Hello Over There! feat. Jen MacGregor and Suharu Ogawa
I first met Jen MacGregor when a bunch of local picture book creators got together to go bowling (picture book people are fun like that!). In the time since, I’ve learned several important things about Jen:
She is impressively organized.
She is an incredible member of the writing community, always showing up to her friends’ events and celebrating their wins.
She is funny.
I didn’t realize exactly how funny until I saw a copy of her debut picture book, Mags MacDonald had a Jetpack (Owlkids Books, Sept. 2026). In it, she takes a classic nursery rhyme everyone and their grandmother knows and turns it on its head, replacing the classic (pig, cow, sheep) with the unexpected (giant robotic octopus, fleet of solar powered drones, and, of course, jetpack with hose attachment).
The delightful world of Mags MacDonald is brought to life by the brilliant Suharu Ogawa, whom I have also had the pleasure of getting to know a bit in the past year. Suharu often works digitally, but this time around she unexpectedly pairs a vibrant, almost cartoon-y style with watercolour paint. This unusual mix results in a world that feels energetic, organic, and inviting, with a colour palate as joyful as Suharu herself.
I could tell you to buy this book because it is a subtle celebration of doing things by hand and in community, rather than relying too heavily on machines and tech. But all you really need to know is that THIS BOOK IS SO MUCH FUN! And isn’t that something what we all need right now?
Suharu: What was the inspiration or back story behind writing this book? Old MacDonald song is so well known all over the world (like my home country Japan)! Is there a particular aspect of the song that inspired you to make this fun spin off?
Jen: The process behind writing MAGS MACDONALD HAD A JETPACK was pretty unique among the many picture book manuscripts I’ve written. Normally, I wait for inspiration to strike and story ideas come to me almost like magic, often while I’m walking my dog. But MAGS was directly inspired by one of our favourite picture books around the house – one that we have read a million times, to the point where it’s falling apart. The book is Old MacDonald Had a Dragon, written by Ken Baker and illustrated by Christopher Santoro. It’s such a clever idea for a story and the structure was all right there, so I thought, what Old MacDonald spin could I do? I started by trying to come up with a title as catchy as Old MacDonald Had a Dragon. But what might Old MacDonald have that is as cool as a dragon?? The most obvious direction was another creature, but I pushed myself to go in a totally different direction and eventually “jetpack” came to mind. Jetpacks are undeniably cool, but the title still didn’t feel quite right. So next, I changed the main character to be a little girl instead – why should Old MacDonald get to have all the fun? So that’s how MAGS MACDONALD HAD A JETPACK came to be!
Jen: What was most difficult about illustrating MAGS - what really made you want to pull your hair out? :)
Suharu: Well, I have very short hair, so it’s actually hard for me to pull my hair, but the most difficult – or challenging part of the process was to build the world beyond the text at the beginning. I spent a lot of time earlier with the editor and art director to figure this out. For example, the story begins “Mags MacDonald had a farm e-i-ei-o” on the first page, but the illustration had to convince readers that Mags is going to take care of Grandpa’s farm while he was going on vacation. Otherwise, the readers won’t understand why a child is taking care of the farm alone. So, we needed to establish that first. We ended up solving this challenge by utilizing the title page (before the story begins) where Mags and her parent is at the airport to drop off Old MacDonald. You also see a spot illustration of Mags’ chore list on Old MacDonald’s suitcase. They give the reader important context. You can also see Grandpa’s plane taking off as Mags arrives at the farm, and toward the end, his plane coming back to the airport. On the title page, you can also see their close bond in the wall picture. She is much younger in the photo, which suggests she comes to the farm often and has learned a few things about farming from her grandpa. I hope the readers can enjoy these little things. Whether I work on fiction or non-fiction stories, I really enjoy creating the little sub-story that’s not in the text. You can also see a dog who absolutely loves Mags and follows her everywhere. This was not part of the manuscript, and I hope Jen liked it!
So, as you can tell, I ended up talking about the most difficult part of the process with such joy and excitement because I truly love what I do!
Jen: I *LOVE* the dog!! I did my first reading at an Indigo last weekend and enjoyed pointing out details to the kids like the airplane returning and, of course, the cow in the jetpack. :)
ABOUT JEN:
Jen MacGregor has a PhD in social psychology and has worked for years as a university researcher. With lots of academic publications to her name, Jen makes up for all that seriousness by writing funny books for kids. Watch out for Jen’s forthecoming picture books, Something’s Up with Cheryl (Knopf, 2027) and The Problem with Pants (Scholastic Canada, fall 2028), as well as the 4-book chapter book series The Strange Stories of Sam Bunch (Scholastic Branches, 2027-2028). She lives in Ontario, Canada with her husband, son, and dog.
UPCOMING EVENT:
CONNECT WITH JEN ONLINE:
Instagram: @jenmacgregorwrites
Website: https: jenmacgregor.ca
ABOUT SUHARU:
Suharu Ogawa is a Toronto-based author, illustrator, and educator originally from Japan. Her love for drawing started in a kindergarten art school after being kicked out of calligraphy class for refusing to convert to right-handedness. Formally trained in Art History and Cultural Anthropology, she worked for several years as a university librarian until her passion for illustration called her out of that career and into the pursuit of a lifelong dream.
Since then, Suharu has done various work for magazines, children’s books, public art projects, and more. She also teaches illustration as Assistant Professor at OCAD University.
In addition to Mags MacDonald, Suharu’s first picture book as an author-illustrator , Oto and the Little Yellow Train, launches this fall!
