Inspiring Interview with Author-Illustrator Kaz Windness

To celebrate the publication of Bitsy Bat, Team Star, the second book in the Bitsy Bat series, I interviewed the talented author-illustrator of the series, Kaz Windness!

We talked about representation, neurodivergence, encouraging kids to read, empathy, and AI. (If you follow Kaz on social media, you know these topics are near and dear to her heart.)

About Bitsy Bat, Team Star

From Simon & Schuster: In BITSY BAT, TEAM STAR, Kaz Windness delivers another thoughtful and inclusive story brought to life through whimsical art and personal insights from her own life as an autistic creator. This time Bitsy Bat focuses on teamwork, self-discovery, and forging connections! This new installment introduces Enzo Owl, a non-speaking student using sign language and a communication tablet, showcasing the importance of recognizing and celebrating differences. BITSY BAT, TEAM STAR is a warm and inclusive story that celebrates how each of us shines in our own unique way and as part of a team!

Melissa’s Review: It’s the Critter Games, and Bitsy wants to be the BEST flyer –at any cost, maybe even at the cost of being kind. After dreaming about the race and hearing her mom’s encouragement to be a good teammate, Bitsy still clings to her one goal — winning. She starts the race, flying fast, but soon realizes that her friend Mo needs help. Now Bitsy faces a difficult decision — to help or to win? Expressive, darling character art perfectly matches this charming and relatable story about what’s really important. I particularly love that, along with our autistic Bitsy main character, this story features Enzo Owl, who communicates with sign language and a tablet. This is one of the few picture books that includes this important representation, and I love Kaz for including it.

Interview with Author / Illustrator Kaz Windness

Are you as excited about this interview as me? Let’s hear from Kaz as she shares about the story, her passion, her process, and more!

Melissa: This second Bitsy book includes new representation within the classroom characters, including a non-verbal character who uses sign language and a table to communicate. How did you decide what characters to include in this story, and why was this important to you?

Kaz: I’m so glad you asked about Enzo Owl! Enzo is non-speaking. Although his communication differences aren’t critical to the storytelling, it is important to me to shine a light on different aspects of autism in each of the BITSY BAT books. Several parents and teachers have told me this is the first time they’ve seen an AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication) device in a picture book, yet many classrooms have non-speaking students. Normalizing access to all kinds of accommodations and making it easier for educators and parents to talk about autism has been my greatest honor. The symbols Enzo uses to speak also help emerging readers decode the text. 

As far as choosing characters, there’s nothing more inspiring than real life. I always have my sketch book out at my kids’ school assemblies. Every Crittercrawl Elementary student is based on a real person or a combination of children I’ve met. Some are from my childhood. And Bitsy is me. 

Melissa: You’re writing about an autistic character from an autistic perspective. What is it like talking about something vulnerable, like being autistic, to children and their grown-ups?

Kaz: This was honestly the scariest part about telling Bitsy Bat’s story. Although I have an autistic child and had known I was autistic for a few years before the first book’s publication, I was not fully “out” as autistic. I’m “high-masking,” which means I’ve spent years learning how to mimic neurotypical behavior. I expend a lot of energy trying to look normal to hide my differences. This causes a lot of at-home meltdowns and periods of debilitating burnout. It’s not easy looking normal. 

When I’m teaching neurodiverse students at the art college, I sometimes share my differences so they know I’m a safe space. The idea for BITSY BAT came as I was talking to an illustration student about how going to school felt like being a bat in a classroom for mice. She said a story like that would have helped her growing up. I realized a story like that could help my child, too. So, I started writing “Bitsy Bat, School Star” that day. 

When my “Swim, Jim!” editor, Catherine Laudone, said she wanted to publish BITSY BAT, I realized I would have to tell the world I was autistic. This included family members who didn’t understand. 

What I’ve realized is, the people who are most resistant, angry, or dismissive about me being autistic are usually people who are in denial about their own neurodivergence. And that’s okay. I run up against my own internalized ableism all the time. I hope BITSY BAT, TEAM STAR fosters more acceptance for differences like autism. I hope more people feel safe to embrace their own differences and get the help, accommodations, and understanding they need.    

Melissa: What impact do you hope BITSY BAT, TEAM STAR will have for children and educators?

Kaz: In this story, Bitsy struggles with changes to her friendships. She sees the new student, Enzo Owl, as competition. Will her friends still like her if she isn’t the best at flying? Bitsy doesn’t always make the best or kindest choices. But in the end, she sacrifices winning the race in order to help a friend. She also realizes that she’s lovable for exactly who she is, not what she performs or how she can outshine anyone else. Increased compassion is my goal for all of my books, and that includes compassion for yourself. I hope the BITSY BAT books help educators talk more easily about autism. BITSY BAT, TEAM STAR is also great for discussing good sportsmanship and working as a team.

Melissa: Do you have educator resources to support your books?

Kaz: I do! I have complimentary curriculum-based lesson plans crafted by Leah Robinson at BitsyBat.com. In addition, there are activity sheets, including how to draw Bitsy and new instructions for how to draw Enzo. 

Melissa: Do you have a tip for grown-ups to help them encourage more reading in the children they know, teach, or parent?

Recently I realized if my kids don’t see me reading, all my talk about the importance of literacy lands hollow. I’m making a concerted effort to turn off the T.V. or put down my phone and pick up a book while they are in the room. I leave books out on the coffee table. All kinds of books! Graphic novels and picture books and thick sci-fi novels. How-to books on carpentry or robotics. My local library is an amazing and free resource. 

I sometimes overhear parents at the bookstore telling their kids that the book they want isn’t real reading or isn’t challenging enough for them. I watch those kids lose their spark for reading in real-time. A love for reading is way more important than what they are reading. 

And being read to is one of the best ways to help kids fall in love with books. I’m grateful to teachers who read aloud to their kiddos, even at the high school level. More of this! 

Melissa: What is your best advice for young (kid) artists and writers?

Please don’t let Ai steal your creativity. I’m so glad this technology didn’t exist when I was struggling to find my voice or frustrated with my terrible art. I wanted to quit so many times. It was painful not to be able to produce the ideas I could see in my mind. It would have been very tempting to enter a prompt and have a computer do all that work for me. What I didn’t know at the time was all that struggle was building a bridge to my art and writing skills. The difficulty meant I was growing. I was getting better even when I felt like I was just getting worse. It took time and work, but I did become good at art and writing. Now I can express everything I feel in my art. There is no greater satisfaction. And because I’m a real person, my stories connect with other real people who have felt the same way I have. 

Also, Ai will never make anything original because it is made of chewed-up pieces of other people’s creativity without their permission. If you think stealing or plagiarism is bad, you won’t use Ai text or image generation. Trust me, your own creativity, no matter how messy or imperfect, is a zillion times better than whatever generative Ai barfs out.     

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Thank you SO much for the opportunity to interview with you! I hope your readers enjoy BITSY BAT, TEAM STAR. 

Melissa: Thank YOU, Kaz!

About Kaz Windness

Kaz Windness is the Geisel award-winning, genre-crossing illustrator and author of funny and heart-warming books for young readers. Proudly neurodivergent (ASD/ADHD), Kaz specializes in character-driven books celebrating inclusivity, grit, and kindness. Her many books include “Swim, Jim!,” “Worm and Caterpillar Are Friends,” “When You Love a Book,” and the “Bitsy Bat” series. She is a professor of illustration at the Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design and founder of The Cuddlefish Academy, where she inspires students to tell stories with pictures. Kaz lives in Colorado with her English teacher husband, two teen children, and a bunny-obsessed Boston Terrier named Remy. Kaz loves making deep-dish pizza from scratch and sketching animals at the zoo. Feel free to find and follow me on your favorite social media.

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