Dr. Lisa Crim Galioto is a pediatrician who has been taking care of children and adolescents for over thirty-five years. She and her husband of thirty-one years split their time between Potomac, Maryland, and their creek house at Colton’s Point, Maryland (where Stella, Henry, and Owen live). Lisa enjoys spending time with family and friends as well as traveling, cooking, playing piano, and knitting. After publishing Stella the Mama Osprey in 2023, she decided to continue the series based on the animals in her own yard by sharing Owen the groundhog’s story with the world!

Q: What inspired the idea behind your book?

A: My creek house yard friends inspired this book, as well as Stella the mama osprey. I love sitting on the porch watching them in action. The animals have amazing instincts and hilarious antics!

Q: As an author, what tips would you give anyone who wants to get into writing?

A: As an author, the one thing that I would suggest is to write the story and then put it away for a while. This time around, I felt like I was looking at the story with fresh eyes. I found that it was a better way to edit and add ideas.

Q: What is your favorite book?

A: My favorite children’s books are the Eloise books by Kay Thompson. I love that they are funny for kids to read but also have some humor for the adults who are perhaps reading the stories to their kids. My favorite adult/kid book is The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy.

Q: Was your main character modeled after anyone in your life?

A: The main character in this book is Owen, a VERY well-fed groundhog who lives in my yard at the creek and, frankly, wreaks havoc on the whole neighborhood!

Q: What is your favorite part of the writing process?

A: I love everything about writing. I love the challenge of writing something fun that is informative but engaging, that sparks imagination, and (for young kids) that rhymes.

Q: Do you believe that being a “good writer” is a developed skill or a natural talent?

A: I believe that being a good writer is a developed skill, but it helps to have some creative talent.

Q: Do you have a favorite quote from a book, poem, TV, or movie?

A: My favorite quote is from The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse: “‘What do you want to be when you grow up?’ ‘Kind,’ said the boy.”

Q: Would you write another book (or are you already writing another book)?

A: I would definitely write another book! I already have ideas and a few books started.

Q: Is there an author you look up to, and why?

A: I don’t have a particular author that I look up to.

Q: If there were an apocalypse and you could only take five books into your doomsday bunker, what would they be?

A: My five books would be The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse, as it is comforting to read over and over again, a book of poetry, Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë, Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus, and Eloise by Kay Thompson.

Learn more about Dr. Lisa Crim Galioto and her children’s book, Owen the Busy Groundhog at https://blueballoonbooks.com/bookstore/owen/.