Friendships Crystalize in Stabrowski's Debut Book!

​Hi Sayuri,

Please give me an overview of your debut picture book!
​
Title: "Arlo All Over Again"

​Summary:
Arlo All Over Again is a big-city tale about how friendship builds confidence–and the unexpected joys that come from trying new things.
Genre: Picture Book
Author: Sayuri Stabrowski
Illustrator: Dave Szalay
Publisher: Free Spirit Publishing
Pub Date: April 21, 2026

Why will kids relate to this book?
Arlo and Oliver, the two main characters, form a fast friendship on a snowy day adventure in the way that kids often make friends quickly on the playground. Young readers will relate to the characters, as well as their experiences with reluctance, risk-taking, and finding courage and inspiration through friendship.

I believe adults can find value in children's books. How will adults relate to this book?
Taking risks and meeting new people can be universally challenging, but adults can relate to these topics and rewarding experiences as much as children. Readers of all ages will relate to the joy and optimism that Oliver and Arlo experience as they discover and cement their new friendship. Additionally, included at the end of the book, there are notes for grown-ups about supporting children in making new friends and trying new things.

Reveal a secret about this book.
As I built the setting and created the characters in Arlo All Over Again, I was inspired by my own three sons and their wildly different personalities. Oliver has a lot in common with my own middle son. Funnily enough, a model for Oliver’s friend Arlo did not exist in real life when I wrote this book, but after writing it, my middle son actually met and became best friends with his own Arlo-like buddy! It seems like their personality types really do attract and get along well with each other in real life, too.

What did you learn by working on this book?
I learned that the book-making process is LONG and unpredictable! Finding the right home for Oliver and Arlo took over a year, and many different eyes and brains read and critiqued my manuscript along the way to help it get to its publication-ready state. The original version of this story was more than double the length, and some of the themes were less developed than in this final version. Even after years and years of teaching writing to children and helping them learn how to revise and let go (I’m a public middle school ELA teacher!), it was still a big learning leap for me to take lots of feedback, make major revisions, and, as they say in the industry, “kill my darlings.” (Don’t worry, none of my actual darlings were harmed in the making of this book!) However, after going through this process with this first book, I have gotten really good at chopping and clipping, moving and adding, subtracting, and doing all the things I can to shape my stories into their best possible versions of themselves. Feedback is a gift, and I love it now!

Is there anything else you’d like to share about this book?

1. My own children and their adorable obsessions with friends made on playgrounds, in the park, at the beach, or on vacation played a big role in the inspiration for Arlo All Over Again. Fast and furious friendship-love and the begging for play dates with children whose names they never got (or can’t remember) have been a mainstay of my parenting experience, equal parts adorable and frustrating when we can’t find the friend again, and I hoped to share this experience through Oliver and Arlo. 
2. Another inspiration came from my own childhood. When I was in first or second grade, I so badly wanted to have a playdate with a girl I’d met at school. I knew her first name and that her last name started with a T, but that was it! So, my mom and I scoured the phone book (yes, we had giant books filled with everyone’s name and phone number in the old days!) under “T” and read each last name until we found one I recognized. We then cold-called several families to see if they had a child my age with that girl’s first name. Believe it or not, we actually found her, but wow! It was a lot of work, and it was all because I had made a new friend that I couldn’t wait to see again. If only Oliver had a phone book in Arlo All Over Again. The story would have been totally different!
3. Another seed idea for this story grew out of the pandemic, when here in New York City, we had a particularly snowy winter with many days spent sledding out in the parks. Kids were completely bundled up against the cold and, after the snowy days, often completed other activities indoors while wearing masks. This made it difficult to recognize each other in new settings. As a result, many friendships were made and lost during outdoor adventures. This story was partially inspired by one such friendship that began on a sledding hill, then dissolved with the melting snow, but miraculously rekindled at a summer camp months later!

I love how you've rekindled summer camp stories! Those early friendships are truly special! Thank you for sharing such a personal backstory. I believe many kids will relate to the character's emotions in this book. 

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Preorder your copy today!
ARLO ALL OVER AGAIN

Connect on IG with the creators:
Sayuri, Dave, Free Spirit

Do you have a childhood friend whom you wish you could reconnect with? Tell us about them in the comments!