Natalie Shampanier

Welcome friend! Today I am two-in-one post for you! My review request form is open to all genres of authors and I had the chance to connect with Natalie Shampanier. Reading her latest illustrated children’s book, Lost and Found, was a great way to spend some time in my kid shoes. In this post, I will share my review of this beautiful book as well as a chat with Natalie. Read on for the synopsis of the book, my thoughts and conversation with the author. 🙂

My Thoughts

Lost and Found is a beautiful kids book that is enjoyable for adults too! The illustrations are captivating. They convey so much emotion and context: that’s very important for a book aimed at kids. The prose is well-written and in very few pages, I connected with the characters and was rooting for them to get their desired ending. I enjoyed the story being around toys left behind and their problem solving skills to escape the room were commendable. This book can be used to have many conversations with the child, including but not limited to losing things, friendship, sadness, thrill of adventures and much more.

Many thanks to the author for a review copy of the book for an honest review. I look forward to reading this one with my kids.

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Hi Natalie! Welcome to Armed with A Book. Please tell me and my readers about yourself.

I am a mom to three children and a screenwriter (The Millionaire Tour, Beautiful & Twisted, and most recently Paper Spiders) Before launching my screenwriting career, I was licensed as a Marriage and Family Therapist

Lost and Found is a beautiful kids book that is enjoyable for adults too! The illustrations are captivating. How did you come up with the idea of this book?

Thank you! I have a special place in my heart for foster and adopted children whom I worked with as a therapist. I was inspired by my experiences with these children and the desire to instill hope in children on their foster and adoption journeys.

I enjoyed your writing! What are your first memories of writing prose?

When I was 6 years old I entered a newspaper competition (remember newspapers?) It was a contest for Mother’s Day and I remember how coming in first place against middle schoolers really stuck with me and gave me a certain confidence. I also really enjoyed it, and the prizes certainly helped.

Tell me about working with an illustrator. Did you come up with the ideas for images in the book or was that collaborative?

The illustrator, David Pavón, was an amazing collaborator. I would have a certain vision for a page and we would be on the same page (no pun!) I would convey it to him and he would get always go above and beyond of what I envisioned. 

How do you manage writing and screenwriting with parenting?

Since a lot of the writing is in your head, I can be working and nobody would know. I’m half joking. Some of my parenting experiences actually go into my writing. I do tend to use my life experienes as inspiration for writing. For example, I have a special needs non verbal 10 year old who loves picture books. That’s what initially got me thinking about “Lost and Found.” My last film “Paper Spiders” was inspired by my relationship with my mom.  

What role does storytelling play in the life of young kids?

I think it plays an even bigger part than I can put into words. So much of young children’s free play is imaginative play, pretending through stories they tell themselves. Also, the fact that children love to read the same books over and over again shows that they are impacting them and very often adults remember books they read as a child.

What are some ways in which parents can cultivate a reading habit in kids?

Reading to them everyday is so important. I try to find books my kids will really enjoy, based on their interests. That’s not always easy but when I do find it it’s so worth it. If a young child likes the book enough they may be motivated to read it themselves even which can hopefully foster a reading habit. 

How has your time as a family therapist affected your creative pursuits?

Most of my projects end up having a psychological factor to them. They’re also bitter sweet, much like life. Paper Spiders was about mental illness (delusional disorder), Beautiful and Twisted was a true crime story, The Millionaire Tour dealt with psychological mind games and I put an emphasis on ‘feelings’ in “Lost and Found” with Hamburger Hippo overeating when sad, Moody changing colors based on her mood etc.  

What are some of your favorite books to read to/with your kids?

We love rhymes and humor, but also books with a heart or those that have lessons like Aesop’s Fables. Of course classics like Where the Wild Things Are and The Giving Tree (not just so I can tell them you see what parents go through?) We love interactive books with lessons like What Should Danny Do? They also enjoy The Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. 

For readers who enjoyed Lost and Found, can you recommend similar books they can read next?

Perhaps Corduroy, Toy Story, Pinocchio or Charlotte’s Web. I tried to approach this book in the way that I approach screenplays with character journeys and adventure. 

Thank you so much for chatting with me. 🙂

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Connect with Natalie on Instagram and add the book to your Goodreads shelf.

Many thanks to the author for providing me a review copy of this book and the opportunity to host her here!

Cover image: Photo by Mike Labrum on Unsplash