Merry Christmas, Eve, and Adam Wallace!

We just adore having fantabulous, funny and New York Times bestselling author, script writer, school presenter and author mentor extraordinaire, Adam Wallace here, to share his brand new energetic and heartwarming Christmas picture book, Merry Christmas, Eve! Please join us for this fun interview and some other cheerful treats – hope you enjoy! :)

Book Description:

Christmas is coming but the Christmas Spirit is nowhere to be found. Can a little elf named Eve find the Christmas Spirit and save Christmas before it’s too late?

Follow Eve on this fun and heartwarming holiday story as she helps save the North Pole and Christmas for kids around the world from an Elf that should be on the Naughty List!

Filled with Adam Wallace’s signature rhymes, vibrant illustrations, and an origin story that makes Santa Claus proud, this Christmas picture book for kids is guaranteed to become a new holiday tradition!

Merry Christmas, Eve! is the perfect elf book for kids.

A great stocking stuffer or Christmas gift for kids ages 4-10, this fun and festive read aloud book is loved by children, parents, and educators around the world.

Interview:

Adam! Congratulations on yet another sensational picture book release, following all those best-sellers you’ve produced (How to Catch series, Fartboy series)! Now gifting us with one literally full of spirit and warmth, it is with great delight to have you here to share the joyous and memorable, Merry Christmas, Eve!

Please tell us, what was your favourite part of creating this new title?

Thanks so much, it is great to be here! Writing Eve was SO fun, as it was done in collaboration with Cooper Waterman over in the States, and we wrote it as a book but also with a movie in mind. Cooper’s knowledge in that area meant we built in a 3 Act structure, which was eye-opening for me and a great learning experience!

What is your favourite part of the book?

I love the illustrations so much. Lena Bardy is a genius, and some of those pictures actually give me shivers down my spine when I see them, especially where Eve is meeting the Christmas Spirit for the first time!

How did you develop your characters? The Head Elf seems pretty nasty!

Haha yes he is a nasty piece of work, love him! Eve was done in conjunction with Cooper over many chats, we wanted a strong female lead in our story, and someone who knew what she wanted to do and wasn’t afraid to get out there and get it done.
The Head Elf was such a fun character to write, and came about basically to do a very out there baddie for the story, to give someone who it seemed Eve wouldn’t be able to get past to save the day.

The illustrations by talented artist, Lena Bardy, are deliciously playful, lively and aptly adorable. What do you love most about Lena’s work and how she captured your story? How much collaboration did you have with one another?

As I said, I think Lena is a genius! She is also on the other side of the world haha! I love the expressions, and the almost cinematic quality to the pictures. They drew me in immediately, even with the roughs, and only got better as the colour came into play!

I didn’t have a lot of communication during the project, that was Cooper’s domain, but was lucky enough that Cooper sent all stages to me for my thoughts and comments. So I saw and was able to contribute my thoughts as Lena went through the process. She was so fast too. Fast and amazing, a good combo!

A rhyming story about Eve saving Christmas through the re-awakening of the spirit is a perfect, clever narrative for the festive season that is sure to enliven the spirits, hope and excitement in all of us! What else do you hope your readers will gain from experiencing the fun of Merry Christmas, Eve!?

Hmmmm, hopefully the idea that when we lock things away, when we restrain our true selves, those things can whither away, whether that be feelings, joy, anything. Eve is so true to herself, and to hold that down or back would be a tragedy. I remember a friend of mine saying that a teacher said to her son, when he wasn’t going to perform, that it was denying everyone the chance to see his gift. I hope this lets kids share their gifts with the world, don’t let them be locked away in a box.

Love that!

What do you love most about Christmas time?

My mum, nearing 80, still gets me to write a letter to Santa and I still get a full stocking every Christmas morning I spend with her. The joy she gets from that, the laughs we have around it, that’s what I love most.

Favourite Christmas memory?

Oh boy … ummmmmmm … hmmmmmmm … possibly telling the same joke five years in a row, pretending it was in the Christmas cracker, and while my cousin knew, the others had no idea and kept responding as if it was the first time. I won’t repeat the joke here …

Hahaha!

Have you ever had to save Christmas?

Hahaha, not so far, knock wood! I mean, there was that one time where we had the thing with the ladder, the eggnog, the puppy, the chainsaw, the false teeth and the lopsided tree, but that was a team effort. So I have never saved it on my own!

Hmmm, interesting…

What’s the most important thing about you or your books that we need to know?

I get just as excited now as I ever did, even after twenty years of writing. I am working on three new projects now that are possibly my favourite things I have ever done!

Also, some of them are gross and disgusting. Watch out for those ones.

Yesss! Can’t wait!

What’s next for Adam Wallace? There’s always something amazing on the go…

Haha always something! As I said, I have three new projects I am working on, some I am waiting on responses from publishers. One is a movie about babies, one is a historical novel about the first paying passenger to come to Australia on the Second Fleet, on the Hell Ship Neptune (and who was also … Jane Austen’s greatest love!), and one is a series for which I have already planned 27 books, a TV show and a movie hahaha.

So a couple of things!

So cool! You’re truly inspiring! 🙂

Where can we grab a copy of Merry Christmas, Eve! and your other awesome titles?

Eve is on Amazon and all the other online stores, I think that’s it at the moment for those of us in Australia. My books through Scholastic like Fartboy are in all the big stores, and my self-published books and merch are all on my website at www.adam-wallace-books.com.

Thanks, Adam, and Merry Christmas! 😊

Thanks, Romi, you’re ORSM!!!

Adam’s mission is to entertain and inspire millions of children around the world, to inspire a love of reading, writing, drawing, joy and laughter, and to inspire them to see there’s nothing they can’t do!

Adam has his own MERCH! Check it out… HERE!

Adam hosts his own short courses for kids’ creators! Check out the Kid’s Book Creator Capital HERE!

Merry Christmas, Eve! is published by Riven Rock Projects.

Get into the SPIRIT of CHRISTMAS with some FUN ACTIVITIES!

• How many ways can you make a Christmas Spirit bauble?

1. Gingerbread cookie ornament – bake your favourite shape (don’t forget the hole at the top!), decorate and hang!
2. Wool ball bauble – dip coloured wool in glue and wrap around a small balloon until dry. Pop the balloon, and ta da! Add some google eyes to look like the Christmas Spirit.
3. Pom pom spirit – so cute and fluffy! Using large or a bunch of small pom poms and tie with string. Don’t forget some eyes!
4. Plastic ball bauble – decorate a DIY plastic bauble, and fill the inside with something special of your choice!
5. Styrofoam ball ornament – decorate your ball with paint, sequins, stickers, glitter, photos, etc to represent your own spirit!

• Share some gingerbread people cookies and hot cocoa with your loved ones! There are loads of recipes on the internet for easy to make gingerbread men for kids.
• Make your own Eve! Using a toilet paper roll, some coloured craft paper, felt, markers and any other craft materials, decorate your paper roll to look just like Eve! Don’t forget her cute green hat and little red scarf! There you have your very own elf!
• Write a poem to a loved one and gift it to them for Christmas. It could be a poem about what you love about them, or what you love about Christmas, or even just a funny rhyming story!
• Illustrator Lena Bardy showcases her process of Merry Christmas, Eve! on her webpage. Check it out! She’s extremely talented! Lena Bardy’s webpage. Here’s a snippet… maybe a cool colouring in activity!

#merrychristmaseve #christmasspirit #savechristmas #christmasbooksforkids #happyholidays