Q&A with M.C. Kasper, author of There Doesn’t Have to be a Reason

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Book Description: Can your tail help you fly? asks the bird. 

Can your tail help you swim? asks the beaver. 

Can your tail swat bugs away? asks the bison.

It turns out the bear’s tail does none of these things... and no matter how many creatures and critters he meets, he still doesn’t know why he's got one. But does that mean Bear shouldn’t love his tail?

Join Bear on his journey to learn all the reasons why some animals have tails—and that you never really need a reason to love your own body. Author Bio: M.C. Kasper was born and mostly raised in Maryland. From her younger years living on a farm, to her college years working in the Museum of Natural History at Frostburg State University, she has immersed herself in the lives of animals. Writing is amongst M.C.’s many creative interests, including photography, painting, and baking. She holds a Bachelor’s in English, and now lives in Severn, Maryland, with her husband and daughter.

1. The story begins with Bear already expressing affection for his tail—“stubby and cute”—before setting out to discover what it can (and can’t) do. What drew you to start from a place of self-acceptance, rather than self-doubt?
   

I wanted to start from self-acceptance because it is true that the opinion of others often can and does alter a person's sense of self and how they feel about something. The thing is, it is all subjective, so we shouldn’t really allow ourselves to put as much weight on others' opinions of ourselves as we do. Also, totally not me, being a case of the pot calling the kettle black. It’s a case of easier said than done, but I truly hope that it becomes easier for people to love themselves just as they are, with all their imperfections perfectly in place. 

2. Bear meets a wide range of animals, each with a very specific use for their tail. How did you decide which animals to include, and what did you want each encounter to reveal?
   

The way I decided which animals to use was to narrow down the area they could be natively found. All the animals featured in There Doesn’t Have to be a Reason are native to the East Coast of the USA. Otherwise, there are just too many animals to choose from. Originally, I wanted each encounter to just be a silly way for the animals to show off what their tails can do. Then I sort of realized I had also placed Bear in a situation to also teach kids that it’s ok to keep trying things and fail, even if you are confident that they can’t do something. After all, technically, Bear was holding the stick with their tail, so it's not a complete fail…right?

3. The book gently introduces real animal behaviours—swimming, balancing, communication—alongside a playful narrative. How did you approach balancing factual learning with storytelling?
   

I think I approached it somewhat like a what-if conversation, which is more shown with the bear failing to do so many of the animal behaviours.

4. Throughout the story, Bear repeatedly discovers what his tail can’t do, but also what he can do in other ways. For example, he can’t swim with his tail, but he can with his paws. What interested you about this idea of ability versus identity?
   

I’m not going to lie. I did not actually think that far to include ability versus identity for There Doesn’t Have to be a Reason. I did come up with another story using ability vs identity, which I have yet to fully illustrate. So far, the title is Dalia Daydreams, and it’s more ambitious on the illustrating front, so the frustration is real! Back to the question, though, about what interested me about ability vs identity. Sorry, I ramble and get sidetracked. I’m not a huge fan of the thought process that someone's ability to do things is somehow equated to their identity. After all, if someone suddenly loses their ability to see, does that change them enough to alter their identity?

5. Bear is curious and willing to try things—even attempting to fly. How important was it to you to portray experimentation, failure, and resilience in such a light, humorous way?
   

I really wanted to keep it light because so many people, myself included, can freeze in the face of potential failure. Which is sad because most of the things people enjoy didn’t make their way into existence without some form of failure. 

6. There’s a quiet shift in the story from asking “What is this for?” to “Do I need a reason at all?” When did that central idea first take shape for you?
   

The central idea actually took place years ago, but I had started with a much smaller group of animals featured in the story. Which would have made this already short story even shorter. Plus, most of the time was actually illustrating and reillustrating the entire story at least a dozen times. Between my drawing skills changing, second thoughts on medium,  and figuring out how to use a drawing tablet so I’d feel less bad about messing up who knows how much paper, the illustrations took forever.

7. Your background includes both creative work and hands-on experience with animals. How did those experiences influence the voice and world of this book?
   

I just really like sharing stories, story ideas, and animals. Between my past creative work experience and my passion for storytelling, not to mention very heavy pushes from family and friends, the experience influenced more on my ability to finish a project and put myself out there more than it influenced the voice of the story. I think the voice of it came more from my personality and habit of addressing and dealing with potentially deeper topics with humor. My experience and interest in animals did influence the story in a way that made me want to add animal facts into it. Otherwise, I might have gone in another direction. Not sure exactly where at the moment, though. The experience of working at the Discovery Center up at Frostburg University also influenced how I dealt with the animals back and forth. Giving tours for small children in a room full of taxidermied animals can be hilarious, so I guess it did also influence the humor. 

8. The illustrations are playful, expressive, and often laugh-out-loud funny. How did you think about using visual humour to support or extend the story?
   

I thought of using humor to support the story because I felt it would be a bit more engaging for younger readers. Plus, it was more fun to draw. 

9. At its heart, the book carries a message about body confidence and self-acceptance. What do you hope young readers—and the adults reading with them—take away from Bear’s journey?
   

I hope the takeaway is that it is ok to put more weight on their own opinions on what they like than those of others. It’s ok to try and fail. It doesn’t make you better if you succeed, and you’re not bad just because you failed.