{"id":1821,"date":"2009-10-27T00:01:13","date_gmt":"2009-10-27T06:01:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/?p=1821"},"modified":"2009-10-27T10:42:43","modified_gmt":"2009-10-27T16:42:43","slug":"seven-questions-or-so-over-sunshine-snackwith-angela-and-tony-diterlizzi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/?p=1821","title":{"rendered":"Seven Questions (Or So) Over Sunshine Snack
with Angela and Tony DiTerlizzi"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dude. I have to say I’ve wanted to interview award-winning author\/illustrator Tony DiTerlizzi<\/strong><\/a> for yeeeeears<\/em> now. I like his books; I really<\/em> like his art; and I like it pretty much whenever he speaks. (Really, have you explored<\/em> yet the videos at his web site<\/strong><\/a>? Big fun.) So, I’m happy he’s made it by this morning for breakfast. He and his wife, Angela—who are pictured above (and whose glasses I covet somethin’ fierce)—have recently collaborated on a new series of titles for the wee’est of children, called Adventure of Meno<\/em>. These books, which make me laugh (and whose series was launched this month by Simon & Schuster), are about none other than an elf. A toddler elf. A toddler SPACE<\/font> elf. Whose best friend is a jellyfish. And who says things like “sunshine snack” for breakfast and “moo juice” for milk. (There’s even a “happy fun bowl” in Book Two, which brings to mind probably my VERY FAVORITE Saturday Night Live<\/em> commercial parody EVER<\/strong><\/a>, but I seriously digress.)<\/p>\n

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Though Tony’s accustomed to bringing us fantastical creatures in many of his books—including the New York Times<\/em> best-selling serial, The Spiderwick Chronicles<\/strong><\/a><\/em> (co-created with Holly Black<\/strong><\/a>), and his 2003 Caldecott-Honor title, Mary Howitt’s<\/strong><\/a> The Spider and the Fly<\/strong><\/a><\/em>—his illustrations for the Meno<\/em> books mark somewhat of a departure in style for him, as you can see in the illlustrations featured in the interview below. It’s all good fun. Er, big fun<\/strong><\/a>, as Meno would say. <\/p>\n

Angela’s also here this morning to talk about Meno<\/em>, as well as what’s next for her, and Tony answered my illustrator-interview questions. He sent tons of art; he and Angela both gave considerable thought to their interview questions (which is nice, ’cause… you know, let’s face it: You can tell those folks who rush through ’em); and, I have to add, Tony even did things like sent captions for the art so that I didn’t have to go hunting myself for the illustrations’ sources. All that’s to say that, if I ever meet him, I’m totally gonna hug his neck. And<\/em> his lovely wife’s. And then I’m gonna “borrow” their new shades. <\/p>\n

The interviews are all topped off at the end with a Pivot Questionnaire for each of them. It’s mighty fun to have them here this morning, not to mention I’m happy to be in the company of folks who use the word “dude” as often as I do. (Not in this interview, mind you, but…well, just watch their video, linked below in the interview.) As Meno would say, I thank them for stopping by for a “sunshine snack” during this “sunshine time.” We’ll start with Angela, whose sunshine snack will be… well, her favorite breakfast seems to be “whatever our two-and-a-half year old daughter is requesting me to cook up. As of late, the most popular morning delights have been pancakes with sprinkles in the shape of hearts.<\/font> (Gotta love the endless uses for a cookie cutter.) That said, today she enjoyed honey raisin toast while I had a tootsie roll.”<\/em> I’ll bring the coffee then, and Angela and I can have some of those heart-shaped pancakes. Mmm. With a tootise roll for dessert. Let’s get right to it then…<\/p>\n

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<\/a>7-Imp<\/font><\/strong>: Tell me how the character Meno came about.<\/font><\/p>\n

Angela<\/font><\/strong>: The character of Meno was born from a nickname we had given to a good friend of ours. Tony and I were amused that when he was asked a question his usual response would be “Me? No.” The seed for his near-sighted, jellyfish best friend with a flatulence problem was based on Tony, and Wishi, the bright-eyed, wish-granting sprite, is based on me. <\/p>\n

7-Imp<\/font><\/strong>: What was it like to collaborate with your husband on a children\u2019s book? This was your first collaboration, correct? <\/font><\/p>\n

Angela<\/font><\/strong>: Tony and I have unofficially collaborated on most of his books. I have always offered input, art suggestions, and editorial comments, as well as marketing and publicity strategies, and I even played the role of puppeteer on his book tour for G is for Gzonk!<\/strong><\/a><\/em> But, Adventure of Meno<\/em> is the most involved I have been in any of his projects. <\/p>\n

The process of making a book is a very collaborative one to begin with, and I admire how open to suggestion Tony is when it comes to his work. He has always had a very clear vision of what a final book will look like, but always checks any ego at the door and makes decisions based on what\u2019s best for the book. I\u2019d do it again in a heartbeat.<\/p>\n

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7-Imp<\/font><\/strong>: Tell me a little bit about Yummy Trip!<\/strong><\/a><\/em> and Uh-Oh Sick!<\/strong><\/a><\/em> What\u2019s in store for Meno in these titles? And when they will hit bookstore and library shelves?<\/font><\/p>\n

Angela<\/font><\/strong>: We really wanted Meno\u2019s adventures to be reflective of what toddlers experience in their everyday lives. In Yummy Trip!<\/em>, Meno and friends decide to have a picnic. Juice box — check; spork — check; giant napkin — check; choco-snak — ? It seems that someone forgot to bring the choco-snaks! But who?<\/p>\n


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“Now! Machines! GO!”
From <\/em>Adventure of Meno: Yummy Trip!, forthcoming from Simon & Schuster, 2010.<\/em><\/center><\/p>\n

In Uh-Oh Sick!<\/em>, Meno wakes up with a cold, and Yamagoo does all he can to help him feel better. Nothings seems to work, so it\u2019s time to call Wishi! These next adventures of Meno will be landing in stores Spring, 2010.<\/p>\n

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7-Imp<\/font><\/strong>: Can you tell mes about Say What?<\/em>, your forthcoming title? Who will be illustrating that one? Any other book news\/new titles?<\/font><\/p>\n

I shared the manuscript with Tony, and he encouraged me to show it to S&S. Much to my delight, they loved the concept and paired me with Allyn Johnston and Andrea Welch — the amazingly talented duo of editors at Beach Lane Books. Then, enter the uber-talented illustrator Joey Chou<\/strong><\/a>. A designer\/friend\/agent shared his work with me, and we thought it was the perfect fit. He is currently working on the illustrations, and I am dying to see the final stuff.<\/p>\n

As for any other book news, I have ideas for several other picture books — some that Tony and I have cooked up together. Others that someone else might be right for. And, of course, we have several more Meno<\/em> adventures in the works.<\/p>\n


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7-Imp<\/font><\/strong>: What books or authors and\/or illustrators influenced you as an early reader?<\/font><\/p>\n

Angela<\/font><\/strong>: I am embarrassed to say I was not much of a reader growing up. The only picture book I remember having was The Little Engine That Could<\/strong><\/a><\/em>. I had an Encyclopedia Brown<\/em><\/strong><\/a> book that I loved and one Choose Your Own Adventure<\/strong><\/a><\/em> book that I read over and over again. My reading comprehension was not the best, and I found it tedious to focus on some of the bigger chapter books. I remember sneaking the Beatrix Potter<\/strong><\/a> books out of my middle school library, because I was embarrassed that I wanted to look at books with pictures, instead of trudging through Where the Red Fern Grows<\/strong><\/a><\/em>. As I got older, I abandoned reading books for fun and resented required reading. I did love writing poetry, analyzing song lyrics, or reading a script for the school play — but not books.<\/p>\n

Years later, I have Tony to thank for reintroducing me to books. At first, I thought it was creepy that a grown man had a Bentley and Egg<\/strong><\/em><\/a> (William Joyce<\/strong><\/a>) poster hanging in his bathroom when we met. Then, one day, I wandered over to his bookshelf. I remember pulling out Jon Scieszka<\/strong><\/a> and Steve Johnson\u2019s<\/strong><\/a> The Frog Prince, Continued<\/strong><\/a><\/em>. I laughed out loud from the first page, and—at that moment—my missing literary childhood was rediscovered at the age of twenty.<\/p>\n

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7-Imp<\/font><\/strong>: What’s one thing that most people don’t know about you?<\/font><\/p>\n

Angela<\/font><\/strong>: I don\u2019t know if there\u2019s much that most people don\u2019t know about me. I tell it like it is and wear my heart on my sleeve. Oh — one thing\u2026about four or five years ago, I went to see a psychic with a friend of mine — just for fun. The woman told me many things that day, one of which was that I should be a writer. I scoffed it off and told my friend, “I bet she says that to everyone!” Maybe her suggestion changed my destiny or perhaps she just knew it to be true, but either way, here I am doing this interview for Adventure of Meno<\/em>. Creepy and cool, right?<\/p>\n

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

<\/a>And here’s Tony! “I am actually a boring cereal-juice-and-coffee kind of guy,”<\/em> he says. “My cholesterol has been high, so I\u2019ve been eating a lot of Cheerios. I mean, A LOT. Actually we have a ton of cereal still here from last year\u2019s General Mills <\/em>Spiderwick promotion, and I can\u2019t let all of that cereal go to waste\u2026I didn\u2019t even know they made a ‘Reese\u2019s Peanut Butter Cup’ cereal. Now, I\u2019m just hoping for an M&M\u2019s cereal.”<\/em> I’m going to join Tony for that Reese’s cereal. Let’s get the basics from him while we set the table for our sunshine snack. I’ll bring the moo juice. <\/p>\n

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

Tony<\/font><\/strong>: I think about this frequently. I\u2019ve tried “Children\u2019s Book Creator” or simply “Kids’ Book Guy,” but for now, I am going with “Storyteller.” Ultimately, I am using words and pictures to tell a story to kids of all ages. <\/p>\n

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

Tony<\/font><\/strong>: I\u2019ve published most of my books at Simon & Schuster. Here are some faves, in order:<\/p>\n

Angela<\/font><\/strong>: I wrote Say What?<\/em> when Soph was just under a year old, and my days were happily filled with countless read-alouds of Dr. Seuss<\/strong><\/a>, Margaret Wise Brown<\/strong><\/a>, Eric Carle<\/strong><\/a>, and Ruth Krauss<\/strong><\/a> and Mary Blair\u2019s<\/strong><\/a> retro masterpiece, I Can Fly<\/strong><\/a><\/em>. I loved their repetition, rhyme, and seamless marriage of perfectly-charming illustrations. That, combined with our little one learning about cows, roosters, kitties, and the noises they make, made me think about the wordless communication of animals. It begged the question, “What are animals really saying in their sounds everyday?” I wondered if animal\u2019s MOOs and BAAs were like parents trying to discern between their baby\u2019s GOOs and GAAs. <\/p>\n