The Midnight Fair - Guest Author Post

We're thrilled to invite Gideon Sterer onto the Picture Book Party blog to tell us all about the making of his new book, The Midnight Fair, illustrated by Mariachiara Di Giorgio.

Far from the city, but not quite in the countryside, lies a fairground. When night falls, and the fair is empty, something unexpected happens. Wild animals emerge from the trees, a brave raccoon pulls a lever, and the rollercoasters and rides explode back into bright, neon life. Now it’s time for the woodland creatures to have some fun…

Guest Author Post - Gideon Sterer

For as long as I can remember I have been fascinated by where human civilization bumps up against the natural world and the liminal boundary both share. The edge of a cornfield against the woods. A shed overtaken by vines.  An old stone staircase disappeared by time. Many people share a fondness for this sort of thing but growing up in the last house on a dead-end road at the edge of legitimate wilderness, something about this dynamic really stuck with me.

 

Couple that with the fact that my parents owned a “wildlife discovery centre” and had all sorts of peculiar animals living with us inside our house and the traditional borders of man and wild were particularly skewed.

Once a year, like so many rural places in the United States, a County Fair came to town. Our fairgrounds more or less did nothing the rest of year, lying dormant until the big spectacle rolled in. I remember always wondering as a kid what the animals thought about this disruption. For them, I imagined, it must have been incomprehensibly bizarre. Naturally, I began wondering if they ever came in at night and checked it out and some 20 years later this book seems the logical conclusion of that curiosity.

It’s important for me to depict animals as curious, loving, intelligent and noble creatures deserving our utmost respect. In both the wild and captivity, animals of all stripes and sizes seek out play, deriving from it the same joys we do. There's no reason to believe their experiences are any less valuable. My dream is that children experiencing this story can empathize with and feel kindred to the animals as they seek wonder, share love, and chase their noses in search of a grand old time. Multiple character storylines and an incredibly virtuous wolf pup will hopefully abet that hope!

To me, what Marichiara Di Gorgio has done with the concept is literally breathtaking. I am legitimately floored every time I open the book and the degree of emotional detail and overall watercolour wizardry is something to truly behold. I am so massively lucky to work with her and I can’t wait for readers to share her world!

- Gideon Sterer

A special thanks to our guest author this week, Gideon Sterer!

The Midnight Fair is now available to buy from all good booksellers.

Rain Before Rainbows - Guest Illustrator Post

 It is a real treat to invite David Litchfield onto the Picture Book Party blog to tell us all about the making of his new book, Rain Before Rainbows, written by Smriti Halls.

Rain before rainbows. Clouds before sun.
Night before daybreak. A new day’s begun.

A girl and her companion fox travel together from a place of loss and despair, through uncertain times, towards the hope of colour, light and life. Along the way, they find friends to guide and support them. Together, they build a glorious future and discover there is a way out of the darkness, into the light of the rainbow. A book with immense hope at its heart, this is a positive message for anyone who’s ever gone through a tough time.

Guest Illustrator Post - David Litchfield

How did you decide on the look of the book?

 Myself, Smriti and the Walker Books team discussed the idea that the book should start out very dark with very little colour. As you turn the page and the story progresses we wanted to add more colour and light until the last spread is an explosion of colourful hues and joy.

I also wanted to keep the characters quite small on the page throughout the book. I felt that the locations and landscapes The Girl & The Fox are passing through were a very important part of the narrative so I wanted to give them as much space as possible.

All of the textures that make up the backgrounds came about from experimenting with watercolours and acrylic paints. I spent a messy few hours just covering pages and pages of paper in different colours and letting them bleed into each other. I then scanned these into my computer and overlayed them on Photoshop. So a lot of the textures came about by chance really. It’s a fun way of working and it’s exciting to sort of not know exactly how it is going to look and not be 100% in control of the outcome.

 Tell us a little bit more about your illustration process.

I mainly work in my studio in Bedford. I share it with a chap called Sam Gilbey who is also an illustrator. We have very different styles and work on very different projects, but it's great to have someone to run ideas past and discuss work with.

For most projects I produce a new set of these textured pages. I like to have a new set for each new book so that each story looks and feels fresh and unique. So for the first part of a project, I will spend time just having fun with paint and other materials.

At the same time I will be sketching out ideas in my sketchbook based on the text of the book. This is where the characters start to form and the imagery for each page starts to develop. I love working in sketchbooks as there are no rules at that stage. Those drawings are just for you and can be as scruffy and as messy as you like. These are important stages as you can freely get the ideas in your head onto the paper without fear of any criticism or judgement.

Once the idea started to hone itself through these sketches I start to put together a slightly less scruffy ‘rough’ version of the whole book. I then speak to the author, the Editorial team and art director and go through what I have done and take on board their suggestions too.

Once everyone is happy with the rough I then make a start on the final art for the book.

That’s a general rundown of how it usually works. Each project is always slightly different but always along those general lines. On average a book will take 3 to 4 months to create from the first sketch to the final piece of design. 

What is your favourite thing to draw?

I loved drawing The Fox in Rain Before Rainbows. In the story, The Fox is a calming presence throughout and gives the girl confidence and hope. I actually found The Fox quite a calming thing to draw as well. His expression doesn’t change too much throughout the book and he just seems incredibly chilled indeed (apart from in 1 or 2 highly dramatic scenes in the book). I love the texture on his fur. Again, this came about through experimenting with overlaying textures and I think might have even been a bit of an accident. I was seeing what he looked like with different painty textures that looked a bit like fur and I accidentally overlayed the pencil drawing of plants. I discovered that he looked really cool with these plants almost tattooed on him, so I kept it.

A happy accident definitely.   

What was your favourite spread to illustrate?

Oh I have a few actually. The misty dragons spread was incredibly fun to draw. It is just so dramatic and action-packed. The Girl and The Fox look incredibly tough in this spread. Like two warriors fighting off evil.

I also like the sea spread for similar reasons. It’s really action-packed.

But, my favourite spread is towards the end and is the image that is split into 4 sections. The girl is sowing seeds and The Fox is just sitting peacefully watching the sunrise and the seasons changing.

There’s a real calmness and quiet contentment to them both that we haven’t seen in the story up to this point.

I can imagine them being in that scene for a long time not saying a word to each other but just feeling happy enjoying those quiet moments together. 

  

What was your favourite picture book when you were a child?

I remember the exact moment I first saw Where The Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak. I was 6 years old in my Primary School and our teacher Mrs Bunnage gathered us all together on the mat to read a story. She held up Where The Wild Things Are and I was instantly transfixed. The drawings were like looking into a brand new world and were something totally new and exciting to me.

Sendak’s very unique etched style of drawing but also these crazy characters and colourful locations were - and still 100% are - completely mesmerising to me. I was totally taken out of school, out of my little town and transported into that magic world that Maurice Sendak invented.

I think that was the moment I saw how powerful drawings can be and also how books and stories can transport you to a completely different place.

My mum bought me a copy of Where The Wild Things Are soon after that first reading. I still have that copy too. It’s very old now and mainly held together by sellotape but it is still a very treasured possession of mine.

- David Litchfield

A special thanks to our guest illustrator this week, David Litchfield!

Rain Before Rainbows is now available to buy from all good booksellers.

Pick a Pumpkin by Patricia Toht, illustrated by Jarvis

Pick a Pumpkin by Patricia Toht, illustrated by Jarvis, available in paperback where all good books are sold! 

It’s Halloween! Which means it's time to dangle cobwebs and bats from the windows, put on costumes, and – most important of all – visit the pumpkin patch and pick out that perfect pumpkin! 

Then cart it home, scoop out the insides, carve a scary face, and finally light a candle inside, transforming it into a one-of-a-kind, glowing jack-o’-lantern...

With warm, autumnal art, this is the perfect book to share by flickering candlelight on the spookiest night of the year.

Reviews:

“[…] perfectly captures that sense of misty autumnal days […] Warm autumnal colours and a rhythmic rhyming text capture the fun and excitement of Halloween.” - The Bookseller, Children's Previews

"Sumptuous production... this feels like a real treat of a book – as sweet as a toffee apple and as warm as hot chocolate. It's one to share on a crisp October night and to treasure, year after year." - BookTrust

Click here to download our Pick a Pumpkin activity sheets!

Watch our trailer pumpkin-filled trailer below:

Halloween Highlights

Get spooky this October with our top Halloween picture books!

Give Me Back My Bones!

by Kim Norman and illustrated by Bob Kolar

Cast a spyglass ’round here, while breakers curl and pound here. There’s treasure to be found here – I feel it in my bones!

A stormy night at sea has uncovered some long-buried secrets and surprises. Is that the mast of a shipwreck? A faded pirate hat? And what’s that hiding in the sand? A mandible and a clavicle, phalanges and femurs, a tibia and a fibula – could there be a complete set of bones scattered across the ocean floor? And who might they belong to?

Now out in paperback!

Monster Food

by Daisy Hirst

Some monsters eat peaches, some monsters eat pears, and then there are monsters who only eat chairs. Some monsters like noodles, some monsters like stew but this little monster is eating a shoe. Daisy Hirst's adorable, cheeky monsters are guaranteed to make little children chuckle! For picky eaters, I-like-everything eaters and I-might-have-liked-it-yesterday-but-I-don't-like-it-today eaters alike!

Now out in hardback!

Monster Clothes

by Daisy Hirst

When monsters get up in the morning, they have to find something to wear. Simon wears socks, Darrell puts on a dress and Terrence tries on a tomato. Meanwhile, Cassie is wearing cars and Lester has the latest fashion – leaves! Daisy's adorable, cheeky little monsters try all sorts of hilarious combinations of clothes that little children won't be able to resist.

Now out in hardback!

The Haunted Lake

by P. J. Lynch

Jacob's father was a farmer, but after their river is dammed and their town is flooded, Jacob takes to fishing the new lake over the town. A village girl falls in love with him, and he with her. A year before they're to be married, Jacob disappears into the lake, lured underwater by the ghosts who inhabit the sunken village. For fifteen years, his fiancee fishes the lake and searches for her love while Jacob lives, unaging, with the ghosts. It's only when Lilith, leader of the ghosts, wants to marry Jacob, that he remembers his love for the girl above the lake and can break free to the surface, where his fiancee is able to rescue him – and, at last, to marry her love.

Now out in hardback!

Hide & Seek

by Katie May Green

A midsummer moon shines on Shiverhawk Hall, where portraits of children come alive on the wall... As night falls, and the DeVillechild twins are nowhere to be seen, the other children escape their frames in search of two girls in white dresses – and, possibly, a midnight game in the garden. Out in the night air, through the maze, and into the woods they go, looking for their mysterious friends. Will they be able to find the twins before the sun rises?

Now out in paperback!

Gustavo, The Shy Ghost

by Flavia Z. Drogo

Gustavo is a ghost. He is good at doing all sorts of paranormal things, like walking through walls, making objects fly and glowing in the dark. And he loves playing beautiful music on his violin. But Gustavo also has a problem. He is SHY. Which means some things are harder for him to do, like getting in a line to buy eye-scream or talking to the other monsters. But Gustavo longs to be a part of something, he longs to be seen. More than anything, he wants to make a friend. So, plucking up all his courage, he sends a very special letter: “Dear Monsters, I would like to invite you to my violin concert at the Day of the Dead party…”

Click here to download our Gustavo, The Shy Ghost activity sheets! 

Now out in hardback!

Gustavo, The Shy Ghost - Q&A with Flavia Z Drago

We have the perfect Halloween reading for you all as we welcome Flavia Z Drago to Picture Book Party to tell us more about creating her new picture book, Gustavo, The Shy Ghost.

Gustavo, The Shy Ghost out now in hardback! 

Click here to download our Gustavo, The Shy Ghost activity sheets! 

Q. What was the inspiration behind Gustavo, the Shy Ghost? 

A. The idea for the story came from a tweet I wrote in 2016 when I was thinking about the reason behind ghosts wearing sheets ‘It must be because they are shy’, I thought. And so, the idea for Gustavo, The Shy Ghost popped into my head. 

When I first started working, I wasn’t sure if I wanted Gustavo to be a boy disguised as a ghost who in the end takes off his sheet to show the others who he really is, or if he was going to be an actual ghost living in a world full of monsters. 

However, as soon as I started sketching, I discovered that as a real ghost, Gustavo could do all sorts of fun stuff, like walking through walls, making objects fly, and glowing in the dark. Also, as a real ghost, he was able to shape-shift into different things, which really helped the story development, and in the end, he reveals his true self anyway!

When I was a child, I used to be as shy as Gustavo is. In kindergarten, during lunch breaks and parties, I used to sit alone and wonder how other children could talk and play with each other so easily. The illustration where Gustavo is looking at the monsters from the balcony is my favourite one because - happily, or sadly, I’m not sure - it’s based on my own experience as a child.

A young Flavia

Q. How long was the process for writing and illustrating Gustavo? 

A. Finishing the whole book took about ten months in total.

Q. Which came easier, the illustrations or the words? What is your creative process like? 

A. First, I started by making loads of tiny drawings with all the ideas that came to my head about Gustavo. I drew the things that he likes and dislikes, his friends, his family, his house, and the world in which he lives. The more I drew, the better I could articulate how his story was going to evolve and end. If I can draw it, I can tell it!

Once I had all my sketches, I scanned and organised them into a pdf, where I mixed the images along with the texts. This gave me a more accurate sense on how the images and words could interact with one another. Sometimes I can have many ideas, but only when I see them on paper, I am capable of really knowing which ones will work, and which ones won’t. 

For the final artwork, I created my images with pencil and ink, then I scanned and coloured them on Photoshop. With this process I can get the lovely textures from the traditional media, and I can control and edit as much as I like. Creating the final artwork is always my favourite bit of the process because I get to listen to loads of podcasts, music, and even TV shows or movies as I draw.

Q. What is your work set up/studio like? 

A. Right now, my working space is my own bedroom. I own a laptop and a small Wacom (interactive pen display) because, before this covid disaster happened, I loved traveling and living in different cities, so being able to transport my office with me is essential. 

Q. Finally, what are your favourite recent picture books? 

A. My favourite new picturebook is Les choses qui vont by Beatrice Alemagna, she’s a brilliant artist and a very original storyteller! I also like very much all books by Jon Klassen, Carson Ellis, Anushka Allepuz, Keith Negley and Marta Altés. 

Thank you to Flavia for joining us on Picture Book Party. Gustavo, The Shy Ghost is out now where all good books are sold! 

Make sure to watch our behind the scenes video with Flavia below:

Autumn Highlights

Here are some of our favourites from over the last few months, all available now where all good books are sold! Also, make sure to click here and see our highlights publishing in October.  

The House by the Lake

by Thomas Harding and illustrated by Britta Teckentrup

Thomas Harding first shared this remarkable story in his Costa-shortlisted biography The House by the Lake – now he has rendered it into a deeply moving picture book for young readers. On the outskirts of Berlin, a wooden cottage stands on the shore of a lake. Over the course of a century, this little house played host to a loving Jewish family, a renowned Nazi composer, wartime refugees and a Stasi informant; in that time, a world war came and went, and the Berlin Wall was built a stone's throw from the cottage's back door. With words that read like a haunting fairy tale and magnificent illustrations by Britta Teckentrup, this is the astonishing true story of the house by the lake.

You can now read both our guest author and illustrator blog posts here - Thomas Harding & Britta Teckentrup

Norse Tales: Stores From Across the Rainbow Bridge

by Kevin Crossley-Holland and illustrated by Jeffrey Alan Love

Enter an ancient world of green glades and glaciers, where gods and goddesses spread their magic whilst rock-giants and mountain-trolls roam. This astonishing new collection of Norse tales from the award-winning Kevin Crossley-Holland – with Jeffrey Alan Love’s arresting illustrations – will enthral readers of all ages.

You can now read both our guest author and illustrator blog posts here - 

Kevin Crossley-Holland & Jeffrey Alan Love

Rain Before Rainbows

by Smriti Halls and illustrated by David Litchfield

Rain before rainbows. Clouds before sun.

Night before daybreak. A new day’s begun.

A girl and her companion fox travel together from a place of loss and despair, through uncertain times, towards the hope of colour, light and life. Along the way, they find friends to guide and support them. Together, they build a glorious future and discover there is a way out of the darkness, into the light of the rainbow. A book with immense hope at its heart, this is a positive message for anyone who’s ever gone through a tough time.

Click here to download our Rain Before Rainbows Activity Sheets!

Gustavo, the Shy Ghost!

by Flavia Z. Drogo

Gustavo is a ghost. He is good at doing all sorts of paranormal things, like walking through walls, making objects fly and glowing in the dark. And he loves playing beautiful music on his violin. But Gustavo also has a problem. He is SHY. Which means some things are harder for him to do, like getting in a line to buy eye-scream or talking to the other monsters. But Gustavo longs to be a part of something, he longs to be seen. More than anything, he wants to make a friend. So, plucking up all his courage, he sends a very special letter: “Dear Monsters, I would like to invite you to my violin concert at the Day of the Dead party…”

Click here to download our Gustavo, the Shy Ghost! Activity Sheets!

Ride the Wind

by Nicola Davies and Salvatore Rubbino

Javier has a secret. On one of his father’s fishing trips, he finds an albatross caught on the hooks – alive, if only barely. Against his father’s orders, Javier smuggles the bird to safety and begins nursing it back to health. Every day the albatross accepts a little more food, but she shows no sign of wanting to use her wings. And if Javier's new friend refuses to fly, how will she ever find her way home? With words by award-winning author Nicola Davies and dramatic watercolours by Salvatore Rubbino, this is a beautiful story about the power of empathy.

You can now read both our guest author and illustrator blog posts here - 

Nicola Davies & Salvatore Rubbino

Julian at the Wedding - Q&A with Jessica Love

We are delighted, nay ecstatic, to invite Jessica Love, author-illustrator of the award-winning Julian is a Mermaid, onto Picture Book Party to tell us all about the making of her new book, Julian at the Wedding. Make sure to enter our Julian at the Wedding competition over on our WalkerBooksUK Twitter. 

The lovely cover from Julian at the Wedding

What was your inspiration behind Julian at the Wedding?

In my books I think I'm trying to create a feeling more than I'm trying to teach a lesson or explain something. The feeling I was trying to evoke in this story is that thrill of being a kid at a "grown up" party--so often magic is confined to the domain of childhood. Weddings are one of the special occasions in which adults participate in the magic too--they dress up, they drink, they dance and everybody is so happy and stays up late...I wanted to create that feeling.

"A wedding is a party for love."

Everyone is going to love Marisol! Was she inspired by anyone you know?

She is inspired by every exuberant tomboy I've ever known — every girl who felt confined in her dress and wanted to take off her trousers and climb trees and run around like a maniac. She is a tribute to that wild, little-girl spirit before all those lessons about being nice, being helpful, being pretty — are metabolized.

Julian and Marisol, and Gloria the dog

What was your writing and illustrating process for Julian at the Wedding? Did it differ to when you were writing Julian is a Mermaid?

I was able to live with Julian is a Mermaid for along time, all on my own, and so it was able to cook at its own pace. It was definitely more stressful making this story. However, my source of inspiration—New York and New Yorkers—was as rich as ever. My process involves a lot of sitting on benches and subways and drawing people.

Julian is a Mermaid, now out in paperback!

What has been your favourite moment over the past few years as Julian has made his way out into the world?

I have met so many incredible mermaids—some of them are kids, and some of them are grown—it's really difficult to pick one moment. There is an incredible kindergarten teacher in Brooklyn named Vera Ahiyya (@thetututeacher on instagram) who was the very first teacher to reach out and ask me to visit their school. It was an amazing day getting to talk to this auditorium full of kids about drawing, dress-up and imagination. Then, at the end of the year, Vera's students gifted her a tattoo of Julián with a local tattoo artist. So now Julián swims on Vera's arm.

Interior spread from Julian is a Mermaid

What has been your most recent favourite picture book?

The Oldest Student: How Mary Walker Learned to Read, by Rita Lorraine Hubbard, illustrated by Oge Mora. It's beautiful. 

Click here to download our fabulous Julian at the Wedding Activity Sheets.

Thank you to Jessica Love for joining us on Picture Book Party. Julian at the Wedding is available to buy where all good books are sold!