{"id":1715,"date":"2009-06-23T00:01:04","date_gmt":"2009-06-23T06:01:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/?p=1715"},"modified":"2009-06-23T07:45:32","modified_gmt":"2009-06-23T13:45:32","slug":"seven-questions-over-breakfast-with-jan-thomasin-which-adrienne-and-betsy-also-join-us-for-oatmeal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/?p=1715","title":{"rendered":"Seven Questions Over Breakfast with Jan Thomas
(In Which Adrienne and Fuse Also Join Us for Oatmeal)"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

This is author\/illustrator Jan Thomas<\/strong><\/a> with her Public Relations Officer and Security Chief. She’s here with her canine staff today to chat over breakfast with what I’ll call the Jan Thomas Appreciation Society. And that would be Yours Truly and two of the country’s best children’s librarians (all hyperbole—which regular readers know I’m guilty of—aside), Adrienne Furness of What Adrienne Thinks About That<\/strong><\/a><\/em><\/strong> and Betsy Bird over at A Fuse #8 Production<\/strong><\/a><\/em>. Adrienne has written posts like “My Profound Love of Books by Jan Thomas”<\/strong><\/a>; Betsy has written reviews like this<\/strong><\/a> in which she’s declared things like, “All right. That’s it. I can’t take it anymore. Could we please please PLEASE just get it over with and declare Jan Thomas some kind of national treasure \/ picture book genius?”<\/em> and “Thomas has that rare gift for synthesizing a book down to its most essential parts”<\/em>; and I’ve posted about Jan’s work a bit as well—having turned into such a big fan of her titles, thanks to Adrienne—but the 7-Imp Jan-Thomas sightings are hardly tantamount to my fan-dom. So, I decided I wanted to shine the spotlight on her, too. And when I—lucky me—snagged her for an interview, I asked Adrienne and Betsy if they’d like to contribute some questions and\/or say a bit about their own ardent devotion to Jan’s books. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Jan’s titles, aimed squarely at the preschool crowd, are flat-out FUNNY. And the best part is that they work on this very manic, laugh-outloud level for young children (“riotous,” wrote Kirkus<\/em> in one review), yet the humor is droll enough to have the adults chuckling, too. Jan’s comic timing is spot-on. “Exquisite,” if you’re The Boston Globe<\/strong><\/a><\/em>. (“If there’s genius in knowing what to leave out and what to put in, then Thomas is the new Einstein of picture books,”<\/em> reviewer Liz Rosenberg added.) Her cartoon illustrations, thickly-lined with bold colors, are perfect for a story-time crowd and also<\/em> riotously, over-the-top funny. I mean, seriously, dear readers. Can I say “funny” enough? If you haven’t picked up a Jan-Thomas picture book and ESPECIALLY if you’re hankerin’ for a good laugh, well then, you can’t say you haven’t been encouraged by three fanatical bloggers. (And oh-so many more I wouldn’t even have time to list: Jan inspires comments such as this from Mary Lee over at A Year of Reading<\/strong><\/em><\/a> — “Jan Thomas is my new favorite picture book author based on just two books…”<\/em> And this from Franki<\/strong><\/a>: “So, of course I will buy any book that Jan Thomas writes from here on out…”<\/em>)<\/p>\n

Yeah. Jan Thomas Fans are hard-core. <\/p>\n

Before we get to Jan’s interview, here’s a bit more from Betsy and Adrienne. I asked them what their first Jan Thomas Experience was, if they’ve used her titles in story times, and what else they think we can do to get the rest of the world to read her books.<\/p>\n

Adrienne:<\/strong> <\/font>I have this distinct memory of holding <\/em>What Will Fat Cat Sit On?<\/strong><\/a> and thinking it was going to be dreadful. I tend to read picture books in piles of twenty or so, and I remember I was feeling cranky because nothing in that day\u2019s pile was grabbing me. I started flipping through the pages of <\/em>Fat Cat, seeing what I thought was a pretty standard No, That\u2019s Silly book (some of my favorites in this genre are <\/em>Who Hoots?<\/strong><\/a> by Katie Davis<\/strong><\/a> and <\/em>Do Pigs Have Stripes?<\/strong><\/a> by Melanie Walsh<\/strong><\/a>), but then I came to the page where the chicken shouts, \u201cSit on the pig! Sit on the pig!\u201d<\/p>\n

This surprised me, so I started the book over again, paying more attention and laughing right outloud. Then, as is my habit when I fall in love with a picture book during a normal work day, I ran around the back office area, interrupting everyone to read the book aloud to them.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been using Thomas\u2019s books in storytimes every week for months now. We tend to have large storytime groups at WPL<\/strong><\/a>\u2014it is not at all unusual for us to have 80 kids at a storytime, ranging in age from teeny babies right up to six- or seven-year-olds. Thomas\u2019s style is brilliant for this range. Her illustrations are bright and bold enough to attract the attention of toddlers, her subjects are silly good fun for the preschool crowd, and I think school-aged kids (not to mention the adults in the room) can have a deeper appreciation of the way Thomas plays around with readers\u2019 expectations. What she manages to pack into a few words and thick lines is impressive. And funny, funny, funny. I love books that really make me laugh.<\/font><\/em><\/p>\n

Betsy:<\/strong> <\/font>Darn right. On my end, we can’t keep the doggone things on our shelves. I think my branch has about ten copies of <\/em>What Will Fat Cat Sit On?<\/strong><\/a> alone, but you wouldn’t know it from the vast gaping hole that lives where the name “Thomas” should be. And I can attest that while Ms. Thomas wins over children, adults are keen on her as well. Particularly librarian-type adults. Recently at a staff meeting to celebrate New York Public Library’s 100 Books for Reading and Sharing list<\/strong><\/a>, the librarians performed <\/em>The Doghouse<\/strong><\/a> with stick puppets<\/strong><\/a>. Needless to say, I think my role as the actual doghouse itself could have technically been considered an off-off-Broadway performance (in that Broadway is about two streets away). I was very staid.<\/p>\n

But, to answer your questions, I think I saw <\/em>What Will Fat Cat Sit On?<\/strong><\/a> at an ALA Conference, actually. There was something about that cat’s sly, slightly demented smile that caught my eye. I was instantly hooked from page one. I think there might have been a brief flicker of a “Is this a Mo Willems knock-off?” for one-half of a second. Then I read two pages, and it vanished entirely. Jan Thomas is her own beast. I’ve used her books with classes of Pre-K to third graders, and she never gets old. They love them some Thomas.<\/p>\n

To get other people to discover her, all we have to do is keep reading her aloud. ‘Cause, eventually, she’s going to be a story-time classic. You can feel it already. She’s got the look.<\/font><\/em><\/p>\n

This morning, for our breakfast chat, we’re going to have oatmeal. Jan says she eats it daily. Perhaps her family does, too:<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

I’ll throw in some strong coffee—I know at least Adrienne and I would wither up without some—and I thank Jan for stopping by. I also thank Adrienne and Betsy for their presence at our chat this morning. Let’s get the basics from Jan while we wait for our coffee to brew and oatmeal to heat up. <\/p>\n

* * * * * * *<\/font><\/center><\/p>\n

7-Imp<\/font><\/strong>: Are you an illustrator or author\/illustrator?<\/font><\/p>\n

Jan<\/font><\/strong>: So far, I\u2019ve only illustrated my own ideas, but I would like to venture out and work with someone else . . .<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

7-Imp<\/font><\/strong>: Can you list your books-to-date?<\/font><\/p>\n

Jan<\/font><\/strong>: <\/p>\n