I was asked a while ago to speak to parents at a children’s festival of reading in Knoxville, Tennessee. I had free reign to talk about picture books in any way I wanted. I was this<\/em> close to just taking Bonny Becker’s<\/a><\/strong> A Visitor for Bear<\/a><\/strong><\/em> (Candlewick), illustrated by today’s visitor, Canadian illustrator Kady MacDonald Denton<\/a><\/strong>, and using it as a model for pretty much How Perfect a Picture Book Can Be. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n That was certainly one of 2008’s stand-out titles, in my humble but enthusiastic opinion. And I am generally drawn to Kady’s work, watercolors a reviewer previously described as “breezy, often impish,” noting they owe a debt to Sendak’s early work. I definitely get that early-Sendak vibe from her illustrations, yet she also manages to have a singular style, all Kady. <\/p>\n And, as many fans of Bear and Mouse know, there have been other titles to follow, noted below in my interview today. Also—joy!—to be released in a few months from Candlewick is this: <\/p>\n You can color me happy about that. I should probably add I’ve wanted to chat with Kady for years now, so I’m extra glad she’s visiting today for her second<\/em> breakfast. Yes, second. “I usually have two,”<\/em> she told me. “My day begins with a hot cup of tea and something light. Closer to mid-morning, I have oatmeal porridge with fruit, or eggs and toast and marmalade<\/font>. That\u2019s when I really enjoy a cup of coffee! I grind the beans and heat the milk. With two breakfasts I can push morning into the mid-afternoon and have a nice chunk of time in the studio.”<\/em> <\/p>\n You see, I am ALL FOR THAT. Not only am I thrilled about oatmeal porridge and toast, but you know I love my coffee. I’m pleased to share breakfast with Kady and thank her for visiting. <\/p>\n Oh, and have you seen her latest illustrated title? It’s the first picture book from librarian Tim Wadham<\/a><\/strong>, and here’s a spread: <\/p>\n That’s the very imaginative role-player, Rose—or, er, The Queen of France—from The Queen of France<\/em><\/a><\/strong> (released by Candlewick in March of this year). Publishers Weekly<\/em> writes about this one, <\/p>\n Wadham makes a terrific debut; his rhythmic prose and comic pacing feel elegant and effortless, and he handles his diminutive fantasist and her parents with the kind of unaffected empathy that can elude more experienced authors. He’s also fortunate in his collaborator\u2014Denton…wonderfully conveys the story’s impishness, emotional subtleties, and familial affections. Just watching the queen strut her regal stuff is worth the price alone.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Pick up a copy of this one, dear readers. It is, in every respect, utterly charming. (It has glitter on the cover, yes, but thank heavens it’s used modestly, tastefully, and conservatively.) <\/p>\n Thanks again to Kady, and let’s get right to it… (IMPORTANT NOTE<\/strong><\/font> for anyone who has made it this far: Most of the images in this post can be clicked on to super-size and see closer and in more detail. In fact, you will really want to do so for some of the sketches, harder to see within the restrictions of the blog’s template, but much easier on the eyes if you click on them and enlarge them. When in doubt or especially if squinting, CLICK.) <\/p>\n Jules<\/font><\/strong>: Are you an illustrator or author\/illustrator?<\/font><\/p>\n Kady<\/font><\/strong>: Illustrator\/author sums it up. Most of my work is illustration, but I have written several books.<\/p>\n Jules<\/font><\/strong>: Can you list your books-to-date?<\/font><\/p>\n Kady<\/font><\/strong>: Here are some of my recent books. A full list can be found at my website<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n Jules<\/font><\/strong>: What is your usual medium, or–\u2013if you use a variety—your preferred one?<\/font> <\/p>\n Kady<\/font><\/strong>: I use pen and ink with watercolours on hot-pressed watercolour paper. As the painting develops, I bring in gouache, oil sticks, perhaps a bit of chalk. I used collage in one book. <\/p>\n Sometimes an illustration slips away, and then I\u2019ll grab anything at hand to fight to get it back. If the struggle shows, I\u2019ll start again. <\/p>\n I\u2019m in that quickly-shrinking group of illustrators who doesn\u2019t use a computer at any stage in the illustration process.<\/p>\n Jules<\/font><\/strong>: If you have illustrated for various age ranges (such as both early readers and picture books) can you briefly discuss the differences in illustrating for one age group to another?<\/font> <\/p>\n An early reader usually has more text than pictures, so what illustrations there are need to be precise — not necessarily detailed, but having good reason to be there. Reading a simple chapter book is a big step for a child! I\u2019ll leave good sections of white space so that the text is pleasant to read. <\/p>\n Most readers of picture books don\u2019t read. I try to make it clear as to what\u2019s going on. The artwork dominates the page, so it must serve the story as well as delight a child. It helps me to think of a picture book as a little operetta in frozen form—two languages together telling one story—because both pictures and words deliver the story.<\/p>\n I remember once sitting on a book panel with some distinguished novelists. None of them thought picture-book illustration had any part of the literary prizes we were attempting to award. It was very funny. I knew every one of them had been brought to a love of books through narrative illustration.<\/p>\n![](\"http:\/\/blaine.org\/jules\/mouse-cutting1.jpg\")
<\/a>Or, more precisely (and without my usual hyperbole), letting it serve as an example for the long list of ways in which picture books can delight and why we read them with children: To summarize here—impossibly and before breakfast—it is funny (particularly, Bear’s melodramatic stances and impressive vocabulary), entertaining, and a terrific read-aloud; it has very real, very memorable characters that not only stay with you a long time, but that you also want to visit and re-visit; it is moving without being syrupy-sweet about it, and readers establish a real emotional connection with Bear and Mouse (pictured left), the book’s only two characters; there is a so-brilliant-it-could-be-a-picture-book-case-study extension of Becker’s well-crafted story by Kady’s endearing illustrations, yet both author and illustrator leave a gap between pictures and text, thereby giving mental and visual breathing space to the child reader; and, well, I could go on…. It’s one of my favorite picture books, and in the year of its release, 2008, this book most assuredly fell into the Oh-How-We-Wish-She-Were-an-American category. With all respect to Canada, there was much gnashing of teeth as we American picture book aficionados (*cough*, nerds) realized that Kady MacDonald Denton was not eligible for the Caldecott. To be clear, however, it was a New York Times<\/em> bestseller, received the 2009 Golden Kite Award<\/a><\/strong> for Picture Book Text and the 2009 E.B. White Read Aloud Award for Picture Books<\/a><\/strong>, was a Wanda G\u00e1g Book Award Honor Book, and much more.<\/p>\n![](\"http:\/\/blaine.org\/jules\/snifflesforbearcover.JPG\")
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Kady<\/font><\/strong>: Book artists spend a lot of time on composition, pacing, page breaks, overall design and such. All this is absolutely crucial, of course, but in a sense it\u2019s behind-the-scenes work. When a child opens a story picture book—when that first page is turned—it\u2019s the characters and their settings that matter. Some characters from my childhood are still with me: E. H. Shepard\u2019s<\/a><\/strong> Mr. Toad<\/a><\/strong> {pictured right}, Garth Williams\u2019s<\/a><\/strong> Stuart Little<\/a><\/strong>, N. C. Wyeth\u2019s<\/a><\/strong> pirates<\/a><\/strong>. I still know the great forest of Babar<\/a><\/strong> and Madeline\u2019s<\/a><\/strong> old house in Paris that was covered with vines. <\/p>\n<\/a>
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(to be released in September of this year from Candlewick)<\/em><\/center><\/p>\n
in which she’s showing the progression of one Bear sketch;
this is also from the forthcoming <\/em>Sniffles for Bear<\/a><\/strong>.}<\/center><\/p>\n