Meet Mary
Mary Vander Plas grew up in a big family of eight kids, all born within a span of ten years. She lived on a farm in east central Wisconsin with cattle, horses, sheep, goats, pigs, chickens, geese, turkeys, ducks, turkey ducks, guinea hens, cats, dogs, and a llama named Tony. Her family grew vegetables which we sold to canning companies and at a roadside stand.
Mary is a board book and picture book author. She began writing after her youngest son left for college. Her first picture book, Call Me Calvin, was released in 2023. Her newest book, Trucks All Year, is an original lift-the-flap board book published by Penguin Random House in August 2026.
Currently, Mary lives in Wisconsin’s northwoods with her husband, a Cavapoo named Gatsby and a Newfypoo named Norman. She has three adult children and two grandchildren. She loves to fish for musky and bass, paddleboard, and listen to audiobooks. Winter is Mary’s favorite time of the year when she enjoys snowshoeing and ice fishing.
Interview
How did you come up with the idea for Call Me Calvin?
Call Me Calvin is about a little boy who is frustrated because he’s not big and strong like his dad. The idea came to me after a college basketball game where I watched little kids crowd around my son and his teammates while waiting for autographs. The kids really looked up, figuratively and literally, to the extremely tall players. That night in my hotel room I drafted a manuscript titled TALL. Through lots of revision, it eventually morphed into my debut picture book.
You mentioned that along your writing journey, you had several failures. How do you overcome these failures and keep going?
I think if we want to meet our ultimate goal of being a published author, the most important part of that process is to keep going. So, for me, there really isn’t a way to approach this without embracing failure as part of the process. I don’t ignore failure but I also don’t give it too much power.
Both of your books were published by large publishing companies. What were some of the steps you did to get noticed by them?
In all three of my sales (I have a forthcoming Picture Book in 2028 with PRH), I really believe that it came down to the right manuscript for the right editor at the right time. So…luck? LOL. The part of that we can somewhat take steps to manage is being in tune with what individual editors are looking for. That information can come in many ways such as manuscript wish lists, conferences, agent communications with editors, taking advantage of learning opportunities, webinars, etc. Having said that, the only thing we can truly control is writing and revising until our work is polished enough to potentially catch someone’s eye. And possibly the most important step in that is being open to critique, letting go of darlings when necessary, and surrounding yourself with people who encourage you but also challenge you.
Your Trucks All Year board book is fantastic. How did you go about learning how to create a board book?
Thank you! I was so fortunate to be paired with the amazing Angeli Li who made this book absolutely adorable. I didn’t set out to create a board book. In fact, from the first draft, I envisioned this being a picture book with the trucks being revealed at the page turns. My agent subbed it that way, but the acquiring editor had the vision of this being a lift the flap book for the very youngest audience. Turns out she was right! She told us that while pitching it at the acquisitions meeting, she got to March and everyone said: Yes! Buy this! So, ultimately, it was the correct format for the manuscript, and I could not be happier!
Can you tell us about the current project you are working on?
I am always trying to get new picture book ideas out of my head and into usable drafts. (Usually unsuccessfully…Failure!) I’ve also been working on a Chapter Book series set in the Northwoods of the midwest and revolving around a MC who accidentally catches a magical object while fishing. It allows him to communicate with animals. But the communication centers on mediating disputes between animals, which presents comical scenarios. I describe it as a spooky/silly Northwoods Dr. Doolittle meets Judge Judy. It has been so fun and liberating to write in a longer format. Even if it never sells, I have enjoyed it so much!
How has SCBWI helped you in your writing journey?
I’ve been a member of SCBWI ever since I started this journey a decade ago. I remember printing a copy of “The Book” and scouring it to learn about this new-to-me industry. I’ve also attended numerous SCBWI conferences in WI and across the country. The connections and information from these conferences have proven to be extremely valuable. The conferences are not only very important for authors at every stage of their career…they are also just flat out fun!