M.B. Turchick is a behavioral specialist working with children in the home, school, and community. She is also an avid gardener and grandmother with two grandchildren. Her goal is to write fun and engaging books that encourage young children to explore the world in their own backyard. She resides in Bucks County, PA, with her husband, Peter, and two golden retrievers, Maggie and Molly.
Q: What inspired the idea behind your book?
A: I love children’s books that show positive relationships and encourage being kind to others. In my first book with Blue Balloon Books, Under the Hydrangea, the animals all had to live in and share a big, beautiful hydrangea bush. In my second Blue Balloon release, Best Friend Muffins, Fox has to decide how he can do a nice thing for all of his best friends. It encourages everyone that they can have more than just one best friend.
Q: As an author, what tips would you give anyone who wants to get into writing?
A: You have to write about what you love! If you are passionate about your topic, then your characters come to life with so much more enthusiasm and personality.
Q: What is your favorite book?
A: I have so many! Three of my favorites are A Sick Day for Amos McGee by Philip C. Stead (illustrated by Erin E. Stead) because it is about relationships and taking care of our friends, “The Lion and the Mouse” by Aesop because it shows the power of helping others, and Hairy Maclary from Donaldson’s Dairy by Lynley Dodd because it’s silly and fun and was one of my children’s favorites. I love to see animals with big personalities come to life in children’s stories.
Q: Was your main character modeled after anyone in your life?
A: Me!!! I am an avid baker, and I always try to bake everyone’s favorite treats when we have company. But with a growing family and lots of friends, it is becoming quite a challenge! I love watching Fox problem-solve in his kitchen. Nuno Alexandre Vieira, my illustrator, did such a fantastic job capturing all the emotions of trying to make the perfect muffin.
Q: What is your favorite part of the writing process?
A: When I get an idea for a book, it rolls around in my head for a few days (sometimes longer). All of a sudden, I have an aha moment and see how it will come together. I love that feeling of excitement I get—that’s when I know I have a good book. I’ll sit down that day and get it all outlined.
Q: Do you believe that being a “good writer” is a developed skill or a natural talent?
A: I think you have to have the passion to write, and you have to see stories that need to be told, but you also have to put the time and work into learning how to write and how to become an author. I have so many people come up and tell me they have “such a great idea for a children’s book,” but they never sit down and write it. I think it’s part skill, part talent, part intentional effort and being willing to put in the time and work.
Q: Do you have a favorite book, poem, TV, or movie quote?
A: “No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted” from Aesop’s “The Lion and the Mouse” is one lesson I taught my children and now try to show in my writing. I feel that if a child is encouraged to be kind, then so many other things fall into place.
Q: Would you write another book (or are you already writing another book)?
A: I am always writing. I have a notebook full of ideas that I write down when they come to me. Then I wait to see if anything starts forming in my head strongly enough to revisit those ideas.
Q: Is there an author you look up to, and why?
A: I look up to E. B. White because I love his characters. But also because, when I was younger, he vacationed at a camp in Maine where I worked, and he was a wonderfully kind man. I think my curiosity about becoming a writer started with him.
I also look up to Julia Donaldson because she is a great example of how rhyming books can work so beautifully. My first three books were rhyming ones. I have taken her master class. She is a strong advocate for writing what you like, and the rest will follow.
Q: If there were an apocalypse and you could only take five books into your doomsday bunker, what would they be?
A: The Celestine Prophecy by James Redfield
A good Agatha Christie mystery
All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten by Robert Fulghum
Hairy Maclary from Donaldson’s Dairy (I’m sure I’ll appreciate a good laugh in the bunker)
My notebook to keep track of any ideas that come to me down there
Learn more about M.B. Turchick and her latest children's book, Best Friend Muffins, here. Coming soon August 4, 2026!