Warm and Fuzzy is a fun and adorable new picture book about two friends going on an adventure and about meeting anxiety with resilience, an open mind … and extra toilet paper. 😁 Written by Scott Rothman, the book is illustrated by my friend Brian Won. I met Brian through the SCBWI Illustrator Mentorship Program many years ago. Super-nice and hugely talented; I love his art so much!
WARM AND FUZZY
Author: Scott Rothman
Illustrator: Brian Won
Publisher: Tundra
Launched April 2025
Cover Designer: Kate Sinclair
Scott Rothman is a writer of picture books, screenplays, theater, and humor pieces. Scott’s debut picture book ATTACK OF THE UNDERWEAR DRAGON and its sequel were both National Indie bestsellers. His book KITTYBUNKPORT was just featured on the TODAY SHOW and selected by Jenna Bush Hager for her Summer Reading List.
Instagram: @scottrothmanwriter.
Bluesky: @scottrothmanwriter.bsky.social.
Brian Won is an author-illustrator of picture books, including his award-winning debut HOORAY FOR HAT! A former art director and designer, he studied illustration at Art Center College of Design. Raised by his grandmother in a Korean American household, Brian now lives in Glendora, California, where he splits his time between Google Suite and drawing. Instagram: @bwon1.
Thanks to Brian and Scott for answering a few questions for me!
Q. What is Warm and Fuzzy about?
Scott:
WARM AND FUZZY is about two friends who set off on a fantastical adventure where Fuzzy is nervous for the trip and his best bud Warm helps him have the best time ever. I wanted the book to be very fun, and very silly, but I think it can also serve as a bit of a Trojan Horse to talk to kids about their fears and anxieties. And if you’re not looking for a Trojan Horse, or in fact fear Trojan Horses, you can ignore all that and just enjoy the aforementioned fun and silliness as well as Brian’s amazing illustrations.
Q. What do you hope young readers will take away from your book?
Scott:
All I ever care about is kid’s having a good time with my books and hopefully laughing a few times. That is truly where 100% of my attention goes. If kids get something more from this book, or their parents, or teachers or caregivers do, that’s just gravy on top of an already delicious hot fudge sundae. And yes I am aware that metaphor doesn’t work – at all – but maybe we can start making gravy sundaes a thing?
Brian:
Honestly, same! My biggest hope is that kids have fun flipping through the pages and noticing the weird little moments. If they walk away feeling a little more understood, that’s great too. As for gravy sundaes, no thanks. Gross.
Q. What advice do you have for young writers and illustrators?
From Scott, for young writers:
Keep writing! Just write as much as you possibly can and don’t worry if it’s good or bad. Just get it down on paper, or into a computer, or carved into a tree – just keep going and never, ever stop. It’s all about getting it down in some way so you always have it, and crucially won’t forget it, and you can always always ALWAYS go back and make it better. Give yourself permission to write badly.
From Brian, for young illustrators:
Go to your local public library and check out books from all eras. Study how pacing is built, how negative space is used, how illustrations interact with the gutter. It’s easy to focus on recent styles and techniques, but there’s so much to learn from the rich history of children’s books.
Q. What advice do you have for not-so-young writers and illustrators?
From Scott, for writers:
Honestly, the same advice works for older writers. Most people don’t write because they have some inner critic telling them that it’s bad or not good enough and most writers I know have found a way to turn that inner critic off. But here’s the tricky part. Once you have written everything down somewhere, and it’s time to mold and shape it into a story, then you need to turn that inner critic back ON and make sure it all makes sense and is interesting enough for someone to read.
From Brian, for illustrators:
Play with new illustration techniques for fun. They may never make it into your next book, and that’s okay. I tend to do my best work when the stakes are low. I’m reminded of when Garth Brooks became Chris Gaines. Maybe there were regrets, but I bet he had a lot of fun.
Q. What are you both working on next?
Scott:
Brian and I have a new book called HORIZONTAL CROCODILE coming out from Simon & Schuster next year which really explores the horizontal-ness of the beloved crocodile. I’m also really excited about the upcoming JUDGY BUNNY & THE TERRIBLE BEACH, a picture book I made with the great Linzie Hunter.
Brian:
Yep, we have another book coming out together. HORIZONTAL CROCODILE has been a blast to work on. It’s always fun teaming up with a talented writer like Scott. His words are magic.
Q. If you could pick one picture book to give to the aliens to prove to them that humanity is worth saving, what would it be?
Scott:
THE CARROT SEED by Ruth Krauss and Crockett Johnson.
Brian:
My pick would be I’M A SHARK by Bob Shea. My son Charlie got such a good chuckle out of that book when he was four. Anything that makes a four year old laugh that hard would definitely put a smile on some alien’s thin lips.
Thanks to Scott and Brian for visiting my blog! — Debbie
See more Interviews here as well as Advice For Young Writers and Illustrators.