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by Dana Wulfekotte

A brief look into how I come up with my story ideas:

A lot of my ideas come from my own childhood in some way. My upcoming book, MABEL’S MUSEUM OF WONDERS, was inspired by the “museum” my best friend and I created in my basement. We took all of the things we had amassed over the years and put them on display (Happy Meal toys, Play-doh sculptures, mostly a lot of weird junk). I remember my mom indulging us by walking through the museum, pretending it was all very interesting, and then buying something at the gift shop for a dollar.

I’ve been a collector since I was a kid. My aunt has been giving me rocks and crystals since I was a kid. If we went to the beach, my pockets would be weighed down with shells by the end of the day. When my husband and I bought our house from my father-in-law, he left behind his jars of marbles for us (which also make an appearance in the book).

So I used these memories as a starting point for my story. But I needed some kind of conflict. What if Mabel didn’t have a best friend yet, and creating this museum was her way of trying to connect with others? And what if most of the kids thought she was kind of strange, but maybe one of them understood her? The rest of the story came together quickly from there.

I drew this sketch back in 2019 before I had started working on this story. Since then, Mabel’s friend has changed from a girl to a boy to a badger, but the heart of the story was still captured in this image. Keeping a sketchbook has been tremendously helpful for me when it comes to  developing ideas. My sketchbooks are not made for Instagram. They’re full of drawings I’d be embarrassed to show other people, but I think that’s kind of the point. Most of the characters and ideas in them will never grow into full stories, but that doesn’t mean that it’s wasted effort.

As I wrap up revisions on my current project, I’m starting to think about what my next one will be. Maybe it’ll be something that’s been sitting in my sketchbook for years, or maybe I’ll come up with something entirely new. Either way, I’m going to embrace the process and try to skip Step 3 this time around. Hopefully you all will do the same!

Dana Wulfekotte is an author-illustrator and animator. She was born in South Korea, grew up in New Jersey, and currently lives in New York with her husband and two rabbits. She illustrated the Schneider Family Honor book THE REMEMBER BALLOONS (written by Jessie Oliveros). Her new book, MABEL’S MUSEUM OF WONDERS, is coming out on June 30, 2026. You can find her online at DanaWulfekotte.com and on Instagram and BlueSky @danawulf.