Tony DiTerlizzi co-authored (with Holly Black) and illustrated the bestselling Spiderwick Chronicles. He also helped produce the movie based on that series. Other works include the picture books The Spider and the Fly and Jimmy Zangwow's Out-of-this-world Moonpie Adventure. His newest release is the book Kenny and the Dragon, which he both wrote and illustrated. You can visit him online at http://www.diterlizzi.com
I had the opportunity to meet Tony last month in California while he was on tour for his latest book, Kenny and the Dragon.
Tony posing for the camera. He's such a hilarious guy. :)
Tony drew a few sketches, illustrating the different types of dragons and how the dragon in his book originated. He then took requests and drew a couple of Spiderwick characters. Afterward, he gave them away and I was lucky enough to come away with the sketch of the "European Dragon."
He also read a passage from Kenny and the Dragon aloud to us. It's the story of a young rabbit named Kenny whose life changes when a dragon is discovered in the hills near his home.
After having such a grand time at his signing, I was so happy to have the chance to interview Tony! I hope you all enjoy it as much as I did.
What was your inspiration for Kenny and the Dragon? How did you get the idea to retell The Reluctant Dragon by Kenneth Grahame?I have always loved the original story written over 100 years ago by Kenneth Grahame. What I soon found was that many people (children and adults alike) either couldn’t remember it, or simply did not know it at all. So I thought, “I will re-illustrate the original text”, which has been done before. (Michael Hague’s version is a favorite).
But my editor and I thought that perhaps the original text, as brilliant as it was, felt a little Victorian and may not grab a 21st century reader. So I began re-imaging it, not to replace the original story mind you, but to get it back on people’s brains again..almost like taking a classic, old Brothers Grimm tale and redoing it.
What do you and Kenny have in common? I'm thinking quite a bit, after hearing you talk about your childhood a little...?I actually struggled a bit in trying to write the hero, Kenny. All the other characters I had a good feel for, but Kenny was tough. I wanted him to be “book smart” but not particular wise on the ways of the world. In the end, I
realized he was an awful lot like me as a kid.
He loves knowledge and seeks like-minded peers, but feels a bit like an outcast to his town. This, I feel, is a fairly universal emotion and I soon realized that, though he was inspired by a younger me, many would be able to relate to him.
Honestly, I struggled a bit with the notion that he was so bookish. I am not a real big fan of reading a book that imparts the value of reading...that seems sort of redundant to me. So here, I illustrated the point that book knowledge can only get you so far in life, experience is just as important. Hopefully I pulled it off.
What was/is your collaborative process with Holly Black for The Spiderwick Chronicles like?Holly and I abandon the usual “author/illustrator” roles when it comes to Spiderwick. Prior to working on these books, I had written picture books for a younger audience, and Hol had written her first teen novel (which I helped her
get published). So the Spiderwick books were a great middle-ground for us to combine our storytelling talents.
Basically, we sit down and discuss the story for each book, as well as the overall plot for the series as a whole. We throw around a bunch of scenarios to allow us to use the old fairy folklore in a new, (hopefully) exciting way. Holly begins writing and I begin sketching, but along the way we share the process so that it feels as if the books are coming from one, unified source.
That’s why there is no “written by” or “illustrated by” credit on the books. We blurred the lines so much that it was hard to determine exact roles.
What's the best thing about collaborating vs. working solo? The hardest thing?I feel that working in the fashion that was used in creating the Spiderwick books allows the collaborators to use all of their tricks, talents and point of view to create the best book possible. And doing so creates a final story that neither Holly nor I would create on our own – it truly is a hybrid.
For me, working solo is still quite a collaborative process involving my editor, Kevin; however my relationship with Kevin is very different than my working relationship with Holly.
Editorial notes generally ask things like “What exactly are you trying to say here? Please clarify” or “How would this character react in this situation?” . In the process with Holly, it is more like “What if Jared did this here?” or “I think Sandspur should have more page-time”. The editor’s notes usually ask question that aim to draw the answers out of the writer. With Holly, I can actually be much more specific with what I’d like to see....and sometimes we use it, sometimes we don’t. Oftentimes, it leads to creative discussion that produces a third, better option that (again) neither of us would have come up with on our own.
You and Holly both helped produce the Spiderwick Chronicles movie. What did that experience entail? How much say did you have in the creative process of adapting the books into a movie, in general?We were prepared for the movie-making process to:
A. not happen at all
OR
B. produce a crummy film
Fortunately, we were participatory in a film adaptation that (I feel) retained the spirit of the books. And that’s all an author can really hope for in this process.
After all, you are taking 5 books that equal a 400+ page novel, and condensing it into a 90-minute, 3-act structure. It is not an easy feat and things are going to change, scenes will be dropped or edited – it simply
is the nature of the beast.
So my attitude towards the film-makers was: I make books, you make films – so do what you do best. We won’t tell you how to do your job, but we’ll be here to make sure that the end result feels like the books and is a fun movie to watch. And I think we accomplished that.
What that meant for Holly and I was that we were primarily consultants on the various scripts and treatments. Also, I was able to meet with Phil Tippett’s team, and the folks at Industrial Light & Magic, to convey my inspirations and general notes on all the sprites, goblins and trolls as they worked on creating them in the computer for all of the effects shots.
Lastly, I worked closely with Jim Bissell, who was the production designer on the movie. He and I had lengthy discussions about how the themes and motifs of the books could be integrated into the sets, costumes and props of the film. And you can really see that in action if you take a closer look. For instance, the notion of fairies being “spirits of nature” is woven all throughout the movie. From the oak-leaf wallpaper in the Spiderwick Estate, to the flowers embroidered on Mallory’s jean jacket, the theme of of man and nature’s relationship is everywhere.
What's on your to-read stack at the moment?From time to time, I like to revisit books that I haven’t read in awhile to see them from an older, perhaps wiser, perspective. So, I just finished Dante’s “Inferno” from “The Divine Comedy”, then read “From the Crazy Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler” (how’s that for diversity in books?). Also, I just read Jon Scieszka’s memoir “Knucklehead”, which was hilarious and reminded me of John Shepherd’s “A Christmas Story” (you know, “You’ll shoot your eye out kid!”).
What are you working on next?Coming up is the grand finale to “Beyond the Spiderwick Chronicles”, titled the “Wyrm King”, which will be out next fall. Fall of ‘09 will also be the debut of a silly, nonsensical series of picture books that I created with my wife called “Adventure of Meno” which is visually a departure for me, I don’t even know if people will recognize the artwork as mine...
What's your favorite thing about being a writer? What's your favorite thing about being an illustrator?My favorite thing for both roles is that I get to make a living doing essentially what I did as a kid. Coming up with imaginative
, far out tales and drawing pictures for them. Seriously, I have been making up stories and creating little books since I was in grade school. I love a good story: whether someone tells it to me, or read it in a book, watch it on a movie or even play it in a cool video game.
So the fact that I get to be a part of this story-telling universe is truly a dream-come-true for me, and I hope I can continue doing it for as long as I’d like.
...also I get to make my own hours, which means I can sleep in if I want...and don’t have to sit in traffic to get to the office (since my studio is downstairs)...life is good.
Thank you ever so much, Tony!
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Ellen Dalow at Chasing RayMelissa Walker at Hip Writer MamaLuisa Plaja at BildungsromanDM Cornish at Finding WonderlandLJ Smith at The YA YA YAsKathleen Duey at Bookshelves of Doom
Tony DiTerlizzi was born September 6, 1969 in south Florida, into an artistic household. He started drawing at a very early age, "including a crayon mural of Winnie-the-Pooh on his freshly painted bedroom walls." At the age of 12, inspired by Jim Henson's The Dark Crystal and by playing Dungeons and Dragons, he directed his energies into writing and illustrating a field guide on fantastical creatures. By high school graduation, he knew he wanted to be a children's book creator.
Mr. DiTerlizzi attended Florida School of the Arts, and received a degree in graphic design from the Art Institute of Ft. Lauderdale in 1992. At the age of 23, he found himself doing freelance work for TSR, the publisher of Dungeons and Dragons. He continued to illustrate in the gaming industry for most of the 1990's.
After moving to New York City in 1996, he began illustrating children's books. In 2000, his first picture book as both writer and illustrator came out: Jimmy Zangwow's Out-of-This-World Moon Pie Adventure. He followed that with the award-winning Ted in 2001, and then came The Spider and the Fly - a New York Times best seller which won a Caldecott Honor Medal in 2003. He collaborated with Holly Black to create The Spiderwick Chronicles, a popular series which spanned from 2003-2007 and included publication of The Notebook for Fantastical Observations as well as Arthur Spiderwick's Field Guide to the Fantastical World Around You. In 2006 came an alphabet book, G is for One Gzonk! Beginning in 2007, he again teamed up with Holly Black for the currently ongoing series Beyond the Spiderwick Chronicles. His latest title is 2008's Kenny and the Dragon, which marks his first work as both author and illustrator of a chapter book.
Having met with much success, DiTerlizzi stays connected and open to his fans, noting:
"If it were not for their appreciation, I do not think I would be where I am today. It really is a big energy circle - you only receive what you have given."
Tony DiTerlizzi currently lives with his wife and daughter in Amherst, Massachusetts.
The day I sat down to write this blog entry—an interview with fabulous new children’s author Sundee Frazier—was the day it was announced that her first middle grade novel Brendan Buckley’s Universe and Everything In It had won the Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Author Award. I was thrilled and couldn’t imagine a more deserving book. The annual Coretta Scott King Award—presented by the American Library Association—recognizes outstanding African American authors and illustrators. Congratulations to Sundee and we are honored to have her interview appearing on La Bloga the week she received such an exciting and well-deserved honor.
Now, on to Sundee’s story.
Born in Seattle, WA, in 1968 to interracial parents, Sundee’s mother was told by a doctor that the child must be eating too many carrots because her skin was so much tanner than her mom’s. As Sundee put it, “It being the South in the late 60s, Mom decided not to enlighten him” As a child she wanted to be a detective, radio broadcaster, singer, magician, writer and geologist. Oh, and my personal favorite: one of Charlie’s Angels.
As it turns out her actual careers have been almost as varied. She has worked as a spiritual director for college students, a public relations person for the Easter Seal Society, and a director of admissions for an adult education university. Sundee has conducted seminars and conferences around the country and in South Africa on the relationship between music and faith, and co-led a musical team for a 20,000-person international convention focused on mobilizing college students to serve in the world. She is also the author of Check All That Apply: Finding Wholeness as a Multiracial Person (InterV
arsity Press 2002).
But it is about her award-winning book that we talked about this week. This middle-grade novel is about Brendan Buckley, a bi-racial, ten-year-old scientist who studies Tae Kwon Do and keeps a top-secret notebook filled with questions he intends to spend the summer answering. He has adventures with his good friend, Khalfani, and spends time with his feisty paternal grandmother, Gladys. When he unexpectedly encounters his white grandfather, Ed DeBose, for the first time at a rock collector’s event, many of the questions begin to revolve around this man his mother refuses to speak about. The biggest mystery, one that he feels very deeply, is why Ed turned his back on his daughter and the grandson he never met.
It is an important and entertaining book that has that rare combination of a character kids will relate to, a story that will keep them engaged, and an important message that doesn’t come across as preachy. I was delighted to have the chance to ask Sundee some questions about this extraordinary novel.
In a recent conversation you told me that you discovered your desire to be a writer goes back to when you were even younger than your protagonist…can you tell us about that?According to a family Christmas update letter from 1977 that I recently unearthed, I declared my intention to be a writer that year (when I was nine) and set about trying to figure out how to get a book published. It only took me 30 years!
Brendan is such a wonderful character, a smart, realistic boy with integrity. Can you tell me about the genesis of his creation?First, thanks for the huge compliment. My greatest desire is to create characters readers want to read about – characters readers feel like they have come to know and love by the end of the story. Believe it or not, Brendan Buckley was originally Brenda Buckley (and no, my story was not an “edgy” middle grade about a girl who undergoes a sex change operation). Brenda, however, was elusive. I just couldn’t figure out who this girl was and the story wasn’t really going anywhere. Then one morning I woke up and out of my grogginess popped the clear thought, “My main character is supposed to be a boy. Brenda is actually Brendan!”
It still took me some time and much effort to get to know Brendan. He started as a very quiet, serious, thoughtful boy with several collections (not just rocks), and an urgent need to find the white grandparents he’d never met. Eventually I decided that Brendan needed to have just one collection, a scientific disposition, and a strong, inquisitive impulse that wouldn’t let him stop seeking an answer once he’d landed on a question. So when he realizes he’s discovered the grandpa he’s never met, and all the questions surrounding his absence are stirred up, the search for answers is on!
Brendan’s the kind of kid who wants to be noble and self-controlled, like his dad expects him to be, but whose commitment to the truth is even greater. This commitment sometimes compels him to do things he knows may get him in trouble, but the price is worth it in his mind.
I’m definitely inquisitive like Brendan, so that part of his personality didn’t really surprise me. But I’m nowhere near as courageous or dogged as he was in his pursuit of the truth and for that I admire him greatly.
It’s hard enough to write realistically in a ten-year-old voice (which you do SO authentically, I know I have a ten year old at home) but how was the experience of writing in the point of view of the other gender?It was actually quite fun, and I think somewhat freeing. When I was trying to create Brenda, I just kept seeing myself as a girl, and I didn’t want to write about myself. I wanted to create someone new, someone from my imagination.
For my master’s critical thesis (I completed my MFA in Writing at Vermont College), I explored the portrayal of boys’ emotional lives in fiction – how it’s been done, how to do it authentically. I read a lot of child development and psychology books specifically about boys. I had read so much about boys that I was convinced when I got pregnant that I would have one! I don’t have a son (I have a lovely daughter), but after creating Brendan, I kind of feel like I do!
Ultimately what I discovered about creating an authentic boy character is that it’s not much different from creating an authentic girl character. Yes, there are generalities that we can observe in boys’ versus girls’ behaviors, but when you are creating a character, you’re not dealing in generalities. You must deal in specifics – at least if you want to create a compelling character. If a behavior does not ring true for the individual boy you have created, readers won’t buy it, regardless of how boys “generally” behave.
The theme of the struggles and blessings of growing up biracial is an important one, and one that many kids—and adults—will relate to. Do you see that as becoming a recurring theme in your future work?My mission is to write the most heartfelt, truest stories that I can write. By “truest” I mean stories that ring true, in which readers see themselves, regardless of race, because they relate to the characters’ emotions. With that said, I’ve found that the truest stories I can write, at least so far, are ones with multiracial point-of-view characters, because that’s who I am and being mixed race has deeply shaped my identity and experience.
So yes, it will undoubtedly be a recurring theme in my work, and I’m fine with that because it’s a perspective that more and more people share and it needs to be included and reflected in the arts.
I can’t help but hope, is Brendan going to come back in another book?Hmmm . . . you’re not the first to ask (including my editor). I’m starting to wonder if I should be considering it! But no current plans to write another Brendan story. I have considered letting Brendan’s best buddy Khalfani have his own book since he burst onto the scene after the manuscript was sold (neither he nor Brendan’s interest in Tae Kwon Do were anywhere in the story until after I sold the book to Delacorte). The scenes I wrote that involved Khalfani were some of the most fun to write.
What is your next project?I’m working on another middle grade novel. This one features biracial twin sisters – one white-appearing, the other black-appearing – who go to stay with their black grandmother in the South. She wants them to compete in a pageant for young black girls. That’s all I really know so far in this treasure hunt without a map!
Tell us something that’s not on the official bio:Well, speaking of pageants, I was Miss Pullman Jr. Miss 1985, in spite of scandalizing the town with my strapless gown, and was once crowned a county fair queen, in spite of never having lassoed a calf and all my previous horse-riding experiences having ended in disaster.
We've been fans since the very first volume. And now own each of the stories as well as many of the peripheral books (the "Field Guide", "The Care & Feeding of Sprites", the giant "Chronicles of Spiderwick"...)
My daughter had me take her out of school to see Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi the last time they come through on a Spiderwick tour (when we got the first batch of books signed). They are gregarious, humorous and imminently entertaining in person as well as on the page and a couple of my contemporary heroes. Spontaneity abounds - don't even ask about the impromptu audience rendition of "Puff the Magic Dragon"...
As part of their spiel Tony drew a number of on-the-spot characters (I'm always impressed by being able to draw spontaneously, in front of an audience, in pen!) which they then gave away to winners of Spiderwick trivia questions.
I sketched *them* while they talked. Made funner by it being rather dimly lit and their constant movements...
As I was sitting on the front row during their presentation, Tony saw me drawing and to my dismay asked to see my sketch book when we got to the front of the book-signing line. The horror, the horror....
But they are generosity itself when it comes to signing *every* thing you brought with you, in addition to letting you take pictures with them. It was a thoroughly enjoyable evening. Here's hoping that talent rubs off a little?...
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Oh, come on, Tara, you had nothing to fear from Tony seeing your sketches. I thought they were excellent likenesses.
I agree! You're very talented. Now for me, I could feel that way, but not you!!You are their peer really.
Oooh, look who's rubbing shoulders with the stars! You did excellent likeness's of them both. :)
How thrilling! Sounds like an entertaining duo.
(I'm sure they loved your sketches!)
Tony DiTerlizzi! That sounds so exciting! You just look like a little kid, I'm glad for you.
How cool is all that? :)