Bookworm

Last month I was in the Czech Republic. In a beautiful cottage in the woods I wrote down some ideas for my new picture book. I came home with lots of sketches and notes.

I was trying to get these ideas together and make some sense of it so I can show it to my publisher. One of the ideas was a novelty book about a bookworm. I was quite exited about it. I could already see the the holes and cut outs and a shiny worm going through the old manuscripts.

I was even happy with the worm eating the book I was just writing.And as I was sketching in the solitude of my studio I thought about Eric Carle. Why? I wonder.

I heard that he has illustrated about seventy books. I know only a few of them and  I thought, I’ve never heard Eric Carle talking. I found on the internet Eric Carle doing a lecture about his life and work. It was very interesting. So I was happily drawing and listening and suddenly Mr Carle is talking about “The Very Hungry Cutterpillar”, explaining that the very first idea for this book was a book about a bookworm. “WHAT?” And it’s not the first time this has happened to me.

I swear I wanted to do a book about a ladybird and a chameleon and a sloth even before I knew that Eric Carl had already done it. I was born and grow up in Czechoslovakia and we didn’t know the amazing books of Eric Carle. Oh well, I will have to learn to live with it.

Eric Carle did mention that his agent wasn’t happy with the idea of a bookworm and so they abandoned the idea. He didn’t do a book about the bookworm and he didn’t explain exactly why.  I thought “Good”, at least I can show my idea to my editor without feeling too stupid.

So I did show the idea to my editor and guess what. Nothing. It didn’t pass. Jokes about bookworms are difficult to translate. Yes, it’s true I must admit. For example in Czech we have a book moth as an equivalent to a bookworm. Not all tlibrarians would like the idea of books being damaged by anybody, not even by a little cute bookworm.

And so it happens that my idea of a bookworm will end up in my draw marked as “Ideas”. It may one day be eaten by a bookworm. Who knows.

I did a book about worms before though. It’s called “Jonathan & Martha”. It’s a book about love and sharing. Jonathan and Martha are not exactly bookworms. They eat fruit, but they are still worms.

The last thing I wanted to mention this week is this.

Ten year anniversary of Children’s Book Illustrations.! You can see and perhaps buy amazing pictures.  Tuesday the 3rd December I’ll be there!