BING
BING by Sarah Gourd is a children’s book that follows the story of a young boy finding an injured duck. The little boy takes the duck home and treats its injury. The two soon become friends and embark on a journey of goodness and friendship.
The “Author’s Corner” segment of the syndicated radio program America Tonight with Kate Delaney features Sarah Gourd to talk about her book and its message to its young and adult readers.
A Walk Around the Neighborhood Started It All!
Host Kate Delaney started the radio interview by asking how Sarah found her inspiration in writing the book about an unusual friendship between a boy and a duck. Sarah Gourd tells her story about how she noticed baby ducks on the roof of a neighbor.
“I was walking in my neighborhood, and I happened to see on the roof that one of my neighbors, some baby ducks being born. I thought, ‘I’ve never seen that before.’ All the ducks looked a little strange. It’s like they needed help and I thought, ‘Maybe I’ll write a children’s book about this.’”
Sarah Actually Never Dreamed of Writing
Kate Delaney got curious. She introduced the author as a teacher, so she asked if Sarah ever thought of writing a children’s book. Sarah answered, “No, I never dreamed I’d do it.”
The Unusual Inspiration Was Random
Kate asked Sarah to describe what it was like seeing an incredibly unusual sight of ducks on a roof while she was walking around the neighborhood. The author said, “I have no idea why he had all the ducks up there. It was weird. I’ve never seen that before. Ever!”
Sarah also added that she would only write the book if her daughter, Nancy, would agree to do the illustrations for the book. Kate proceeds to agree with Sarah, saying that the “book cover is wonderful. It’s simplistic. It’s BING. It’s the word. It’s the duck peeking out of the G.”
The Story Behind the Title
Sarah Gourd’s Bing follows an injured duck rescued by a young boy, who takes care of the duck. Friendship blooms between the two as they unfold a story of friendship and future adventures.
The author spills out why the book is titled BING.
“The only reason it’s called ‘BING’ is because it was a poem and had to rhyme with ‘Something.’ So, ‘Bing’ rhymes with ‘Thing.’ I had to call it something. That’s why I called it ‘BING.’”
Takeaway
In the story, the boy learns something from his experience of taking care of the injured duck, which the author also aimed to resonate with her readers. She’d like to convey how important it is to take care of an animal. She also added, “It helps children understand why it’s essential to be kind and helpful to others.”
Would you mind reading it again?
Author Sarah Gourd finds her book interesting as her story hooked some kids to listen to her story.
“When I launched it one day, I brought the book to the school nearby me. And it was a third-grade class. I read the story BING to the class. When I finished reading it, one of the girls raised her hand, and she said, ‘Would you mind reading it again?’ And I thought, ‘Well, guess you really liked it.’”
Kate described it as a “very high compliment.”
Ducks as Pets
Kate proceeded to talk about Sarah’s page and noticed a blog called Ducks as Pets: Pros and Cons to Consider, which featured a photo of a little girl holding a duck. She wanted to talk about the opening sentence of the blog, “You might think, what other animals are good as pets?”
“All animals are good as pets. I love all animals,” Sarah remarked as they talked about the blog.
Kate said, “This is kind of a sidebar as pets is that they eat pests. And they do. They eat a lot of pests, don’t they?” She opened up about the fact that ducks can actually eat pests that may lurk anywhere in a pet habitat to which Sarah agreed.
Unusual Pets
Sarah also shared a story about keeping an unusual pet at home.
“When I lived in Plantation, Florida, I had, can you believe, a pet spider? In my bathroom. I don’t know, for some reason, I just loved that spider. Who would ever think of having a spider as a friend?”
Kate said it’s like Charlotte’s Web. Sarah’s story also reminded her of BING, having an unusual friendship with an animal.
The Book Resonates
Kate Delaney commented that Sarah Gourd’s book really resonated with its intended audience as a comment like, “Would you read it again?” is a sign that the story gets to the children. Kate also added that the book is “beautifully illustrated” and has “a couple of different messages.”
Readers can enjoy Sarah Gourd’s BING by buying a copy on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and ReadersMagnet Bookstore. The book is also available on www.sarahgourdbooks.com.