Clucks, Chaos and a Runaway Egg: A Q&A with Dorothy Dowling, Author of Chookity Chook and the Runaway Egg
There is never a quiet day in the barnyard when Chookity Chook is around, and his latest adventure is certainly no exception.
In Chookity Chook and the Runaway Egg, Dorothy Dowling brings readers a lively, rhyming adventure filled with familiar barnyard faces, wonderfully silly sounds and one very determined egg that simply refuses to stay put. What begins with a little jiggle soon becomes a full-scale chase, as Chookity Chook and his friends race through the farmyard trying to bring the chaos under control.
We caught up with Dorothy to discover where the idea for the runaway egg came from, how she creates the wonderfully lively world of Chookity Chook, and what she hopes young readers will enjoy most about his latest barnyard adventure.
A runaway egg is such a wonderfully fun idea for a children’s story. Where did the inspiration for Chookity Chook and the Runaway Egg come from?
I think the best children’s stories often begin with a very simple thought: what if?
What if an egg simply refused to behave like an egg? What if it rolled away, and then everybody in the barnyard tried to catch it?
Once I had that image in my head, the story became bigger, sillier and more chaotic. I could imagine each of the characters reacting in their own way, and before long the poor barnyard was in complete mayhem.
Chookity Chook is right at the heart of all the barnyard excitement. How would you describe him, and what do you enjoy most about writing his character?
Chookity Chook is enthusiastic, curious, always ready to get involved and mostly the one with all the ideas. He has a wonderful ability to find himself right in the middle of whatever is happening.
What I love most is that he doesn’t need to be perfect or particularly sensible. He can make mistakes, get swept up in the excitement and still keep going. He gives me permission as a writer to be a little bit ridiculous, which is enormous fun.
The barnyard is filled with so many memorable characters, from Lucy Goosey and Old Specky Hen to Potty Pig, Dame Duck and Foxy Loxy. How do you come up with their personalities and names?
The names usually come first. I love names that children enjoy saying aloud, particularly ones with rhythm, rhyme or repetition.
Names like Lucy Goosey and Foxy Loxy have been around for generations as playful wordplay. They’re tucked away somewhere in my memory and pop up when I’m playing with words! Others, like Lamby Lou, Potty Pig and Dinky Donkey, come from that same instinct to rhyme and have fun with language.
Once I have a name, I can almost see the character already. Their personalities grow from there, each finding their own place in my barnyard.
The story is full of playful words and sounds such as “skoodle-skadash”, “zoodle-bang” and “zippety-zap”. Do those phrases come naturally while you are writing, or do you spend time experimenting until you find the ones that make you laugh?
A bit of both! Some arrive immediately and make me laugh, and others get changed again and again.
I say them aloud because they have to feel good in your mouth. If a child can shout them, anticipate them or dissolve into giggles while an adult is reading, then they are doing their job.
There is something wonderful about nonsense words because children don’t worry about whether they are “proper” words. They just enjoy them, and if they are silly, they laugh!
There is a real rhythm and energy to the story, with the egg bouncing, rolling and causing chaos everywhere it goes. How important is reading your work aloud when you are writing in rhyme?
Absolutely essential.
I write children’s books to be read aloud, so I read everything aloud over and over again while I am writing. A rhyme can look perfectly fine on the page but feel completely wrong when you actually say it.
I listen for rhythm, where you naturally pause, whether you stumble over anything and whether the words invite the reader to keep going. I want the person reading the story to enjoy it just as much as the child listening.
Beneath all the fun, the barnyard animals immediately come together to help when something goes wrong. Is friendship and working together something you particularly wanted young readers to take from the story?
Yes, although I never want the message to become bigger than the story.
First and foremost, I want children to have fun. But underneath all that chaos is a little community. When something goes wrong, everyone joins in and tries to help in their own way.
I think children absorb those ideas beautifully through stories without us needing to explain the lesson to them.
Potty Pig comes up with a particularly inventive solution involving pancakes, batter and jam! Do you have a favourite moment or character from this adventure?
Potty Pig’s solution makes me laugh because it is so completely Potty Pig. Of course his answer to the problem involves food!
But I think my favourite part is how the chase keeps growing—and how silly and fun it gets! It starts with one runaway egg and somehow involves practically the whole barnyard. I love that mounting chaos and the feeling of, “Oh no, what’s going to happen next?” And after all that commotion, out pops a chick!
Chookity Chook and the Runaway Egg feels made for children to join in, make noises and anticipate what might happen next. What do you hope children and families experience when they read the book together?
Exactly that. I want children joining in, making the sounds, guessing what comes next and asking for it again.
Some of my happiest memories of books are not just the stories themselves, but the experience of sharing them. The funny voices, the familiar lines, the parts children know by heart and insist you read exactly the same way every time.
My little motto for my books is “Stories worth reading 200 times”, because anyone who has loved a small child knows that a favourite book is very rarely read only once!
Away from writing and the world of Chookity Chook, what do you enjoy doing? Is there a hobby, interest or fun fact about you that readers might be surprised to discover?
When I’m not writing, I work as a midwife and nurse, so my life away from books can look quite different from the barnyard! I have a big family whom I love dearly, and spending time with them is a huge part of my life. Our dogs keep us busy too!
I also love gardening and creating things. We live on a small property in the southwest of Western Australia, and I’m happiest pottering around outside, growing roses and dreaming up the next garden project.
Of course, stories are never very far away. I can be doing something completely unrelated when a ridiculous character or line suddenly pops into my head!
Finally, where can readers follow you and keep up with Chookity Chook and your journey as an author?
Readers can find me through the Dorothy Dowling website and follow Dorothy Dowling on Facebook and Instagram, where I’ll be sharing news about Chookity Chook, new books and the other story worlds I’m creating.
There is plenty more to come!
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