Early sketch
A final spread: “When you travel to the moon, you must go very fast, faster than
you’ve ever gone. The Earth, far behind you, looks like a marble.”
(Click spread to enlarge)
I’ve a review over at
BookPage of
Maggie Pouncey’s A Fort on the Moon (Neal Porter Books, November 2020), illustrated by
Larry Day. I looooove this one, but I guess you can go read my review—which is
here—if you’re so inclined to find out why.
Below are some illustrations from the book, and Larry also visits to share some preliminary images, including some original thumbnail sketches. “They were in color from the beginning,” he tells me. “I felt color was going to play a big part of this story. That helped.”
Big thanks to Larry for sharing.
Dust Jacket Pencil Roughs:
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Head Studies for Fox and Dodge:
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Two images above: Click either image to see in its entirety
Two images above: Click either image to see in its entirety
First Pencil Sketches:
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Thumbnail Sketches:
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A Few More Final Spread from the Book …
“‘Adventurers must be as patient as they are brave!’ Fox likes to say. So we wait.
And at last the right night arrives. We lie in our beds, as still as moon craters,
till we no longer hear our parents’ soft voices and the
ribbon of light beneath our door disappears into darkness.”
(Click spread to enlarge)
“Then we start to build. We scoop and tie, stack and lean, pitch and whack. We stand back. It’s even better than our models. Dad would be proud of our engineering.
For a moment, we stand inside our hard work and feel proud together.”
(Click spread to enlarge)
“It is hard to park a spaceship when you’re sleepy. We pull The White Dolphin back into its hiding spot, behind the chimney. It will need a good cleaning and a few repairs before the next landing. Soon the sun will rise, and the moon will disappear into the pale blue sky of day. As we climb back into our house, I turn and wave goodbye.”
(Click spread to enlarge)
(Click cover to enlarge)
* * * * * * *
A FORT ON THE MOON. Text copyright © 2020 by Maggie Pouncey. Pictures copyright © 2020 by Larry Day. Illustrations reproduced by permission of the publisher, Neal Porter Books, Holiday House, New York. All other images reproduced by permission of Larry Day.
October 29th, 2020 by jules
