporation of Swedish traditions, and the deeper messages of love and acceptance within the narrative. Sonja shares her journey to becoming an author, her favorite books, and her future writing projects, all while celebrating the joy of storytelling and the magic of Christmas.

 Sonja Anderson

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Takeaways

Sonja's book is inspired by her Swedish heritage.

The story incorporates Swedish vocabulary and traditions.

Sonja's husband supported her writing journey with thoughtful gifts.

The message of the book emphasizes love and acceptance.

Sonja's childhood experiences shaped her desire to write.

She aims to help children understand diverse backgrounds.

Sonja's favorite book is 'Heidi' by Johanna Spyri.

She has several picture books in progress with her agent.

Sonja won a writing contest for her novel set in Japan.

The podcast celebrates the joy of reading and storytelling.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Sonja Anderson and Her Work

02:43 The Inspiration Behind 'A Christmas Wish for a Little Dala Horse'

05:26 Exploring Swedish Traditions in the Story

08:20 The Message of Love and Acceptance

11:11 Sonja's Journey to Becoming an Author

13:35 The Impact of Childhood Experiences on Writing

16:28 Future Projects and Aspirations

19:08 Favorite Books and Their Influence

21:59 Conclusion and Where to Find Sonja's Work

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Transcript

 This transcript has been lightly edited for clarity but reflects the full conversation from the BookWorthy Podcast. Grab a cup of coffee, listen, and read along.

The blog version of this episode is available at www.valeriefentress.com/blog

Valerie -Welcome to Book Worthy, where we talk about the heart behind the books your kids are reading. On today's bonus episode, we are celebrating Christmas in July with children's author Sonja Anderson. Sonja writes from her home in Seattle, Washington, where she is also a wife, mother, and critique group coordinator of the Northwest Christian Writers Association. Apart from watching the boats go by on Puget Sound, Sonja enjoys getting to spy on kids, reading as a daily part of her job as a librarian. Today, we're talking about her book, A Christmas Wish for a Little Dala Horse. Welcome to Bookworthy, Sonja.

Sonja - Thank you so much. I'm just delighted to be here today.

Valerie - It's a pleasure to have you. Any excuse to put on my Christmas sweater, I will take that opportunity for certain. Well, to start us off, we'll do our random question of the week. And keeping with a Christmas theme, I thought we'd ask, what's the most memorable Christmas gift you've ever received?

Random Question of the Week

Sonja - Well, I guess I have to say my husband has given me two really special gifts, and they are kind of on the opposite spectrums of what you might expect. I used to teach in Japan, and the students gave me a beautiful pearl necklace as a goodbye gift, but the necklace was stolen. And for our 10th wedding anniversary that Christmas year, my husband replaced the pearl necklace, and that was so special. And then on the other side, he also presented me with a stack of 10 yellow-lined tablets of paper. And early on, like from Costco, one of those big packs, and early on in my writing, he did this, and it felt like a giant permission slip that he knew this was not a phase that was going to go away. And I had like all this paper now, because that's how I like to write drafts, on yellow lined paper. And so it was. Both gifts were just so thoughtful in really special ways.

Valerie - it sounds very memorable, and I have my own yellow legal pad stack in my closet too. So I was like, can I know how fun it is to receive blank pieces of paper? Well, Sonja, why don't you tell us a little bit about your inspiration behind A Christmas Wish for the little dahlia horse?

Insight into A Christmas Wish for Little Daila's horse

Sonja - Well, in my job, I work as a librarian assistant, and I was checking in a stack of runaway gingerbread man stories, you know, the ones, you know, they've been around forever. And the kindergarten classes had been reading various ones. So there's like runaway dreidel and runaway matzo ball and runaway tortilla. And so I'm going through all these, and I thought, you know, there should be a Swedish one because I'm a Swedish immigrant family, you know, from my great grandparents, and Swedish traditions have been passed down the line, especially at Christmas time. And so I just started pondering it, and I wrote kind of pretty quickly a draft that was kind of a madcap thing about a pepper, a cocker cookie, you know, a Swedish version of like a gingerbread cookie. And it included a dollar horse in it that also ran away. My agent read it, and in 10 minutes she got back to me and said, I'm Swedish. I would love to do a Swedish book. But when she read my story, she was like, I feel like it's kind of tugging. We need to pick like this, a madcap version or a heartfelt, quiet version. And most of the time publishers don't want something quiet. They think it's not going to sell. So I was just stunned when she said, " Let's go with the quiet version. I think that'll be more unique. And she was a hundred percent right. And as she always is, and little dollahorse kind of emerged through that, just a more wonderful story than I could ever have dreamed up on my own, between Adria's feedback, my critique group, and family. It just really morphed into something I never really could have dreamed up on my own.

Valerie - It is a very sweet story, and there are nice little pockets of Swedish traditions in there. Can you tell us a little bit about kind of the Swedish hints that are inside?

Sonja - Yes, well, there are a few Swedish vocabulary words that are very simple, and they have cute tomton, these little Swedish people that are, kind of legend has it that they guard a family farm, protect the chickens from the foxes, that kind of thing. And they really require very little in their life. Like they want a bowl of rice pudding on Christmas Eve, and that kind of keeps them happy. But if you miss it, then they get very angry and cause all sorts of mischief, which is kind of what the story goes on. But the illustrator put little Tompton in the corners, holding a sign with the little Swedish words so kids can learn a little bit of Swedish. And also there's, you know, the straw ornaments on the trees and then the Swedish candelabras, some of the Swedish food like the pepper cookies, and especially the Santa Lucia celebration. The subtitle of the book is a Saint Lucia celebration and a Santa Lucia pageant, like my kids grew up doing at my church here in Seattle, which is a major part of the story.

Valerie - It is a major part, and I love how you kind of discover, you know, someone who's not familiar with the St. Lucia pageant and those elements of Christmas traditions, kind of how the candelabras and candles and the wreaths of candles that have filtered into Christmas traditions and decorations, it has what the source is. And I really love how you've done that. Now, were you ever St. Lucia in the pageant growing up?

Sonja – I was never in one myself. It wasn't part of my church's background. It was in the same denomination, the Evangelical Covenant Church, which was founded by Swedish immigrants originally. But my church in Ohio, where I grew up, didn't celebrate it. They ended up celebrating it years later. And my mom was a major part of that. But every once in a while, she would want to do a Lucia thing at home. So, a lot of Swedes do have like a little Lucia pageant or breakfast, you know, at home where the daughters of the family will dress in the long white robes with red sashes and the eldest will have the crown of candles and carry a tray of saffron buns and, you know, coffee to the people in the house. And so there might, would do that occasionally.

History of the St. Lucia Tradition

Valerie - Now, tell me a little bit about St. Lucia if that's not something our listeners have heard of.

Sonja - Right. Well, St. Lucia is actually an Italian young woman from centuries ago. And I'm not going to say which century because I will get it wrong here on the spot. I don't have it right in front of me. From many, many years ago, when she was young and engaged to be married, her mother became extremely ill. And I have this in it like an author's note at the end. A little bit of her story, more than what I could fit into the book, but she prayed diligently for her mother and kind of made a vow to God that if God healed her mother, she would give her dowry away to the poor. Her mother was healed, and she kept her vow. The legend says she brought food and carried trays of food to Christians in hiding who were being persecuted in Rome, Italy, and in Sicily. She was from Sicily, but brought them food and risked her life doing so. Her fiancé was extremely angry that she was doing this, and legend has it that he's the one who turned her in to the authorities. And she was killed for this act of courage, kindness, and generosity. And no one really knows how that story became such a part of Swedish tradition. There is another legend that says that there was a village across a lake that was one winter that was starving, and this young woman was seen in a long white gown and a crown of candles, which would keep Lucia's hands free so she could carry the trays, and you know, go into the catacombs or whatever with this crown of candles. But legend has it that there was a Lucia figure in the bow of a boat coming across the lake and saving the people of this Swedish village. And somehow, like in this dark, wintry land, you know, the idea of somebody coming with this hope on her head, this, like a crown of candles lighting the way, really captured their imagination. And it's been celebrated now for many years.

Valerie - That's unique. I've always heard it as a Swedish tradition. I never knew that it had come from Italy and Sicily. And so that's really neat to kind of get a little depth on it. Well, in this story, what do you hope to communicate to kiddos who read this book?

Sonja - Well, in the story, you know, this little dollahorse is newly carved. He doesn't know anything about the world, and everything he's learning is from this old horse that's been put into the shop to get his leg repaired and tells him kind of about the wonders of Yule of Christmas and of being loved and being like given as a gift of the heart. Know, when a soldier originally carved him years and years and years before generations ago, and thanked the family he was quartered with by giving them this little horse, and that he taught the son, this little boy in the family, how to carve, and he became the wood carver in the family, and then it's passed down. And as you read the story, it's like each person in the story kind of gives and receives like a gift of the heart. And my little dollahorse falls on the floor at the church and crushes an ear, and his paint is scratched, and he's not only not finished, but he doesn't have his fancy, curbit painting like this Swedish painting that's so lovely, he's just plain, and now he's broken and scratched, and he's like, nobody will ever love me now. And the little girl does love him and needs him as a friend. And I just really hope that children and adults alike reading this story will really come to know that, you know, God loves them and they can give gifts of the heart no matter who they are, no matter what their circumstances, or, you know, how unfinished we are, all unfinished, aren't we, on this side of heaven. But, you know, how unfinished or even damaged they feel, they can still give and receive love. So that's kind of the major theme of this story.

Valerie - I love that it's not what I expected walking into this story. And so coming to the end, where they're at the pageant, and the little horses found their person, it's really sweet to be like, yes, we all want to be found and held and loved despite broken ears or scratch paint. And I love how it kind of comes around as the little girl gets to help make him special and paint him as the end, too. Like, aw, in God's hands, we do become even more precious because we allow him to work in our hearts and minds, and so I kind of love that element of it too. Asanya, you were a librarian. Did you always want to be an author, too?

Sonja’s Writing Journey

Sonja - Yes, and maybe every librarian has had that secret dream. But when I was little, my mom sent this to me just a few years ago, so I have it in my possession, but I have a little piece of construction paper folded over into fourths and into quarters, tied with a red piece of yarn, and on the front it says Sonja's book with backwards letters. I was probably five, as soon as I could write my name, imagined myself being an author, and loved books. On the inside, of course, it's just like a drawing, an illustration. There are no other words, but it really just warms my heart because I know that, just from an early age, I wanted to be an author. And then, when I was in about the second grade, the school held a contest for writers to talk about what Christmas means to me. And I wrote two versions. One was kind of madcap and did not get accepted. Isn't that ironic? And one was heartfelt and quiet. And that's the one that won the contest. And I got to read the story in front of the entire Christmas assembly of parents, kids, and faculty. And from that moment on, I was hooked. And I was like, I was always writing something, especially in a journal. I always kept a journal growing up.

Valerie - Very neat. Now, you know, where did your writing journey begin? Because I know the love of books used to kind of talk about, know, that book when you're, you know, made with the one your mom gave you. But when did you kind of decide, okay, I'm actually going to do more than journal?

Sonja - Well, I had kind of, I always talked about wanting to be a writer, you know, and when I was, I taught in Japan for three years at an international school for boys, and I was given the multi-faith class to teach. This was a Catholic school and there was, and most of the kids were Catholic, but there was a Protestant group, and there was a parent request for a multi-faith group because there were also Jewish kids, Muslim kids, and kids of no faith background. I was the new teacher at the school, and so they said, " She'll do it. I was asked to do this. So I had a very interesting couple of years of trying to find stories from all the different faith backgrounds that I could read, you know, that resonated with things I could communicate with enthusiasm, know, like stories about patience or, you know, something like that. So, just kind of like what each religion was about and music or, you know, things like that from different faiths. So I learned a lot because I knew nothing before, you know, doing this, except for a little bit about Judaism and about Christianity. But what really spoke to me, and kind of started my writing journey, was that every time I read a Bible story, the hand shot up from these kids with no Christian background, and they asked me if that story wasn't a true story. And it really was so meaningful and impactful to me. And I started at that point praying about and thinking about stories and how I could help kids kind of navigate this diverse world and learn with respect about other faiths, and yet.

Understand how Jesus is so uniquely our Savior and God with us. And so I came up with a kind of character of an owl, and then didn't really, because owls are supposed to be wise. And so I kind of imagined a journey with this owl, and I didn't really do anything with that until I moved from Japan to Seattle, got married, and had our first child. And then I started reading children's books. And, it was when she was in kindergarten that she argued in the playground with a Buddhist boy and a Jewish boy about which God is bigger. And we had just been going through a Moses class at Bible study fellowship, and my daughter knew, knew, you know, whose God was biggest. And she was having this argument on the playground. And I thought, all right, kids need a way to learn something about each other's backgrounds, because I live in a very diverse community and it's a wonderful collection of souls, and that I have the privilege of loving every single day from all over the world, every imaginable faith background. We have like 80 different languages represented in my school district. And so that was what sprang my original novel, Sophie's Quest, which is now out of print, sadly. We'll come back someday. It's part of a three-book series that I'm hoping to resurrect. But anyway, that's what really kicked it off. And 9-11, when the towers fell, and there was just so much extremist talk about Muslims. And I had these Muslim students in my school that I loved and I wanted, I was worried that they would just hear nonstop how evil. They were, and I wanted to write something that would help people understand things that we could respect. They try to memorize their holy scriptures, do we? And so I found things like that that I could take my owl character, Sophie Topfeather, now, and take her on a journey. And so that's really what kicked it off was that. And then I have not stopped ever since, and also played with picture books along the way. Because when you're working on a big novel, it's kind of fun to have small projects that you can kind of finish and play with and have fun with, kind of like recess, you know? And then, lo and behold, I acquired an agent for picture books, Christian Picture Books, and that's really what got me writing picture books seriously when she believed in me.

Valerie - It is fun that those little projects kind of remind you that you can do this in a long project. You're like, all right, my ideas do have a beginning, a middle, and an end. Because when you're in the middle, you're like, this is ever going to end when you're writing something long. Imposter syndrome is a real thing, for certain. Very neat. Sonja, what is your favorite book?

Sonja Anderson’s Favorite Book

Sonja - Well, probably everyone of your guests says the Bible because that would hands down be my favorite book. But I think, looking at my entire life and books that I've read and reread, the book Heidi by Johanna Spyri is really my favorite book of all time. I read an old copy of my mom's. My mom's name was Johanna. The author's name was Johanna Spirey. So maybe I kind of locked onto it at first because of that, you know, and it was my mom's book. But then I just was, my imagination was really ignited with this little girl's brave journey into the mountains with this grumpy grandfather. And I'm an Ohio girl, so we had no mountains in sight. And so I wanted to see mountains, and my dad was a dentist, and he found a dental conference in Colorado and packed us all in the car, and we went to Colorado so Sonja could see mountains. And I think that really changed my life because I live in Seattle surrounded by mountains, and I just, but more than just the mountains, like the way Heidi's love for others transforms everyone in the story was so powerful that I have just wanted to strive to, you know, write the same kind of story that would transform lives ever since.

Valerie - I love that. Love how stories do that. And there's always that one that just says, This is what I want to write like, this is the feeling I want the readers to have when they read what I write. And I love that for most of, as myself as a writer and the writers that I talk to here on the podcast, it's lots of fun. Well, Sonja, what can we expect next from you?

Sonja - Well, I have several picture books in the hopper with my agent. Hopefully, one of those will soon have a contract. And also, I've always wanted to write something set in Japan after living there. So I have been working for years now on a novel set in Japan, and kind of if you know Shogun, it's in the Shogun era in the 17th century. And I just won first place in a Cascade Christian Writers Contest this summer for that novel. So it's a middle-grade novel for ages 8 to 12, and I am just really hoping that there will be a publishing home for that book someday.

Valerie - Very interesting. That's definitely what it is, with the Shogun era and then just the cultural differences between the West and the East. It's, what is it, a good mixing pot for all kinds of antics and discovery. I hope that it finds a home quickly and that we can hear more about that soon. Where can people find out more about you and your book, Sonja?

Where to Find Sonja Anderson

Sonja - Thank you. I have a website at sonjaandersonbooks.com, and Sonja is spelled with a J. And there you can sign up for my newsletter, and then that's where you'll get the most up-to-date kind of personal information about book signings and events and updates on publishing and stuff like that. I don't send out that many, so you won't get bombarded with emails.

Valerie - There are those that you're like, where's the unsubscribe button? When they come too often for certain. We'll make sure to have those links in the show notes for our listeners to find easily and quickly. Well, thank you so much. And thank you so much for joining me today.

Sonja - Thank you so much. It was a delight. And have a Merry Christmas in July.

Valerie - That's right. And thank you for joining Sonja and me on this bonus episode of the Bookworthy Podcast. Check the show notes for any books or links we discussed, and let us know in the comments what the most memorable Christmas gift you have received. Be sure to like and subscribe to discover more great books together. Happy reading.