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If you’re a fan, as I am, of the illustrations of Komako Sakai, the above spread might make you happy. It’s a sneak-peek at her newest illustrated title, which Enchanted Lion Books will release this November, a re-telling of Margery Williams’<\/a><\/strong> Velveteen Rabbit<\/a><\/strong><\/em>. <\/p>\n Here is precisely what I love—with thanks to the New York Times<\/em> for the words—about Komako’s artwork. For her 2009 title, The Snow Day<\/a><\/strong><\/em> (Arthur A. Levine Books), David Barringer over at the NYT<\/em> wrote<\/strong><\/a>: “The art in The Snow Day<\/em> is unpretty and mesmerizing. This world is dark, heavy, unsentimental and thick with\u2026the bittersweet solitude of snow.” <\/p>\n “Unpretty and mesmerizing” might also cover some of Komako’s other titles (though heaven only knows she’s capable of breathtaking beauty<\/a><\/strong> as well)—the vibe in her books sometimes communicates such—but rest assured this is a compliment. Flying in the face of the notion that all children’s books should be light or cute (I don’t know about you, but I’ve met the parents who think all children’s lit should be such), Komako lays out her stories with honesty and an emotional resonance, never patronizing to child readers and triumphantly tapping into all shades of their inner lives.<\/p>\n Her artwork is also a force of nature — at times grainy, at times soft and muted, and at times with vivid, vigorous brushstrokes. (For the latter, see the artwork at the bottom of the post for In the Meadow<\/em>). <\/p>\n Komako lives and works in Japan, and only a handful of her titles have been imported here to the States. It’s with eagerness that I look forward to her version of The Velveteen Rabbit<\/em>. And I thank her (and, once again, the translator) for doing this short Q&A with me. I also thank the Japanese publisher Fukuinkan, who made this Q&A possible, as well as Enchanted Lion Books for facilitating it all. <\/p>\n Let’s get right to it. <\/p>\n Jules<\/font><\/strong>: What is your usual medium, or\u2013\u2013if you use a variety\u2014your preferred one?<\/font><\/p>\n Komako<\/font><\/strong>: I use acrylic colors and oil pencils. <\/p>\n Jules<\/font><\/strong>: If you have illustrated for various age ranges (such as, both picture books and early reader books OR, say, picture books and chapter books), can you briefly discuss the differences, if any, in illustrating for one age group to another?<\/font><\/p>\n Komako<\/font><\/strong>: There aren’t big differences. But, for babies, I illustrate in a way that tells the story directly. For teenagers, I think it’s all right if an \tillustration leaves some sense of mystery. <\/p>\n Jules<\/font><\/strong>: Can you briefly tell me about your road to publication?<\/font> <\/p>\n Komako<\/font><\/strong>: When I was in middle school, I really wanted to create a picture book. Then I became an adult, and I started working. I remembered \tthe feeling and started drawing again. In the beginning, it was difficult, but gradually, as the memories from my childhood and the children that I saw through my eyes as an adult came together, I\tbegan to create illustrations. I went to picture book workshops, and an organizer of the workshops, who was an editor, published my first books. <\/p>\n Jules<\/font><\/strong>: Do you have a chance to be with children in your daily life, such as with school visits?<\/font><\/p>\n Komako<\/font><\/strong>: Unfortunately, I don’t have many opportunities. When there are \tchildren on a bus or a subway, I am curious and can’t help watching \tthem. <\/p>\n Jules<\/font><\/strong>: What exactly is your process when you are illustrating a book?<\/font> <\/p>\n Komako<\/font><\/strong>: When episodes connect to one another in my mind, I make a simple dummy and show it to my editor. I don’t put too much work into the dummies, because I often change the illustrations while I actually work on the project. I re-do an illustration many times until it settles into the best form. <\/p>\n Jules<\/font><\/strong>: Describe your studio or usual work space.<\/font> <\/p>\n Komako<\/strong><\/font><\/strong>: I have a studio on the first floor of my house. It’s my studio, but my cats seem to think it’s their room. <\/p>\n Jules<\/font><\/strong>: As a book-lover, it interests me: What books or authors and\/or illustrators influenced you as an early reader?<\/font><\/p>\n Komako<\/strong><\/font><\/strong>: Dick Bruna<\/a><\/strong>. The first book I was given was Miffy<\/a><\/strong><\/em> when I was perhaps 4 years old. I loved the illustrations of a pear and a pea in the book. <\/p>\n Jules<\/font><\/strong>: Any new titles\/projects you might be working on now that you can tell me about?<\/font><\/p>\n Komako<\/font><\/strong>: I am working on a picture book. The book is about “dawn.” <\/p>\n Jules<\/font><\/strong>: What’s one thing that most people don’t know about you?<\/font> <\/p>\n Komako<\/font><\/strong>: I can’t tell such a thing! <\/p>\n Jules<\/font><\/strong>: What is your favorite word?<\/font><\/p>\n Komako<\/font><\/strong>: “Take your time.” <\/p>\n Jules<\/font><\/strong>: What is your least favorite word?<\/font><\/p>\n Komako<\/font><\/strong>: “Hurry! Hurry!” <\/p>\n Jules<\/font><\/strong>: What gets you going creatively, spiritually or emotionally? What shuts you down creatively?<\/font> <\/p>\n Komako<\/font><\/strong>: A long period of bad weather makes me feel low. But I become cheerful when I see an evening shower or a small typhoon. <\/p>\n Jules<\/font><\/strong>: What sound or noise do you love?<\/font><\/p>\n Komako<\/font><\/strong>: The sound of trees rustling in the wind.<\/p>\n Jules<\/font><\/strong>: What sound or noise do you hate?<\/font> <\/p>\n Komako<\/font><\/strong>: The sound of a motor. <\/p>\n Jules<\/font><\/strong>: What profession other than your own would you like to attempt? What profession would you not like to try?<\/font><\/p>\n Komako<\/font><\/strong>: A job that has to do with calculating numbers would be impossible for me. I may not be capable of any profession, except for one in which I can draw and paint.<\/p>\n EMILY’S BALLOON. Copyright \u00a9 2006 by Komako Sakai. Reproduced by permission of the publisher, Chronicle Books, San Francisco.<\/em><\/p>\n Illustrations from THE SNOW DAY by Komako Sakai. Copyright 2009. Used with permission from Arthur A. Levine Books.<\/p>\n Illustrations from MAD AT MOMMY by Komako Sakai. Copyright 2010. Used with permission from Arthur A. Levine Books.<\/em><\/p>\n IN THE MEADOW. Text copyright \u00a9 2008 by Yukiko Kato. Illustrations copyright \u00a9 2008 by Komako Sakai. First American Edition \u00a9 2011. Reproduced by permission of the publisher, Enchanted Lion Books, Brooklyn, NY. (Images are re-posted here from this April 2011 7-Imp post<\/a><\/strong>.)<\/em><\/p>\n THE VELVETEEN RABBIT images are \u00a9 2012 by Komako Sakai and used with permission of Enchanted Lion Books.<\/em> <\/p>\nKomako is here this morning—with huge thanks to translator Yuki Kaneko (who also translated Yukiko Kato’s In the Meadow<\/a><\/strong><\/em>, which Sakai illustrated, and The Velveteen Rabbit<\/em>)—to share with me a cyber-bowl of rice, miso soup, and pickled vegetables. To the left is her self-portrait. <\/p>\n
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Really and truly? Really and truly.
Goodnight, honey.”<\/em><\/center><\/p>\n
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Hmm…do I want to go?”<\/em>
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(Enchanted Lion Books, 2011)<\/em><\/center><\/p>\n