The Rainbow Flamingo by Catherine Emmett and Claire Powell ~ Blog Tour – Picture Book Perfect
It’s publication day for The Rainbow Flamingo by Catherine Emmett and Claire Powell! For my stop on the blog tour, I’m delighted to be sharing a guest post by Catherine on the inspiration behind this gorgeous picture book.
A little flamingo called Adele is hiding a big secret. Not all her feathers are pink! In fact, when she lifts up her wing, her feathers are a rainbow of shades.
Adele is flooded with anxiety as all her friends begin learning dances for this year’s Flamboyance party. She wishes she was like everyone else, but can Adele find the courage to be proud of who she is both inside and out?
The Rainbow Flamingo is a joyful picture book packed with vibrant illustrations that celebrates finding your own true colours.
And so, with no more ado, let me hand over to Catherine to tell us about the inspiration behind this fabulous picture book…
Inspiration for The Rainbow Flamingo
The inspiration for The Rainbow Flamingo was actually just that – a flamingo! As I was walking around Colchester Zoo and looking at a flock of flamingos, I wondered what would happen if a flamingo wasn’t pink. I had been chatting to my sister about the ubiquity of pink toys for little girls, and how it felt as though girls were almost shoehorned into loving all things pink. Well, what if a little girl didn’t want to live in a world of pink?
It felt as though the idea had potential, as flamingos are popular animals and the concept of being different to the rest of the flock was definitely something I identified with. I came down from Newcastle to work in the City and was one of a small number of women on the trading floor in London, and certainly the only one with a Geordie accent. Even as an adult it can be hard to feel different – I felt that this story was something I could write.
Originally, Adele was a flamingo who didn’t want to be pink, but as my lovely editor at S&S pointed out, the story might resonate even more if she was already hiding the fact that she was a different colour. That felt like a lightbulb moment – it really strengthened the story, it simplified it and made Adele’s feelings that much easier to understand. As for what colour a flamingo would be if she wasn’t pink – why, ALL the colours of course!
Adele really personifies for me that shyness and worry that we can all have when we lack confidence in who we are. Sometimes it can paralyse children and create lifelong anxiety. I’d like to see children embrace their differences and be proud to be who they are. I really hope that The Rainbow Flamingo might help some young readers to do the same.
Thank you, Catherine, for a fabulous guest posts, it’s always lovely to hear how a story came together!
The Rainbow Flamingo was published by Simon & Schuster, 23 May 2024
ISBN: 978-1471181726
About Catherine:
Catherine grew up in Newcastle and spent all of her childhood reading books. When she grew up, she spent fourteen years making spreadsheets and not reading any books at all. After advising a group of young girls to find a career that they loved, she decided to take her own advice. She packed up her husband and her three young boys, moved to rural Essex and started to write picture books. She now spends her days surrounded by words, animals and noisy boys. When she needs a bit of peace and quiet, she can be found running (very slowly) across muddy fields.
Don’t forget to drop in on the other blog tour stops!
I am very grateful to the publisher for providing me with a complimentary copy of this book. This voluntary feature contains my honest opinion.
