A Children’s Book Behind the Scenes Look at Veronica’s Busy Day

Here’s a behind the scenes of a children’s book — specifically Book 3 in the Veronica the Clever Cow series, and the story of how Veronica’s Busy Day went from a rainy Tuesday morning to a finished book on Amazon.

Jaz wrote the first draft of Book 3 in early 2025. It was raining. There was a lot of coffee. And somewhere in the middle of it, Veronica arrived on the page with her schedule, her plans, and her absolute refusal to let a busy day get the better of her.

Behind the Scenes of a Children’s Book — Where the Idea Came From

Every book in the Veronica the Clever Cow series starts with a feeling rather than a plot. For Veronica’s Busy Day, that feeling was the particular chaos of a morning when absolutely everything needs to happen at once — and somehow, with enough stubbornness and a healthy dose of cleverness, it does.

Jaz had been thinking about helpfulness. Specifically, about what happens when the desire to help becomes overwhelming. Veronica is a cow who loves to help. She loves it so much she forgets, occasionally, that she is only one cow. This felt like something every child — and honestly, every adult — would immediately recognise.

The idea came quickly. The book took much longer.

Eleven Drafts

Veronica’s Busy Day went through eleven drafts before it was right. Draft twelve was the one.

Writing a picture book is deceptively hard. Every word earns its place. Every sentence has to work on two levels — for the child listening, and for the adult reading aloud. There is no hiding in a picture book. If a sentence is lazy, it shows immediately. If a word is wrong, the rhythm collapses and children feel it before they can articulate why.

Early drafts of Veronica’s Busy Day were funnier but shallower. Later drafts were warmer but slower. Draft twelve found the balance — the chaos of a genuinely overwhelming day, the warmth of friends who notice, and a moment of rest that feels earned rather than sentimental.

The Illustrations

A picture book is a collaboration between words and images, and the two cannot exist independently of each other. The illustrations for Veronica’s Busy Day are some of the most expressive in the series.

Veronica running in every direction. The farmyard filling with noise and animals and requests. The moment when everything tumbles. And then — the quiet of the grass, the soft close of her eyes, and the farm settling back into calm.

Getting that contrast right — the visual chaos of the first half and the visual peace of the second — was one of the most satisfying parts of bringing Book 3 to life.

What We Hope Children Take Away

Books don’t need to teach a lesson to be meaningful. But if Veronica’s Busy Day leaves children with anything, we hope it’s this: it is okay to stop. Asking for help is not weakness. Rest is not giving up.

These feel like adult ideas. Children understand them deeply — often better than the adults reading to them.

Veronica’s Busy Day is the third book in the Veronica the Clever Cow series, set in the Austrian Alps and written for children aged 3–7. It works as a standalone story and is perfect for bedtime, classroom read-alouds, or any quiet moment when a child — or their grown-up — needs a reminder that nobody has to do everything alone.