Q&A with Lisa Maria Burgess, Author of Snowpal Soccer / Les copains de neige jouent au foot

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SnowPal Soccer is a whimsical, bilingual story that celebrates imagination, play, and learning. Inspired by her son’s love of snow and soccer, Lisa Maria Burgess brings the story to life with her unique hand-stitched textile illustrations, inviting children to explore creativity and teamwork in the joy of the game.

Book Description: The epic game begins! That night, as agreed, the two children ask the moon: “Please let our snowpals play soccer.” Then each child adds a secret wish upon the stars: “I wish that my snowpal wins the soccer match!” 

After the storm and after the children build snowmen comes a whimsical tale. In the light of the moon and stars, the snowpals come to life to play an epic game of soccer. A story of joy and the delight of play for all children. A primer in sportsmanship in English and French, this analogue book, illustrated with stitch-and-seam, harkens back to an era before the uniformity of computer-generated illustrations.

Author Bio: Lisa Maria Burgess hand-stitches textile art to illustrate her bilingual books for children. While her first language is English, she speaks Spanish and French with fluency, and enjoys learning the basics of any language she has the pleasure of meeting. Lisa currently divides her time between the United States and Bénin, grew up in México, and has lived around the world as a United Nations spouse. She holds a doctorate in English from the University of Pennsylvania and is a wife and mother. 

1. SnowPal Soccer tells the story of two children who wish upon the solstice moon and stars for their snowpals to come alive. You mentioned that your son inspired this story–can you share the process of turning his imaginative idea into a complete children’s book?

When we were living in Kigali, Rwanda, my younger son imagined a snowman playing soccer in the snow. My son played soccer (a.k.a. football) almost every day, but had had only a few opportunities to play in the snow in the United States. His imagination combined the joy of playing soccer with the magic of playing in the snow. Many years later, I was living in Mount Vernon, NY, during the COVID pandemic and searching for something happy to focus on. It was then that I remembered the snow, the snowman, and the soccer ball, and a story started formulating in my own imagination. 

2. The language is poetic in nature, flowing with rhythm and filled with magical imagery. Do you think children connect more with this kind of playful language?
   

My intention is to write a story simply, with as few words as possible, that flows when read out loud. I don’t intentionally write poetic language, but maybe it is the effort to write succinctly that leads to the imagery. As I revise, I read the story out loud over and over again, adjusting the wording to make the flow and the pauses align with the meaning, providing the rhythm. I’m sure different children connect with different kinds of language. In my case, I enjoy playing with language and image, and I enjoy sharing that play with children.

3. This book is written in both English and French. Did you originally write the story in English or French, and what was the process like for creating it in both languages?
   

I write a story in English and then translate it into French or Spanish. As I translate, I clarify the writing in English, deciding which words are key. I then have a professional translator check my translation and have further discussions. Translation is actually a very useful editorial tool because it forces you to be precise. In this way, the opening line, “In the morning, snow falls in heaps and heaps: cold white fluff.” Became simpler and more precise, “In the morning, snow falls in heaps and heaps, cold and white.”

4. We know that young children can learn languages more easily when exposed early. What inspired your decision to make SnowPal Soccer a bilingual book?
   

Yes, all the research indicates that a person who learns more than one language as a child has a brain that fully understands that there is more than one way to name a thing. I myself grew up in a multilingual environment, which I firmly believe made me more comfortable with people of different backgrounds, beliefs, and languages. This book is in English and French because it is bringing together two peoples, those in West Africa and those in North America. In its languages, it is expressing part of the experience of the West African diaspora.

5. Do you think it should be more common for children’s books to be published in multiple languages?
   

Of course!  My hope is that all children learn more than one language. When I had children, I was always looking for bilingual books because it made it easier to support my children in achieving this goal. But even if the child is not learning to be bilingual, we have an opportunity with children’s books to show that there is more than one language in which to tell a story. Even if the reader and the audience don’t speak the second language, we are reminded of this fact, and I hope that this reminder makes us more respectful in our engagement with others.

6. In addition to the choice of languages, what aspects of the book reference the West African diaspora?
   

The book shows the diaspora without directly talking about migration or Africa. While the book is set in North America (weather and houses), the boy is represented as a West African, wearing a typical style of slouched hat. The squirrel represents both places, as squirrels are found on both continents. In addition, as noted at the back of the book, the national soccer team of the Republic of Benin used the squirrel as its mascot for many decades. Soccer itself has become an international sport, much loved by people around the world. The illustrations show that when people migrate from West Africa to North America, they often bring with them their traditional clothing and their love of soccer.

7. The illustrations for SnowPal Soccer are so unique and refreshing in a world of computer-generated art. Could you walk us through the process of creating hand-stitched textile illustrations?
   

Hand stitching textile illustrations is most similar to using paper collage to create illustrations. I take illustration notes as I write the story, and then I use pencil on paper to roughly sketch each spread of pages. Thus far, the process is similar to any other approach. Now I get to go through my boxes of fabric or go to the fabric store! In the case of SnowPal Soccer, I bought fabrics in New York for the backgrounds, and used scraps of West African fabrics from our tailor for the main figures. Then, one illustration at a time, I lay the background fabric on the table and cut and place the fabrics for the figures on top. I use embroidery as line (to draw faces) and as embellishment (to decorate the hats). Once satisfied, I sew all of the pieces together using needle and thread. When I feel that the illustration is finished, I add cotton batting and fabric backing and hand quilt the artwork. The quilting adds flow and texture to the illustration. Finally, I secure the edges of the artwork and add a sleeve on the back so that the artwork can be installed on a wall to be photographed for the book.

8. I appreciate how the story blends childlike magic and wonder with playful sportsmanship, as it encourages a healthy balance between imaginative play and physical activity. Was this an intentional choice you made when writing?
   

To be able to imagine is to think outside the box. To be actively pushing oneself to be physically stronger and to work with others, is to take control of one’s environment. As a teacher in middle and high school, I saw every day that children who did both felt better about themselves, participated respectfully in classroom discussion, and often gained academic success as a result. Everything is linked, so, as parents, teachers, and authors, we need to keep that balance in mind.

9. The snowpals learn to share and develop healthy attitudes through their game of soccer. What inspired you to highlight teamwork and positive behavior in this way?
   

My sons love team sports, especially soccer (football) and rugby. When they played on teams, I saw how the experiences impacted them positively in how they learned to work with their teammates and to learn from their coaches to achieve the goal of winning. But I also noticed that when they talked about the games (matches) later on, they did not focus on whether they won or lost. They actually focused on the experience: They would retell how they caught a pass with the tip of their shoe, how they managed to evade a tackle, and how they dribbled through the defense. They could remember and retell such experiences months and years later. Soccer and other sports do have a positive impact of promoting teamwork, but they also provide enduring experiences of competition and self-worth.

10. What do you hope young readers take away from this story?
    

On the serious side, I would like for young readers to take away the recognition that they have choices to make. They can choose how to interact with others, and they can choose when and how to follow instructions or rules. I would also want them to feel that imagination and imaginary friends are valuable, that we humans learn and expand our horizons through imagination; we enjoy thinking beyond the real!