Jenny Moore Q & A Pawprint Productions

Q. There’s a lot of pie-splatting in STOP? GANGSTER KOALA! Where did the idea for a pie-wielding gangster come from? 

 

A. I wanted to find a funny, non-threatening way for Hoodlum to menace his colleagues at Pawprint Productions and pies seemed like the perfect choice, following in the comic tradition of clowns and custard pies. The big pie fight in Bugsy Malone may well have been a subconscious inspiration too as it came back to me when I was looking for some music to go with a Gangster Koala Instagram post.

 

Q. And what would be your pie of choice in a pie fight?

 

A. it would have to be a nice soft pie to avoid injuries! A properly squidgy, meringue-topped one would be perfect, but it wouldn’t have to be lemon… a raspberry or cherry meringue pie might be a tasty alternative! A key lime pie would work well too but I’d probably steer clear of banoffee as I’m not really a banana fan.

 

 

Q. How did you choose which animals would play which roles within the world of Pawprint Productions? 

 

A. My main koala character Archie/Hoodlum was originally a chinchilla and then a squirrel but together with the publishing team at New Frontier I finally settled on a koala which felt right. Koalas look cute and cuddly and are famous for being sleepy, so it was fun to subvert that idea with an all-action, pie-toting one! In the same way I thought it would be good to have a pair of rats as the heroes for a change, given their bad rap in real life. And I couldn’t resist having a pair of cheetahs as game show contestants, purely for the play on words with ‘cheaters.’

 

 

Q. Do you have a favourite scene from the book?

 

A. Ooh, that’s a tricky one – it’s hard to choose! I think my favourite parts to write were the interactions between Hoodlum and Nurse Sternhorn at the Emergency Vets hospital – I had a lot of fun with her dour non-reaction to Hoodlum’s threats and gangster rapping, and her refusal to hand over the ‘I WAS BRAVE FOR THE DOCTOR’ stickers – and his interactions with the despairing Rama Llama during the ruined Beastly Buzzers quiz.

 

 

Q. STOP! GANGSTER KOALA! is the first book in the Pawprint Productions series. Can you tell us anything about book 2, Barking Bakes? 

 

A. Book 2 centres round Pawprint Productions’ chef Corgi Joe, whose cooking demonstration Hoodlum hijacks in book 1. We also get to meet his cookery show rival, a poodle chef called Poppy Seedcake, and the animal celebrities who guest star on the show. Instead of lemon meringue pies we have dog-themed cakes this time, and the return of Meek and Squeak with a baking-based mystery to solve. Stop! Gangster Koala! fans will also recognise a few other familiar faces too!   

 

 

Q. There are a number of different TV shows in the story. Do you think Stop! Gangster Koala! would make a good TV show in real life?

 

A. I’d love to see a TV version of the Pawprint Productions stories – that would be amazing! There’s something quite cartoonish about the action (which Berta has captured perfectly in her brilliant illustrations) which I think would lend itself really well to an animated series.