MY PONY WONDER
Today I welcome my critique partner Jessica Milo to the blog, to celebrate the upcoming release of her debut picture book MY PONY WONDER. With sweet illustrations by Ramona Kaulitzki this book is set to be published by Random House Studio on July 7th, 2026.
***
A bit about MY PONY WONDER:
A girl boot-stomp-runs at the call of her pony’s whinny, both excited for a day of trail riding. After brushing his smooth coat and shiny mane and picking his hooves clean, it’s time to saddle up for a trail ride through the woods! Through lyrical, bouncy verses and charming illustrations, readers are invited to experience the beauty and wonder of the outdoors through the eyes of a young rider and her pony. As the pair trots and gallops along, they delight in each new sight, finding comfort in one another during moments of uncertainty, and ultimately, sharing precious time together. This rhythmic picture book is a tribute to the animal friends in our lives, and for any kid who dreams of riding a pony!
***
Now on to our interview:
M. Jess, I’m so excited about your adorable book and the chance to talk to you about how it came to be. Can you share what inspired you to write this story? Does it come from personal experience? Why horses?
J. My fond childhood memories of riding ponies and horses with my big sister, from a young age through adolescence, inspired me to write this story! This book first started out as me trying to write the story of my sister getting her very first horse for her 11 th birthday, but the story just wasn’t working, and I couldn’t quite capture what I was hoping for…so I went broader with the topic—a day of trail riding and a special bonding moment between a girl and her pony. Drawing from my experience with riding ponies and horses, and going on trail rides, which were so memorable, fun, and exciting, along with my experience with severe childhood anxiety and how horses helped me feel peace and calm, this book quickly took shape, and the words just spilled out of me!
***
M. How wonderful to go back memory lane to be inspired, and how nice that you and you sister shared to love of horses. Can you tell us why you decided to write this book in rhyme, and what is your process to get it right?
J. Great question! I knew I wanted to write it in rhyme so it could have a rhythm that emulated the sound of clip-clopping horse hooves. My mentor text and comp title was Valerie Bolling and Kaylani Juanita’s amazing rhyming picture book, TOGETHER WE RIDE. I loved how bouncy and sparse it was, and I wanted to try doing the same. The process of getting it right was to keep the story simple and focus on the story arc first; once that was strong, I would go back in to revise the rhyme to ensure everything worked and that I was using the best word choices possible. At the same time as I revised the rhyme, I had to revise the meter, since the meter had to be consistent and the rhyme had to work for the story’s meter.
***
M. I’m so glad that you touched on the importance of using mentor texts as guidelines, such a valuable tip. Now, can you share what was your favorite scene to write in this story and which one was the most challenging?
J. I love this question! My favorite scene to write was when the main character and her pony, along with her trail riding pals, first cross the creek! It was super fun to write we splishy- splash across the creek and the other verse on that spread, Easy gallop, wild and free. Endless fun, you and me. I feel like that latter verse encapsulates the vibes of the book perfectly — so much so that it’s the sample text on the back cover of the book!
As for the most challenging, that would be the scene with the birds tweeting around them, where the main character tells her pony that it’s time to head on home. I remember feeling a bit stumped about how to transition from riding down the trail to a moment of sweetness and love between the girl and her pony in the beautiful woods, before the story turns toward the ending (them heading and arriving home). I knew I wanted a dynamic, lovely moment of them appreciating nature together once again, and hearing birds singing and chirping all around me at my own home inspired me to add the birds in. That helped the scene flow better, and it fits perfectly into the story arc.
***
M. Thanks so much for sharing that, I always like knowing how writers face up the challenges in their manuscripts. Can you tell us, which was the path to publication for this book? Did your story go through many revisions? How did you approach them?
J. Yes, I wrote the story, and after sharing it with my critique groups and a few revisions, I felt it was ready. I shared it with my agent, Wendi, who loved this story and knew we could find a home for it, so we went out on sub with it back in April 2024. At that time, the story was titled TRAIL RIDE TOGETHER. I got an editor R&R for it who wanted more emotion in the story, so I did that R&R, and we sent it back to her and sent this revision also to the remaining editors we haven’t yet heard back from. Shortly after sending, a different editor (than the one who had requested the R&R) showed interest—and after some discussion about the story and our visions for it, she made an offer! Wendi negotiated, and we accepted the offer from editor Lee Wade at Random House Studio. We sold this story on the first round of sub! After Lee acquired it, we made some very minor tweaks to the text’s word choices, but the story arc remained the same. Overall, the story didn’t undergo many revisions, and none were major. As for approaching the R&R revision to add emotion to the story, I looked for places in the story where I could draw out that emotion and tension and find a way to amp up the love and joy shared between the girl and her pony (who is named Wonder!).
***
M. That’s such a good story! I sold my debut book after and R&R too, so I know the value of considering them as they might be exactly what the story needs in some cases. Jess, what would you say is the most valuable lesson you have learned from publishing this book?
J. Ooh, the most valuable lesson I’ve learned from publishing MY PONY WONDER is that collaboration between agent, editor, author, and illustrator is so important to making the best version of the book possible! Since this book is my debut, I hadn’t worked with an editor yet, so I really learned how that process works and what the timeline is like—from submission, to accepting an offer, to revisions to finalize the text, to copyedits, and then handing off the story to the illustrator to work their magic! Which Ramona truly did—her art for the book is STUNNING! And what was interesting was making minor text changes while Ramona was sketching and working on the illustrations. For example, a scene didn’t work because that action wouldn’t happen in reality, so it needed tweaking. Art and text really do need to work together when making a picture book! Once the art was finalized, I sent my dedication and bio for the book. From there, Lee got F&Gs to see what the book looks like printed, and when she received an advance copy, she mailed it to me! It’s amazing to hold my book in my hands. I can’t wait for MY PONY WONDER to release on July 7, 2026, and let readers hold it in theirs! I hope they love the book.
***
M. Thanks for sharing, Jess. I love hearing how working on this book has influenced you. Any new projects that you’re currently working on that you can share?
J. Right now, my next picture book, DUMP TRUCK: MADE WITH LOVE (Spring 2028), the first in my NF lyrical picture book series about how materials from the earth are melded and molded by many loving hands to become the beloved treasures they are today, is in the illustrator, Patricia Pessoa’s hands. The text is already finalized for it and for book #2, BLANKIE: MADE WITH LOVE (Spring 2029). I have another picture book releasing in Fall 2028 that hasn’t been announced yet, but the text is finalized and off to the illustrator. I can’t wait for it to be announced soon! Right now, I’m working on an R&R for my picture book manuscript, currently on sub.
M. Wow! I had no idea you have all those books in the works. Congratulations! I can’t wait to hear more about them and meanwhile I wish you the very best with MY PONY WONDER, may it find a lot of love in homes, schools, and libraries.
***
JESSICA’S BIO
***
Jessica Milo is a middle school librarian and kidlit author based in Northern California. Her debut picture book, MY PONY WONDER, illustrated by 4x NYT-bestselling illustrator Ramona Kaulitzki, releases from Random House Studio on July 7, 2026. Jessica also has three more picture books slated for release in 2028 and 2029. She is represented by Wendi Gu of HG Literary. To learn more about Jessica, visit her website www.jessicamilo.com and follow her on Instagram @jessicamiloauthor.
Thanks for reading!
M
PS. Remember you can subscribe to my newsletter by clicking the pink button. Thanks!
Cover photo by Levele.
