Moira Butterfield's Blog, page 65

Show Don't Tell by Natascha Biebow

Often editors say: ‘Show – don’t tell’. 

But what does that really mean?

You know how sometimes someone tells you something funny that happened to them the other day and it sounds flat? It just isn’t as funny any more – because you really had to be there. Similarly, when writers tell readers about what is happening in the story, it is not as exciting as actually being there with the characters. 



A really great picture book story takes readers on a shared journey. If the author creates vivid scenes with strong characterization, vivid settings and an engrossing plot, readers will be so entranced in the narrative journey that they won’t want the book to end.

So how can you make readers really care about what is going on in your story? Once you have a strong premise, memorable characters and a sound plot, what you need is to tell your story so that you take your readers right into the heart of your narrative. 

Using showing . . .







Instead of telling readers that your character is sad or stuck or whatever, show them through the character’s body language, action and dialogue. 

Don’t rush, and be concise and detailed in your descriptions, transporting readers right into the heart of the scene. Create each moment, so readers can clearly imagine what is going on as if they were there too. Use:










The key to all this is to use details! Be specific. 

Picture these scenes:

It's getting late, the clouds are rolling in and the wind has picked up. Mr Bear and his family decide it's time to snuggle up inside their tent. In the following scene from Mr Bear's Holiday, Debi Gliori, doesn't tell readers what it's like in the tent. She shows us the bear family's reactions through their senses: Baby Bear can see stars through the roof (the tent has been eaten up by moths and is holey), Mrs Bear can feel the wind, and they can hear a strange noise outside . . . 

From Mr Bear's Holiday by Debi Gliori














In this scene from Lunchtime, Rebecca Cobb shows us through the little girl's body language and action that she's not at all enamoured by the idea of lunch:

From Lunchtime by Rebecca Cobb














In Don't Panic, Annika!, when the wind suddenly blows the door shut, locking Annika's family out of the house, Juliet Clare Bell doesn't tell readers that Annika is scared, she shows it: Annika's mouth opens and no words come out . . . and she clutches Moose's paws tightly.


From Don't Panic, Annika! by J Clare Bell and Jennifer E. Morris


















In another example, Mouse has been trying everything he can think of to get Bear to celebrate his birthday, but Bear does not like presents, birthday cards, balloons, parties or birthdays AND he's very, very busy today (tidying the house, etc.). When Mouse sneaks a cake into Bear's house, Bonny Becker uses dialogue to show that Bear has had a change of heart, leading to a turning point in the plot:

"No one had ever made Bear a birthday cake before. 
Even so, Bear started to say, "I am very, very busy today" – 
but then he didn't. "Chocolate is my favourite," he admitted. 

From A Birthday for Bear by Bonny Becker & Kady Macdonald Denton 

Of course, in the picture book art form, author/illustrators have the advantage in that they can easily add another layer to the art of showing, conveying a level of emotion and humour in the action through the pictures. 

In this scene from Olivia Forms a Band, Ian Falconer jokes that: "... when she marched in, everyone agreed that Olivia did sound like more than one person."   (The running gag is that Olivia wants to be a whole band and her mum argues that technically a 'band' means more than one person, and sounds like one as well).

From Olivia Forms a Band by Ian FalconerAnd in this climactic scene from Penguin by Polly Dunbar, the main character's dialogue and body language combine to express his frustration at the fact that the Penguin doesn't respond to anything he does. Illustrated face-on with the lion and gormless penguin, this picture beautifully shows the escalation of the plot.

From Penguin by Polly DunbarRemember, it is stronger if the characters do rather than just say. This is because the reader’s attention wanders if nothing engaging is going on. Long-winded narratives or explanations are boring. Readers like to come to their own conclusions, to fill in the gap. It is more intriguing to see a character show their feelings or what they desire. After all, would you rather someone told you that the Alps are beautiful or . . . 





. . . take you "hiking" so you can experience it for yourself?

_________________________________________________
Natascha Biebow Author, Editor and Mentor

Blue Elephant Storyshaping is an editing, coaching and mentoring service aimed at empowering writers and illustrators to fine-tune their work pre-submission. Check out the NEW small-group coaching courses!
Natascha is also the author of Elephants Never Forget and Is This My Nose?, editor of numerous award-winning children’s books, and Regional Advisor (Chair) of SCBWI British Isles.  www.blueelephantstoryshaping.com

My top three surreal editorial comments by Jane Clarke

One of the things I love about writing picture books is the surreal conversations I have with editors. Here are three of my favourites. 
'Charlie's elephants don’t bake cakes!' Fair enough. When I wrote the text I didn't realise I'd be lucky enough to have Charlie Fuge illustrate it, and Charlie does amazingly naturalistic animals. There's a fine line in the world of talking animals, and it has a lot to do with whether the illustrator is drawing the animal clothed or unclothed, in a natural or unnatural surrounding.  Unclothed animals in a natural setting don't bake cakes. The only trouble was, the pivotal point of the story involves a birthday cake.  We settled on a raw concoction of bananas and peanuts. 














From Trumpet, the Little Elephant with the Big Temper, illustrated by Charles Fuge. I'm delighted to say that Charles Fuge is the illustrator of my upcoming picture book 'Who Woke the Baby', to be published later this year. No cakes are involved.




'Would a little dragon really say the same thing as a little knight?' Once you give a talking animal (and an imaginary one at that)  a voice it has to sound authentic, so the question is a valid one. Saying the same thing was a useful device to emphasise their parallel thoughts and feelings.








From Knight School,  illustrated by Jane Massey
'Should the cow have udders?' Essential in real life, but not in picture books. No problem if the cow is in the field, but udders are somewhat disturbing when a cow is standing on its hind legs.  In picture books, dangly bits of any kind, belonging to any sort of clothed/unclothed/partially clothed creature, are most notable by their absence.


Some of the cast of  Old Macdonald's Things That Go, in the process of being illustrated by Migy Blanco.
 Picture book editors, writers. illustrators and readers, I'd love to hear your surreal quotes! 

Jane's currently doing lots of school visits in the run up to World Book Day and launching the first two books of a new series published by Oxford University Press on 5 February 2015.

How childhood books influenced new stories and illustrations - by Mandy Stanley (Guest Blog)

Many thanks to this month's guest blogger, Mandy Stanley, a British children's author and/or illustrator of over 200 publications. Here, Mandy looks at how the books of her childhood have impacted on her ideas, illustrations and colour schemes.


Being a children’s author and illustrator for the past twenty-five years, there are many subjects I could write about but what really interests me at the moment is the relationship I had with books as a child. I’m keen to discover if there are any links between those books I read and listened to and loved so much as a child, and those I write and illustrate for today’s children.
Looking back, Middleton Primary School near King’s Lynn is one of the first places that come to mind when I reminisce about my childhood books. I was often the ‘new girl’ at school as my father moved around a lot with his work. Every school presented certain challenges to me as I was afflicted with being shy. But… the one single thing that helped me to cope in the early years was the story mat – thankfully, every junior school classroom had one. Here was a place to feel safe, surrounded by other children sitting quietly on our rectangular island, listening to stories and being shown wonderful pictures. As a six year old at school, books came to represent so much more than just a story and pictures.


Illustration by Mandy Stanley from Tom’s Sunflower– Strauss House 2015 written by Hilary Robinson
It occurred to me that having completed an illustration for Tom’s Sunflower by Strauss House Publications, written by Hilary Robinson, that I had been drawing on my own experience of feeling safe on the story mat. The Copper Tree Class children learn about all sorts of difficult subjects, and subliminally, throughout the series of four books, I’ve placed them on their mat as a device to show they are all connected and will learn from each other’s experiences.

My grandparents and parents were instrumental in giving me a love for stories told and those written in books. At the table, my grandfather told stories of his adventures on the high seas as a Lowestoft trawlerman, and of being a soldier and railway man. He brought his stories alive by referring to things as being the size of his plate or the salt pot.


My grandparents gave me the first book I remember as a Christmas gift when I was very little. The illustrations in Storyland intrigued, delighted and transported me to a wonderful place. Years later, I discovered that Mary Blair, famous for her work with Walt Disney, illustrated many of the stories.


Storyland – Paul Hamlyn 1960 Illustration from I Can Fly by Mary Blair
On Saturdays, my dad took me to the library. He enthusiastically went off to choose his books and left me in the children’s section to discover the books I wanted to borrow. At the checking out desk, I’d meet my father. We both had a stack of books that we wanted to investigate further, at home. The book Folk Tales was one of my favourites as it contained beautiful illustrations and the story The Billy Goats Gruff. The troll, I’m convinced, still lives under the little bridge in the Nicholas Everitt Park, Oulton Broad, Suffolk!


Folk Tales – Leila Berg. Brockhampton Press The Little Blue Caps – illustration by George Him Troll illustration by George Him - Folk Tales  Brockhampton Press
[image error]Along with borrowing books, I have been given books, I’ve swapped books, found books, received handed down books and I have stolen books (mainly from my sister!).

Amongst my collection, I can’t imagine not including two of my best-loved traditional fairy tales: Rumplestiltskin and The Elves and the Shoemaker. These stories inspired, scared and delighted me in equal proportion. Occasionally, even now, I sometimes wish that a couple of elves would come along in the night, while I sleep and finish off my work for me. I know that I would be more than happy to reward them with a new set of miniature clothes.



The Elves and the Shoemaker and
Rumpelstiltskin – Ladybird Books Ltd. 1968[image error]

This reminds me… Lettice Rabbit requires a set of ballet clothes in Lettice The Dancing Rabbit – Harper Collins. Although children offer her their clothes to borrow, they are all too big. Luckily she is able to borrow a set of clothes from a ballerina doll. I’m sure the memory of the little elves must have been to the forefront of my mind at this point in my Lettice Rabbit story.


Lettice, The Dancing Rabbit by Mandy Stanley.
Published by Harper Collins[image error]
I’m not sure I really know why, but the idea of a small character existing in our world is always appealing to me. Mrs Pepperpot stories by Alf Proysen were always a source of entertainment. The very idea that a human could shrink to be very small…without warning, fires up my imagination.


Little Old Mrs Pepperpot
by Alf Proysen – Puffin Books
Lettice, The Fairy Ball  – Harper Collins
[image error]
So, my Lettice Rabbit series must have been influenced by Mrs Pepperpot stories – Lettice shrinks! She becomes the same size as a fairy. Throughout the series, my interest and inspiration comes from the idea that Lettice is a small character that hops into our big, human world.


Brer Rabbit’s A Rascal by Enid Blyton.
Dean, an imprint of The Hamlyn Publishing Group Ltd
Another character that fascinated me was Brer Rabbit. My grandmother read this book to me. She had a big feather bed and when I stayed overnight with her, I would take my book and slip into her bed in the morning, once my grandfather had got up to make breakfast, and ask her to read to me. I discovered that Brer Rabbit was indeed a rascal… and very clever… and I loved him for it. Any links with Brer Rabbit and my own work are not apparent at the moment, although I do have an ambition to create a character that manages to escape all sorts of troublesome situations using wit and a daring attitude !


[image error]It wasn’t all fairy stories and fluffy rabbits in my eclectic hoard. My father bought and read to me Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson and Captain Pugwash by John Ryan. Billy Bones, Long John Silver and Cut Throat Jake – all fabulously intriguing sounding names. Working out new character names in my books is certainly one of the most enjoyable aspects.


Illustration of Cut Throat Jake by John Ryan – Puffin Books[image error]
Along with remembering stories and images, what does intrigue me is that I also vividly remember the feel and aesthetic of every book. One Christmas morning I unwrapped a colouring book. On the cover, it had red flocking on Santa’s coat, hat and trousers… wonderful!

I also noticed that books’ pages varied in their paper quality – ranging from thick, dry and sturdy, or wafer thin and slippery, delicate and almost transparent. There were paper engineered sections, high gloss effects, metallic foiling… even glitter! All these things added up to make a full sensory experience. Interestingly, I’m often heard to be requesting textural features on my own books today. One of my wishes was granted when Harper Collins added a set of battery operated, twinkling fairy lights on the cover of Lettice, The Fairy Ball.

As an illustrator, I spend much of my time working out colour arrangements and palettes for each project. Recently, while working on a collaborative project with author David Bedford, Roo the Roaring Dinosaur, I realized that, subliminally I was referring to a set of colours for a lagoon scene as Alice in Wonderland blues. The image of Alice swimming in a pool of tears came to mind as a treatment for my illustration featuring Wooly, the mammoth and Roo the dinosaur splashing around in the blue lagoon in dinosaur land. 

Illustration by Mandy Stanley from Roo The Roaring Dinosaur
by David Bedford. Published by Simon and Schuster Alice in a pool of tears – illustrated by Willy Schermele Alice in Wonderland
by Juvenile Productions Ltd
Other colour references I use regularly include Peter Rabbit blue – (referring to his jacket). Babar green (his suit), and Rupert Bear yellow (his scarf and trousers). 
Beatrix Potter’s Peter Rabbit,
Laurent de Brunhoff’s Babar, and
Rupert Bear, created by Mary Tourtel
Spending time, thinking about my childhood, has reinforced my belief that books keep on giving. They stimulate memory and of course, provide comfort and entertainment. As an illustrator, they also provide me with valuable references. I continue to still be inspired by picture books I listened to or read for myself all those years ago.
So the connections are there to be found… it’s fun and satisfying to recognize them. Creating books for children, hoping that some of them may provide a similar level of entertainment and trigger good memories for many years to come is, I think, a significant driving force behind my work. 

Mandy Stanley – Children’s author and illustrator.
www.mandystanley.com
January 29th is the publication date for Mandy Stanley's latest picture book: Roo the Roaring Dinosaur, a collaborative work with David Bedford – Published by Simon and Schuster.

Going back to the source by Abie Longstaff

When my children were little they were an endless source of ideas for picture books.

They had great words for things - we still say 'starvint' instead of 'starving' to this day after my daughter used to cry out "I'm starvint!" My son made up fantastic names for his soldiers like 'Massimao' (who was one of his top colonels).

They loved being read to





even at a very young age:

They also wrote their own stories like this fantastic one by my son aged 3:  

My Tigers
When my dog dies I will not be sad.
This is because that's when I will be getting my baby tigers.
I will get 100 baby tigers. I will get them from a tiger den.
The mummy tiger will say: "Go with that nice family!" or maybe the daddy tiger will say it. I don't know yet.
When they are first born the tigers will sleep in my sister's bed. Then when they are older they will sleep in my bed.
When they are big they will have to be good and not growl or bite people.
If they bite someone I will give them one warning and if they do it again…
…I will hoover them up.
They were very useful and many of my picture books came out of games we used to play together, like
 






But now my two are in secondary school. They still love picture books (especially the longer ones, like Ardizzone's wonderful 'Tim all Alone') but they are a little too old to be of useful inspiration.

Luckily, this Christmas I spent a week with my sister's three children, who are both incredibly cute and incredibly pesky; a perfect source of inspiration.


We read books (sometimes over and over. The little niece had a particular obsession with the Ahlbergs' Bye Bye Baby).
We made up a crazy story about a butterfly who hated the rain and needed an umbrella.
And a crocodile who snapped at Father Christmas while he was delivering presents.
And a playdough baby whose arm kept falling off.
There were rows about naptime, dummies, food, using the potty, whose toy belonged to whom.
Life with small children all came flooding back to me (particularly how bleeding hard it is - my sister does well to keep even halfway sane with those three around!)
There were plenty of cuddles during the day. And alcohol once they had gone to bed.
It was wonderful - and very inspiring!

Then my parents told me a fantastic story about their friends, who took out an old chimney breast and discovered behind it a small cloth bag full of ancient Spanish doubloons. Now that's a good plot :) 

Abie x

Look out for my new series, The Magic Potions Shop, coming this July for 5-7 year olds :)

In Memory of Vanessa Cabban • Jonathan Emmett

I have a new picture book, A Spot of Bother, coming out next month. Having a book published is usually a cause for celebration, but the publication of this particular book is tinged with sadness as it will be my last with illustrator Vanessa Cabban, who passed away shortly before Christmas.

People often assume that picture book authors and illustrators work closely together, but it’s not unusual for the author and illustrator to have no direct contact, with the book’s creation being co-ordinated by the publisher. This was the case with  Bringing Down the Moon , which was the first book that Vanessa and I created together.

One of Vanessa's beautiful illustrations for Bringing Down the Moon
Vanessa and I in AmsterdamA couple of years after Bringing Down the Moon was published, the book won the Kiekeboekprijs, a Dutch book award, and Vanessa and I went to Amsterdam to accept it. Although we’d now done a second picture book together and Vanessa was about to start illustrating a third, it was the first time we’d met or even spoken to each other. Vanessa turned out to be stylish, funny and refreshingly frank and forthright in her opinions – we spent a lot of our visit in good-natured argument! By the end of our short stay we were firm friends. We resolved to keep in touch and did so regularly through many emails and lengthy phone calls over the following years. We both shared a mischievous sense of humour and our conversations were nearly always punctuated by laughter. 
In addition to the seven books we did together, Vanessa illustrated many other picture books, written by Alan Durrant, Giles Andreae and several other authors. And she both wrote and illustrated two  Bertie and Small  picture books about an adventurous toddler and his toy rabbit. Vanessa had no children of her own, but was very fond of her niece and nephew and was a much-loved aunt, sister and daughter.

Vanessa artistic talents extended beyond illustration into fine art and her paintings, prints and sculptures were exhibited and sold in various galleries around the UK. She was also an accomplished knitter, posting photos of her handiwork on her " Do you mind if I knit " blog.
Two of Vanessa's sculptures.
One of the pleasures of creating a picture book with another person is that one can draw on their strengths as well as one's own. Vanessa brought her own distinctive charm, warmth and humour to all the books that we created together.

She was a good friend and a wonderful, inspiring person to work with. I will miss her dearly.


In memory of Vanessa, her family have set up a Just Giving page where you can make a donation to the Mental Health Foundation.





A Spot of Bother, illustrated by Vanessa Cabban, is published by Walker Books on 5th February 2015.
Find out more about Jonathan Emmett and his books at his Scribble Street web site or his blog. You can also follow Jonathan on twitter @scribblestreet.

See all of Jonathan's posts for Picture Book Den.

When a story makes demands of you – Lynne Garner

A few years ago I ventured into writing stories for older children based on traditional trickster characters, these being Anansi the Trickster Spider and Brer Rabbit. This move away from picture books meant a great deal of reading and research, which I’ve thoroughly enjoyed. As part of my research I downloaded a huge library of books that contain the first written form of many of these traditional tales. Reading some of these books was a challenge because of the language used. As I read these traditional stories I always had at the back of my mind the age range I was writing for. So I put aside the idea of using the devices I often use in my picture book writing such as rhyme, rhythm and repetition and others such as alliteration. I also had to remember I wouldn't have images to help me tell the story.     
However this recently changed whilst I was researching a new trickster character, this being Coyote. As I ploughed through yet another book I came across a story which for some reason demanded “turn me into picture book.’ As I read it I could see where I could use repetition, feel the rhythm I would create with the words, how I could leave sentences 'hanging' so the reading would want to turn the page, where a little alliteration would work well and I could 'see' the supporting images which would help me tell the story. I found myself grabbing a piece of paper, folding it into twelve equal sections and I was soon plotting a new picture book story.
I now find myself with the first draft of a picture book story based on a traditional Native American Indian story. I also find myself wanting to revisit the books I read whilst researching Anansi and Brer Rabbit to discover if another story makes the same demand. So over the next few months I plan to continue to work on the stories for older readers. However I’m also going to read with the view that if one of these traditional tales makes the same demand I’ll fold a piece of paper and get out my little bag of picture book writing tricks and try to make it’s wish a reality. You never know one of these may just become my next picture book.
Lynne Garner
My writing eCourses which start this month:How to write children's picture books and get published5 picture books in 5 weeks (advanced course)How to write a hobby-based how to book

Goodbye 2014, Hello 2015 - Group Post

Can you believe it, The Picture Book Den is now three years old?

In order to celebrate our birthday and to usher in the New Year the team decided it would be fitting to share what we've achieved during 2014, what we hope to achieve and have planned for 2015. So here it is. We hope you enjoy.

Oh and A HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL.


Lynne Garner Although 2014 was not my most constructive year for landing contracts I'm pleased with the fact they I had two books reach the shelves. The first was in February. It was the second picture book to feature Boris and Dog with their new friend Benji (Bad Manner Benjie!). My second book was completely different and was released in November. It is aimed at those who work with children in the early years sector and is called 'The Little Book of Print Making.' It was great fun to write, as I had to get my hands dirty to ensure the instructions were correct. So lots of messy 'play.' Sometimes this writing lark is a hard job.

Unfortunately I don't have any books due for release, however I intend to change that. I have a small library of manuscripts completed, which over the coming months I'll send out to publishers. I also have a few ideas for new stories and plan to start the process of plotting, writing, proofreading and editing in January. Once they've seen the red pen of the Picture Book Den critique team I'll send them on their way.

Jonathan EmmettIt’s slightly ironic that I joined Picture Book Den in 2014 as I’ve had no new picture books published this year, just new editions of previously published titles. However I have three (or possibly two and two-thirds) brand new picture books coming out in 2015.
The first of these is A Spot of Bother illustrated by my longtime collaborator Vanessa Cabban and published by Walker Books. This is a follow-up to The Pig’s Knickers and features the same cast of characters including the rather self-centred Pig. In this story Pig is horrified to discover that his spotless appearance has been spoiled by a cherry stain. His friends try to help, but the more they try to clean the spot, the bigger it gets.

This is the seventh book that Vanessa and I did together and I'm extremely sad to say that it will be our last as Vanessa passed away shortly before Christmas. She was a wonderful person, funny, mischievous and forthright, and a terrific illustrator to work with and I will miss her greatly.

Next up is The Clockwork Dragon . This book might only be described as two-thirds new because it’s a reworking of Tom’s Clockwork Dragon  which was published in 2008. Unfortunately that book went out of print quite quickly but Oxford University Press decided that the story deserved a second chance and asked me to write a new draft which has been illustrated by Weasels and Nuts in Space creator Elys Dolan. Elys has a great flair for whimsical detail and, as well as completely reinventing the dragon, has populated the book’s illustrations with a supporting cast of wonderfully wacky characters. I've already written a second story featuring the book's young heroes Max and Lizzie so, if this book proves popular, they could be back with more clever clockwork contraptions.

And lastly, there’s Fast and Furry Racers: The Silver Serpent Cup , also published by Oxford University Press. This book is illustrated by Ed Eaves and the story was inspired by a set of souped-up vehicle models that Ed made several years ago for his college degree show. Ed sent me some photos of the models and suggested that they might plant the seed for a story – which they did. The Silver Serpent Cup is a rhyming story about a no-holds-barred race between a motley assortment of animals in an equally motley assortment of vehicles; cars, planes, boats, submarines – there’s even a tiger racing in a train. We’re hoping it will be the first of a series of Fast and Furry Racers books.

Abie Longstaff2014 was really exciting for me. Two new Fairytale Hairdresser books came out:


The Fairytale Hairdresser and Snow White

and

The Fairytale Hairdresser and Father Christmas








as well as Just the Job for Dad.








 I did a loads of events, which was fun but exhausting!




and Lauren Beard and I won an award for The Mummy Shop :)


Here we are with the other winners










Next year there will be two more Fairytale Hairdresser books (The Little Mermaid, and The Sugar Plum Fairy) and a new picture book with Scholastic.


There will also be a brand new series, which I am really excited about. It's called The Magic Potions Shop and it's a chapter book about an apprentice who gets himself in all kinds of trouble learning to make potions (it was really fun to write!) There are 6 books in the series, so bring on 2015!
Jonathan AllenThough not the most exciting year for me work wise, to say the least, my picture book 'Is That My Cat?' came out in Spring both here and in the US. My work seems to get simpler and bolder as I get older. Maybe I need better glasses ;-)



Next year sees the ten year birthday of Baby Owl! It was ten years ago that I took my idea (I'm Not Cute!) to see David Bennett at Boxer Books, (which also has it's ten year birthday next year) and was told that he liked it, but I needed to make the drawings younger and softer. It was the start of a fruitful partnership, and a series of six "I'm Not" books over the years, (Cute, Scared, Sleepy, Santa, Ready and Reading) and several other titles. I now know what 'I'm Not Cute!' is in at least eight languages ;-) Well, I would if I could read Japanese or Chinese. .







Also, Boxer are publishing 'The Little Rabbit Who Liked to Say 'Moo!'' as a board book at some point in 2015, which is nice because it's a book that works very well with the very young.

So, I am looking forward positively to next year and whatever it brings. We are pretty certain to be moving house at some point, to get further out into the countryside. A big scary thing to do, but you have to keep having adventures in life otherwise a dull complacency can set in and before you know it you're old ;-)

Of course in 2015 I will no doubt think up a major best seller, become a millionaire and live happily ever after. . . Oh yes. . . Have a great new year won't you?


Pippa GoodhartFor me, 2014 saw new books in which text and pictures danced together, but which weren't strictly 'picture books'.  There were two new Winnie the Witch storybooks (published under the fake name of Laura Owen), illustrated in wonderfully wild fashion by Korky Paul ...


[image error] [image error]... and a Green Banana early reader book beautifully illustrated with clarity and humour by Amber Cassidy.

But there ARE new picture books by me on their way to publication, as well as more Winnie the Witch stories and early reader books.  I can tell you that there's one that is being illustrated at the moment by brilliant Sam Usher, and there are others that the publishers don't want talked about yet...  Watch and see.   Happy new year!Jane ClarkeIn 2014, I got lots of rejections as I do every year.  But I signed contracts for four new books, had fun doing author visits to lots of schools, became a grandma - yaaaay!  and turned 60 (not so yay!)

2015 looks very exciting - 10 books are due to be published, including two picture books and four toddler board books .  I'm hoping a new picture book series will get past the gatekeepers, and I've been invited on a school visit of a lifetime to China, and have another grandchild due in March. Life's not always a bed of roses, and I don't take any of this for granted.  I feel very privileged that I continue to earn a living from writing.  
Warmest Winter wishes and Happy New Year, Picturebookdenners!May your year be full of good things (in between the rejections), too. 
Jane x
Malachy Doyle2014 brought my first from Parragon Books (Peek-a -Book, with Rowan Martin); my first with my daughter Hannah and with Firefly Press (Pete and the Five-a-Side Vampires); and my 100th book (and first about death, sort of) Tad-cu's Bobble Hat, with Dorry Spikes.




 










2015 brings my second, third and possibly fourth from Parragon: The Nose that Knows, with Barroux; Sleepysaurus, with Hannah George; and Hide and Peek, with Rowan Martin again.
It also brings The Beast of Belfast, an illustrated storybook from Poolbeg Press, with Derry Dillon.
There are other pans in the fire, but we shall see.

2015 also promises my second grandchild, the wedding of my one-and-only son, and my very first venture east of Europe - a trek in the Himalayas.  Quite enough excitement for one year - and may you have an exciting one too!

Moira Butterfield 2014 - Where did it go? Was I in a timewarp, one of those films where someone returns home at the end, to find that only a minute has passed? I wrote what seemed like an unending line of books - about Anglo-Saxons and the Stone Age, about feelings, about the human body, about Halloween, about the weather....My first poetry for children will be published by Harper Collins in 2015, and hopefully my first picture book in a while - currently with the title 'I Saw A Shark'.  I've got board books coming out, too, with UK supermarket M & S.  It's all a bit of a mix and it's all very unpredictable. That's what it's like being a professional author for children.

Being a freelancer: I complain a lot when it's all a flurry, but when it's not, I start to worry.

Sorry I can't show you covers. I've left it too late to ask permission and the publishers have all gone away to their Christmas castles, where their butlers are now serving them their Xmas cocktails and lobster bites on golden sticks.

But I think it's OK to share one of the Harper Collins poems, which were written about weather.


Frost Frost sneaks silently.It weaves its white carpet without even a whisper.
But if you touch it, you can unlock its secret CRUNCH!

Looking at the ‘art’ in picture book illustrations - by Paeony Lewis

Hannah Höch Picture Book (The Green Box, 2012)I’m going to be really naughty. As a writer I know that illustrations and narrative work together in picture books. However, for a change I’m going to ignore this and instead I’ll look at the illustrations in isolation.

Below you’ll discover lots of illustrations that have piqued my interest (scanned with my slightly dodgy scanner – apologies) . They’re from children’s picture books I've bought in 2014. There’s something about each illustration that has grabbed my attention from the point of view of a fledgling artist (very fledging – I’ve only just hatched). I admit it’s a personal list and my choices reflect the direction of my own art. Even so, perhaps I’ll inspire you to look again at illustrations.
Hannah Höch Picture Book (The Green Box, 2012)
My first choice is a little eccentric. It's a book produced in 1945 by the only woman in the German Dada art movement, Hannah Höch (1889-1979), and a pioneer in collage. Not even seen by the public until 1975, her children's picture book has been republished and as an adult I find her collages compelling and bursting with fun, although I ignore her whimsical rhymes.
Returning to 2014 and in Suzanne's Barton's The Dawn Chorus there's a subtle integration of paint and collage. What caught my eye was the use of collage in the leaves, feathers, musical notes and curling lines of song. 
 From The Dawn Chorus by Suzanne Barton (Bloomsbury, 2014)
In another mixed media book, Just Right for Two, Rosalind Beardshaw uses collage in a similar way in the leaves, plants, trees, and even to divide between a few illustrations (good idea). Plus I like the teasing silhouette of the mouse - lovely visual foreshadowing. 
From Just Right for Two by Tracey Corderoy & Rosalind Beardshaw (Nosy Crow, 2013)

In The Haunted House, Kazuno Kohara produces simple mixed media images to eye-catching effect. I assume she has used black ink printing on orange paper and added tissue overlays. I love it, and the original story too.




Two images from The Haunted House by Kazuno Kohara (Macmillan, 2008)
The next book is the opposite of simplicity: Bear Hug by Katharine McEwen. I'm not an expert, but to me she appears to use harmonious colours in a similar tonal range to bring together detailed stylised images. Even though it's visually busy, I'm drawn to the illustrations and the snowflakes are a lovely touch. Plus I've been thinking about the portrayal of water in art and I find the wavering blue lines of the stream appealing (a Hockney influence?).
 From Bear Hug by Katharine McEwen (Templar Publishing, 2014)
Several illustrations  in Mr Tiger Goes Wild by Peter Brown also use lines in an interesting stylised way to illustrate the movement of water. I particularly like the sketchy spirals of 'foam'.
From Mr Tiger Goes Wild by Peter Brown (Macmillan, 2013)
Whilst in The Best Book in the World by Rilla, the movement of ocean waves is cleverly shown by the curve of the sea creatures. This book also has gorgeous bold endpapers - I'm a bit of an endpaper groupie!

Above image from The Best Book in the World by Rilla (Flying Eye Books, 2014)
Plus marvellous, dramatic endpapers below in the hardback edition



I can't resist showing one more example of water. This time it's from the huge A Lion in Paris by Beatrice Alemagna. Vertical broken white lines effectively simulate rain. 
Above and below, A Lion in Paris by Beatrice Alemagna (Tate Publishing, 2014) Other inventive ideas are found in the 'arty' A Lion in Paris and I adore the stylised map, collage, and tissue (?) overlay clouds which feature in the excerpt below of a 'lion's eye' view of Paris (I can't show the whole page because the picture book is almost A3 and won't fit on my scanner).


Another artistically innovative book is the Yes. Written by Sarah Bee and illustrated by Satoshi Kitamura. The main character is an orange blob creature called 'the Yes' who wants to escape 'the Nos'. I was transfixed by some of the almost semi-abstract illustrations that reflect the semi-abstract concepts of 'yes', 'no' and a place called 'Where'. Even with the huge blocks of colours, there is enough realism for the book to be easily understood by a child (and adult too - we're not always as visually literate as children!).
From the Yes by Sarah Bee & Satoshi Kitamura (Andersen Press, 2014)
A bold use of shape and colour is also seen in the contemporary, but more conventional Where Bear? by Sophy Henn. Strong contrast and simplicity bring alive the friendship between the bear and the boy. Plus the endearing endpapers of the hardback always make me grin. My only niggle in this book concerns the commas, or lack of them. I want to add a comma after the 'where' whenever I read lines such as: "Then where bear?" asked the boy. I even want to add a comma to the title! Anyway, I still adore this delightful book and I'm not supposed to be discussing the words. 


From Where Bear? by Sophy Henn (Puffin Books, 2014) with excerpt from hardback endpapers below



The use of white was particularly eye-catching in Where Bear?, whilst it's the traditional artist's red that is used in the painterly The Journey to draw our eye to key images in the beautiful illustrations (a red crayon, door, boat, air balloon and magic carpet). This is a wordless story by Aaron Becker and therefore being able to interpret the narrative of the paintings is essential - without the touches of red we might be confused.
From The Journey by Aaron Becker (Walker Books, 2014)
Red is also used in another book: Very Little Red Riding Hood by Teresa Heapy and Sue Heap. In this story it's obvious why red is important, although here it's used in a fun way to emphasise objects belonging to the little girl such as the teddy bear, hair clip, bag and flowers. The page below also illustrates the delightful use of vignettes to show actions and the passing of time in a restricted space. Plus I like the loose lines and flow of these drawings. Oh, and the endpapers have a red and white map of the route to Grandma - I'm a map groupie too!
Very Little Red Riding Hood by Heapy & Heap (David Fickling Books, 2013)
Another way to use colour to guide our interpretation of a story can be seen in The Wonder by Faye Hanson. Here, sephia tones indicate the everyday mundane world of the boy, and in contrast bright vivid colours are used for the boy's fantasy world. Below is an early glimpse of the fantasy world before full colour takes over entire pages.
From The Wonder by Faye Hanson (Templar Publishing, 2014)
The effective use of colour isn't always blatant, as I saw in an advance copy of Roo the Roaring Dinosaur by David Bedford and Mandy Stanley. For example, below we see the use of sunshine/beach colours and I think this provides a gentle surprise because it's not the visual palette we normally associate with dinosaur books. It adds a subtle, light freshness, especially when combined with a beach setting that's not typical of dinosaur illustrations.

From Roo the Roaring Dinosaur
by David Bedford & Mandy Stanley (Simon & Schuster, Jan 2015)
Finally, for total in-your-face dramatic use of colour, there's author/illustrator Chris Haughton. I adore his use of tones and colour contrast. His simple sophistication is so effective, though it would lose its impact if too many books looked similar. In the image below we see the creatures hiding in the forest - we  know they're hiding because they blend into the orange tones.


From A Bit Lost by Chris Haughton (Walker Books, 2011)
Phew, this has turned into a long blog post and I've only taken a superficial look at art in illustration. If you'd like to see a wide selection of images by illustrators of children's books from around the world then apart from visiting libraries and bookshops you could dip into Little Big Books (Gestalten, 2012) which is a great hardback reference book of 'arty' illustration, although disappointingly it doesn't give the medium for each image.

Maybe I've inspired you to look further at the 'art' in illustrations in children's books? Maybe not?! If you have any suggestions or observations then I'd love to hear them. Thanks!
Paeony Lewiswww.paeonylewis.com


PS In this blog post I've deliberately not included members of the Picture Book Den even though they've produced some glorious books. Therefore please don't miss the next blog at the Den, which will look at members' forthcoming books for 2015.

The Story of Saint Nicholas, by Pippa Goodhart

     
 

Far away and long ago, a father and his three daughters lived in a big house with servants, fine furnishings and plentiful food.
 But the father lost his health and then his wealth.  The servants were sent away, and the three daughters had to do the cleaning and cooking and mending.  The house was sold, and so were their belongings.  They had to live in one rented room, and, for the first time in their lives, they were hungry.  The father told his daughters, “I wish you could marry strong young men who would be able to care for you better than I can, but I haven’t the money to pay for weddings.”
 The girls had to find food and fuel wherever they could for free.  The three girls went out into the winter wood.  The berries had been peck-picked away by birds, so there was no food to take.  All the girls found were some sticks on the ground, which they bound into bundles and carried home.
“At least we can have a fire and be warm,” they said.
 They lit the fire, and they hung their wet stockings to dry.  They went to bed, empty of food and almost empty of hope.
But a kind man called Nicholas had seen the girls searching the woods, and he knew of their father’s troubles.  Nicholas wanted to help, but he was shy and he was modest, so he decided to help them in secret. 
In the still darkness of mid-winter night, Nicholas came to their home, quietly carrying a present of gold.  He pushed at their door, but it was locked.  So Nicholas climbed up the house, and he tipped his present of gold into the house ……to fall spinning, spilling down the dark to chink and scatter and glint on the hearth below.  Some of the coins landed softly into the girls’ hanging stockings.   
 
In the morning the girls tried to pull on their stockings, and they found gold in the toes!  They found gold on the floor!  They wondered where in the world that gold could have come from. 
“It’s magic!” they said.
 The present of gold paid for the oldest daughter to marry into a comfortable home.    
 The following mid-winter, Nicholas came again in the night to pour a present of gold into the home where the father and two daughters lived.  So the second daughter was married.   
And the following mid-winter Nicholas came again with gold. 
 But this time the father wasn’t asleep.  He wanted to know how those presents of gold appeared in his daughters’ stockings each year, so he stayed awake to wait and watch. 
And he caught Nicholas! 
He thanked Nicholas for saving his daughters from hunger.   
“Shush!” said Nicholas.  “Don’t tell a soul.  This is our secret.”
 But it was such a wonderful secret that it soon burst out of the father!  At the wedding party for his youngest daughter the proud old father told the crowd how Nicholas had come and dropped mid-winter presents down the chimney for his girls.   Every wedding guest took that story home with them.  They told friends and they told family … who all told their friends and families too.  The story spread out through the world and on through time.  It still lives so strongly, seventeen hundred years later, that it magically lives again every mid-winter night when Nicholas comes to me and he comes to you to put presents down our chimneys and into our stockings. 
But these days we call him Saint Nicholas, Santa Claus, just Santa, or Father Christmas.   

Happy mid-winter's day (and night!).
 
 

A Christmas List of Picture Book Trivia by Moira Butterfield

To keep Mr Wolf from my door I’ve been compiling fact books this year, and writing history books, too, as well as creating board books and picture book material, and even writing poetry. So my bloggy Xmas present to you reflects my eclectic year. It’s a lucky dip of facts to be enjoyed with a seasonal glass (or mug) of something warming to hand. I may use it as my excuse to decant my home-made damson gin, just to see if it's ready for Santa.




* Children have not changed so much over the centuries, it seems. Given the chance, they will let their imaginations take flight. Here's a description of children playing in medieval times, taken from an English sermon of the period:  

'with flowers...with sticks, and with small bits of wood, to build a chamber, buttery, and hall, to make a white horse of a wand, a sailing ship of broken bread, a burly spear from a ragwork stalk, and of a sedge a sword of war, a comely lady from cloth, and be right busy to deck it elegantly with flowers.'
* Stories exist as long as there is someone to tell them. In Anglo-Saxon England ordinary people could not read or write but they loved stories. Storytellers called 'scops' would travel from village to village to perform, accompanying their stirring adventure tales of heroes and monsters with a lyre, to add a bit of musical rhythm and atmosphere. The Anglo-Saxons also loved telling riddles, mostly full of filthy innuendo. Here’s a clean one: When I am alive I do not speak.
Anyone can take me captive and cut off my head.
I do no harm to anyone unless they cut me first.
Then I make them cry!
 Here is the answer: 


 * If you are ever asked to write some unattributed work here's an idea from  Cynewulf, a monk from the 800s who was the first English author that we know of to write his own name on his work. He interwove symbols representing the letters of his name into the manuscripts of his religious poems.   *The earliest known children’s picture book, according to the internet,  is The Orbis Sensualium Pictus, or ‘The Picture World of the Senses’, published in 1658 and written by Czech educator John Comenius. On the title page he describes his book:  

‘The pictures of all the chief things that are in the world, and of men’s employment therein’. 

It opens with the sentence: ‘Come, boy, learn to be wise.’ You can read a translation and see the lovely woodcuts on the internet: http://www.gutenberg.org/files/28299/28299-h/28299-h.htm
*The earliest recorded lullaby is: ‘Lalla, lalla, lala, aut dormi, aut lacta’  - meaning lala, lalla, lalla, or lie down, or milk. It was set down in an Ancient Roman manuscript, as sung by a Roman nurse. *Online retailer Amazon made J.K. Rowling's ‘The Tales of Beedle the Bard’ the world’s most expensive children’s book when it bought a copy at auction for £1.9 million. I wonder what they do with it. Do they read bits out at management meetings, I wonder? Is it trapped in a glass case, to keep it away from children? Oh the irony ... etc etc.
* People are always claiming different historical meanings for children's nursery rhymes. The village of Kilmersdon near Bath, where I live, claims to be the home of the nursery rhyme Jack and Jill, for example. The story goes that a local unmarried girl got pregnant (presumably somewhere up the hill). Then her lover, Jack, was killed by a boulder that fell on him at the local quarry. Jill had the child but died and the child was raised as ‘Jill’s son’ (Gilson is a local surname). However, apparently this could all be nonsense and the rhyme could be to do with Charles the First slapping tax on a half-pint of ale (once called a 'jack’). It could be none of the above, frankly, but the village claims it, so there. You can walk up ‘Jack and Jill Hill’, tumble back down and then go and have a half in the local pub, so everyone’s happy. “Proper job,” as they say around these parts. 

*
Here's a photo of the front of our office. I share it as a co-operative with other freelancers, and this front window is kept permanently decorated with all sorts of toys and stuff by maestro cover designer and children's illustrator Steve Wells, for the delight of passing people.  This is his Xmas display. 


*
A Harvard professor and and Winchester University psychologist recently announced news of their researches analysing the thought processes of nursery-age children. They discovered that the children could easily distinguish between people pretending to be Father Christmas and the man himself, and have no difficulty still believing in the real deal whilst meeting impersonators. Welcome confirmation that small children don't take everything literally, are very aware and don't need every message, every 'moral', hammered home on every page as if they have no brain at all. (Oops, sorry. I am in danger of going off on an unrelated rant here. Pass the damson gin, would you?)

*
Finland is the country that use its libraries the most. On average a Finnish family borrows a hundred library books a year between them. This could be valuable evidence of what Santa does in summer.  *So long as a new Norwegian children’s book passes quality control, Arts Council Norway automatically buys 1,550 copies to distribute to libraries. The authors make an extra-high royalties on these books. Renowned Norwegian writers and artists receive a guaranteed income and are eligible for one to five-year work grants.
No wonder Santa lives up north! I’m off! 

Until this morning Moira Butterfield was trying to work out how best to explain the British Iron Age to 7 yr-olds, was in the process of creating some pre-school board books for a major UK retailer, and was about to begin a series on children around the world. She also had a picture book in the works for 2015. However, she has just left to catch a plane to Norway, muttering about become one of Santa's in-house authors. 
www.moirabutterfield.com