I am so happy to host Jyoti Rajan Gopal here on The Backstory. I have had the pleasure of meeting Jyoti and she is as genuine and wonderful as her books are. Today she is going to share with us the inspiration behind two of her newest releases, LOVE IS HERE WITH YOU and SISTER DAY. Keep reading to learn more about these titles and for your chance to win a copy of your own.
AH: Welcome to The Backstory and thank you for joining us and sharing the inspiration behind LOVE IS HERE WITH YOU A LULLABY OF BLESSINGS.
JRG: Andrew, thank you SO much for having me.
AH: First off, please tell us a little bit about your story.
JRG: LOVE IS HERE WITH YOU is a hope, a wish, a dream all wrapped up in love as a family gets their little one ready for bedtime.
AH: Your response is just as poetic and beautiful as this book. I am in awe of the gorgeous language and soothing rhythm you have paired together for this delightful bedtime story.
AH: What’s the story behind the story? What was your inspiration? Where did the idea come from?
JRG: The idea came to me in the shower (as some of my writing ideas do!)
It’s inspired by a 1950s Malayalam lullaby that I sang to my babies at bedtime.
(Malayalam is the language of Kerala, a South Indian state)
AH: You have to love when ideas strike at inconvenient times. I am happy you were able to capture this idea so that this story could makes it way into the world.
AH: How did you approach going from this seed of an idea to what is now LOVE IS HEREWITH YOU A LULLABY OF BLESSINGS? Was it something undeniable you had to
write immediately, or did you need to sit with this idea and let it grow for a while before it found its way to the page?
JRG: The idea sat on a waterproof notepad in my shower, and in my head, for a while (thank you to my agent Wendi Gu, who gifted me that notepad!)
I wasn’t sure how to tackle it initially. It wasn’t about translating the lullaby, that wasn’t what I was going for. I wanted to recapture the message of love and comfort that was so strong and present both in the lyrics of the lullaby and in its cadence and rhythm. I wanted to share some of the culture and traditions of South India too, a region that is rarely portrayed in picture books.
It all came together when I remembered the Carnatic classical music that I also played for my daughters during their bedtime routine. Carnatic songs are devotionals sung in praise of the various deities in the Hindu pantheon. I realized that I could weave the gods and goddesses into the lullaby, both as keepers of lore and traditions but also as guardians of sweet slumber.
That’s when I started putting fingers to keyboard.
AH: You succeeded in capturing both the love and cadence. I also love the inclusion of your culture and traditions.
AH: Did LOVE IS HERE WITH YOU A LULLABY OF BLESSINGS undergo any major
changes/revisions from the original version? If so, what led you to make these changes?
JRG: I wrote this in seven drafts, in a fairly short period of time, so it came together quickly. There were two shifts in the different revisions. In the first and second drafts, I had the refrain “your cradle waits for you” at the end of every stanza. But the more I read and reread it, that didn’t feel right, it felt like I was overusing the refrain. In my third draft, to solve this problem, I added stanzas in between without that refrain but for some reason decided to shift the rhyme scheme for these alternating stanzas to iambic pentameter. Unclear why I made this incomprehensible choice. Thankfully, I came to my senses in the fourth draft and went back to a consistent AAAB rhyme scheme but alternated the appearance of the refrain. And that is how it stayed. I did play around with the refrain too but ultimately it came back to the original “your cradle waits for you.”
Once acquired, the text didn’t change at all but Nabi H. Ali, the illustrator, elevated the story, adding many important and beautiful details to the cultural and religious traditions hinted at in the lullaby and adding another layer with the visual storytelling.
Fun fact: for the Tamil endearments, my editor (Kaylan Adair) and I wanted to create a
pronunciation guide like in Traci Sorrell’s We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga. It was challenging to figure out how to make the guide accurately represent the Tamil language because there are some sounds in Tamil that are hard to represent with the English alphabet. I had my daughters send different phonetic spellings to a few of their friends and send back audio, so we could hear how they pronounced the different versions before making any final decisions!
AH: Thanks for sharing how this story grew and changed over the course of revision. And I am so glad you brought up Nabi's illustrations. They are gorgeous! The style, color, and use of details complement and elevate your words in the best way.
AH: I know that earlier this year you had another book release, SISTER DAY. Could you give us an idea of what that book is about and your inspiration for it?
JRG: My daughters spent hours together playing all sorts of games, many of them outdoors in our backyard and many of them imaginary. They were best friends growing up and very close. They still are. When they fought, which was not that often, the fact that they were fighting was even more devastating to them than whatever it was that caused the fight. SISTER DAY is inspired by their sisterhood.
AH: You capture the essence of sibling relationships perfectly in this piece. I love how your sparse word choice is just enough to frame the scene while Fanny's art and the readers' own experiences fill in the details. Every child can connect with this book and the fluctuating feelings that accompany familial relationships and friendships.
AH: Where do you tend to find your inspiration or your sparks for ideas?
JRG: I never know when an idea will arrive – in the shower, during a hike in the woods, while driving. Once I even had an idea while we were house hunting, and I saw a mural on a street that sparked a book title. My family and my cultural heritage are sources as well and my students have been an inspiration for some of my stories. A news article or a picture might spark my curiosity and take me down a labyrinth of research. That sometimes ends up in a story and sometimes not. Inspiration is everywhere so I try to be to be open to it.
AH: It seems like you are doing an amazing job capturing those ideas when they strike! Especially judging by your response to the next question.
AH: Do you have any upcoming projects or news you would like to share with us?
JRG: Thank you for asking! I have a few projects coming out in the next few years and a few in the pipeline.
Over in the Mangroves illustrated by Dikshaa Pawaskar (Scholastic) releases July 16, 2025, and is a reimagining of a classic nursery rhyme. It’s set in the Sunderbans Mangrove Forest - a UNESCO World heritage site - and it layers counting, ecosystem protection, species interconnectedness and socio-emotional themes.
The Power of Your Name illustrated by Olivia Sua (Union Square Books) releases August 26, 2025, and is an ABC book and a praise poem. It reminds readers in poetic verse of all the qualities that make their name powerful, and that whatever their name is, whatever their name’s story, their name is alive and the heartbeat of who they are.
Arctic Adventures: A Tundra Tale, illustrated by Alexandra Cook (Feiwel and Friends) comes out sometime in the winter of 2026, and follows two mother-daughter duos - a baby and mama fox and a girl and her photographer mother - as they spend the day amid the natural wonders of the Arctic tundra.
This Land illustrated by Baljinder Kaur (Viking Books) comes out sometime in 2027 and is the true story of Sikh immigrants who left British colonial rule in Punjab for work in the American west, and their journey to establishing a home there.
I have two more that are unannounced. Hopefully, I’ll get to share the news soon.
AH: WOW! So much to celebrate here. Congratulations on all of these upcoming books. Each one offers something different and sounds amazing. I will have my calendar marked so I don't miss any of these new titles as they make their way into the world.
Where can people connect more with you?
JRG: You can find me on:
My website: Jyotirajangopal.com
AH: Readers be sure to connect with Jyoti on social media and at her website so you don't miss any of her exciting publishing news. And while you are at it
please consider supporting her books in any way you can.
This could include:
- ordering from your favorite indie
- marking as want to read on Goodreads
-leaving a review
- making a library request
Jyoti, thank you so much for sharing all about your latest books with us. I loved learning how they came to be and a bit more about your process.
GIVEAWAY!
Jyoti would love to give away a copy of Love is Here with You and a copy of Sister Day, one each to two readers. USA only please!
Ways to enter:
1. Comment on social media post about this blog post. Additional entry for tagging friends!
or
2. Leave a comment on this post.
or
3. Post about this interview on social media and tell me in the comments that you did.
Each method earns an extra entry!
ABOUT JYOTI RAJAN GOPAL
Jyoti Rajan Gopal is an award-winning picture book author, mom and forever kindergarten teacher. Her books have received starred reviews in Kirkus Reviews, Publisher’s Weekly, School and Library Journal, Book List, and Book Page and are on the Bank Street, NYPL and SLJ Best Books lists. She is the recipient of the ALA 2024 Stonewall Honor Award and a finalist for the 2023 Neev Literature Award.
Jyoti writes stories – fiction and non-fiction - of identity, community and belonging, themes that speak to her heart, that reflect her multiple identities.
Growing up, she lived in Thailand, Indonesia, Myanmar, India and China. She now lives in New York with her husband, in a quirky old Victorian, where they raised their two daughters.
When not writing or teaching, she loves to read - a lot! - work in her garden, dance and explore the many New York State Park trails. Find out more about her books at jyotirajangopal.com
ABOUT ANDREW HACKET
Andrew Hacket is a writer, second-grade teacher, and father of three. He is also the author of Ollie, the Acorn, and the Mighty Idea, Curlilocks and the Three Hares, and Hope and the Sea. Andrew recognizes that being a kid is hard and he writes to create ways for kids to see themselves in stories and characters, to accept and overcome their insecurities, or to escape for just a little while through the power of their imaginations.
Wow the book looks amazing! Looking forward to reading it! 😀
Thank you for sharing your story, Jyoti. It looks so beautiful!