Tales from the Rushmore Kid

Mary Ann Fraser - Illustration Tip of the Day

My good buddy, illustrator/author Mary Ann Fraser, is one busy and prolific girl, with over 60 books to her credit. I tracked down Mary Ann to give us an Illustration Tip of the Day.

Ten Orange Pumpkins - a Counting Book - Stephen Savage

When I was in New York last spring, my editor Steve Meltzer raved about this Halloween counting book.  When I saw Steve and Stephen at the book launch on Facebook I knew I wanted to interview this very talented illustrator/author.

Where did you get the idea for a Halloween Counting book?

My agent, Brenda Bowen, suggested it. The challenge was to make something more graphic and narrative than your average counting book. It was Brenda's idea to bring in 50's film noir, and I ran with it.

Who were your inspirations growing up as an artistic kid?

Alexander Calder was my hero. His museum retrospective "Calder's Universe" came to my hometown (Minneapolis) in 1976 and it blew my eleven-year-old mind. C'mon, the guy invented the mobile! I was really into graphic design, too. Classic mid-century logos such as those for PanAm airlines, Wonderbread and Kodak still get me excited.

Name a few of your favorite Kidlit books.

Some old favorites: HAROLD AND THE PURPLE CRAYON by Crocket Johnson, THE STORY OF BABAR by Jean de Brunhoff and GO, DOG, GO by P.D. Eastman.

Some new favorites: LEAVES by David Ezra Stein, EMILY'S BALLOON by Komako Sakai and ME…JANE by Patrick McDonnell.

What advice would you give illustrator/authors who want to be traditionally published in Kidlit?

I think it's important to master your craft before you try and jump into the big bad publishing world. That means making lots of pictures/writing lots of stories and getting feedback and guidance on the work from teachers and colleagues. It takes years to learn the art of storytelling. I love the example of the late great Maurice Sendak. He illustrated dozens of books before he illustrated (and wrote) his first published book, Where the Wild Things Are.

What is your favorite dessert and why?

Strawberry Rhubarb pie. It's that combination of sweet and tart.

Celebrate With Me! - Barbara Jean Hicks

I am so pleased to announce the release of my latest picture book--and my first book for Disney Press--on Tuesday October 1.

A SISTER MORE LIKE ME is a tie-in book for the new Disney animated feature FROZEN, inspired by the Snow Queen fairy tale. The movie releases Thanksgiving weekend.

Wherever you are, raise a glass with me on Tuesday! If you're in the Bellingham WA area, send me a message and I'll tell you where we're meeting up to celebrate in person.

Happy Mother's Day - Barbara Jean Hicks

from the social media files
of children's author and educator
Barbara Jean Hicks,
Guest Columnist

When holidays roll around, I usually share a poem that relates to it. Sunday is Mother's Day. Before I started looking for a piece for today's blog post, I read something written by my colleague and Facebook friend, children's author and illustrator Nina Laden, and it moved me so much that I decided I wanted to share it instead of a poem. I hope it moves you as it did me.

Nina lives in the great Pacific Northwest, which I am soon to call my permanent home. She is the author/illustrator of 15 picture books, including such great titles as The Night I Followed the Dog, Private I. Guana, When Pigasso Met Mootisse, Peek-A-Who?, Roberto the Insect Architect, An Ant's Day Off, and her most recent, Button Nose.

Nina's mother died when Nina was only 24. One of the things she left her daughter was a library of books, complete with handwritten notes. Recently Nina came across a letter her mom had written her and stuffed in a book of Walt Whitman's poetry. It's a wonderful love letter from a mom to her daughter, and Nina has kindly given me permission to share it. I hope you'll visit Nina's blog and read the entire post. It's lovely! And it's no wonder that Nina is a writer and artist.

Priscilla Burris - Illustration Tip of the Day

One of the most talented, generous, and wonderful members of the SCBWI board is Priscilla Burris. Illustrator of over ninety books, Priscilla has coordinated the illustrator area of the SCBWI for years. With a joyous heart, Priscilla gives her Illustrator Tip of the Day.

SCBWI Winter Conference - Interview with David Diaz

The SCBWI Winter Conference in New York City is always a blast. It gives me the opportunity to listen to and network with authors, illustrators and friends. This year at the Saturday night cocktail party, I pinned down my good bud, the fabulous Caldecott winner David Diaz, and interviewed him for the blog.

On Putting Yourself Out There - Barbara Jean Hicks

Between Tuesday and Thursday this week I traveled 2400 miles round trip by plane. I ended up with five plane changes, two one way and three the other. (Okay, they were small planes, but I admit, not quite as small as the one in the picture! And yes, that's me. The one on the right. As if you couldn't tell.)

We're talking five seat mates on this short business trip. Lots of opportunities to engage, make connections, be curious, find out things that might be useful to me as a writer. Right?

But that's not me. I'm reserved by nature. Shy. Self-effacing. Concerned about being a bother. So when I fly, I always have my Kindle and my iPad with me. I read. I play Scrabble. My electronic devices keep me from having to come up with something to say.

The downside is--not coming up with something to say keeps me from life. REAL life. Engaging, making connections, being curious, finding out things that might be useful to me as a writer--not to mention enrich my experience of life immensely.

Abelard and the Bad-Weather, Why-Bother Blues - Barbara Jean Hicks

Have you ever written a story that you just couldn't seem to sell to anyone but loved anyway? I can't even tell you how many years ago I started work on a story about a boy named Abelard, his Gran-Daddy Gill, and a cake that tasted like summer. At one point, Knopf had the manuscript for six months and seemed very interested; the art directors, my editor told me, were "salivating over it." Very exciting--but in the end, Knopf said "no." Then Random House (London) had it for months on end and even commissioned several artists to do sample illustrations. But again, in the end, RHUK said "no" as well. By that time, so much time had passed, and the picture book market seemed in such disarray, that I stopped shopping it.

Then I learned how to publish my out-of-print romance novels as ebooks and started to think, "Why not Abelard?"

Marla Frazee Illustrator - Blast from the Past Interview

Here's a Blast from the Past with an interview from Marla Frazee...

Marla Frazee and I attended Art Center together many years ago.  She was then as she is now, funny, kind, generous and very talented.  As an award winning illustrator/author, she fills her books with mirth and joy. This year at the SCBWI National Conference, Marla, with her editor, Allyn Johnston, gave an entertaining presentation on the process of creating a picture book.  I am so pleased that she agreed to be interviewed.

When and why did you start illustrating and writing for children?

I've wanted to be a children's book writer and illustrator since I was a little kid.

Rosa's Bus - Jo S. Kittinger - Steven Walker

Books to review come to me in different ways: sometimes from the author, sometimes from a librarian and sometimes from the publishing house.  That is what happened here when Calkin Creek sent me this book. I was tickled when I opened the envelope and found not only a great picture book, but saw that it was written by one of my SCBWI buddies, Jo S. Kittinger. Just when I thought there was no way to give the story of Rosa Parks a fresh new twist, Jo came up with one.

Rosa's Bus tells the tale of bus number 2857: how it rolled off the assembly line in 1948 and made it down to Montgomery, Alabama around the time the civil rights movement started. The bus had a moveable sign on the seats that indicated where colored people could sit; f they did not obey the bus rules, they could be arrested.

Jim Benton - Illustration Tip of the Day

Earlier this year I had the pleasure of listening to Jim Benton speak. He gave a hilarious presentation, which he ended by asking for ideas from the audience and drawing sketches that were later auctioned off. I highly recommend Jim to any region in the SCBWI looking for an entertaining speaker. Jim was kind enough to give us an Illustration Tip of the Day.

You can help the animals of the BP oil spill - Kelly Light

I met illustrator Kelly Light at the SCBWI National convention last summer.  We both have the same agent, Mark McVeigh.  Over this past year we have kept in touch.  I was moved by her commitment to stand up to the horrors of the oil spill and do something about it.  So I asked Kelly to guest blog and tell us about her project, Ripple to house the effort.

On June 3rd, the 44th day of the Deep Water Horizon oil spill, I was supposed to be finishing up my book dummy. Two thirds of the way there.... my lovely agent nudging me along... my pencil stopped. I sat in front of CNN--frozen--watching footage of a pelican with its wings outstretched and its huge, suitcase sized beak gaping, trying to take off and fly. It couldn’t fly because it was stuck in the oil soaked marsh. Its feathers were too heavy and clumped together. It looked so confused, and it broke my heart.

Kristi Valiant - Illustrator

Sometimes when I am checking the blog traffic I will find a site that interests me. This is how I came across illustrator Kristi Valiant. Her art was brilliant, so I asked her for an interview. As it turns out, Kristi has a recent picture book out that she illustrated, Cora Cooks Pancit. I give you Kristi Valiant.

When and why did you start illustrating for children?

When I was little, I was fascinated with the illustrations by Janet & Anne Grahame Johnstone in Dean's Mother Goose Book of Rhymes. God gave me the talent to draw, and those Mother Goose illustrations gave me the desire to work in children's books.

Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art

When I visited my relatives in Boston, I decided to travel a hundred miles south to the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art. The Very Hunger Caterpillar illustrator/author Eric Carle and his wife Barbara founded the museum in 2002. It is a fabulous museum honoring illustrators past and present who have worked in children's literature.  With a library, galleries and hands-on art studio for the kids, this is a wonderful place for families.  Here is the mission statement for the museum:

"The mission of The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art is to inspire, especially in children and their families, an appreciation for and an understanding of the art of the picture book.