{"id":1910,"date":"2010-03-23T00:01:08","date_gmt":"2010-03-23T06:01:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/?p=1910"},"modified":"2010-03-23T07:54:18","modified_gmt":"2010-03-23T13:54:18","slug":"seven-questions-over-breakfast-with-oliver-jeffers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/?p=1910","title":{"rendered":"Seven Questions Over Breakfast with Oliver Jeffers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Can you imagine me here with my 7-Imp notepad, and I’m making a check on it? I’m checking off the name of illustrator and painter Oliver Jeffers<\/strong><\/a>, as I’ve always wanted him to visit 7-Imp and have coffee with me over breakfast. Honestly, I’m not that organized. No such 7-Imp notepad exists; it’s more like a scattered mess of chicken-scratch notes on my desk, but you get the idea. <\/p>\n

I’m going to fall back on the old tired but true List of Seven Reasons It’s Good to Have This Particular Visitor Here Today:<\/font> <\/p>\n

1).<\/font> Oliver’s Lost and Found<\/a><\/strong><\/em> (Philomel, 2006) is one of my Top Best Most Favorite Adored Beloved Treasured Apple-of-My-Eye picture books in all the world. Ever read it? It includes these two chaps . . . <\/p>\n

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. . . and it’s been adapted by StudioAKA<\/strong><\/a> into a half-hour animated film I haven’t seen yet (boo) and which, by all accounts, is incredibly faithful to the book, doing it justice and all that important stuff to us picture book nerds. (If you click on the aforementioned “StudioAKA” link, you can see clips from the film, and below is the trailer.)<\/p>\n

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2).<\/font> Oliver’s latest title, The Heart and the Bottle<\/a><\/strong><\/em>, was released by Philomel this month and tells the story of a curious young girl who locks her heart (and wonder for life) up safe in a bottle and hangs it ’round her neck at the loss of what appears to be her only caretaker (either a father or grandfather). “And that seemed to fix things . . . Although, in truth, nothing was the same. She forgot about the stars . . . and stopped taking notice of the sea.” It is is simply beautiful, Publishers Weekly<\/em> calling it a “quietly powerful treatment of grief.” While we’re on the subject of the professional reviewers, Kirkus<\/em> wrote:<\/p>\n

The author beautifully weaves themes of love, loss and healing into a stirring story. Tender illustrations, dense with detail when the protagonist’s imagination is thriving and sparse when her heart is disembodied, deftly delineate the character’s emotional state. The sophisticated palette creates a consistency across the pages, and the artwork, meticulously constructed and edited with a uniquely minimalist aesthetic, is signature Jeffers. Heartbreaking, witty and filled with hope…<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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I can already hear the naysayers declaring that this story is really a book for grown-ups in the guise of children’s lit, but I won’t agree. Children know what loss is, and Oliver’s story handles the subject with the utmost grace. <\/p>\n

3).<\/font> He is pretty much fearless when it comes to making art. Observant readers will notice the tiny-print note preceding the title page of The Heart and the Bottle<\/em> that says, “The art for this book was made from all sorts of stuff. Some watercolor, some bits from old books, some gouache, a little amount of technology, some acrylic and even a bit of house paint. I think there is some oil paint on one page. But that might have been an accident.”<\/em><\/p>\n

4).<\/font> The very funny and entirely unexpected die-cut moment at the curtain call of The Incredible Book-Eating Boy<\/a><\/em><\/strong> (Philomel, 2007). <\/p>\n

Hey, wait. Let’s take another moment to appreciate Lost and Found<\/em>, this time the ending of the book, my favorite Oliver-Jeffers moment ever:<\/p>\n

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5).<\/font> The brand-new product line that Oliver created with his two studio mates, You and Me the Royal We<\/a><\/strong>. “The product line is based on a simple concept: when Oliver, Mac or Aaron thinks of a product that would be cool but doesn\u2019t exist yet, they figure out how to make it.” This<\/strong><\/a>, in particular, makes me laugh every time. <\/p>\n

6).<\/font> Good stuff like this<\/strong><\/a> happens when he gets involved in The Vader Project<\/a><\/strong> (Revenge of the Brits). <\/p>\n

7).<\/font> Oh yeah. And Oliver has never once made a picture book I didn’t like. That didn’t blow me away with its quirky sense of humor and charm. Yes, I just said “quirky” and “charm,” and I’m going to go to Reviewer Hell for using those used-and-abused adjectives. But Oliver has the real<\/em> quirk and the real<\/em> charm. I’m always impressed with how much he communicates with his minimalist style. <\/p>\n

Oliver’s breakfast-of-choice this morning? “Of choice?” he said. “A sugar and lemon cr\u00eape with a side of bacon, a proper cappuccino, and a freshly-squeezed orange.<\/font> Of necessity: A bowl of cheerios and a cup of coffee.” I say we go for the cr\u00eape and cappuccino. Or how about just all of the above. Actually, I’m going to serve him a beer, too. As you’ll see below, he’s really hankerin’ for one. Let’s get to the interview. First, we’ll set the table and get the basics from him before our seven questions over breakfast. I thank him kindly for stopping by. <\/p>\n

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

Oliver<\/font><\/strong>: I like to refer to myself as an artist, an illustrator, and a children\u2019s book-maker. Only because it rhymes.<\/p>\n

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

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