Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast

There’s this book. It’s about a book. A book that likes to eat people. It wants to have you for one impossible breakfast. And it’s called—you’ll never guess—The Book That Eats People (Tricycle Press, August 2009). In fact, I’m nervous even posting about it, lest it find out and come after me. I know, should I ever see it, not to read it with syrupy fingers or with cookies in my pocket, and I know not to turn my back on it or read it alone. Because it is ALWAYS HUNGRY. But let’s just say I’m prepared: If I hear it growling and clomping towards me, I’ve got something heavy to put on top of it.

This public-service-announcement of a book—warning us of the legend of this book and, did I mention, to always assume the book is ready to snack, people—was written by John Perry and illustrated by Mark Fearing, who is also a comic book artist, animator, and graphic designer. (Why, no, I’m not making up his last name.) John, who told an Ann Arbor freelance writer that he wrote this after getting worn out with the “fairy stories, stories with morals and stories that went to the beach” he was reading to his young daughters, says his life’s mission is to warn readers about it. Well, even though this is serious business, folks, this book makes me laugh, and I can’t even begin to tell you how much fun I’ve had with it in my home, my wee daughters putting heavy objects on top of it and gasping whenever they see it in a new spot. Mwahahaha. And you all know I’m fond of books in which characters get devoured. As the illustrator puts it below—since both book-creators are here today to talk a bit about it and their work—it’s “not too cute, not too darling, not full of sugar,” and I always like to talk about books like that. Even if they’re threatening to end me.

Mark is also sharing some other illustrations today. You’ll note that, as Kirkus wrote about The Book That Likes to Eat People, Marks’ cartoon-esque illustrations (rendered in Photoshop and collage) have “a suitably menacing aspect” — or, as the above Ann Arbor link puts it, they’re “equal parts voraciously carnivorous and lovably crabby.” Menacing and carnivorous illustrations before breakfast are always a good thing. I’ll intersperse his art throughout the rest of the post. First, here’s John Perry, the author. Thanks to both of them for stopping by.

John: The Book That Eats People came to me in a dream. It was Summer, the sun was up, I woke up laughing hard and didn’t stop for at least a minute.

I know I had been working on a detailed, season-long outline for a television drama. It’s possible I was reading a Jim Harrison novel, or maybe his memoir Off To The Side. It may be I had in mind Harrison’s assertion that “writing a novel is an aggressive act.” (I’m pretty sure that’s exactly what he said. Maybe he was quoting someone else.)

My mother-in-law (who is a Saint) came over that morning to watch my girls so that I could go somewhere and work on my outline. I went to the nearby library, found a seat, got stuck on the television story, started The Book That Eats People halfway down a page, wrote the first draft in not more than half an hour.

When I got home my mother-in-law said “How’d it go?” I read her the draft of my dream and she gave me that perplexed look–the look you might assume if some strange-and-unexpected-but-harmless creature showed up in your chair.

Regarding Mark’s work: One publisher’s comment that The Book was hard to “envision” was the impetus for a significantly longer, more visually obvious re-write. Abigail Samoun told me that envisioning it was just a matter of imagination (I had no idea, page-by-page, what it might look like) and she was right.

I am a huge fan of Mark Fearing — and of Abigail Samoun. I know almost nothing about their interactions that created the art for the book, but I know it would have been easy to falter once, or a thousand times, and make the whole book laughable. I don’t know how they managed not to, actually.

Mark: The day the editor at Tricycle sent it to me, I was in the studio and immediately read it and realized what a treasure the story was. It offered an opportunity to jump into doing something very unique. Lots of room to have fun and very little visual repetition. (It didn’t take place in the same kitchen, or a classroom, or a child’s bedroom). The story jumps around offering opportunity to draw what’s in the mind of the book, as well as illustrating key moments in the book’s life. After talking with the editor, I decided the illustrations had to feel as if they were items that had been collected in the book as it lived its life. It was a challenge — but a fun one. I had turned down two picture book manuscripts in the previous eight months. That was not easy to do. But I’m glad I did, because this book fit my style, fit my personality, and let me do something unique. Not too cute, not too darling, not full of sugar, etc. I feel really lucky that Abigail Samoun at Tricycle took the time to track me down for the project.

I have been working in Photoshop for the past seven years or so. I start with very rough pencils, scan them in and draw/ink, color/paint, collage, whatever I want. I’ve never been in love with one medium, so this fits me perfectly. You can create your own medium. If I feel I have lost my inspiration/attitude in the piece I can ‘peel back’ the layers to see the original scanned pencil rough again. I can’t imagine working any other way now. I’ve not been blessed with great patience, so using the computer lets me change my mind until the work absolutely, positively has to be sent off or my eyes won’t stay open any longer, whichever comes first.

I am currently writing and drawing a graphic novel for Chronicle Books due out…well, due out as soon as I can finish it up. It’s called Earthling! and is a kid friendly, sci-fi epic coming in around two-hundred pages. It’s a tremendous amount of effort but lets me work with all aspects of storytelling. I’m also working on new picture books, as well as a series of stories best described as retro-fables. You can follow my projects from my blog and website.

THE BOOK THAT EATS PEOPLE. Text copyright © 2009 by John Perry. Illustrations copyright © 2009 by Mark Fearing. Reproduced by permission of the publisher, Tricycle Press, Berkeley, CA.

All other illustrations used with permission of Mark Fearing. All rights reserved.