In the July/August 2014 Horn Book Magazine, reviewer Martha Parravano asked Emily's Blue Period author Cathleen Daly about the dual focus of this innovative picture book. Read the starred review of Emily's Blue Period here.

Martha V. Parravano: Your book beautifully incorporates details about a particular artist (Picasso) and the young girl who’s inspired by him with the story of her parents’ divorce. Which part of the book came first?

Cathleen Daly: The idea to write a kids’ book about a girl who liked Picasso came first. Actually, the very first thing that came to me was the title — I knew what the title would be and that it would be a story about a young aspiring artist who was having a difficult time with something in her life. Shortly thereafter I decided to make it about divorce because it’s something I went through as a kid — and it fit well with the theme.

From the July/August 2014 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.