How to use this Page

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!

The online auctions for Robert’s Snowflakes begin today. The snowflakes are decorations created by children’s illustrators, and proceeds from the sales go to cancer research. So you can purchase an original, one-of-a-kind holiday keepsake AND support a worthy cause at the same time. There are some beautiful snowflakes created by illustrators, some illustrators whose work you may recognize.

You can look at all the snowflakes, and place a bid, here.

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.

If you enjoy great children’s illustrations and picture book illustrators; if you love Christmas or winter, and want to own a unique ornament created by a children’s illustrator; or if you care about helping make the world a better place or have known someone in your life affected by cancer, then you’ll want to check out the snowflakes created by children’s illustrators which are being auctioned off to raise money for Robert’s Snow: Cure for Cancer. The money will go to the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Robert’s Snow was created by illustrator Grace Lin and her husband Robert Mercer.

All this month, the more-than 200 illustrators who participated in this drive, and the snowflakes they created, will be featured on four to five kidlit blogs a day, with interviews and more. To view the schedule, or to visit one of the participating blogs, visit Jen Robinson’s post about it.

To bid on a snowflake (starting in November; bids start at $50); to take a look at all the wonderful snowflakes available; or to learn more about the Robert’s Snow: Cure for Cancer drive, head on over to the Robert’s Snow website. You can also look at the two previous years’ snowflakes.

You also have a chance to win a limited edition Robert’s Snow giclee print, over at Wild Rose Reader, if you read the articles about the illustrators participating in the Blogging for a Cure, and leave a comment.

This is a worthy cause, and also ties into children’s books and illustrators, which is a nice combination.

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