ALPACAS MAKE TERRIBLE LIBRARIANS!
It’s wonderful to welcome my sweet friend and critique partner Kristi Mahoney to the blog today. Her adorable and funny picture book ALPACAS MAKE TERRIBLE LIBRARIANS!, illustrated by Chantelle and Burgen Thorne, was just published by Gnome Road Publishing on October 1st. Congratulations! 🎉
A bit about ALPACAS MAKE TERRIBLE LIBRARIANS!:
Prepare for laughs and learning in this humorous exploration of what might happen when an alpaca fills in for a beloved librarian. You’ll learn all sorts of things about alpacas that you never knew you wanted to know! And when rules are broken, WATCH OUT! When alpacas get angry… things can get messy.
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Now on to our interview:
M. Kristi, I’m delighted that I get to highlight your cute book today. Can you share where did you get the idea for this story? Why alpacas? Why librarians? Why a funny book?
K. I have always loved both animals and libraries so these are two topics close to my heart. And some of the best ideas happen when you pair two unlikely things together! The idea for the “Alpaca” sparked many years back when I took my kids to an amazing children’s farm near me. They loved it so much that we would go every week– where we continued to learn more and more about the animals from the farmers—including alpacas. The first time we went was just after alpaca shearing day, so the alpacas all had brand new haircuts. It was love at first sight for me. I thought they were adorable and interesting and knew they’d make a great main character for a picture book!
“Libraries” are another love of mine and there has never been a time when they weren’t a huge part of my life. Fun fact about the library in my town (Franklin Public Library)—it happens to be the very 1 st free public library in the country! As for adding humor, this was a no brainer for me. I love reading and writing funny books and I knew when I decided to replace a beloved librarian with an alpaca there was going to be potential for some comical things to happen. Hopefully readers will agree!
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M. I would love to go to an alpaca farm and see those new haircuts! How cute! And thanks for that fun fact about your town’s library. Can you tell us why you decided to address the reader in this story? Did you try to write it in any other point of view, or did you know second person would work best for your idea from the beginning?
K. My first draft of ALPACAS MAKE TERRIBLE LIBRARIANS! was in second person. However, I also drafted the story in third person. Ultimately, second-person allowed me to plunk the reader directly into the silliness of the situation of an alpaca filling in for a human librarian. It seemed to amplify the humor and was the clear winning narrative amongst my critique partners.
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M. I think 2nd POV was meant to be, it really works wonderfully in this book! So funny! Which was your favorite scene to write? Which scene makes you laugh more?
K. My favorite scene involves potty humor – something that I’m not usually drawn to. But when I was first introduced to the alpacas on the farm all those years ago, one thing I clearly remember was the huge communal dung pile which all the alpacas used. The farmer explained it was their “bathroom”. This fact was too interesting and too perfect not to include. I laughed out loud when I saw how the incredible team of illustrators, Chantelle and Burgen Thorne, illustrated that scene!
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M. I just love how much illustrators contribute to the fun, heart, and success of a story. Chantelle and Burgen Thorne are so talented. You were lucky! What message are you hoping readers will take away from this story?
K. My main goal is that it makes readers laugh, learn something they didn’t know about alpacas, and appreciate how wonderful human librarians are. It also may spark a discussion with young readers on book censorship – as the alpaca throws out books about other animals. Although I’m a big fan of alpacas, I think book banning is pretty terrible.
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M. I’m sure kids will be laughing with this book filled with alpaca facts. I found them very interesting myself and you’re so right about it hopefully inspiring discussions regarding book banning. What a great opportunity for teachers and parents to talk about it with kids. What comes next for you? Are you working on anything new right now?
K. I’m thrilled that following my debut of ALPACAS MAKE TERRIBLE LIBRARIANS! in October of this year, I have its companion book, OWLS MAKE TERRIBLE TEACHERS coming out in Spring 2026! I’m continuing to write humorous picture books and have several currently out on submission with my agent, Elisa Houot, of The Seymour Agency.
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How wonderful to hear that you have more projects coming soon, Kristi! I can’t wait to read OWLS MAKE TERRIBLE TEACHERS. I’d love to have you back again on the blog so you can share more about that one. Huge congratulations on your success, and I wish you the best with all your projects.
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KRISTI’S BIO
Kristi Mahoney writes children’s books that combine humor and heart. She lives in Massachusetts with her husband, son, daughter, and seven fur-family members. She loves animals of all kinds (including alpacas), enjoys visiting libraries, and believes life is better with a bit of laughter. Alpacas Make Terrible Librarians is her debut picture book with the companion book, Owls Make Terrible Teachers to follow in Spring 2026 (both published by Gnome Road Publishing and illustrated by Chantelle and Burgen Thorne).
Website: www.kristimahoneybooks.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kristimahoneybooks
Twitter/X: https://x.com/kristi_mahoney
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/kristimahoney.bsky.social
Thanks for reading!
M
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📸 Cover photo by Anyela Málaga.
