April Eckert is a children's author who aims to inspire a love of nature and insects in children through her two books There's a Spider in My Bathroom (2021) and There's a Roly Poly in My Pocket (2022).
As a child who loved the outdoors, April Eckert could usually be found playing with cute crawlies and creating a nature-inspired culinary dish in her spare time. Although nature was her favorite place, the one part of it that she was never comfortable with was spiders.
As an adult, April has earned her master’s degree in education. She has been a teacher for more than 10 years and continues her love for nature. April is happiest playing outside amongst the trees with her daughter.
Although spiders still aren’t her favorite of the cute crawlies, she has learned that her childhood fear was based on not understanding these eight-legged creatures. She hopes that her books help children find their love for all things nature and their parents to be able to reconnect to the carefree feeling that being outside used to bring.
Join us in this Q&A as we talk to April about her imaginative book There's a Spider in My Bathroom.
1. What inspired you to write this story?
I have always loved to be outside. It brings me peace and a sense of calm. I want to share that passion with children and their parents. I also want to share the message that all living things deserve respect, even the most misunderstood ones.
2. Why did you choose a spider as your main character?
I think that many people are afraid of spiders. Children and adults alike. I, myself, had a fear of spiders as a child and into my adulthood. But I found that through learning more about them, my fears were calmed. I appreciated them as living things and found that some were actually quite cute as well!
My goal is to help children and their parents learn to overcome their fear of these little crawlies and maybe even come to enjoy being around them.
3. What do you want to tell readers with your story?
The main message that I want to convey is that all living things deserve respect, even if there is a fear of them. People fear things that they don't understand, and I think this is true with those that are afraid of spiders. I hope that with my story, people can see that spiders are living things too and deserve the respect to be allowed to continue to exist.
4. How do the illustrations complement the text?
I have a wonderful illustrator, Catherine Knorr, who was able to really make the text come alive. She used vibrant colors that added so much fun to the book and she brought so much personality to the little spider that it helped people connect to the character.
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