Kitty litter cake, slime pie? Local author says 'That's Not Food'

S1: Welcome in San Diego. It's Andrew Bowen filling in for Jade Hindman on today's show. What to do about kids putting things in their mouths. A new children's book might help. This is KPBS Midday Edition. Connecting our communities through conversation. Anyone who's been around little kids know they love to put things in their mouths , whether they should or they shouldn't. It's a way for them to explore the world , but it can also drive their parents crazy. And that's the premise behind the new children's book That's Not Food from San Diego author Mara Altman. And Mara joins me now. Mara , welcome to Midday Edition.

S2: Thanks for having me here.

S1: So this is actually your second children's book , but I'm curious about , you know , this. That's not food.

S2: I had at the time when I came up with this idea , it was about five years ago. My kids were two. They're twins. And like every , you know , you're trying to watch both. And there'd be , like , a cigarette butt in one's mouth , a rock , a stick , a screw , a coin. And I would find myself going , that's not food. So it kind of came about very naturally.

S1: And that's sort of the tagline of each page in the book is you introduce something that a kid , you know , maybe wants to eat , but it's you. You got to tell them that's not food. You say the premise of this book came out of a game that you played when your kids were toddlers. Can you tell me about that ? Yeah.

S2: So , you know , I would kind of quiz them in the car. I would come up with these silly ideas , which are kind of in here in different forms , you know , would you eat like shoelace pasta ? And they'd be like , that's not food. Yeah. And then , you know , all , like so many parents , have their own stories of wild stories of what their kids have put in their mouths. So it's very relatable. Yeah.

S1: And parents also , I'm sure , can relate to trying to the difficulty of trying to get kids to actually eat food , the things that they're supposed to eat.

S2: So yes , I think games should be , you know , part of even getting to the car in the morning. It helps kids. Yeah , with part of routines.

S1: And one piece of inspiration for this book was from an artist , Linda Clayton , who you wrote an article about. She made an artwork called 63 Objects Taken from My Son's mouth.

S2: And like , she was using also a part of , um , you know , watching her children and the different eras they go through , and us as parents and making it into art. So like another piece that she came up with in the research I did for this article you're talking about was , um , like measuring how far she could let her son go without running after him and using those measurements as like an art piece. So , yeah , just as mothers are art. Um , you know , for me , this is a piece of art , but also just for fun. You know , a lot of the work I do can be pretty serious. I'm also a journalist. And so this was just like a delightful collaboration with an artist as well.

S1: This book really captures this time of life , when toddlers are just so curious to experience the world in so many different ways. And , you know , the mouth is is one way to experience the outside world.

S2: I mean , they just don't have a sense of danger. You know , they're always putting themselves at risk. So it's always like , um , you know , as a , as a parent of young kids , you're always very alert. Um , you know , we I definitely had a time in the ER where , um , my son ate some mushrooms that were just out and about. Um , you know , it's just like part of the process of , of growing up.

S1: Is learning what's not food.

S2: What's not food , guys. And I mean , this is , it's it's really just like also it's meant to be very delightful. And when people open it up , they kind of tend to giggle and smile. And it's fun.

S1: It absolutely is. And the illustrations are fantastic. And you've got some very imaginative , perhaps gross concoctions of things that are not food , like spiny cactus , pancakes with soap , syrup , dog hair , sprinkles , whipped paint.

S2: It was like , that's the stuff that would end up in their mouths. Yeah. yeah. And I mean careful tweaks , uh , here. And they're adding , you know , you gotta , you know , with the sound , the rhythm of the sentence , I'm like , oh , that could use some dog hair. Sprinkles. You.

S1: You. You've brought a prop into our studio today. Uh , tell me about what it is we're looking at here. It looks kind of like a kitty litter box.

S2: Well , yes , you did mention , like , it's gross , but. So one of the best , like , feedbacks I got about the book is that it's gross , but not too gross. I tend towards too gross. That's kind of my way. So I needed like some boundaries around what would just put people off. So I think I , I danced around that pretty good. My , my , uh , publisher had us take out some , uh , an something that had bird poop. So I brought you , uh , a kitty litter cake. So it has , it looks like a kitty litter. It's in a kitty litter pan with a kitty litter , a little scooper. And then I formed the. I've gotten quite good at this. Forming Tootsie Rolls to look like little poops. So this is kind of my way to bring the poop back. And and it's funny.

S1: I have to say , it doesn't look very appetizing to me , but I will trust that it tastes really good.

S2: I found out a thing that it's delightful to people that don't have cats. Aha ! And it's a little. It's a little too close for people that have cats.

S1: I'm familiar with with the cleaning up. Yes. Okay. And my neighbor has a cat that we sometimes look after. Okay. Yeah. You so picture books like. That's not food. You know , they have great illustrations , but there are a lot of words in here , too. Can you talk to me about how you came up with , you know , some of these things and , uh , sunscreen dip. Um , let's see , what's another one here ? Masking tape , missing socks , rhinestone crumble. Again.

S2: Again. It was just like being really playful and like , you know , this is the stuff that kids actually put in their mouths , in my experience. So , and working with the artist to bring this to life was so fun. It was. The artist's name is Courtney Cook , and I met her at one of the readings of one of my non-fiction books called Gross Anatomy. She came up , introduced herself , and what said she wanted to become a writer. Two years later , she contacts me with a book she's written and wanted a blurb , and I blurb it. And her work in it was it was like a , um , an autobiographical. But but what are they , graphic novel. Um. And her , her illustrations were just so fun. The cover is of her in a cereal bowl , and I just. When I came up with this idea , I was like , she's gotta do the food in this. And she was so excited and we had such a good time coming up with gross things together.

S1: And the cover of this book , it's a board book and and it's got a picture of a young child who's holding a picture of the book and putting it into her mouth.

S2: Yeah , she's like holding the book and eating it as you might find a child.

S1: Yeah , right. Which is why they're made out of that sturdy material. Exactly.

S2: Exactly. You're going to get some bite marks in here. Yeah.

S1: Yeah. This is your second children's book. We spoke to you about your first one , which is called A Little Shelf Love. Yeah , a little , I'm sorry. A little shelf love. Thank you.

S2: Um , I started five years ago , and like , the process is so long to getting all the illustrations right. To finding a publisher. I had a I have an agent for adult work , not for children's work. It's a very different landscape. So , um , and , and the difference was , um , I mean , it was really a lot of the same , kind of like just going over your work over and over again and making sure each image speaks to each , um , you know , a quote well , and that it's readable and. Yeah , and testing it on the kids.

S1: And what is a little shelf love about ? Tell me about that book. Okay.

S2: Okay. That's about a pothos plant who is new to a shelf of plants and wants to fit in and tries all the things that other the other plants are doing , like tries to grow flowers , tries to be really tall , like a sense of area until she finds that the thing that's , you know , is what she does is the best thing , which is she grows her vines and everyone is able to appreciate that in her. And you learn about plants along the way. I grew up on a plant nursery , so it felt really like bringing together , um , my , my childhood and what I do as a author writer.

S1: Uh , before you wrote children's books , you mentioned you. You have worked on a non-fiction related to the female body perceptions of beauty and sexuality.

S2: You're like , me too. And just like letting myself be a little bit gross and letting my like , you know , you guys are talking about such important stuff on on the show earlier and like , I can be like , oh gosh , I just did this ridiculous little book about like , don't put rocks in your mouth. You know , like , what am I doing ? It's important. But then I'm like , you know , like , it's super fun and people need fun things too. And it's just like believing in yourself and your your message. I am who I am , I , I lean towards a turd shaped like Tootsie Rolls versus like Antifa , you know , reporting. And I accept that about myself.

S1: We've just got about a minute left , but , um , tell us what you're working on next.

S2: Oh , so I also did this piece called episodes with one of my best friends. Um , just in November , it came out. It's about how she was diagnosed bipolar during the pandemic , and it's this really heavy big piece. So I was doing that at the same time as I was publishing these two books. And so it's been a year of three books coming out , and it was. All the eggs were in my basket , and now my basket is empty. And I'm kind of just like taking stuff in and having a moment to kind of enjoy , relax and fill up again with creative energy.

S1: I've been speaking with San Diego writer and author Mara Altman , whose latest children's book is called That's Not Food , and it's out now. Mara , thank you for joining us.

S2: Yeah , thanks for having me.

S1: And that's our show for today. I'm your host , Andrew Bowen , in for Jade Hindman. Thanks for listening to Midday Edition. Have a great day.