Welcome to #TheQuickSixInterview with Shelly Higgs!
We’re excited to welcome multi-talented debut picture book author, actor and playwright, Shelly Higgs to the blog to share her valuable new release, Poppy’s Monster. This beautifully heartfelt and uplifting tale takes young Poppy on a journey from constant fear and worries to confidence and resilience, as she learns how to harness the power of reassurance and imagination for success. Together with Shelly’s spirited narrative, Francesca Costa‘s lively illustrations radiate with energy and emotion, sweeping readers along with the action. Look out for more of Poppy’s Monster on the blog in the coming weeks!
Thank you and congratulations, Shelly! 🙂
About the Author
Shelly Higgs first entered storytelling by telling fibs as a child. It’s not clear whether her parents believed these lies, but they were unsurprised by the career choices that followed: actor, theatre director, playwright, dramaturg.
Shelly has entertained audiences as a giant frog, wrestled words of acclaimed playwrights, led theatre shows across Australia, and won numerous awards for photography. She has just completed her first feature film (in the thriller comedy genre and very inappropriate for children) and lives in Canberra, Australia with her 4 kids, husband and a menagerie of pets. She has just completed a Graduate Diploma in Psychology, and is currently inspired to combine her understanding of people with the power of imagination.
Please find Shelly Higgs at her website: www.shellyhiggs.com and on Instagram.
About the Illustrator
Francesca Costa is from Savona, Italy. After graduating in Chemical Engineering and working in this field for several years, Francesca moved to Milan to pursue her dream of being an illustrator. She earned a degree from IED, the European Institute of Design in 2002, after which, she started working as a freelance illustrator in the publishing and advertising fields.
Please find Francesca Costa at her website: Francesca Costa Illustrator – Illustratrice di libri per bambini
Poppy’s Monster is available for purchase through Shelly’s website. More information at Starfish Bay Children’s Publishing.
WHO wrote, illustrated and published this book?
Poppy’s Monster is the debut picture book by author Shelly Higgs and is illustrated by Francesca Costa. It was published by Starfish Bay Children’s Publishing on 5th of Feb 2025.
WHAT is it about?
Poppy knows what it’s like to feel scared. Especially at school time. The only problem is that she doesn’t know what it is that she’s afraid of. She has a monster that takes up all the space in her head and crams the good thoughts out. When he’s around, her legs start to wobble, the noise turns up and her heart beats fast. The only thing that makes him go away is holding hands. But Poppy can’t hold hands forever. A story about resilience, strength and the power of imagination.
What is your favourite part of this book?
My favourite part is when Poppy yells her monster into existence in front of her and then notices that he looks scared too – which makes him shrink.
WHEN did you begin writing this book?
I wrote this book in 2020 in the middle of Covid. It’s taken a very long time for it to exist in the world!
When is its release / launch date?
The launch is set for the 22nd of February at the Book Cow in Kingston, Canberra.
WHERE did the inspiration for this book come from?
My daughter Evie found it really difficult to go to school. Nothing worked to abate her anxiety. We had to hold her hand and physically hand her to the teacher on duty and this was made even worse during Covid when we weren’t allowed on the school grounds. We used to talk about her having a little fear monster in her head and that she needed to boss him around and shove him in the cupboard so he didn’t have control all the time. Evie loved the idea of a monster cartoon in her head, but it still didn’t help. Then one day, Evie’s older sister (watching yet another morning of crying and anxiety) grabbed her by the shoulders, looked her in the eye and said – ‘Evie, you don’t have to shove him in the cupboard. Just take his hand and walk in with him!’ It sounds really simple, but that slight change from not fighting it, to accepting her fear made all the difference. She went in by herself everyday after that. It still gives me goosebumps remembering it.
WHY is this book meaningful to you?
I think this book is one little step towards acknowledging that sometimes some things are harder for some people than they are for others, and that’s okay. I love that it gives permission to kids to take charge and help themselves – because I think we all need to do more to empower kids at a young age. And actually I believe in doing that so much, that I went back to uni and studied a Graduate Diploma in Psychology so that I could have the understanding to do just that and hopefully write many more books!
Why would its message resonate with readers?
Every single person experiences worry, fear or anxiety at some stage or another. I think this book resonates because it gives a very visceral understanding of what that feels like in our bodies and it acknowledges that it is normal for us all to sometimes feel afraid. Those kids who have more trouble with worry than usual, however, will feel validated and discover another tool to help.
HOW do you feel about the illustrations / cover design? How do they convey the feeling or mood you envisioned?
It was difficult being so separate from the illustration process, as I’ve worked in theatre for the past 20 years and that is much more collaborative. That being said, I love how the illustrations have the monster hiding in the shadows until Poppy visualises him and that’s when we first get to see him properly. The cover design is great. I think night time can be a universally scary time for children and I love that Poppy is holding her teddy close and that we get a sense of a big presence next to her. Sometimes not knowing is much worse than being able to face what you’re afraid of head on.
How have you promoted this book and how can we find it?
Starfish Bay Publishing handle a lot of the promotion and distribute through Newsouth Books. It’s online in lots of places and hopefully you can also get it at your local independent book store. I’m doing a lot of work with teachers and schools locally. I think there is so much benefit to being able to recognise anxiety, find tools to deal with it and to have conversations and share experience that de-stigmatise.
OTHER information or experiences you’d like to share?
I’m using the premise of this story to work on a middle grade narrative non fiction at the moment – driven by a tween girl and her head monster and peppered throughout with fascinating facts and tools. It’s a combination of my Psych degree and evolving characters who haven’t left me alone for 5 years- I’m hoping I can make a book that is funny, insightful and incredibly helpful for kids who experience anxiety.
Thanks so much for sharing your beautiful and important book with us, Shelly! We look forward to learning more about Poppy’s Monster soon! 🙂
#thequicksixinterview #poppysmonster #anxiety #acceptance #picturebook #justkidslit
