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If you’re curious about the new Anne of Green Gables book–Before Green Gables–then check out on this! The podcast includes interviews with author Budge Wilson (ohh! I wish I could have been there. But listening to the podcast is a close second), editor Helen Reeves from Penguin Books, who edited Before Green Gables , LM Montgomery’s granddaughter Kate Macdonald Butler, LM Montgomery expert Betsy Epperly, Adrienne Clarkson (the Governor-General of Canada, and a literacy advocate) and more.

The podcast is a wonderful celebration of Anne books; it’s such fun to listen to! It’s so well put together, like woven bits of each person’s story that makes a whole–from the editor who wanted the book written, to the granddaughter, to Budge Wilson, to Anne enthusiasts. I love how honest and forthright Budge Wilson is. The podcast flows beautifully, and has such interesting tidbits. I loved listening to it. If you like Anne, you’ll want to listen.

Interviewed by Cheryl Rainfield

Grumpy Bird
written and illustrated by Jeremy Tankard
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Pub Date: April 2007
ISBN 10: 0439851475, ISBN-13: 978-0439851473

Synopsis: Bird wakes up feeling grumpy–so grumpy he doesn’t want to eat, play, or even fly. “Looks like I’m walking today,” says Bird. He starts walking, and as he does, he passes various animals who join him in his walk. Eventually, their companionship helps him move right out of grumpiness.

Grumpy Bird is a funny, sweet book that will have you immediately recognizing someone–maybe even yourself!–and how it feels to be grumpy. If you haven’t read this book, I suggest you get your hands on a copy!

Jeremy Tankard

Why did you write Grumpy Bird?

[jt] My daughter, who was then three, asked me to do some drawings for her in my sketchbook. She requested “grumpy things”. Specifically she asked me to draw a grumpy bear. I drew a grumpy bear. She asked for a grumpy snake. I drew a grumpy snake (you don’t want to meet a grumpy snake up close). She asked for a grumpy clock. I drew a grumpy clock. Then she asked for a grumpy bird. I drew a grumpy bird going for a walk. He was wearing red sneakers and looked pretty funny. We both started to laugh and an idea was born! What happens when a grumpy bird goes for a walk? To answer this question I had to write the book. We authors ask the big questions. Ha!

What a lovely story! What a great beginning.

Grumpy’s bird’s grumpiness is both funny and familiar (in the way that people get when they’re grumpy). Did you have a particular person in mind when you wrote his character?

[jt] I can’t answer that for fear of repercussions. Actually it’s based on everyone I know. As you say, it’s familiar. We’ve all had one of those days when we just get up on the wrong side of the bed and have a hard time cheering up.

You’re absolutely right! (Laughing)

I love the humor in Grumpy Bird. Did the humor come naturally to you?

[jt] Curiously I don’t consider myself to be very funny. In the case of Grumpy Bird it was one of those rare moments when I found myself entertaining. I looked at that initial picture of a grumpy bird and he just had a character and personality right from that initial drawing. He just looked funny. The humour grew naturally out of a quirky little picture. And really, grumpy is often funny - we’re just not allowed to laugh at people when they’re being grumpy. But we often want to. Don’t we? Or is that just me?

I think a lot of us go there.

What mediums did you work in to do the illustrations? Do you do most of your work by hand or on the computer?

[jt] Both. It’s a fairly even marriage of traditional art and digital media. I still draw and paint on paper but I “remix” it using Adobe Photoshop. Basically I do all my drawings using ink in my sketchbook. Then I scan them into Adobe Photoshop. They get cleaned up before being exported to Corel Painter where I colour the characters. Then I import the freshly coloured characters into Photoshop where I build the background environments before placing the characters in them. The finished piece is almost like a digital photo collage except I use more drawings than photos in the collaging process.

Wow! That sounds really involved.

colored animals before working in Photoshop

image after it’s been worked on in PhotoShop

image as it appeared in the book

Is there any artist that you draw inspiration from?

[jt] There are a few, and they’re probably not who you’d expect. Chihiro Iwasaki is one of my favourite illustrators. She was amazing and I’ve probably drawn more inspiration from her than from anyone else — at least recently. There’s a poetic simplicity in her sketches that has me completely mesmerized. Jack Kirby, inventor of most of the Marvel Universe of super heroes, is also a favourite. He almost singlehandedly invented the modern super hero comic book. There’s a raw energy in his work that I admire. It’s weird to try and analyze one’s own work. I have moments where there’s a nice balance between thoughtful lyricism of line and explosive energy. I also love Chris Raschka, Marie Louise-Gay, Peter H. Reynolds, Dave McKean, Barron Storrey, James Jean, etc….

You’ve mentioned some great illustrators, there.

What was the hardest thing for you to write in this book? Why?

[jt]The words were the hardest. Despite loving writing most of my life it was unbelievably difficult putting words to such a simple story. In the end I drew a bunch of pictures and fit the words to them. Then I wrote and drew in tandem until it was finished. Then the editing process started. I hadn’t had much experience putting words and pictures together before this. It’s a fine balance knowing what to keep and what to throw away in a picture book. The pictures do most of the actual story-telling and the words fill in the gaps and flesh out the story.

What was the hardest thing for you to illustrate in this book? Why?

[jt] Bird himself was the most difficult to draw consistently. He’s a funny shape. Needless to say I didn’t quite get it right all the time. But there’s a good spontaneity to the drawings so I tried not to worry too much about it. And while he’s grumpy for most of the book it was tough getting just the right expression on his face. Grumpy but not angry. It’s a fine line sometimes.

I think you succeeded.

If there’s an idea or message you hope your readers take away from your book, what is it?

[jt] Don’t be grumpy? In general I aim to entertain first. I write and draw what I think will be fun and just hope that someone else will like it too. I guess the message in the book is that companionship and a little exercise is the best medicine for a mood. It’s not what I was trying to say, but I think it’s the message that came across in the end. Often I write first and THEN try and figure out exactly what it is that I’ve done. Or more to the point: I write my story and then let my editor figure out what I’ve done and tell me what the message is. I try to function on my intuition most of the time.

What are some of your favourite picture books or children’s books?

[jt] Pretty much anything by Kate DiCamillo, but especially The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane and The Tale of Despereaux. Roald Dahl is wonderful – I’m particularly enamoured of Danny the Champion of the World. The Witches is pretty great too. As for picture books: anything by Chihiro Iwasaki; I love Jon J Muth’s illustrations; Simon James’s Baby Brains books are wonderful; Captain Pugwash by John Ryan; anything illustrated by Stephen Gammell, but I’m especially fond of Monster Mama; I love Doreen Cronin’s books; I could go on, but it would be an incredibly long list. Oh, and I LOVE all of Ed Emberley’s “how to draw books”.

I love that you love so many authors’ and illustrators’ works! Some of them are my favorites, too.

Is there anything you would like to tell readers?

[jt] I didn’t do it! It’s not my fault. Really.

(laughing) Thank you, Jeremy, for an enjoyable and funny interview.

If you haven’t read Grumpy Bird, go read it! It’s wonderful.

Interviewed by Cheryl Rainfield

Tudley Didn’t Know
written and illustrated by by John Himmelman
Publisher: Sylvan Dell Publishing
Pub Date: May 2006
ISBN-10: 0976494361, ISBN-13: 978-0976494362

Synopsis: When a hummingbird drops a piece of lichen into the pond near him, Tudley picks it up and flies it back to the hummingbird. The hummingbird is appropriately shocked, and tells Tudley that turtles can’t fly—which Tudley didn’t know. A similar thing happens with a firefly (Tudley makes his tail glow to call the other fireflies), a frog (Tudley hops to reach the mother frog), and a katydid (Tudley rubs his arms together to make music), but Tudley just keeps doing the impossible. When he finds himself stuck on a pile of rocks, the creatures he helped try to help him back, and when they can’t, they keep him company until the turtles arrive. The turtles show him what turtles can do—retreat into their shell—so it won’t hurt when he falls back to the ground. Tudley learns to do that, but he keeps flying—and after a while, the other turtles wonder if they can’t do that, too.

Tudley Didn’t Know is an inspiring, wonderful fantasy. If you haven’t read it yet, find yourself a copy; you won’t regret it! It is one of my top favorite books.

John Himmelman

What inspired you to write and illustrate Tudley Didn’t Know?

[jh] I was driving past a pond when I saw a little turtle stretched out on a log. I remember thinking it looked as if it was trying to fly and I pulled over and did a quick sketch of it on the spot. The sketch sat on my drawing table for 3 years before I came up with the theme of the story. It finally came to me that the idea of a flying turtle appealed to me because turtles
DON’T fly. I then asked myself, “What else don’t turtles do…?”

Tudley Didn’t Know feels like an inspiring metaphor that if you believe in yourself, you can accomplish your dreams or whatever it is you think of. Did you ever do something that other people thought wasn’t possible, or that went against great odds?

Tudley Sketch by John Himmelman

[jh] To this day, I think making a living by drawing pictures and making up stories is going against great odds.

I agree!

I love the fantasy aspect to Tudley–the way he can suddenly fly, or light up his tail, all because he sees another animal doing it and thinks it’s possible. I also love the humor. Did you dream a lot as a child? Do you dream now?

image from Tudley Didn’t Know

[jh] I think all children dream, as do most adults. The difference is when an adult dreams, it’s more like going to the movies - they enjoy the escape but know what they’re experiencing cannot happen in real life. For children, that “movie” can be more inspiring. I do most of my dreaming just before falling asleep. It takes my mind off of things that would keep me
awake all night.

What was the hardest thing for you to write in this book (a character, the beginning or ending)? Why?

[jh] The hardest thing was coming up with a problem this little turtle couldn’t solve. I hated to do that to him, but it was important to me that he be reminded, and grateful, that he is a turtle.

What was the hardest thing for you to illustrate? Why?

[jh] This was a different style for me. I wanted to capture the details of the different animals while giving them human expressions. The first page or two are always the most difficult. They set the style for the whole book, and yet, they are completed before I’m “warmed up”. I do a LOT of sketches beforehand, though, and that helps.

I love how you weave facts so deftly into the text of your book, that they feel like a part of the story–they’re entertaining, not preachy. Did you have to work hard at it to accomplish this?

[jh] Thank you - in this story, however, there was not much need to sneak in the lesson. Tudley did things that he wanted and needed to do and that alone is something children can relate to. I don’t set out to illustrate a lesson. I write what I think is interesting and if there is a lesson in there, great! If it’s a good lesson, even better. Lessons can be found in just about every story, but they are most interesting when the story comes first.

As for the facts in the story, I am a naturalist and spend most of my free time exploring the natural world. I’ve met - in person - and spent quite a bit of time observing the creatures in this book.

I think it’s wonderful you don’t set out to illustrate a lesson; I think the way you write is the most appealing to children.

What was your favorite part about writing or illustrating Tudley Didn’t Know?

image from Tudley Didn’t Know

[jh] I enjoy painting puddles and drops of water and had fun with making the firefly look wet. I also visualized a very specific look on the frog’s face when she first saw her tadpole with legs - I wanted a look of pure joy and pride and I think I captured it.

I think you did, too.

What are you working on now?

[jh] I just finished “Katie Loves the Kittens” (Henry Holt). It’s about a little Jack Russell Terrier that loves the new kittens so much, she can’t contain her excitement and keeps scaring them away. I’m about to start work on a sequel to Chickens to the Rescue - Pigs to the Rescue. I also finished writing a field guide to the night singing insects of the northeastern US. This is for adults and is a book on identifying the crickets and katydids of the area. There will be a CD containing their calls in the back pocket of the book.

That’s exciting you’re writing a sequel! I love Chickens to the Rescue! I’ll keep my eye out for Pigs to the Rescue.

What are some of your favourite picture books or children’s books?

[jh] I worked in the children’s book section in the Commack Library (New York) while going to art school. This exposed me to a lot of work and showed me how I could combine my love of words and pictures in a single medium. I was most inspired by Arnold Lobel’s “Frog and Toad” books - love the way he mixed his browns and greens, and the simple tales of friendship.
My favorite book to read as a child was “The King and Six Friends” - I ordered a copy from the internet and talk about it when I visit schools.

I also grew up on Dr. Seuss. My mother had enrolled me in the Doctor Seuss book club and I received a new book every month. It became something I looked forward to.

I loved Dr. Seuss, too.

Is there anything you would like to tell readers?

[jh] I enjoy visiting schools to talk about the writing/illustration process. Info can be found at my website - www.johnhimmelman.com. Stop in and say hello.

Thank you, John, for a wonderful interview. I really enjoyed hearing what you had to say.

You can read my complete review of Tudley Didn’t Know here. Tudley Didn’t Know is one of those books that feels so good to read–every time. It’s an inspiring, entertaining book that encourages readers to believe in themselves, to dream, to do what feels right, and to not accept limitations that they or anyone else place upon them. It also promotes kindness, compassion, and a sense of community–all while providing an entertaining story. I highly recommend it!

If you like Philip Pullman’s books (His Dark Materials Trilogy (The Golden Compass; The Subtle Knife; The Amber Spyglass), I Was a Rat!), you’ll be interested in this radio interview with him that aired last night on CBC Radio’s Writers & Company. The interview was Part 1 of 2, conducted by Eleanor Wachtel when Pullman was in Toronto for the Particles of Narrative conference.

Pullman talked about his childhood, his love of writing, Greek myth, religion, The Golden Compass, and more. You also get to hear an excerpt from the upcoming movie based on his book The Golden Compass (which is being adapted at the cost of a $150 million), and an excerpt of The Golden Compass read by Pullman–an excerpt with a cliffhanger that will make you want to read the book, if you haven’t already, or re-read it.

You can download the interview here, if you want to listen to it or have a copy. Archives are only kept online for four weeks, so you’ll want to get your copy now. You can also download it here, where they keep a few more back issues in the archives.

If you like Mo Willems or his books (Leonardo, the Terrible Monster; Edwina, The Dinosaur Who Didn’t Know She Was Extinct; Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!; Knuffle Bunny), then you might want to check out the fantastic video interview with him, for his new book Knuffle Bunny Too: A Case of Mistaken Identity.

The interview made me like him all the more. He said some things I really relate to. When asked where his unique humor comes from, he said: “A lifetime of suffering. One of the things, actually, is the insight … that childhood is not always a happy place. And that there are real failures and real failings and you can find humor in that. … Particularly when I was a child, all the characters where these joyous bunnies and, you know, incredibly excitable mice and I wasn’t happy so I felt guilty that I wasn’t as happy as a rodent.”

I love it when authors and illustrators are honest and have some deep things to say, or things that take some courage to say. Things that feel real, and that I can identify with. I don’t yet know how to turn my own pain into humor, but I love that Willems can and does. It’s inspiring.

Willems also tells readers how to pronounce “Knuffle.” It’s “kuh-nuffle.” But he says that if you buy his book you can pronounce it any way you like.

So go watch the interview; I bet you’ll enjoy it! Thanks to Farida at Saints and Spinners for this great link.

Leonardo, the Terrible Monster and Edwina: The Dinosaur Who Didn’t Know She Was Extinct by Mo Willems are some of my top favorite picture books. If you’re curious, you can read my reviews of Leonardo the Terrible Monster and Edwina: The Dinosaur Who Didn’t Know She Was Extinct.

Interviewed by Cheryl Rainfield

Luck of the Loch Ness Monster: A Tale of Picky Eating

written by A. W. Flaherty, illustrated by Scott Magoon
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Pub date: September 2007
ISBN-10: 0618556443, ISBN-13: 978-0618556441

Synopsis:
A picky eater on a long boat trip dumps her oatmeal over the side each morning, and each morning, a sea worm gobbles it up, becoming larger and larger until he’s known as the Lock Ness Monster.

A. W. Flaherty & her twins

Why did you write The Luck of the Lock Ness Monster?

The true story? I wrote it for my twins’ fourth birthday, but when I got to the drawings I realized that somewhere in medical school I had forgotten how to draw. Except brain slices and stuff; I can still draw those. Anyway, I told this sad story to the editor of my second book, The Midnight Disease. She said “You poor thing. But why not just get it published? Then they will hire someone to do the drawings.” She took it over to her friend in Children’s department, who eventually acquired the book and got me the wonderful Scott Magoon, who draws better than I could ever dream of, even in my long-ago prime.

That’s great that you had that connection.

In your book, Katerina-Elizabeth hates oatmeal, and your descriptions of oatmeal from her viewpoint make it sound completely unappealing. Why did you pick oatmeal as the food Katerina-Elizabeth doesn’t like?

Oatmeal is like slug slime, only lumpier. Those of you who eat that instant stuff out of packets, that is not nearly as bad as the real thing, Scottish steel-cut oatmeal. My parents would boil it for 45 minutes before we ate it. You have to, or you can’t digest it. While it was boiling it would belch big oatmeal bubbles of steam into the air.

(Laughing.) That sounds awful! I don’t like oatmeal, either.

What has being a picky eater, and having one child who is a picky eater, meant to you? Did you ever feel misunderstood?

My parents were pretty decent about it. They made sure I got enough vitamins and iron and “try one bite” and so on, but they didn’t force me to do anything really horrible. Even in my 20s, I’d go home for vacation and my parents and sister would be eating crab and Chinese food and so on, and I would make myself a Skippy peanut butter and jelly sandwich on Pepperidge Farm white bread. I didn’t actually like that much either, but it was way better than the things normal people ate.

I love the humor in your book. Did the humor come easily to you, or was it hard to write?

It is hard for me not to write humorously. You may think that is a joke, but it is not a joke when you are a scientist. My collaborators go through my papers and take all the jokes out, and I really try to sound dignified and objective, but then I accidentally stick some jokes in the final draft. There is a German name for brain damage that causes inappropriate jokiness: Wittelsucht.

Well, your humor is perfect in a picture book.


What was the hardest thing for you to write in this book (a character, the beginning or ending)? Why?

The hardest thing was responding to someone’s request that I make the girl and the monster have a more touching relationship. They said that readers expect that of a kid – animal story. To me, this book was not Lassie, or Old Yaller. Anyway, in kid-animal stories, something bad always happens to the dog. In my story, I just wanted the animal to get bigger and bigger and bigger. It’s a different genre.

If there’s an idea or message you hope your readers take away from your book, what is it?

Healthy eating is important – I certainly know that as a doctor — but parents are highly anxious and overdo it. If you bug your kids to eat lima beans, they will probably hate them even more. If that’s possible.

What are some of your favourite picture books or children’s books?

I could list 100 off the top of my head. Where the Wild Things Are. Jessie Wilcox Smith’s illustrations for A Child’s Garden of Verses. Anything illustrated by Lisbeth Zwerger, especially Noah’s Ark. The drawing of Babar’s dream in (I think) Babar the King. Little Nemo in Slumberland. N.C. Wyeth. Johnny Crow’s Garden – whoever wrote that. I like all the O’Neill illustrations in the Wizard of Oz books, even though they are so fluffy. Edward Gorey. The kids’ biography of Frida Kahlo, with illustrations by Ana Juan. Mary Nazarian. Ivan Bilibnin. Marjorie Flack….

It’s clear you love books!

Is there anything you would like to tell readers?

Oh, I like to give advice to anyone on any subject, at great length. It is a little problem I have.

Thank you, Alice.

The Luck of the Loch Ness Monster is a funny, entertaining story about picky eaters, sea monsters, and oatmeal. Check it out and find out for yourself!

You can read my complete review of The Luck of the Loch Ness Monster here: http://www.cherylrainfield.com/picture-book-review_Luck-of-the-loch-ness-monster.html

Interviewed by Cheryl Rainfield.

Pssst!
written and illustrated by Adam Rex
Publisher: Harcourt Children’s Books
Pub date: September 2007
ISBN-10: 0152058176
ISBN-13: 978-0152058173

Synopsis:
A child, a visit to the zoo, animals–sounds like good, simple all-American fun. But there’s something different about this zoo. These animals want things. Unusual things. What will they do with them?

Why did you write and illustrate Pssst!? What was the spark or inspiration for the book?

I really enjoyed how most of the text appears through dialog bubbles. It reminded me of comics. Do you read comics, or did you used to? Why did you decide to make the girl’s speech appear that way?

I’m a big comics fan. I think there’s a pretty razor-thin distinction between the comics form and picture books anyway. It would only take some reformatting to turn almost any picture book into a comic, or almost any comic into a picture book. As an author-illustrator, I can write and plan the visuals at the same time, so when I get to a point in the story in which, for example, the javelina is trying to get Zooey’s (the main character’s) attention, I could write,
I heard another Pssst! This one came from the javelina enclosure.
“Hello,” I said.
“Hola,” said the javelina.
and so on, and maybe illustrate all this with just one image of Zooey and the boar. Or I could simply show another “Pssst!” in a word balloon, then show Zooey next to the javelina enclosure and continue the dialog in pictures and word balloons from there. Neither way is right or wrong, of course, but you certainly don’t need both approaches at the same time. It would be redundant.

It feels like there are many layers of humor and understanding in your illustrations–some geared for child readers, some for adult readers. Did you intentionally write to reach both sets of readers?

some of Adam Rex’s models for Pssst!

I think I really write for myself, with my child audience firmly in mind as well. But first and foremost I’m trying to make books that I like, and trusting my editors to tell me if they have kid appeal as well. So I hope there’s always something for the parents in my books. They buy them, after all, and they’re probably the ones reading them, if I’m lucky. I want kids to love my books, and I at least want parents not to die a little inside when my books have been requested for the tenth night in a row.

What was the hardest thing for you to write in this book (a character, the beginning or ending)? Why?

The ending practically came first. I guess the biggest challenge was to select the animals, and to give each some object they could reasonably need, but which could also be useful for the surprise ending.

What was the hardest thing for you to illustrate in this book? Why?

Well, I illustrated the whole thing in a style I’d never tried before–-fully-modeled and rendered characters within a fairly flat tableau of color and line art. I had to figure out how the whole thing was going to look as I went along, and that was a big challenge.

If there’s an idea or message you hope your readers take away from your book, what is it?

It’s okay to say no when zoo animals ask unreasonable things of you. Be polite but firm.

Thank you, Adam.

You can check out Adam’s site at: http://www.adamrex.com