Capital letters, cookies and being cool...

In part two of our Picture Book Picnic takeover by editor Maria Tunney, discover just what it is that makes Mo Willems' characters so quirky, hilarious and yet adorable...

Yelling

Mo writes in capital letters a LOT. If anyone follows our Twitter then they will know that we also have a particular penchant for writing in capital letters … for EMPHASIS. So, when we are VERY EXCITED we write in caps. With loads of exclamation marks!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Mo’s characters also throw themselves about very dramatically and do plenty of yelling. The Pigeon yells: “I ASK FOR THINGS ALL THE TIME!” and in the Elephant and Piggie book I am Invited to a Party they yell, “WE MUST BE READY!” Mo’s characters tend to bellow when they are at the point of “all-is-lost” or “this-is-so-great-I-can’t-control-myself”. These are both good times to holler and shout, we must agree. 

Duckling

She goes scooty-scoot-scoot with her little webbed feet and she goes flippy-flip-flap with her tiny duckling wings. She is the adorable arch-nemesis of the Pigeon. Why? Well, the pigeon demands things ALL THE TIME but with her bright twinkling eyes and impeccable manners, Duckling simply asks for a cookie and … she gets it! This is enough to send the Pigeon right to the edge of rage! But as innocent as this little duckling looks, the last spread in The Duckling Gets a Cookie!? reveals a hint of a very shrewd manipulator who knows EXACTLY how to get what she wants. Respect. 

Parents Love Mo

We had an author in the office recently who said that he has one rule when it comes to reading books at bedtime for his three children: “It has to be a book that I like to read, too.” Well, Mo Willems’ picture books are just right for adults. Nobody is perfect and these books are full of tiny crises (Trixie losing her Knuffle Bunny, Elephant and Piggie struggling to find the right clothes for a party, Pigeon lashing out at not being able to drive the bus) but, all the while, they are underpinned by true hilarity. Mo himself says: "I want parents to be engaged, and I want them to laugh, because then it's cool […] I think that sometimes parents forget that they are the coolest people in the world to kids ... so if they're enjoying reading a book, suddenly the kid is going to say, 'Wow, reading books is awesome!'”
Reading books IS awesome.
And do you know who is else is awesome? Mo Willems. True dat.



Get your hands on a copy of the brand new, hilarious Duckling Gets a Cookie!? by Mo Willems here.

Reasons we LOVE Mo Willems! (Part 1)

To celebrate the hilarious
new picture book Duckling Gets a Cookie, our very own picture book editor Maria Tunney reveals a few of the many reasons why the world just can't get enough of the wonderful Mo Willems! 

What is it about Mo Willems’ books that really hit the spot? That makes us giggle and point and hug the page with glee? (And this is just the grown-ups.) Across the board, Mo Willems has consistently created titles that connect with all ages; they fizz and sparkle with humour and emotion, firmly establishing themselves as book shelf staples in shops, libraries, schools and homes. With the latest of his Pigeon books Duckling Gets a Cookie!? publishing TODAY in the UK, here are a few of the reasons (there are MANY more) why we in the picture book team LOVE Mo Willems:

 The
Pigeon

You say “crazy pigeon”, we say “Mo Willems”. The Pigeon series (five in total) began with Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus and made Mo into a children’s literature rock star, earning him a prestigious Caldecott honour and a place at the top of several bestseller lists. These titles have spawned a very popular app, an activity book, board books, stuffed toys…

But what is so great about a pigeon? Well, this pigeon has FEELINGS. A LOT of feelings. In fact, in many of the pigeon books, the Pigeon expresses a whole spectrum of raw emotions − confusion, anger, defiance, sweetness, total rage, sorrow − all on one spread. With his huge eyeball, big round head and wings that are somehow totally simplistic in drawing and yet utterly expressive (he curls them into angry fists, he places his wing on his heart in plaintiveness, he drops them to his side in play-innocence), Mo’s Pigeon encompasses all the melodrama that most 4 years olds and adults (hey, we’ve all had stroppy moments) muster on a daily occasion.

Critics have said that Mo, as a writer and an illustrator, “understands the human condition” and the Pigeon books are a prime example. When refused a puppy in The Pigeon Wants a Puppy, the Pigeon says “Oh … I get it. You don’t want me to be happy, do you? You don’t want me to take a piggyback ride on my puppy!” Hands up if you can relate? We’ve all wondered why we didn’t get something and felt angry about it! There is great truth in these books and that is why we really love the pigeon.

 Elephant and Piggie

They have been described as the Vladimir and Estragon of children’s literature and the comparison to two of Beckett’s most celebrated stage characters is very apt indeed. The Elephant and Piggie books celebrate Mo’s love of dialogue and, without a doubt, have a touch of the absurd about them. They get themselves into absurd situations (Gerald: There is a bird on my head? Aaaaaaaaagghhh!!! Piggie: Now there are two birds. They are in love!) and each character approaches them with varying attitudes. Gerald evaluates the situation with a sceptical look and makes cautious suggestions; as Mo describes him, he’s “the glass is half full of poison kind of guy.” Piggie, on the other hand, GOES for it full throttle:

Piggie: Today I will fly!
Gerald: No. You will not fly today.
You will not fly tomorrow. You will not fly next week.
YOU WILL NEVER FLY!
Piggie: I will try. Goodbye.

These books are hilarious. They make for the funniest read alouds and are the perfect chapter books for a little child who has just begun to read by themselves or for an adult to read to a child, laughing all along the way. 



If that isn't enough, Maria has three more reasons to pick up a Mo Willems book, coming up in part 2 of her post next week! Stay tuned...

 

You're a Hero - picture book competition!

This week, to celebrate Jon Blake and Axel Scheffler's picture book You're a Hero, Daley B!', we're giving away a fun-filled Picture Book Picnic goody bag full of tasty treats for your little ones to get stuck into! 

The bag includes postcards, strickers, a Daley B activity sheet, a poster, a cookie-cutter and a copy of the gorgeous picture book, 'You're a Hero, Daley B!'. To enter, simply fill in your email address below and you could be our lucky winner!



Your details will not be shared with third parties and will only be used for the purpose of this competition. Open to residents of UK and ROI only. Please click here to view our full terms and conditions.

Closing date 30/04/2012. 

Closing date 31/04/2012. Open to residents of UK and ROI only. Subject to full Prize Draw Terms and Conditions

The making of a hero

This month, writer Jon Blake reveals how he came up with ideas for his hilarious book You're a Hero, Daley B!, inadvertently kicking off the career of the 'unknown, young illustrator', Axel Scheffler...

I was a writer of challenging young adult fiction when my editor at Walker, the late great Wendy Boase, asked me to have a go at writing a picture book.  I happened to have a doodle of a man in a helicopter hat with three rabbits on leads.   I wrote a story based on this.  It didn't work, so we cut two of the rabbits and the man in the hat.  That was the beginning of “Daley B”.



Wendy had given me a few picture books to look at.  One of them had stupid questions in it, such as “Did the dog sit on the ball?  Did the ball sit on the dog?”  That gave me the idea for the questions asked by Daley B.  I can't remember how the story evolved, but once I'd created a character as innocent and confused as Daley B, it was probably obvious I had to put him in a situation of grave danger.   But it was only after Walker had accepted the text that we decided what should happen when Jazzy D leapt at Daley B.  I then rewrote the story to make Daley B's big feet a central interest.



I'm sure the joke at the end occurred to me only after I'd written the line “You're a hero, Daley B!”   As I never tire of telling my creative writing students, you can never plan all that takes place in a story: things happen spontaneously in the act of writing which lead to the final vision of what the story should be – even in a picture book.

 

The first illustrator lined up for “Daley B” couldn't do the book.  Wendy and Jim the art editor then proposed an unknown young illustrator who they thought might do a good job.  His name was Axel Scheffler.   Axel's illustrations, with all their wit and innocence, turned out to be the perfect match for the story.  



“Daley B”, or “You're a Hero Daley B” as it became in the paperback version, is my most successful book, and though I still like to be known for my more grown-up fiction, such as “The Last Free Cat”, I am extremely proud of it.   It's very much me – I like to think no-one else could have possibly written it.  It's also a memorial to Wendy, who was such a great mentor to me, and whose sharp editorial eye was so vital to its success.





Can you draw yourself waterskiing like Daley B?

Have a go at this fun activity sheet!



You're a Hero, Daley B! by Jon Blake and Axel Scheffler is available to buy here.

A walk with Salvatore Rubbino...

Salvatore Rubbino takes us for a walk through the making of his new book, A Walk in London, in an exclusive guest blog post for Picture Book Picnic...

A Walk in London charts a real route through the city with the possibility that a family might walk this together, should they feel like an adventure, or as a read to be enjoyed at home as a virtual tour of London. The reader follows a mother and a daughter and their experience of landmarks, monuments and life at street level. 

As a Londoner I felt incredibly excited about making a book about my city but the challenge was to see London with fresh eyes. Drawing on location has always underpinned my work and helped me to understand things so I began exploring the city by drawing what I saw.


Londoners can sometimes take their city for granted, in fact I had never witnessed the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace until I started research for the book. When I joined hundreds of visitors for the spectacle of precision marching and brass bands, it was so thrilling I wondered in the end why I had waited so long; the queen even made an appearance. It was this experience that helped to form the ‘spot the royal family’ game I play with the reader through the book.

Collecting visual research was very enjoyable and I auditioned many places around London for a role in the book. Here are a few from my sketchbooks:

  

Trafalgar Square:

Lions at Trafalgar Square:

Houses of Parliament: 

The ‘Gherkin’ in the City of London:

 

 The Lloyds Building:

I could have happily carried on exploring and drawing but eventually decisions had to be made; decisions about what to include, what to say about London and how to organize everything into a coherent whole.

This sheet of small quick drawings records conversations between me and my publisher at an early stage of the book making process. Different ideas and a sense of structure is slowing taking place but there are still lots of gaps!

I wanted to show the things that excite me about living in London, the way that very old and very new buildings stand alongside each other, the way that traditions are still followed, the oasis offered by parks teeming with wildlife even in the centre of London and how it always seems to rain at the most inconvenient times. In fact London is full of wonderful contrasts if you look for them. The initial pictures for each page can vary a great deal from the final coloured artwork. Characters, themes and ideas evolve and it might take several attempts before I find the right solution. Here's an initial idea and the first page as it appears in the book. The characters are in the foreground on the right and have just arrived by bus.

An early version of St James’ Park together with the final artwork:

 

Rain descends on London and Londoners:

St Paul’s Cathedral and the interior:

 

I try to leave room for my imagination to play. Pictures can look very different between initial drawings and the final artwork. If I can continue to discover things and remain excited then hopefully some of that enthusiasm will come across and who knows, may even encourage the reader to go for a walk in London.

Can you find your way through the maze of London? 

Have a go at this fun activity sheet!

A Walk in London by Salvatore Rubbino is available to buy here.

Glowing reviews

Looking for a great new picture book to read? Check out the latest reviews of this month's tasty new Picture Book Picnic books to help you make your mind up...



 

Arthur’s Dream Boat by Polly Dunbar



With delicate and whimsically soft illustrations, this book perfectly captures a toddler’s enthusiasm.

Junior

  







Oh no, George! by Chris Haughton



Set to a gorgeously rich colour palette of purples, orange and deep crimson, this is a delightfully playful tale with minimal text but oodles of personality that shows how the best intentions can go awry.

Junior

Polly Dunbar on flying boats, print-making and dreaming...

Polly Dunbar gives us an exclusive insight into how she got the idea for her beautifully surreal new picture book, Arthur's Dreamboat.

 Tucked away in one of my old sketchbooks is a drawing of a little boy standing on Brighton beach looking out to sea. I noticed that the boat on the horizon was perfectly positioned to look like a hat on the little boy’s head. Idly, I doodled it down. Only I can see the boat hat, I thought,  it’s invisible to everyone else. 



Ah!  It must be a magic boat, a DREAM BOAT! Thus the idea for Arthur’s story floated into my head. 



I wrote a rough version, made a little dummy, thought it was a bit strange and then forgot about it. The good thing about leaving a story to ‘rest’ for a little while (or a long while) is that when you re-read, you can see it with fresh eyes. I dug this one out ten years later, brushed off the dust, thought - yes, this is a bit strange, but there’s something there. I could see how to make it work.



So I made some more dummies  -  cutting back the text in each one - until eventually the pictures carried  along most of the story of Arthur’s Dream. Happily, I moved back to Brighton seafront at the same time that I was due to start illustrating 

Dream Boat.

On the day I moved in I saw this kite in the sky. I’m always looking out for signs or clues and this was a good omen; it gave me the idea to have the Dream Boat flying off into the sunset, not just sailing.  



I spent a lot of time looking at the sea and sky from my window and wondering how I could capture the iridescent dazzle of the changing elements.

  

I wanted to go out with a piece of paper and take a print of the real view.  The next best thing was to experiment with  print -making, so I signed up for a course. After a few trials I ended up with a  combination of lino cut and mono printing. I wanted the sense of the water actually flowing into the book to give a real contrast to otherwise minimal backgrounds. I sprinkled maritime dream-like clues throughout the early pages;  the ‘fish net curtains’ are made by spraying through a tangerine bag.

The story hopefully conveys the power of imagination, Arthur is being ignored by his family, who are caught up in everyday life, plugged in or plugged out in some way. Arthur becomes so frustrated by his failure to get their attention that  he eventually shouts DREAM BOAT at the top of his voice. This is the turning point of the story,  the moment he utters a magic word or spell that changes everything.

Arthur’s dream finally seeps into the book. His family find themselves  up to their necks in his sea - a good time to believe in a dream boat. When they try to scramble aboard, Arthur isn’t so sure: should he let them on, or not?

 

Of course he does.  Arthur’s family are reunited aboard the ever growing dream boat and they sail away together.  The children I have read it to so far see nothing strange about it: some dreams are true if you think about them really hard, they say. Even better, write them down or draw picture.