Author/Illustrator Interview: Adam Rex

On December 13, 2021December 12, 2021 By Only Picture BooksIn Author Interviews, Illustrator Interviews

We always like to end the year strong, and thanks to December’s guest author interview, we’re doing exactly that. Welcome to Only Picture Books, Adam Rex!

Now, it’s hard to imagine picture book writers and readers who don’t already know Adam’s work, but just in case some wildebeest or sentient meteor has come across this website, I’ll give some bio stuff. Because, like most folks, I have a soft spot for wildebeests and sentient meteors.

Adam is the author and illustrator of 40+ books for kids, including many OPB faves such as:

Other cool Adam-related things in no particular order:

He’s worked with Neil Gaiman
His work has been adapted for film and TV (the Dreamworks film Home was based on Adam’s novel The True Meaning of Smekday)
He’s won awards like the Margaret Wise Brown Prize in Children’s Literature and the National Cartoonists Society Book Illustration Award
He’s made art for Dungeons & Dragons and Magic: The Gathering
He has (in order of smallest to largest) “a hermit crab, cat, dog, son, and wife”

Now that we’ve all been properly Adam Rexed, let’s hear from the man himself. Begin the interviewing NOW!

Adam’s website

Adam’s Tumblr

RVC: I’m always curious about how multi-talented people think about their talents. Are you a writer who draws, a drawer who writes, or something else entirely?

AR: I’m my mind I’m a writer and illustrator—I don’t prioritize one over the other. I guess I could combine those and tell people I’m a storyteller, but I don’t think anyone would know what I meant. Personally, when I hear that job title, I picture a retired guy wearing a jester’s hat.

RVC: Let’s reframe the question then. When did you first realize you were a maker of stories? And when did that go from being something you liked doing to something you could do as a career?

AR: I think I was always an illustrator, without knowing what that really meant until I was in college. Most kids are illustrators in some sense—most of them draw, and most kids who draw tell stories with their pictures. I’d decided at the age of five that I was going to be an artist when I grew up because I’d overheard my eight-year-old brother being upset that I was a better artist than him, and that seemed as good a reason as any to keep going. But writing didn’t really start being my thing as well until late high school.

RVC: What happened then?

AR: At that age, it clicked that the comics I liked and the picture books I’d been admiring at my part-time Waldenbooks job were made by actual living people and not famous figures who had been dead for a hundred years.

My mom found a place that sold original comic book art and she bought me a couple of X‑Men pages that I could go and compare to the printed pages in comic books I actually owned. All this made an outlandish future seem more real and attainable, so I think that’s when I settled into the idea that I was going to be a part of telling stories with words and pictures, somehow.

RVC: Since we’re roughly the same age, I’m going to superimpose my own experiences onto your life and assume that you, too, were playing a lot of games like Dungeons & Dragons, Magic: The Gathering, and maybe too many other video and tabletop games during those early years. How did playing games like those inform your future storymaking career?

AR: Definitely a lot of D&D when I was younger. I think I started playing that around age ten and kept at it off and on for about ten years. And I always seemed to be the Dungeon Master, so that must have contributed to honing whatever storytelling chops I have—both in inventing plot on the fly and also trying to make each non-player character interesting. Thing is, I was the same kind of DM as I am a writer: I never planned enough and mostly just made it up as I went along. Only difference being that I didn’t get the chance to go back and rewrite all those shabby campaigns I put my players through.

RVC: We’re going to circle back to your writing and revising process in a moment. But first, the basement-lurking, fantasy-loving, polyhedral fan in me needs to know: how did you get the gig to make art for D&D and MTG? And what was the biggest challenge you faced in making that art?

AR: In the mid-90s I started making road trips every summer to Comic-Con to show my portfolio. I was still interested in being a comics penciller back then, so I had that sort of work in there, but I also took prints of paintings I’d made. I slept in my car, freshened up in the lobby bathroom of a Sheraton that didn’t know I was doing that, and starting the second year I actually began to get calls for work.

All of those calls were from companies making games: a trading card company that was making a Marvel Comics card game, a company that made games about werewolves and faeries and vampires, and also a couple companies called TSR and Wizards of the Coast. The former published D&D at the time, and the latter made Magic: The Gathering. Eventually those two companies merged and then merged again with Hasbro, but I got in at a time when neither one of them was all that fussy about whether their products looked good or not. So, I did a lot of illustration that was just good enough, and as their standards improved, so did I, and stuff like that paid most of my bills for the next twelve or so years while I tried to get a foothold in the world of children’s books.

RVC: How intentional was that move into the kidlit world?

AR: : Oh, very. I’d decided at the age of 16 as a part-time Waldenbooks employee that I wanted to make picture books. I wanted to do a lot of things back then, but during college my focus narrowed until I began to think of everything else, even that paying work I was doing for the game companies, as mileposts that were either getting me closer to or farther away from that ultimate goal.

RVC: What was the tipping point that made it work as a career for you?

AR: A couple books in, a reputable agent asked to represent me, and at that time I think I settled into trusting there was always going to be a next thing. I settled into that because I was young and naïve, I think, because for all I know it could still vanish, even after 20 years. Tastes could change, my kind of work could fall out of favor. At which point I guess I’d teach.

RVC: How does your process differ when you’re illustrating for others (like Gladys the Magic Chicken) versus doing an Adam-Rex-does-it-all book (like On Account of the Gum)?

AR: The processes of writing something I don’t illustrate, or illustrating something I don’t write, or doing it all, aren’t as different as you might guess. When I get an idea, I tend to just try to get a solid manuscript written. I don’t at that point start exploring the look of it, even if I am fairly sure I’m going to illustrate it myself.

RVC: We’ve interviewed Laurie Keller at OPB and found her—and Arnie!—to be delightful. What was your experience of working with her on Pluto Gets the Call?

AR: It was interesting—it wasn’t my first time writing a book I didn’t illustrate, but it was the first time I wrote something for a specific illustrator. I set out there to write a Laurie Keller book, and she made it even more of a Laurie Keller book by adding her signature asides and marginalia. She wrote a ton of extra material that little characters are saying off to the side, so in all fairness I should have to share my author credit on that one with her.

RVC: One of my absolute favorites of yours is Are You Scared, Darth Vader? What’s the story behind how that book came to be?

AR: Luck, really! Lucasfilm publishing was toying with the idea of a Star Wars picture book for Halloween, and the creative director there was a fan of my book Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich. He got in touch and asked if I’d like to pitch some ideas. So, I did, and I think Are You Scared, Darth Vader? was the strongest one I pitched.

RVC: Another fave is School’s First Day of School—such a clever idea. Now I know Christian Robinson is super talented and terrific, but why wasn’t this an “Adam writes and Adam illustrates” book from the start? I can see where many people might think that if you could cook up the peanut butter AND the chocolate, you’d just make the entire Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup yourself every time, if you know what I mean.

AR: That was my first picture book that I didn’t illustrate, and the truth is I’d been looking for a test case for that scenario for some time. I thought it would be fun to see things from the other side of the fence, and maybe get to work with some of my favorite illustrators in the process. And illustrating SFDoS was an easy job to step away from, because I didn’t think my usual style was well-suited to the manuscript anyway. From the start I was imagining it in a Christian Robinson style. Moving forward I just try to remind myself that I am not the best choice to illustrate every manuscript, so if I don’t feel some compulsion to do it myself, then maybe I should step aside. That frees me up a bit to illustrate a great manuscript from another author, if one should come along.

RVC: One last question before we wrap up this part of the interview. What’s something upcoming that you’re really excited about or want to promote?

AR: I’m not sure what my next book is going to be, but it might be one I wrote called Digestion: The Musical?! That’s being illustrated right now by Laura Park.

RVC: Sounds quite tasty, Adam. But now it’s time to unleash…THE SPEED ROUND. Mwah-hah-hah! Are you scared, Adam Rex?

AR: Please stop wiggling your wingers at me.

RVC: Your biggest time waster?

AR: Twitter, no question.

RVC: If you could be “trapped” in any of your picture books for a day, which would you choose?

AR: Oh, I wouldn’t mind taking a walk in the candy-colored ancient times of my most recent, Gladys the Magic Chicken (written by Adam Rubin).

RVC: Five things we’d see if we checked out your workplace area?

AR: A big paper mâché head of my own head; signed photos of Lou Ferrigno, Noelle Neill, and the guy who played Jaws in the Bond movies; a diorama of a swamp I made for the backgrounds in Are You Scared, Darth Vader?; little sculptures of my own characters that I made to help me draw them; and probably a sleeping dog.

RVC: Best advice you ever received about writing picture books?

AR: Keep your receipts? I can’t think of anything.

RVC: A recent picture book that really got your attention?

AR: How to Walk an Ant by Cindy Derby.

RVC: Your proudest moment as an artist?

AR: Probably getting a ribbon at the Arizona State Fair for a drawing of a wizard I did back in 1984. Been chasing that ever since.

RVC: Thanks so much, Adam. It’s been quite the treat!

Illustrator Interview: Julia Kuo

On October 11, 2021October 10, 2021 By Only Picture BooksIn Illustrator Interviews

Please welcome Julia Kuo to OPB! She’s a Taiwanese-American illustrator who has worked with The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Google, and ProPublica. She has published over a dozen books, including picture books as well as other types of books. Julia has also taught illustration courses at Columbia College Chicago and at her alma mater, Washington University in St. Louis. Among her many awards, she was an artist-in-residence at the Banff Centre for the Arts in 2014 and in 2017, and Julia is the recipient of a 2019–2021 Gray Center Mellon Collaborative Fellowship at the University of Chicago.

Without further ado, let’s get right to the interview!

Julia’s website

Julia’s LinkedIn

RVC: When did you first get interested in art?

JK: I started taking drawing classes when I was 5 years old and living in Taipei.

RVC: Wow, that’s an early start. At point did you realize you were going to be a professional artist?

JK: Around my third year of college; I fought it for as long as I could and tried to stick with my business major, but I couldn’t get myself to stop taking art classes.

RVC: Why was the illustration major at Washington University in St. Louis a great fit for you?

JK: I always wonder how life would have turned out if I’d gone to a traditional art school. Going to WashU felt more like getting illustration on the side of a typical college experience. I’m glad I was able to take the business and psychology classes I was interested in, and that my classmates were all studying such interesting and different things! As for the illustration major itself, it leaned towards a more conceptual and process-driven approach than a technical one, and that was an area of training that I really needed.

RVC: You worked for American Greetings right out of college. What kind of lessons did you learn there?

JK: I learned a lot while working at American Greetings about how the creative process could be translated to a corporate environment. Some days, I was floored by all the resources made available for the creative teams and other days I felt the limitations and inefficiency of a large, complex system. The little I know today about post-production and reviews comes from my time there.

RVC: How did you make the shift from American Greetings artist and editorial illustration to creating books?

JK: I was signed on to my first chapter book thanks to a friend’s helpful connection. That book happened to be written by Jenny Han and edited by Alvina Ling–someone I am still making books with! What’s even more amazing is that I came out with a literary agent at the end of the process. Emily Van Beek is Jenny’s agent and when she saw that I wasn’t represented, Emily she reached out to me. Signing with her was probably the single most important thing that has ever happened in my career!

RVC: Emily’s good people–congrats on that. What do you most like about making picture books?

JK: I love getting lost in big projects. I’ve always enjoyed creating a series of images and I love that each book means I get to develop a new visual language from scratch. I’m also more of a designerly illustrator, so I enjoy working with layout and imagining how the text will live with the image.

RVC: Which of your picture books got its first starred review?

JK: I think it was The Sound of Silence by Katrina Goldsaito.

RVC: What did it feel like to have glowing comments about YOUR art?

JK: Well, I always see it as more of a team effort, since the art could have never existed without the manuscript. As an illustrator, I am always reacting to the text, and a great manuscript challenges me to create art that is worthy of the words!

RVC: Which of your picture books was the most challenging to illustrate?

JK: Hmm, I do remember the physical pain of The Sound of Silence, because it required so much detailed linework and coloring. I had to take days off from drawing to save my wrist! I Am An American: The Story of Wong Kim Ark [coming out November 2021!] was challenging because of its historical nature; I was constantly afraid of not doing enough research and portraying scenes or figures inaccurately.

RVC: In all of your experience as a picture book illustrator, what has surprised you the most?

JK: I’m surprised to be writing/authoring books now. I’m finishing up my second authored book right now, and I’m still shocked.

RVC: Why shocked? Is it that you never considered making stories through words?

JK: Writing is difficult for me. It doesn’t come naturally. And I used to define “good” writing in a very narrow way (something like a linear, fictional story) but am only just starting to learn that there are other paths I can take!

RVC: Your bio statement points out that you’re interested in storytelling and activism. Could you explain that a bit more?

JK: I’m a second-generation Taiwanese American. I’ve lived in immigrant-heavy cities like LA, and I’ve also spent 18 years living in various cities in the Midwest. I’ve experienced a huge range of wonderful and terrible experiences all around the US because of how I look. It feels only natural to draw characters who look like me, and to share stories from my own life experiences. I care about how certain policies will affect my parents, my community, and my own future family.

Sometimes I’m able to take on projects that represent what I urgently believe in. But I also have a wide range of interests and limited emotional bandwidth, so other times I just want to draw topics that still feel important or interesting but are a little less personal to me.

RVC: How might one see making picture books as part of that mission?

JK: I love that most kids in the US read picture books, and that these books are one of the first places a person has access to stories that show worlds different than their own. Why not normalize the lives and motivations of others through these stories?

RVC: Great question. And that makes me think of this question–what is the social responsibility of the artist, in kidlit or in general?

JK: I think the social responsibility of the kidlit artist is to tell stories that are true to themselves. To write what they know or believe in, and to step aside when there are others better suited to telling these stories.

RVC: You’ve got a lot of experience as teacher of illustration. What do student illustrators have the hardest time with?

JK: It depends on the school and what resources the students have. I worked at two pretty different schools, and as a caveat, I taught different types of classes at each, so this is far from a perfect comparison. At the first school, many students were just busy juggling their lives, their commute, and the jobs they had on the side. These external life distractions stood between them and the amount of finite time spent on illustration. At the second school, the students were very resource rich, but their struggles were slightly more existential; they often had more to do with fears about the future and achieving certain types of success.

RVC: What do enjoy most about teaching?

JK: It’s VERY exciting to see potential in a student’s work. I love spotting something in their illustrations that opens a door to a new path forward.

RVC: Brag time! What’s a project—current or future—that has you really excited?

JK: I’m super excited about my first book that I will have authored and illustrated myself. It’s called Let’s Do Everything and Nothing, coming out in March 2022!

RVC: Congrats on that! Now…last question for this part of the interview. If you’re not creating picture book art, what other type of art are you likely creating?

JK: Super random, but I love making piñatas!

RVC: Love that answer. But the time has come, Julia. It’s THE SPEED ROUND! Zoom zoom, and away we go. Are you ready?

JK: Ready!

RVC: The strangest art you’ve ever created?

JK: Kind of hard to answer this, since strange often equals bad, but I’d say the most difficult and complicated art I’ve ever made was a likeness of 20 celebrities sitting together realistically in a pizza joint.

RVC: The most authentic Taiwanese food you’ve ever had in the US is from…?

JK: I just had a very authentic Taiwanese bento here in Seattle at the most unassuming-looking place, MonGa Café.

RVC: If we overheard you singing in the shower, it’d be what song?

JK: Haha. You’d never hear it, or it would be the last thing you’d hear 😉

RVC: The #1 attribute you bring to an art project is?

JK: Enthusiasm!

RVC: A recent picture book that really got your attention?

JK: Sakamoto’s Swim Club: How a Teacher Led an Unlikely Team to Victory, written by Julie Abery and illustrated by Chris Sasaki.

RVC: The nicest thing a kid has said about your art?

JK: “She did a good job drawing the pictures”–Livia Blackburne’s daughter (author of I Dream of Popo)

RVC: Thanks so much, Julia!

Author/Illustrator Interview: Kristen Balouch

On September 13, 2021September 12, 2021 By Only Picture BooksIn Author Interviews, Illustrator Interviews

This month’s picture book creator interview is with Kristen Balouch, an author, illustrator, artist, and designer living in Brooklyn. Few creatives give as much access to their workspace in the way Kristen does: “I live in a tiny apartment in Williamsburg, Brooklyn that I renovated with salvaged finds. I designed the apartment around this twelve-foot table. Everything happens at this table: manuscript sorting, book illustrations, editorial illustrations, hand-lettering, fabric collections, daydreaming, birthday cakes, and dinner parties.”

Here’s a photo of that cool space!

Kristen has created a number of her own picture books such as Feelings and The Little Little Girl with the Big Big Voice, and she’s illustrated the work of others, as with Baby Polar. Her most recent book is the picture book If You Are the Dreamer, which arrives this month.

She also runs Little Blue Mushroom, a “literary agency for children’s books.” (More on this in a minute.)

Let’s get to the interview to find out more about all the cools things Kristen is doing.

RVC: Let’s start with an easy one. As a child, what was your favorite picture book?

KB: The first books I remember reading were Roald Dahl books—Fantastic Mr. Fox and James and the Giant Peach. My grandma lived in Ohio and we lived in California. I think she knew no one was taking me to the library and so she would mail packages of books to me.

RVC: Grandmas like that are the best. What else about your childhood set you up for a career in children’s books?

KB: I lived in among the redwoods of California and we were in no way confined as children. It was me, my sister, and our dog Wonder Dog. We ran, explored, and daydreamed in between the redwoods and along the Russian River.

RVC: In what ways was your creativity coming through during high school?

KB: We moved to Ohio and I had a wonderful art teacher in high school. His name was John Antro. He put the idea of art school and New York City in my mind. My family moved in the middle of high school to Florida and I was devastated. But I was lucky and landed in another school with another amazing art teacher, Roger Smith. These two teachers—their vision, their encouragement—altered the course of my life. Teachers change lives!

RVC: Indeed they do! Now, you went to the Pratt Institute as an undergraduate. What drew you to that school?

KB: When I was 14, I lied and said I was 16 to work the weekends at a fried chicken place. I saved all my money—I think it was $800, something like that–and used it to go to Pratt for a high school program in the summer. Pratt had a campus which made it feel more like a school experience than a city experience.

Later, as an undergraduate there, I had the most wonderful English professor, Daniel Gerzog, and I started working on picture books. I also explored New York City. My favorite spot was Books of Wonder. I passed the afternoons with the picture books there.

RVC: Your undergraduate experience at Pratt was a while back. But you recently went back to college via the low-residence MFA in Writing for Children at Vermont College of Fine Arts. What was the goal?

KB: I felt like I had the art down, but the writing! I just fumbled with words. I went to VCFA and I witnessed the craft of writing and the devotion. It looked the same as my art practice but with words, and I could also see that the components of the book were the same…character development, environment, suspense, story arc. It was just using words to get there instead of color or composition.

RVC: What was the most valuable lesson you learned at VCFA?

KB: I think I learned to trust my words on paper.

RVC: Let’s get to your books. What’s the story behind your first picture book, Listen to the Storyteller? How did that come about?

KB: I had sent a book dummy for The King & the Three Thieves to Viking. They were publishing Simms Taback at the time and I adored everything they printed. And then they said “Yes!” But they said we have something else first. It was Listen to the Storyteller.

RVC: What’s your favorite thing about that book?

KB: I look back at those illustrations and the compositions are so expressive. I was learning how to use placement and form to tell a story.

RVC: One of my favorites of yours is the Ezra Jack Keats award-winning picture book Mystery Bottle. Care to share the close-to-home story that inspired it?

KB: Mystery Bottle is like collecting a family history, political borders, and ways of life then sprinkling those details throughout a book. The initial spark was my son’s grandparents and how much they wanted to meet their grandson, but the gap between here and Iran seemed so enormous. It was a way to bring them together.

RVC: On one hand, the story is kind of nonfiction. But things happen in it that aren’t quite realistic in a traditional sense. How do you handle that challenge in terms of creating visuals (which many reviewers note is their favorite thing about the book)?

KB: There are so many ways to see and experience reality. For example, let’s say there are two things on the table that are approximately the same size. If one of those things is important to me, then maybe I would draw it larger. Or maybe that thing is so important to me that it might fill the whole room. Or maybe that thing is so important to me that it fills the entire page. In that example of scale, all of those images would represent a reality. It may just not be the reality we are used to seeing.

RVC: That’s a great point about perspective. I’m not sure writers fully understand all that an illustrator does. Speaking of that…what’s the most important thing writers should know or understand about picture book illustrators?

KB: I think writers do know that illustration is also storytelling and that can enhance or add layers of meaning. Personally, I like to illustrate a roomy text that allows for a broad interpretation.

RVC: Since you brought up interpretation…what do you think about art notes?

KB: Art notes can be necessary if the author is considering a specific visual that tells the story. Other art notes can be micro managing. People have different ways of working. Some people like to be told what to do. But I am not one of those people. Most publishers make sure illustrators have the room to create.

RVC: You’ve been doing freelance work beyond kidlit things for a very long time. How does that work inform your kidlit illustrations?

KB: When art is out in the world, it doesn’t have the same proximity or amount of time with the viewer as children’s books. Images need to be more immediate and compelling—the messaging needs to be clear. The luxury of time and proximity in children’s books creates an environment for play and dialogue. I hope my work has become better as a communicator from creating for different viewers.

RVC: What are your thoughts on the state of kidlit in general right now?

KB: Could you ever imagine this many beautiful books being produced?
The extraordinary, thoughtful books being published every season just takes my breath away. Small presses and imprints acting as small presses are creating diverse books, neurologically and otherwise, which broaden the picture book market. It’s very exciting!

I wish more obscure books became less obscure and made their way into more readers’ hands.

RVC: Here’s a question I’ve never asked in an OPB interview before. How do you go about making a quality artist’s statement? (P.S.—this is something unique to artists. Writers don’t worry about such things!)

KB: I suppose first you have to think about who will be reading your artist statement and how to connect with them. I like to include things that are important to me and the things that make me tick. Like…I like kindness and poetry and little things that dance around in the background of a page. But then if you put that into a context where your reader values awards or accomplishments, well, then I would include some of those, too.

It’s a little scary defining oneself on paper. Be brave, speak truth, walk boldly even if it’s uncomfortable!

RVC: What is Little Blue Mushroom?

KB: Little Blue Mushroom is this incredible thing that happened almost on its own–just add water!

I started teaching online courses about five years ago. I wanted to help illustrators find their way into the children’s book market. I had so many years of trying to figure out how to create story as an illustrator. I looked for access points into storytelling. I put together the things that I thought were helpful and were from the point of view of the illustrator and created a handful of courses.

The response was tremendous. So many very talented illustrators showed up. Little Blue Mushroom organically evolved into a boutique literary agency to help a half dozen of those illustrators bring their work to publishers.

RVC: Any tips for writers or artists who decide to follow in your path and create a similar company?

KB: Be generous with what you can offer. Pay attention and do what’s important to you, and it will grow.

RVC: Brag time. What’s a current or forthcoming project you’re super stoked about?

KB: If You Are the Dreamer is coming out Sept 21st with Cameron Kids. It’s sort of like a contemporary Runaway Bunny in its simplicity and poetry. I’m counting down the days!!! Check back with me in the spring for more exciting news, too!

RVC: Last question for this part of the interview. You’re back at Pratt again, but as a teacher this time. What’s that like for you?

KB: I love encouraging people/students to see a way to bring what they love to the world. There is room in the world to do exactly what you want to do. I also like to help swat away any nay-saying self talk–get outta here!

RVC: Okay, it’s time for the Speed Round. Zoomy questions and zippy answers, please. Ready?

KB: Ready!

RVC: Best place in Brooklyn for cupcake?

KB: Bakeri in Greenpoint or Williamsburg.

RVC: Your three favorite colors, in order, are…

KB: I have four! Strawberry ice cream pink, bright persimmons orange, electric pure yellow, and a hazy gray blue.

RVC: “If I weren’t creating art or writing, I’d be…”

KB: A therapist or a gardener!

RVC: Five things you can’t do your work without.

KB: Focus, sleep, a full belly, a Sharpie, and a piece of paper.

RVC: If you could illustrate for any living picture book writer, it’d be…

KB: Carole Boston Weatherford.

RVC: [Quick sidenote–check out the OPB interview with Carole right here!] Your illustration philosophy in five words or less.

KB: Be kind.

RVC: Thanks so much, Kristen. Best of luck with the new book!

KB: Thank you!

Author/Illustrator Interview: Todd Sturgell

On July 12, 2021July 11, 2021 By Only Picture BooksIn Author Interviews, Illustrator Interviews, Picture Book Debuts

This month’s interview is with Todd Sturgell, an author/illustrator whose first book, Except Antarctica, hits bookshelves this month. While he’s originally from Ohio and then spent some time in Texas, Todd now lives in the North Carolina mountains with his “wife, kids, and an overactive rescue dog named Max.” Yes, the dog’s name comes straight out of Where the Wild Things Are.

Let’s be honest–anytime you start naming your pets (or children!) after famous picture book characters, you’re committing to a certain path in life. And we’re glad Todd did because his debut book looks terrific. Let’s find out more about it right now!

RVC: When did you realize you were going to do art for a living?

TS: I was either going to be an artist or a paleontologist. Around 10 years old, I settled on art. Up until then, it could’ve gone either way.

RVC: Did you go to school for art or are you self-taught?

TS: I went to East Texas State (now Texas A&M University-Commerce) for art direction, specifically advertising and design. I’ve really enjoyed all the opportunities I’ve had to illustrate within the advertising and design world. Eventually, I admitted that I’ve got a calling to make picture books, and I needed to get after it.

RVC: How’d you end up in North Carolina?

TD: I worked at a very large advertising agency in Dallas and wanted a change. Since we always loved visiting the North Carolina coast, I started looking for smaller design firms there. I found one, so we moved out. And then the economy tanked, so it didn’t last.

I wasn’t going to go back to a big agency again. I’ve been freelancing since.

RVC: Let’s get to the book, which is called Except Antarctica (Sourcebooks eXplore). What’s it like being a debut author/illustrator whose book isn’t yet out?

TS: I vary between panic and joy. I’m like, “Am I doing enough? Do I need to reach out to more people? Am I posting enough on social media?”

If I let myself sit back, take a deep breath, and hold my advance reader copy? Then I’m delighted. I’m so happy to be a part of the picture book world.

RVC: The “Am I doing enough?” question is one many writers face. What ARE you doing to help get the good word out about your book?

TS: I have a great marketing team with Sourcebooks–they’ve really reached out to a lot of people and made a lot of connections.

RVC: To people like me. That’s how I learned about you.

TS: That’s good to know! You can see why I’m kind of just following their lead. They find opportunities and ask if I’m interested. And I’m almost always interested.

I’m also part of STEAMTeam Books–it’s a group that supports each other with STEAM-related book launches. And they’ve been doing this for a couple of years now. We lift each other up and share each other’s social media posts, that kind of thing.

RVC: That’s a terrific idea. But let’s talk about the post-contract reality a debut author faces. What has surprised you the most about the whole process AFTER signing on the dotted line?

TS: How slow everything moves at the start. And then, when it all comes together, how fast it speeds up. You feel like you’re waiting and waiting and waiting, and then suddenly, okay, it’s almost here, and now you have a million things to do.

I would also say that debuting here on the back end of the pandemic has been something. I don’t know how typical my experience has been in 2021. Is it always this crazy?

I think my next book will feel as much like a debut as this one because the whole process could be so different.

RVC: That’s a good point. Plus, who doesn’t want to have two debuts, right? Back to your book. What’s the elevator pitch?

TS: What if you were watching a nature documentary, and the animals suddenly started doing the opposite of what the narrator says they’d do?

RVC: You’ve got a fun book trailer for Except Antarctica that explains a bit of this, but let me ask it outright–how did the idea for this book come about?

TS: I love nature documentaries, so I tried to expose my kids to as much of that as I could. And the phrase “except Antarctica” crops up over and over. There are so many species found all over the world, and you’ll hear the narrator say, “they’re found on every continent except Antarctica.”

One day, I was watching a show about owls. The narrator said that phrase, and I’m like, just yesterday, I heard that about turtles! Once I connected the concept of habitats to the idea of animals going off script, Except Antarctica was born.

RVC: What’s your favorite thing about the book?

TS: Even though the animals realize maybe they’ve made a mistake, I’m rooting for them the whole way. I especially love how they get to the ocean and the narrator’s like “Yeah, you’re done!” but on the very next page, they’re crossing the ocean! I loved putting that illustration together.

RVC: In terms of Except Antarctica, how will you measure success?

TS: Gosh, I already feel like a success just getting this far!

I hope that it’s successful enough to let me keep making more picture books. But I think the most important measure of success will be if kids–either having this book read to them or reading it themselves–laugh out loud. That’s the win right there. That’s the best type of success for me.

RVC: What was your pre-contract experience with this book? How did the drafting process go?

TS: I have three other authors in my critique group who really helped the manuscript along. When I first started out, I knew the animals were going to break the mold. Still, it took a couple of versions until I got to the point where they were defying the narrator directly. Once I came up with that, the manuscript in its current form almost wrote itself. I’ve actually been shocked at how few changes I’ve had to make in the text since that point. There was a lot more emphasis on helping me develop the illustrations for these characters.

RVC: So, having a critique group made a real difference.

TS: Absolutely. I had a real sense of the stumbling blocks within the book thanks to valuable input from a lot of helpful people. The interaction with the narrator solved almost all of them! Utilizing a “meta” concept isn’t new or unique, but it was absolutely the right decision for Except Antarctica.

RVC: How many drafts did it take to get to the point where the book wrote itself?

TS: A lot. You’ve got to try different things. There was a point where I had a character who could be found on any continent except Antarctica AND Australia, but he wanted to come along. The others said, “Hey, maybe you should go to Australia first!” because they were afraid of him. That was an interesting little thing, but it really bogged down the book. I had to work that out and get through it before finally dropping it. I go through a lot of these moments where I try different things, and I pull back to see if it works or not. It’s a process.

RVC: Speaking of a process, care to reveal a bit about the actual process you use to produce a picture-book manuscript?

TS: I’m drawing and writing at the same time. I don’t do one and then the other. It’s not like I develop characters and write or develop the manuscript, and then draw the characters. It all comes together in a storyboard format, rather than a Word document. For me, the art and the writing move forward together.

RVC: Any advice for young writers or illustrators?

TS: When they get started, a lot of people feel very competitive, very protective of their own ideas. The quicker you figure out that most of the people in the kidlit world want to lift each other up and make everybody better, the sooner you start to feel comfortable here. This is a great community. I love almost everyone I’ve met since starting this journey.

RVC: What’s something you know now that you wish you knew back when you first started out?

TS: Worry a lot less about agents and the business, and spend more time focused on craft. Thinking about submissions and gatekeepers felt overwhelming–it probably slowed me down quite a bit in trying to figure it all out. If I had just let some of that fall off, I think I would have enjoyed the process more.

RVC: Last question for this part of the interview. What are you working on now?

TS: My contract with Sourcebooks is for two books. They’d really like to see some of the elements from this book in the next one, so that’s what we’re looking at right now.

RVC: Alrighty. It’s time for the Speed Round. Are you ready, Todd? We’re looking for the opposite of turtle-slow Q&A here!

TS: Ready!

RVC: Favorite place to go hiking in North Carolina?

TS: Graveyard Fields.

RVC: Best place to get North Carolina BBQ?

TS: North Carolina BBQ has too much vinegar in it for me. There’s a place around here called Haywood Smokehouse that has good Texas BBQ. I love that.

RVC: What secret talent do you have?

TS: I play a pretty mean pirate. I was a pirate guide for a ghost tour one summer!

RVC: Five things we’d see if we sneaked a peek at your writing and drawing studio?

TS:

A mess (incredibly annoying!).
Koh-I-Noor drawing pens that I have to clean incessantly, but they’re so great I can’t let them go.
Lots and lots of books.
Club soda. All the time.
My dog, waiting impatiently for me to take him out on a trail.

RVC: What’s a recent picture book that really got your attention?

TS: The Wanderer by Peter Van den Ende is stunningly beautiful.

RVC: Your mission as a picture book creator?

TS: I want to connect with readers the same way that my favorite picture books connected with me when I was a kid.

RVC: This was terrific, Todd. Thanks for stopping by and sharing your story with OPB. Best of luck with Except Antarctica!

A Celebration of Jane Yolen’s 400th book (2 interviews and one original poem)

On March 29, 2021March 28, 2021 By Only Picture BooksIn Author Interviews, Illustrator Interviews4 Comments

To help celebrate Jane Yolen’s 400th published book–what an amazing accomplishment!–I felt the need to do more than just review it at OPB. Thus, we have this bonus goody that’s just for you!

I asked Jane and Jen four questions each, and with the productivity and generosity that Jane is so well known for, she offered an original poem, too. Enjoy!

Questions for Jane

RVC: Why is Bear Outside a good book to be #400?

JY: Because it is typical of my picture book style–lyrical, strong young girl who solves a problem, and has a kicker last line.

RVC: What was most surprising about the hubbub around #400?

JY: That I seem to be the most surprised person of all!

Heidi (my daughter and PA) had been counting the books because when I hit 365 we had a big party at the Eric Carle Museum with teachers, librarians, editors, friends, etc. But I thought as I was just reaching my 80s, I would slow down. But a little over three years later, it was clear I was going to hit 400.

RVC: What’s something readers wouldn’t guess about the girl in this story?

JY: She is me in a way, though instead of a bear, I look out through the eyes of story and it emboldens me.

RVC: Your favorite image from the book?

JY: I think the very last page, when they are quiet, and instead of a child hugging a toy bear to keep herself safe from night frights, the bear is hugging the girl.

Questions for Jen

RVC: Why is Bear Outside a good book to be #400?

JC: Bear Outside is the result of so many things I never saw coming or anything I could have conceived of when I started my career in illustration. I had worked on bits and pieces here and there, and I got my foot into the door with Little Pea, but it wasn’t until I started creating bodies of work for gallery shows that I really started to develop a visual voice that felt true to me. It has always been a symbiotic relationship, bringing what I learned creating pieces for galleries into book work and bringing the narrative structure of book work back into paintings made for gallery shows.

If you had told 2007 me that this piece of my career would become part of someone else’s artistic milestone, let alone Jane Yolen’s artistic milestone, I would have calmly told you to get off of my lawn. But it is. It exists, it’s here, and it’s an incalculable honor. To have something put out into the world be seen and understood by someone and then be moved to write a story that respects the core of the image with spare, perfect words? It gives me too many feelings.

For me it’s not a good book to be #400. It’s the PERFECT book to be #400.

RVC: What was most surprising about the hubbub around #400 for Jane?

JC: When I received the manuscript for Bear Outside, I wasn’t told that it would be Jane’s 400th book. I didn’t even know until recently. So it’s all a wonderful surprise. I muddled through my own brain and ideas for so long–it’s a real crock pot of a brain. It makes me wonder what it’s like to have a brain that is all “go go go” while also creating beautiful, meaningful stories. It’s awe inspiring.

RVC: What’s something readers wouldn’t guess about Bear?

JC: Probably that Bear is a Taurus sun with a Sagittarius moon.

RVC: Your favorite line from the text?

JC: “I take care of Bear and Bear takes care of me.”

It’s the perfect distillation of the relationship between Girl and Bear. It’s ideally the relationship we should have in others.

Hugging the Bear

At night, in the dark,
he snores and grumbles.
Sometimes he whimpers.
Then I curl around him.
I am here, Bear, I whisper.
Day will come soon enough.
Wear me like a suit of armor.
Hold me like a sword of fire.
Tell my story over and over
till all night fears go away.
And his mumbles and whimpers
fade into the dawn.

Author/Illustrator Interview: Marla Frazee

On January 11, 2021January 10, 2021 By Only Picture BooksIn Author Interviews, Illustrator Interviews1 Comment

It’s always a treat when we get a picture book author who illustrates as well, and that’s exactly what we have with our January interview with Marla Frazee. (Witness two Caldecott Honors for her fine illustration work!) She was born and raised in LA, and has three grown sons who are off in the world, making her proud.

To get to know her a little bit better, let’s play seven truths and one lie. Here we go!

Marla:

created the artwork for Sara Pennypacker’s bestselling Clementine series.
had a childhood pet—a dog named Pappy who ran away at top speed every chance he got.
refused to go to nursery school (and found kindergarten terrifying!).
had to go to detention for wearing a clown costume to a high school assembly.
was a contestant on Art Linkletter’s “Kids Say the Darnedest Things” TV show.
has a Little Free Library in her front yard.
authored The Boss Baby, which was adapted into a Dreamworks movie of the same name.
works in a red-doored studio in her backyard beneath an avocado tree.

Want to know which one is the falsehood? Read on and find out! The answer will be in the interview below.

RVC: What was the picture book that set you on the path to being a picture book maker?

MF: It was, without a doubt, Where the Wild Things Are. I was 8 years old when it came out. I loved books, loved to draw, and was already planning to be a children’s book author and illustrator, but the moment I saw Max’s bedroom turn into a forest in just three page turns, well… it sealed the deal. I just wanted to learn how to make that sort of magic happen.

It’s still my favorite book of all time and I’m still trying to figure out how Sendak did what he did in it.

RVC: I’m sure you’ve been asked this before—are you a writer who does art, or an artist who writes?

MF: I’m an illustrator who tells stories with pictures—and often words.

RVC: What kind of training did you have for your writing and your art?

MF: I went to ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena, CA, and received a BFA in Illustration. I’ve attended as many SCBWI (Society of Children’s Writers and Illustrators) conferences as I could. I’m also a long-time subscriber to The Horn Book Magazine which has given me a sense of both publishing history and its current state, notable books and the people who make them, and some understanding about why certain books get great reviews and others don’t. When I had children and read a bazillion books to them over the years, I developed my own passionate opinions about which children’s books worked and which didn’t. That’s been my training!

RVC: It took a while for you to break into picture books.

MF: It did take a while! No one could ever say I was an overnight success!

RVC: What kinds of things did you do along the way before landing that first book deal?

MF: I worked at Disney Studios after I graduated and quickly realized it wasn’t for me. I quit after 6 weeks to become a freelancer—and that’s what I’ve been doing ever since. In the years after that, I did whatever kind of illustration job I could get: textbook and mass-market books for kids, editorial illustration, advertising, greeting cards, and stuff like McDonald’s Happy Meals boxes and kid-friendly mascots for every team in the National Football League. But during all those years, I was trying to get published. I just wanted to make picture books.

RVC: You’ve had incredible success as an illustrator for picture books, having received a Caldecott Honor for All the World and A Couple of Boys Have the Best Week Ever. How aware were you of those books being special during their making?

MF: I’m not sure how this will sound, but I always think the book I’m working on is special. If I don’t, I’ll keep revising until I do. And if I still don’t, as painful as it is, I put it away. The thing I am most surprised about, honestly, is which of my books do end up connecting more than others. I am the worst judge of how a book of mine will do once it is out in the world.

RVC: Liz Garton Scanlon did an interview with OPB in 2018—she’s terrific. What was the biggest challenge you faced in illustrating her manuscript All the World?

MF: Liz IS terrific. I’m with you on that!

RVC: Absolutely!

MF: Back to the previous question, I was immediately aware that her manuscript for All the World read like a classic. The biggest challenge I faced was getting my head around the title. I mean, a book about ALL the world? I knew I couldn’t illustrate a book about all the world. So I thought about what it was like to feel a part of the world—to be somewhere you love with people you love—and illustrated that.

It took a while to figure out. I dumped a nearly finished sketch dummy and started over. Our editor, Allyn Johnston of Beach Lane Books, kept both Liz and me on track through a number of revisions. Allyn had a sense of the emotional power of All the World from the start. She was instrumental in how that book came to be.

RVC: How is the process different with illustrating your own books versus the books of others?

MF: I love alternating between doing one of my own books and then illustrating someone else’s words. The process is very different. If it’s my own, I’m moving back and forth between pictures and words. It’s usually a big mess and I often don’t know it will come together. On the other hand, when I say yes to a manuscript, it’s already written. And it intrigues me, challenges me, and isn’t anything that I could’ve come up with myself. My job is to bring the picture story to a place where it is an equal partner to the words. It feels acrobatic.

RVC: How many books are you typically working on at the same time, and how long do they generally take?

MF: I typically work on one book at a time and once I’m actively in process (as opposed to marinating), each book usually takes a year.

RVC: Let’s talk about Boot & Shoe. On one paw, it’s a funny dog bromance, but on the other paw—like so much of your work—there’s wit and wisdom, as well. How did this interesting story come about?

MF: Ha! Well asked!

Let’s see. I was teaching my Children’s Book Illustration class at ArtCenter, something I’ve done on and off for 25 years, and I listened as a student read Blueberries for Sal to the class. I love that book and it’s been a major influence in my own work, but this was the first time since I was a child that anyone read it aloud to me. I was thinking about how hilarious it is when we, the reader, know what’s going on but the characters don’t. Little Sal is following Little Bear’s mom and Little Bear is following Little Sal’s mom, and they don’t know it yet! But we do!

I decided right then that I wanted to make a book like that. I remembered how fun and funny it was to play hide-and-seek around a tree; one person going one way, the other person going the opposite way. That’s how the idea started.

RVC: Which of your books surprised you the most in terms of how it came out?

MF: The Boss Baby was one of the hardest books to figure out. It was funny in concept but unfunny for a long time in execution. The baby character needed to be cute, but not-cute. The tone needed to be understood by a child, but sophisticated. The setting needed to be contrived, but realistic. I almost gave up on it. Obviously, I’m very glad it finally worked.

RVC: I think it’s fair to say that you might be best known–beyond the kidlit world—for The Boss Baby movie. How did that all happen?

MF: I heard that DreamWorks animation was interested in optioning The Boss Baby right before the book was published. I was thrilled, of course, but didn’t take this to mean a feature length film would actually be made. I know there are a lot of hurdles. But we just kept hearing good news about where it was in first the development process, and then in the production process.

During these years, DreamWorks invited me to the studio a number of times to meet the filmmakers and see the progress. It was an incredible experience to watch how much love, care, and talent went into it all. I always left completely blown away and inspired.

RVC: Just the other day, I saw that the movie sequel is coming out in late 2021, and there’s the Netflix TV show that’s been going for a few years now. How involved are you in the spinoffs?

MF: I was invited to see the sequel a few months ago when it was about 60% finished and had a great conversation with the producer afterward, but I have no creative involvement with the Boss Baby films or TV show. I’m more like a soccer mom. I sit on the sidelines and cheer.

RVC: You once said that kids read the pictures in a picture book in a way that adults no longer can. What does that mean?

MF: Kids really read pictures. For story. For meaning. They see everything. No detail escapes them. They’re experts at it.

I think that once we learn to read words, this picture-reading skill lessens and words take precedence. By the time we’re grownups, we aren’t all that great at reading pictures. We see them, sure, but we don’t study them the way kids do. I feel honored and humbled to be working for an audience of picture-reading experts.

RVC: You’re really good at working the page turn—something would-be picture book writers often ignore or struggle with. What’s your secret?

MF: What a nice thing to say! I work on thumbnails sketches for months and months to get the pagination right. The picture book form is a beautiful challenge and the page turn is one of its most unique and important features.

RVC: One final question for the “serious” part of the interview. What’s something you’re working on now that you’re really excited about?

MF: I’m trying to get a project to work. And I’m afraid it might not work. So “excited” isn’t something I’m feeling yet. More like determined. I’m really determined. I can’t talk about it yet.

RVC: I understand completely. With my own writing, I keep things quiet until that’s no longer an option, one way or another. Best of luck with it!

MF: Thanks!

RVC: Okey dokey, Marla. You’ve been waiting for it, and now it’s here—the Speed Round! Zoomy questions and zippy answers, please! Are you ready?

MF: I’m not too zippy, but sure…

RVC: Star Trek, Star Wars, or Stargate?

MF: None of the above. But have you ever seen the 2012 Sean Baker film Starlet? I loved that!

RVC: Best place in Pasadena for California pizza?

Casa Bianca Pizza Pie in Eagle Rock (which is Pasadena-adjacent; the neighboring town). Get the eggplant pizza.

RVC: Who would’ve been your Dream Author to illustrate for?

MF: Ruth Krauss.

RVC: What’s your go-to art tool?

MF: An eraser, maybe? I erase A LOT!

RVC: What’s the last picture book you read that totally WOWed you?

MF: I was blown away by The Important Thing About Margaret Wise Brown, written by Mac Barnett and illustrated by Sarah Jacoby. The way it was written and the way it was illustrated and the person it is about. My god. I felt that it was an innovative and expertly crafted as Margaret Wise Brown’s work was and because of that, it honored her legacy in every way possible.

RVC: Three words that sum up your picture book philosophy.

MF: Go for emotion.

RVC: Thanks so much, Marla! And for those who really want to know which of the bio “facts” in the introduction was actually a falsehood, the answer is…

MF: I wasn’t on Art Linkletter’s TV show, but my best friend Lisa Gilden was. She won a bunch of prizes that we played with together. I recall a toy vacuum cleaner and a croquet set. Obviously the croquet set was more fun!

RVC: For those of you who didn’t notice, the above falsehood means that Marla WAS sent to detention “for wearing a clown costume to a high school assembly.” And Marla was nice enough to include a photo by way of proof. What better way to end this interview than that? Thanks, Marla!!