The Writing Process Blog Tour Q&A, Part 1

Kate Sullivan, author/illustrator of On Linden Square, invited me to join the Blog Tour. Pourquoi pas?  I'm always interested in how others work. 

What am I currently working on? 
I'm finishing a sequel to Paris-Chien: adventures of an ex-pat dog. Hudson goes on vacation to the south of France and tries to fit in by doing the same things the provençal working dogs do. He fails, but ultimately finds his own unique voice.


How does my work differ from others of its genre?
Most picture books are illustrated after the text is finished. I start with images to tell a story. The words come later. Each painting could stand on its own. The storytelling is elliptical and impressionistic. Readers apply the connective tissue.

Why do I write what I write?
I write about my personal experiences and the dog is a vehicle to communicate my curiosity and the excitement I feel when I see new places.

How does my storytelling process work?
When I have an idea, I play with it and see what umages come to mind. Then I make notes and start storyboarding. I sketch from photos and from life--on buses, in cafes, parcs and airports. At home I'll sketch off the TV. I scan sketches into photoshop, move and tweak to create a composition, then print onto hot press paper and start painting with gouache. Sometimes I'll sketch directly on the paper. I've discovered that the looser the sketch, the better the painting. I like imperfection.

I scan the final painting and might tweak color or clean up in photoshop. As the story takes shape I make new images and retire others until the text and the pictures work together to maximum effect. On my first book my process was very much trial and error, with emphasis on the error. On the sequel, I have developed a more defined process. When it does come together, it's pretty exciting! 

Right now I'm traveling and away from my studio, but in mid-july I will post some images showing the process from sketch to painting. Check back or subscribe to be notified of new post.

I am passing the blog baton to my multi-talented friend Jil Picariello, author of Jessica Lost, who writes about cooking and reading at bibliocook.blogspot.com 

And K.G. Campbell, author/illustrator of Lester's Dreadful Sweaters and his latest The Mermaid and the Shoe, which just received a fab review from Betsy Bird of NYPL on her Fuse #8 blog! Keith also illustrated Flora and Ulysses, the winner of this year's Newbery Medal, written by Kate DiCamillo. Can't wait to read Keith's responses next week! Here is the link, http://kgcampbell.com/newsblog/

The Picture Book Review reviews Paris-Chien

Even if we didn't get this great review, we'd still love following The Picture Book Review! it's a great source for new books for kids 3 and up. 

Take one incredibly cute dog, Hudson, and bring him to Paris. Beautifully illustrate him and scenes around Paris in gouache. Teach him French so that he can talk with other French dogs and make friends.  Adroitly add French vocabulary throughout the story and Voilà! You have a fun and engaging masterpiece!

Ages 2+. La Librairie Parisienne.  June 2013. 40 pages. ISBN: 978-0615545424. Fiction. 

Where to Get it:

• Your local library: Worldcat.org
• Your local bookstore (affiliate link):  Indiebound.org
• Or (affiliate link): Amazon.com

You Should Read Paris-Chien because:

• Each page is a work of art.  Check out more pages here: http://jackiemancuso.com/Paris-Chien-the-book
• Hudson is adorable, accessible, and the perfect character to navigate living, learning, struggling, and succeeding.
• It teaches 20 words and phrases of French in a fun and seamless way.
• It actually inspires more questions about how to say things in French.
• It’s a great book for everyone to read before going into a new situation or where they won’t know anyone.
• It’s happy, upbeat, and fun.
• Hudson talks directly to the readers, which draws in even the most distracted child, and makes the story unique and personal.

How My Three-and-a Half-Year-Old Son Responded to Paris-Chien:

After reading Paris-Chien he immediately asked for four things:  A dog (not yet), to go to Paris (let me check airfare), to learn French (immediately starts looking for classes/online programs/anything I can find) and to read it again and again (Yes, absolutely!)  He was fascinated by the fact that French dogs can understand French. (It’s true!)  He wanted to know if dogs can really speak French.  (Not that I have seen, but I’ve been wrong before.)  He also thought it was wonderful that dogs can actually go into restaurants in Paris.  (I agree, kiddo.)  He wanted to know if we lived in an arrondissement, if we could paint our couch pink like the one in the book, and what an ex-pat is.  He then spent a fair amount of time running around saying, “Waaaaaaaaaaay!”

"Illustration is an act of courage." — James Mayhew

What author and illustrator James Mayhew had to say about Visual Literacy at the Asian Festival of Children’s Content at the National Library in Singapore,

"I then had to deliver a solo talk called Every Picture Tells a Story, looking at visual literacy. I wanted to show how children need images of depth and ambiguity and emotion if they were going to grow up sophisticated viewers of the world around them. As we wish children to develop as readers and tackle more vocabulary and more subtle inferences in more ambitious writing, so they should develop the ability to appreciate, interpret and understand image. 
 Many children's book illustrations make the mistake of being too simplistic, colourful, slick and shallow. They linger on the surface; they have no depth. I wanted to get across the importance of honest illustration, of being true to yourself as an artist. So many students in Cambridge, including those from Asia, fall back on being over-influenced. Generic, homogenised, cute… often their work is completely different to their sketchbook studies. To put it simply, they illustrate how they think children’s books should look, rather than could look."

Source: http://www.jamesmayhew.co.uk/2014/06/stories-from-singapore-part-one.html

I have been thinking about visual literacy while creating the images for my next book. Illustrations that are neither cute nor perfect, but have depth and emotion. I also recently discovered my book is in 43 libraries in Singapore.—JCM

This Picture Book Life

Danielle Davis writes a fun and informative blog, This Picture Book Life.

I discovered it when I saw Danielle had rated Paris-Chien on Goodreads, calling it "Chic and so much fun."

Danielle's photo of Anna Vaivare's mini book Swimming Pool led me to Fine Fine Books, which lead me to the website of kuš!, the publisher in Latvia where I could order the book. It came in a week.

I'm now a big fan of Anna Vaivare's work!

kuš!, pronounced "koosh!", is Latvia's Premier Indie Comics Publisher, - See more at: http://www.finefinebooks.com/2014/08/anna-vaivare-swimming-pool.html#sthash.bNf2Jd1E.dpuf

kuš!, pronounced "koosh!", is Latvia's Premier Indie Comics Publisher, - See more at: http://www.finefinebooks.com/2014/08/anna-vaivare-swimming-pool.html#sthash.bNf2Jd1E.dpuf

You can subscribe to This Picture Book Life, like I do, and receive a link to Danielle's picture book recommendations every week.
   

Borka: The Adventures of a Goose With No Feathers

We just discovered John Burningham.  L'art est magnifique.