Kate Beaton is an award-winning Canadian comics artist, and creator of the much-loved comic strip Hark! A Vagrant. Here, Bronte Coates talks to her about writing and illustrating her first picture book, The Princess and the Pony.

The first time I ever met the fat pony of your book (on your popular comic website Hark! A Vagrant) I was immediately smitten – and I’m obviously not alone! Can you talk a bit about this character’s origins?

It was a fluke, in a way. I set out one day to make the silliest comic I could after I got some over the top praise for my comics being very erudite. I didn’t want the image I projected to be someone who was trying to be overly clever, but someone who was having fun with whatever they were making. So I made a silly comic that had nothing to do with anything. And it was about a shetland pony.

The pony has even made an appearance on cult-favourite TV show Adventure Time. Do you have other shows in which you’d like to plan another cameo?

I didn’t plan that one, they asked! But no one else has asked since. WILL THEY YET? Remains to be seen.

Princess Pinecone is quite unlike the stereotypical image of a princess – she loves battles for one and bravely blows a spitball in the face of the meanest warrior of all. What kind of advice do you think she’d have for children who want to be princesses today?

I think a princess is just someone who very plainly has the power to make decisions and choices and be their own person. And that’s a big appeal. So I think Pinecone would tell any child to be who they want to be, and be unafraid to do it.

One of my favourite things about The Princess and the Pony are the visual jokes in the background – particularly the fist bump between a dashing warrior and his dashing horse. When creating this book, did you include these little details in as you created the main story, or add them in later?

They came in later! But it’s always fun to have something going on in the background, because kids really look at every inch.

I also really like how the story is a positive take on receiving the wrong birthday gift. I wondered, what’s the worst present you’ve received or gifted – and what was the fall-out from it?

Haha. I don’t know! My parents always did their best, like most parents. You can’t really know what your child wants all the time, or even if they explain it, it might be something you can’t get for them anyway. But you try your best. I don’t think there was a time when I was actively disappointed, but I know that we all have asked for something at one time or another and gotten something liiiikee it, but not the exact thing of our dreams. But that gift came from an effort of love.

And, because we love getting recommendations… Can you tell us about one of your favourite picture books as a child?

I loved If You Give A Mouse A Cookie by Laura Numeroff and Felicia Bond when I was really little. Then when I was a little older, I was blown away by The Frog Prince Continued by Jon Scieszka and Steve Johnson. I thought it was so funny.

See a sneak peek inside Beaton’s smartly adorable picture book here.