Let's Talk Illustrators #365: Susie Ghahremani

I have long been a fan of Susie Ghahremani. It was her award-winning book Stack the Cats that put her on my radar (see my review from almost 9 years ago to the day here), and I've been itching to find an opportunity to interview her since. It turns out, Rosemary Long Ears was that opportunity! Tune in below to check out the process behind creating it.

About the book:

Join Rosemary on a walk through her neighborhood with her best friend. There are puddles to splash through and leaves to play in--OH NO! Before too long, Rosemary is a mess. But she knows that if you never get dirty, you may miss out on all the fun!

Peek underneath the dust jacket:

And check out the endpapers:

Let's talk Susie Ghahremani!

LTPB: Where did the idea for Rosemary Long Ears come from? How long have you been working on the book?

SG: Rosemary has been lurking in my mind for over 20 years now! I met a basset hound at a farmer’s market that had long, dusty, dirty ears. I asked the caregivers how frequently they had to clean them. They were exasperated and said it was a constant effort. I’ve been laughing about it ever since, imagining Rosemary dragging her ears along and sweeping the neighborhood!

There are so many dogs I love, and Rosemary is a bit of a hybrid of them, a tribute to the comfort, companionship, and resilience we find among our dearest friends and/or pets.

LTPB: What differences have you found between creating a picture book on your own (text and illustrations) versus illustrating someone else’s text?

SG: As the illustrator of someone else’s text, the manuscript is fixed, so the art acts as a layer to that steady foundation. But when I’m author and illustrator, everything in the book has the potential to change, and I’m following my story down one possible tangent among many. A small shift in the art can move the text – it can change the whole book! The process is amorphous all around, which makes it a deeply creative but also a puzzle.

LTPB: What did you find most difficult in creating this book? What did you find most rewarding?

SG: This sounds like a fake answer, but I promise it’s not. This book was purely a joy to create – from the character I’ve been so attached to, to the brilliant editorial team I worked with. The most challenging part was early on: finding the focus and confidence to write those early drafts, to share it, to critique it, to hope someone connects with it. I started working on this book at the height of the pandemic, and I really struggled to create as many of us did.

Most rewarding: discovering the art style I wanted to use for this book through playfulness with materials; having that first readaloud to a group of kids; meeting my editor Deirdre over breakfast for the first time!

LTPB: What did you use to create the illustrations in this book? Is this your preferred medium? How does your process change from book to book?

SG: I painted this book in gouache with mixed media like pencil and crayon to add texture and giving it more of a classic picture book feel. It felt right for the “mess” that Rosemary is! Every book I make seems to call for a different art process; different color palette; different moods. Playing with materials to find the visual language of the book is a big part of my process every time!

LTPB: What are you working on now? Anything you can show us?

SG: I’m working on another book with my mom, author of  Memory Garden – It’s called Celebrate Nowruz! and comes out Feb 2026. Here’s an early look at the cover!

LTPB: If you got the chance to write your own picture book autobiography, who (dead or alive!) would you want to illustrate it, and why?

SG: What a tricky question! Maybe I’d play an Uno reverse card and have my creative powerhouse mom illustrate it. She knows my heart and spirit, too, and would bring her tenderness to it.

A loooong thank you to Susie for talking to me about this super-fun book! Rosemary Long Ears published in April from Little, Brown Books for Young Readers!

Special thanks to Susie and Little, Brown for use of these images!

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