The Making of Meena Can’t Wait!
Every picture book begins with a spark—an idea that quietly follows you around until it insists on being told. Meena Can’t Wait started just like that. I wanted to tell a story about a little girl and her grandmother (Nanu), a relationship that’s so full of warmth, patience, and love. And, of course, tea! The idea of a tea party where a child learns patience through anticipation felt charming, relatable, and filled with possibilities for both humor and heart.
A Lucky Break
The story behind the publication of Meena Can’t Wait still makes me smile. I sent the manuscript to just one publisher—Orca Book Publishers—and honestly, I forgot all about it. A few months later, an unexpected email popped into my inbox: they loved it and wanted to offer me a contract! It was one of those moments that reminds you to trust your instincts and put your work out there—you never know what might happen. This sweet book of mine was born in spring 2024.
Published by https://www.orcabook.com/Meena-Cant-Wait
The Writing Journey
Before any sketches come to life, there’s the writing—and that part often takes the longest. The story went through months and months of revisions, edits, and rewrites. Finding the right rhythm for a picture book text is like music—it needs to flow, read aloud beautifully, and leave room for the illustrations to do their part.
Sketching & Character Development
Once the story felt just right, I moved on to sketches. This is where the magic begins for me. I started sketching Meena—her big curious eyes, her playful energy, and her world filled with familiar, comforting details. Then came Nanu, her patient and loving grandmother. I wanted their bond to shine through in every expression and gesture.
I filled pages and pages of my sketchbook with studies—cups, saucers, teapots, chairs, and cozy patterns inspired by Bengali homes. This is when the story starts to breathe. The characters find their personalities, and the visual world slowly takes shape.
Character sketches of Nanu
Character Sketches of Meena
From Sketch to Final Art
A picture book usually takes about four months from the start of sketching to the finished art. Those months are full of creative problem-solving—deciding on color palettes, pacing, page turns, and those little visual details that make a story sing. With Meena Can’t Wait, I wanted the colors to feel warm and inviting, like sunlight streaming through a kitchen window or the gentle steam rising from a cup of doodh cha.
As the pages started coming together, I could feel Meena’s story unfold visually—each spread capturing a little moment of her excitement, her impatience, and her growing understanding that sometimes the best things in life take time.
A finished sketch from Meena Can’t Wait
Meena Can’t Wait
Looking Back
From the first scribbles in my notebook to the final brushstrokes of paint, Meena Can’t Wait has been a joyful journey. It’s a story about patience, love, and the simple beauty of everyday moments shared between generations. Seeing it come to life as a book, held by children and families, has been truly rewarding.
And just like Meena, I’ll always think of my Nani whenever I pour myself a cup of tea—waiting for it to cool, remembering that some things are worth the wait.
Meena Can’t Wait written and illustrated by Farida Zaman