How do you take something unwieldy, complex, and often painful to look at—like, say, the history of voting rights in America—and turn it into a picture book that is engaging, relatable, and understandable to kids? Beats me. But here’s my guess: (1) Make it personal; (2) Tell it in a …
I’m currently illustrating a picture-book biography about J.R.R. Tolkien (by Caroline McAlister, coming Winter 2017), which is the first book I’m working on that has a significant amount of back-matter, including a bibliography, author and illustrator notes. It’s often the illustrator’s job to pace the story out over 32 pages …
Okay, so what are the odds? I post once a month on Picture Book Builders, and this month my turn fell on September 8, the release date of my newest book, The Inventor’s Secret: What Thomas Edison Told Henry Ford. (By the way, my son calculated the odds of this …
Attention, children, grownups, and dragons! Liz Starin and I have a book that will be roaring onto the scene on October 6. ROAR! stars a little boy and two dragons who discover what it takes to start a friendship. This, by the way, is what Kirkus said about our book: “Big …
The first step when beginning a picture book project is to go shopping. I have only recently acknowledged this because I seem to be amassing quite a collection of, “stuff”, all in the name of my “craft”. I don’t recall learning this step in art school, so I began paying attention, noticing, contemplating this …
I’m a picture book junkie. I love them truly, madly and deeply, and believe they are for everyone. Babies — They can drool on the edges. Toddlers — They can sit in a lap, help turn the pages and listen. Beginning readers — They can sound out words or call out refrains. Kids …
At book signings there’s always somebody who, after flipping through a book, looks at me to ask, “Where’d you get this idea?” Honestly, it isn’t always easy to remember, 3-5 years after the fact, what sparked a story idea. But if they ask that about my newest book, Elwood Bigfoot: …
Alphabet books are staples in this industry that I often miss. I don’t necessarily gravitate towards them because, whatever their concept, I’m usually certain I’ve seen it before. And few are compelling enough for multiple reads. Some are agonizing in their yawn-inducing lessons about letters. Maybe it is because they are rarely …
Ever worked on a manuscript with a case of the blahs? I have, more times than I care to think about. But the next time I find myself mired in blandness, I have a strategy to try: Role reversal. Yep, the old switcheroo. Let’s consider a few examples. Lots of little girls …
The Austrian illustrator Lisbeth Zwerger is a favorite, especially among other illustrators — there are so many characteristics of her paintings that draw us in and amaze us. When I’m asked why she’s one of my favorites, I often find it hard to put into words. Lisbeth chooses to depict scenes we …