Adventures in Thailand
Date Published: 06-23-2026
Publisher: Mission Point Press
Illustrated by: Megan Heller
Join them on an adventure to faraway lands-by crate, van, car, conveyor belt, and airplane-as they discover the sights and sounds of a tropical new world. Along the way, they meet friendly Thai people, encounter a wise dog, and gaze in wonder at the golden Buddhas and temple cats standing guard. With a few bumps in the road-marked by meows, tail twitches, and new surprises-they journey onward until, at last, they arrive at their new home.
Interview with Lauren Isaacson
Author of The Tales of Sidney and JoJo
Could you tell us about any research trips you took for this story? Which places did you visit, and what made them essential to your writing?
For creating the book, The Tales of Sidney and JoJo: Adventures in Thailand, I actually did not have to research much because myself and the two main characters--my cats--lived this story! Prior to the pandemic, I was going to be moving to Thailand and ended up having to wait until the restrictions changed. When I got the go-ahead, my two cats, Sidney and JoJo could not come with me for the quarantine period, so they traveled to meet me several months later. I knew they had experienced a few of these events, but the rest are things I imagined happening on their journey and it was a way to share a little taste of Thai culture to the readers.
What's the strangest thing you've ever had to research online for your book?
I would say the strangest thing to research was about how the Buddha statue and the temples related to cats. I wanted to make sure I conveyed Thai culture in a respectful and factual manner, so researching how I could connect the two was something I really worked to convey in the story and the illustrations.
What research (history, mythology, science) goes into your world-building?
Something very unique about this book is that it actually includes Thai language script written to describe some of the words used in Thailand. I actually asked a Thai teacher to read and edit the Thai language portions to ensure it made sense and was true to the culture and language. Hopefully, this book will shine a bright light on Thai language and culture to readers everywhere.
Have any of the people you've known, past or present, left a lasting impression on your writing journey? If so, we'd love to hear about a memorable experience that stands out to you.
As an educator, I am constantly around books and looking for great children’s literature that brings the diversity of a new culture to a child through colorful images and precious stories. Even though I cannot pinpoint a particular person that influenced this writing journey, I do have a great team of cheerleaders that helped encourage the writing of this book, and hopefully more to come!
When I returned to the United States after living two years in Thailand, I had a long period of adapting back to this culture and everyone kept asking about my experiences abroad. It just seemed easier for me to write them down. I did not know where to start that writing process. When I noticed a change in my cats as well, I realized they also have a lot to say! That is truly how the story came to be.
Do you write in the same genre all the time?
I actually wrote a quick non-fiction mini-book as a resource for families navigating special education, so switching to children’s books was quite a bit different, especially needing an illustrator. This book, in my opinion, is realistic fiction, because of the influence of my personal story. I do hope to continue with The Tales of Sidney and JoJo series and I hope to share their stories around Thailand.
If so, have you ever consider writing in another one?
Well actually, yes! I had decided to title this book with the subtitle of the Adventures in Thailand because I actually have the next book in the series in the works, and a few other ideas that I have considered for more books to come.
Therefore yes, definitely writing another book is something I hope for in the future.
Which character, supernatural or human, do you enjoy writing the most and why?
I enjoyed writing both Sidney and JoJo’s characters because they are my fur babies and the book includes funny elements of their real personalities and how they get along. Getting to write dialogue of what I believe they could be saying to each other was a challenge, but definitely entertaining. I think the easy part was putting myself into their shoes--or their paws--as far as what they saw along the journey and that was the fun part of the writing process!
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https://mybook.to/TalesofSidneyandJojo
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