Count from one to ten in This Little Piggy, or spot eight bright colours in Mary Had a Little Lamb! Two goofy board book twists on classic nursery rhymes from award-winning bookmaker, Jarvis!
From award-winning bookmaker Jarvis, the creator of Alan’s Big, Scary Teeth, Mrs Mole, I’m Home! and Tropical Terry, comes these fresh, very funny first number and colours books – perfect for sharing whilst wriggling tiny toes!
Today we have a very special Q&A with the author-illustrator himself:
Where did the ideas for these books come from?
When I started visiting schools and book festivals,
I quickly realised I would have to do more than read my latest book. So I
started to write poems (sometimes they go down better than the big stories!). Tanya
at Walker Books came to an event I did at the Tate Modern and she saw my poem
This Little Piggy (a topsy turvy version of the traditional ditty) and she
thought it could be a book. So I went away and very quickly wrote Mary Had a
Little Lamb to accompany it. The poems very naturally lend themselves to some early learning concepts,
so This Little Piggy has a counting theme and Mary Had A Little Lamb has a
colours theme. And that's the story behind them: sometimes school visits,
bookshops and festivals can be a great testing ground for new bits and
bobs.
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| Jarvis on a school visit in China. |
How did you come up with the style for the illustrations?
When I start a book I generally have no idea what it
should look like. I'm not the type of illustrator who creates magic from thin
air; I have to try things out. I ummm and arrr (and a bit of AARGH) before I
settle on a look. Often the story tells me what it should be like; it just
takes me time to get there. I love using traditional media and mixing it with
digital. I can never seem to get life into solely digital images, so by mixing
charcoal and flat fluorescent colours the style came together and felt
lively, natural and fun.
How I tell stories...
Often when I create books I think of how I will tell
it. Telling stories is perhaps my favourite part of being a children's book
maker. I like to try and make storytelling interactive and immersive. These board books are so fun to read
aloud, full of silly scenarios, sounds and actions, and I look forward to
taking Mary had a Little Lamb and This Little Piggy to schools,
festivals and libraries.
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| This Little Piggy being enjoyed by Ada, our very own editor Maria's daughter! |
