Tad Hills’s Followers (126)

Tad Hills

Website

http://www.tadhills.com/

Genre

Children's Books

edit data

“Whenever I picture myself [as a child],” says Tad Hills, “I am doing art. I spent a lot of time on my own making things, drawing, and painting.” Hills was not consciously trying to become an artist, rather his motives were innocent and pure. “I liked making things,” he says.

As a graduate of Skidmore College in New York with a degree in art, Hills describes himself as the ultimate freelancer. He’s done some acting, made jewelry, makes fake teeth for stage productions, dabbled in interior renovation, and illustrated book jackets for adult trade books. But Hills’ break into children’s publishing coincided with his wife Lee’s new position as the art director for Simon and Schuster’s children’s book division. “Lee used to ask me to try illustra “Whenever I picture myself [as a child],” says Tad Hills, “I am doing art. I spent a lot of time on my own making things, drawing, and painting.” Hills was not consciously trying to become an artist, rather his motives were innocent and pure. “I liked making things,” he says.

As a graduate of Skidmore College in New York with a degree in art, Hills describes himself as the ultimate freelancer. He’s done some acting, made jewelry, makes fake teeth for stage productions, dabbled in interior renovation, and illustrated book jackets for adult trade books. But Hills’ break into children’s publishing coincided with his wife Lee’s new position as the art director for Simon and Schuster’s children’s book division. “Lee used to ask me to try illustrating some books she couldn’t find an illustrator for,” Hills says. When Lee moved to Random House to start her own imprint with long-time friend and associate, Ann Schwartz, she encouraged Hills to write his own picture books. “I started with four stories,” says Hills. His break out book, Duck and Goose (Schwartz and Wade, 2006) was one of them.

The idea for Duck and Goose started with only a title—The Silly Goose, the Odd Duck and the Good Egg. As Hills developed the story, he realized his egg would have to be rather large to support Duck and Goose so they could hatch it. Hills also had to consider what would hatch out of such a large egg. A dinosaur? An ostrich? Additionally, Hills floated the title by his son’s kindergarten class and was rewarded with blank stares. Hills took the hint and changed his egg to a ball, and changed the title.

“For me, the writing is really difficult. I stare at a blank page for hours,” he says. “When Lee comes home and asks me about my day, I say it was okay. I wrote one sentence. . .But when I’m in the zone, I literally hear the dialogue between [Duck and Goose]. They were telling me what they wanted to say! That is the best feeling. That is when it’s not work. It’s fun!”

Hills paints with water-soluble oil paint on paper, using colored pencils for the last details. Although Hills’ Duck and Goose characters look simple enough, he drew hundreds of ducks and geese before finding a style with which he was comfortable. “The first ones [I drew] were older looking,” he says. “They looked like cigar-smoking tough guys.” Over a matter of months, Hills finally pared down Duck and Goose to their essential elements—circular heads, long rectangular legs, triangular feet, and door-shaped beaks. “When I apply the eyebrow,” he says, “I can express what Duck is feeling.”

As Hills’ two children grow, he finds himself drawn to how kids treat each other. “I didn’t tolerate meanness or injustice as a kid,” he says. In Duck, Duck, Goose (Schwartz and Wade, 2007), Hills creates a friendship triangle by introducing a new duck named Thistle. Together Duck, Goose, and Thistle give Hills’ observations a voice and provide several conversation starters for parents and children.

Hills writes from his home in Brooklyn, New York. Some days he doesn’t write at all, but tries to stay receptive to what he’s experiencing. “Most of my ideas come to me when I’m not looking,” he says. “It’s hard to get yourself to a point where ideas are out there and you can grab them.”

from http://www.patriciamnewman.com/hills.... ...more

Combine Editions
Tad Hills’s books

Average rating: 4.05 · 24,628 ratings · 2,672 reviews · 66 distinct works • Similar authors

	How Rocket Learned to Read 4.19 avg rating — 6,417 ratings — published 2010 — 21 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Rocket Writes a Story 4.20 avg rating — 2,688 ratings — published 2012 — 13 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Duck & Goose 4.12 avg rating — 2,668 ratings — published 2006 — 27 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Duck & Goose: Find A Pumpkin 4.06 avg rating — 1,659 ratings — published 2009 — 18 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Duck, Duck, Goose 4.04 avg rating — 1,175 ratings — published 2007 — 22 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Duck & Goose Go to the Beach 3.96 avg rating — 896 ratings — published 2014 — 10 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Duck & Goose, It's Time For Christmas! 3.86 avg rating — 829 ratings — published 2010 — 15 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Duck & Goose: Goose Needs a Hug 4.13 avg rating — 754 ratings — published 2012 — 10 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Drop It, Rocket! 3.97 avg rating — 732 ratings — published 2014 — 16 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	What's Up, Duck?: A Book of Opposites 4.02 avg rating — 712 ratings — published 2008 — 10 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Tad Hills…

Series by Tad Hills

Rocket and Friends (16 books)
by

Tad Hills

4.11 avg rating — 11,803 ratings

Duck & Goose (13 books)
by

Tad Hills

4.01 avg rating — 11,142 ratings

Topics Mentioning This Author

topics	posts	views	last activity
The Seasonal Read...: Summer Challenge 2012: Completed Tasks - DO NOT DELETE ANY POSTS IN THIS TOPIC	2637	937	Aug 31, 2012 09:02PM
The Seasonal Read...: Fall Challenge 2012: Completed Tasks - DO NOT DELETE ANY POSTS IN THIS TOPIC	2291	757	Dec 28, 2012 03:29PM
The Seasonal Read...: Winter Challenge 2012-2013: Completed Tasks - DO NOT DELETE ANY POSTS IN THIS TOPIC	2485	867	Feb 28, 2013 09:01PM
2026 Reading Chal...: Kat's 150, 2015 Challenge	21	97	Dec 30, 2015 08:39PM
The Perks Of Bein...: Group Read-A-Thon July 2016	41	315	Aug 01, 2016 02:41AM
Game Night: Mischief-Managing Marauders	854	69	Oct 29, 2016 09:16PM
Stress Free Readi...: Shash's Eerie Estates Map	25	20	May 18, 2017 02:35PM
Nothing But Readi...: Ashley's Reading Challenges	165	213	Jan 07, 2019 05:11PM

More…

Is this you? Let us know. If not, help out and invite Tad to Goodreads.

Tad Hills’s Followers (126)

Tad Hills

Combine EditionsTad Hills’s books

Series by Tad Hills

Topics Mentioning This Author

Combine Editions
Tad Hills’s books