3D Review - How the Library (not the prince) Saved Rapunzel - Author Interview with Wendy Meddour

Wendy Meddour was brought up in Aberystwyth and spent many years teaching English at Oxford University. Her debut children’s book, A Hen in the Wardrobe, won the John C Laurence award for improving relations between the races and was shortlisted for the Branford Boase Award for an outstanding first novel. She went onto publish the bestselling & internationally acclaimed Wendy Quill series – and loves nothing better than writing rhyming picture books.

What was your favourite children’s book as a child?

I’ve got lots. Something amazing happened when I read The Great Smile Robbery by Roger McGough, and Hunter Davies’ Flossie Teacake Strikes Back and Antoine de Saint-Exupéry The Little Prince were pure magic. And my dad used to read me fairy tales and poetry every night, so I can blame him for quite a lot.

What is your favourite children’s book as an adult?

I’m always amazed by the wisdom of Winnie the Pooh. And Alice in Wonderland is a joy. Oh, and Chris Riddell’s Ottoline books are things of great beauty.

What do you think makes children’s books so inspirational?

Children’s books are like extra-virgin olive oil: the finely squeezed bits that remain when all the rubbish has been thrown away. Children are the most exciting of all readers; they delight in honesty, imagination, and excitement - the refined stuff. So every word has to be there for a reason. This is what makes children’s books magic.

Wendy (centre) at the launch party of 'How the Library (not the prince) Saved Rapunzel' with her editor - Janetta Otter-Barry and illustrator Rebecca Ashdown. 

Why did you start writing for children?

When I was 33.

What made you want to write this book?

I’d like to say I wrote it because I wanted to help save our libraries – which I absolutely do!!! But that’s not exactly the reason I wrote it. No. The honest answer is this: I wanted to write it because I had heat stroke and my brain wouldn’t let me think about anything else. You see, I was burning up in the top floor of a city flat in the Algeria. It was 52 degrees outside and the flat was surrounded by forest fires. It was probably some sort of coping mechanism – but my mind began to imagine that I was Rapunzel – stuck in the tower – with no means of escape. I could barely breathe. ‘How the Library (not the Prince) saved Rapunzel’ started to flow – I couldn’t stop it. Books and writing had always helped me in a crisis. Books would save Rapunzel too!!!! (And whilst I was writing like a loon, a Prince didn’t show up. But an old Berber lady called ‘Zarfa’ did. She put some bags of frozen chick-peas on my head and down my top, put my feet in a bucket of ice-cold water, and gave me lemon juice with honey to drink.) Slowly, my temperature came down and I survived to tell the tale. Quite literally. I came home in one piece. Just. And Frances Lincoln decided to publish the book.

What is your favourite aspect of writing for children?

That there are no frontiers.

What is the biggest challenge in crafting a story with such a small word count?

Getting it right, I suppose. Making sure it’s refined enough. And in my case, funny. I do like a little bit of humour.

Why did you choose Rapunzel as character to work with?

I didn’t choose her. She chose me.

What are the challenges of using a well-established fairytale character?

I don’t know. I didn’t think there were any.

What is your favourite fairytale and why?

Not sure about this one. Fairy tales are wonderful, necessary, seductive things that do curious things with our imagination. They need to exist and most of them can send me into a trance. But they’re nearly always tinged with sadness. Or they end with a wedding and a prince! (Oh! Same thing. Hehehe). That’s why they need to be rewritten. With jolly, inspiring, heroine-centred endings. You know, like Rapunzel getting a job at the library and learning to play the bassoon!

‘So don’t just wait for your Prince to show

He might turn up but you never know.

Pop down to your library and borrow a book –

There’s SO MUCH to find out if only you look.

But don’t just sit and wait and stare …

When there’s more to life than growing your hair!’

3D Review - How the Library (not the prince) Saved Rapunzel - Illustrator Interview with Rebecca Ashdown

Rebecca was born in Chichester on the south coast and grew up right by the sea. She has always had a passion for making art. Now, after years of working as a graphic & motion designer, filmmaker and vector artist, she has returned to her first love; writing and illustrating children’s books.

What was your favourite children’s book as a child?

I’m going to cheat here! Both ‘Where The Wild Things Are’ by Maurice Sendak and ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’ by Eric Carle have always been firm favourites. I adored my first Richard Scarry book, which was a Christmas present, and I couldn’t possibly leave out The Mr Men!

I read a lot of fiction - ‘Tom’s Midnight Garden’ by Phillipa Pearce and other tales by Alan Garner and Ursula LeGuin. Living with a library at the end of my road really helped.

What is your favourite children’s book as an adult?

Again, I could never choose one favourite but two of my picture book heroes are John Burningham and David McKee who both have a wonderful, witty perspective on childhood experience. I’m a big fan of Sara Fanelli, too. For older children, Eva Ibbotson is just magical and Patrick Ness is completely enthralling.

What do you think makes children’s books so inspirational?

I think that reading a good book inspires a feeling of belonging - a sort of empathy. We’re invited into a world and to experience it alongside real characters. We aren’t passive onlookers - reading is a two-way conversation. These adventures can be as exhilarating as a real life.

Did you always want to be an illustrator?

Yes! I still have a book of poems that I wrote and aged 9. They are all illustrated and bound, complete with decorative cover. I entered a lot of art competitions as a child, too, which was a great way to find out what other people thought about my pictures.

How did you become an illustrator?

I’ve always drawn a lot, ever since I was tiny. So, after a Foundation course, I trained in illustration up to Masters level. During my final year, I began working for BBC Education as an illustrator for their online educational games site. This led me into becoming a web and print designer for many years, then later into animation and filmmaking. But I never stopped drawing.

It was only after I’d had my own children and began reading the books I’d always loved, that my real passion was reignited. I was taken on by The Bright Agency in 2013, who expertly guided me into the world of publishing. It’s great to have experienced two very different career paths to get to this point.

 

What is it like visualising other people’s characters?

It’s great fun. It’s a bit like being a detective, with no right answer! Sometimes there are clues in the story, which suggest ideas for a character. Certain texts just throw up an immediate image and sometimes a publisher or author might have their own ideas or starting point. Either way, imagination always plays a big part. In many ways, fresh eyes make it a lot easier than working with a text I’ve written.

Can you please explain a bit about your process of illustration?

Well, every project is different. For me, there’s a lot of emphasis on the characters, as I want them to be believable. So, I think of them as puppets in a theatre and have certain questions as I draw them; how do they move, dance, sleep etc. Then I have to create the scenery, the props and so on, until it becomes a small stage; a little world.

Drawing is central. The more I draw something, the more familiar it becomes - which gives the line more energy and fun. I use a variety of media but I try to infuse the illustrations with as much spontaneity and life as I can, regardless of the final look and feel.

What is your favourite fairytale?

Tricky! I’m really fond of Hans Christian Andersen’s Fairy Tales. ‘The Little Match Girl’ is a favourite, although terribly sad. I’d recommend Angela Carter’s books to bigger children who prefer a darker fairy tale experience!

3D Review - Reviews - How the Library (not the prince) Saved Rapunzel – Wendy Meddour & Rebecca Ashdown

February sees both ’National Library Day’ (7th) and ‘National Tell a Fairy Tale Day’ (26th) so we at Space on the Bookshelf thought very hard, and decided to treat you to a 3D review which celebrates both Libraries and Fairytales. So here we start off our second 3D review for 2015, with a fantastic picture book, ‘How the Library (not the prince) Saved Rapunzel’ by Wendy Meddour and Rebecca Ashdown. Today we start with the reviews, and over the next few days, we’ll post the author and illustrator interviews.

Adult Review

To confess the title alone had me hooked; ‘How the Library (not the prince) Saved Rapunzel’, as I love both books and fairy tales, and it didn't disappoint. The cover is vibrant and fun, and it is refreshing to see Rapunzel depicted as being a red-head rather than the usual Disney-esk blonde. Instantly the cover draws you in to a fabulous fun tale that has subtle yet positive mortal messages, and like all good fairy tales warnings.

The books waves the tale of Rapunzel isolated on the sixteenth floor of a tower box who is lonely and unmotivated as

‘She had nowhere to go. She had nothing to prove.’ 

All her friends and family, are too busy to climb the stairs to the sixteenth floor to see her, and instead just call up to see if she is ok, but when she doesn’t respond go about their business. Even the appearance of a suitor bringing roses and chocolates can coax Rapunzel down,

‘With the wind in his hair and blowing his hooter, along came the prince on the back of his scooter’.

When Rapunzel’s friends and family come together concerned that;

‘without lunch or dinner, Rapunzel was starting to get a bit thinner.’

So they make the journey up the stair to visit her and deliver a letter that Rapunzel shakes of her gloomy disposition. With her new job and purpose,

 “She had somewhere to go. She had something to prove.” 

Rapunzel quickly becomes a beloved librarian, and becomes motivated taking inspiration from the many books she reads from the library.

‘How the Library (not the prince) Saved Rapunzel’, is a beautiful book with exquisite illustrations by Rebecca Ashdown, that are full of energy and work perfectly with Wendy Meddour’s story. I believe this book is a great teaching tool for children, showing them the virtue of libraries, plus giving the subtle ‘fairy-tale warning’ about the dangers of sitting around and losing your self-esteem.

However, I think the real strength and beauty of this book is the dealing with isolation and depression. Showing that sometimes when someone is isolated and down, that taking time out of a busy schedule to an extra step (or flight of steps) to visit them, and show your friendship can be very valuable.

Review by Hannah aged 6

Rapunzel lives on the sixteenth floor of a high rise block and when people come to visit her just sits there and does nothing. Even the prince doesn’t make any difference. However when some visitors come up the stairs to see her she found out that she has a new job at the library and EVERYTHING changes…

My favourite bit was when Rapunzel found out she had a job. I think you’d like this is you like the books ‘The Mummy Shop’ (by Abbie Longstaff and Lauren Beard) and ‘Mr Wolf and the Enormous Turnip’ (by Jan Fearnley). I also think people should read this book because it has an unexpected ending!

3D Review; Callum Fox and the Mousehole Ghost - Book Designer Interview with Jane Dixon-Smith

Continuing our first ever 3D review of a self published book, Callum Fox and the Mousehole Ghost, we thought very hard about our third blog, as usually we'd interview the books editor. As the cover for book is so striking we thought we'd interview the book designer. So we have another first for you this week, as we present our first ever interview with a book designer, Jane Dixon-Smith!

JD Smith is primarily a book designer. She is also the author of Tristan and Iseult and The Rise of Zenobia, The Fate of an Emperor, editor of Words with JAM and Bookmuse, and the mother of three mischievous boys. Her can browse her website, and find her on Facebook.

What was your favourite children’s book as a child?

The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, as well as many others. I loved the magical aspect of it, the venturing through a wardrobe and into another land full of creature who talked and perpetual winter.

What is your favourite children’s book as an adult?

Harry Potter sounds so cliche but I do love the series. The Gruffalo too.

What do you think makes children’s books so inspirational?

I think they have a massive universal appeal, and they have to, because children's books are read by both children and adults - adults reading for, with and listening to their children.

How did you become a book designer?

I began working for a graphic design agency when I was 17. We designed all sorts of corporate literature, company branding and so on. We did a few books, and an awful lot of magazine and brochure covers. I also wrote fiction as a hobby and ran the writers' ezine Words with JAM. So when I was made redundant 12 years later and went freelance, I naturally ended up working on a lot of books. I still work on other bits and pieces but predominantly I'll immersed in the book world and I love it.

Why do you think book covers are important?

I've always said that a cover is important if an author or publisher wants to give a book it's best possible chance of commercial success. Readers do judge books by their covers, and not just for their quality, but also to gauge what's inside, whether or not they'll like the story, what books it might be similar to etc. It's a first impression with many different judgement made. That said, it depends on the reasons for publishing. Some authors who are self-publishing are really only doing it for themselves, the commercial success isn't important.

Please can you tell us 3 examples of your favourite all time book designs and why you think they are so good. 

Gosh. You know, I've never been asked that and it's hugely tricky. Three of my own would be The Lady's Favour. This one is so very sumptuous, and as I'm a big fan of anything historical, and especially Tudor England, this one really strikes me. Yellow Horizon is a fantasy novel and I love the the colours, the blending, and the way the images gel together. Amara's Daughter is an award-winning cover, the colour very striking, even at the smallest size. And a fourth, The Last Walk Out, is one of my all time favourites. Subtle yet striking. 

As for three others, off the top of my head and more because they have stuck with me as being simple, striking and rather clever covers: Missing Men, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas and The Great Gatsby

Can you explain a bit about the anatomy of a book cover?

They tend to work for various reasons - right imagery, right fonts, right colours. Then there's more technical details as to how elements line up, proportions of one image compared to another, the tight, well formatted typography of the title and author name, the way the whole cover sits together in an invisible grid much the same as photographers use.

Is it more difficult designing book covers for children’s books?

It's not more difficult, although many are illustrated rather than based on photographic imagery. If that's the case I tend to work in tandem with an illustrator to bring together the overall design.

Please can you tell us about the cover design of Callum Fox and the Mousehole Ghost? Did it have several designs? Why was this one that was chosen?

There were several variations. In the end the final design was based on opinions canvassed from a Waterstones shop local to the author. The book is aimed at both boys and girls, so to have a picture of Callum, the main character on the front, made it too gender heavy.

3D Review; Callum Fox and the Mousehole Ghost - A C Hatter – REVIEWS

Adult Review

Callum Fox and the Mousehole Ghost, is a masterfully crafted, intricately plotted ghost story, with a duel story arc, one present day and one set during world war two that culminate into a charming and satisfying ending.

The two narratives are set in parallel the open being set in the summer of 2014, with accident prone twelve year old Callum Fox is on a train destined for the sleepy Cornish coastal town of Mousehole to spend the summer holiday with his estranged grandparents, lovely Nanna, and grumpy discontented Granddad Bob.

The second begins with another train journey starting from the same London station in 1939, where little Jim White is being evacuated as part of operation Pied Piper.

The two stories progress, with Callum meeting his grandparents and local girl Sophie, and Jim being placed with the Fox family of Mousehole where he meet his soon to be best friend Bob. It;s only when clumsy Callum gets knocked over by an ambulance and that the two worlds collide, as he starts to see a strange raggedy dressed scrawny boy that no one else can, Jim. It soon expires that Callum near death experience has left him with the ability to see and converse with ghosts.

As the duel narrative progress and you learn much more about Jim’s life as an evacuee, and about living as a child in rural war time Briton. Things become much more perilous when Bob and Jim witness a German fighter plane crash. The pair save and then are saved by gentle teenage pilot Gunter, and three of them hatch a plan to help the pilot escape.

In the present Callum, has to come to terms with seeing the dead, and try and stop all the ghost of Mousehole enlisting him to help them finalise their unfinished business and move on. Callum reaches out to on-nonsense Sophie and together with the help of all the neighbourhood ghosts, they endeavour to assist Jim on a mission to help Callum’s disagreeable granddad Bob.

The plotting and story arc, builds up to satisfying ending with a heart-warming twist, bring together all the plot threads and themes of the story.

Callum Fox and the Mousehouse Ghost is much more than a ghost story, it a thriller, and has charming and informative, well researched historical elements, but primarily this is a story about friendship. It is all this in addition to illustrating in an effective and attainable way the zeitgeist of WWII.

Child Review by Beatriz aged 10

Callum fox and the Mousehole is told from two points of view, firstly by Callum Fox in present time, who goes to stay with his grandparents in sleepy Mousehole a Cornwall village, there strange things start to happen. After being knocked over by an ambulance Callum can see things others can’t, GHOSTS! Even though Callum knows that this is cool, no one will believe him, not even his new friend Sophie.

Then things change once again seeing a ghost called Jim an old friend of Callum’s grumpy old Granddad’s, wants to move on with the help of Callum and Sophie.

Meanwhile in in the past, Jim is going to Mousehole evacuating from London, in the time of world war two. He is thrown into a house where he meets his new best friend Bob Fox. After a day out working Bob and Jim see a German plane crash. Trouble kicks in when both children help the pilot Gunter escape.

This is a great book, with lots of excitement, danger, and fantasy. My favourite character is; Sophie: she is very funny, keen, and joyful. She loves fishing, and teasing Callum. She is a great character, what stands out the most about her, is that she has bright red hair.

3D review –Looking at the Stars- Jo Cotterill – editor interview

We took the chance to talk to Ruth Knowles, Editorial Director, Fiction, Random House about her favourite books and about editing Jo Cotterill's 'Looking at the Stars'.

What was your favourite children’s book as a child?

I was a keen ballet dancer and so read and re-read Ballet Shoes and the Drina series. But, like so many of my generation, it was Enid Blyton who got me properly into reading. I love Mallory Towers.

What is your favourite children’s book as an adult?

The classic book that has stayed with me is The Silver Sword. I read it first age 11 - when I did enjoy it - but have come back to it many times since and I can remember the journey of Ruth, Edek and Bronia so vividly and with such emotion. It's a wonderful, haunting WW2 novel that still feels fresh.

The more modern book I've loved and that stays with me (and I should say that I'm purposely not choosing a Random House title or a book I worked on at Andersen. There are so many of those that I love, but I don't want to choose one author and their work over another!) is Martyn Pig by Kevin Brooks. Phil Earle, who was then part of the RHCP sales team, gave me it to read when I was in my first week as the editorial assistant at RHCP. It really showed me what teen books could be like - gritty, pacy and with such vivid, real characters. It really changed the way I thought about my new job.

Recently, I've also loved Rooftoppers by Katherine Rundell.

What do you think makes children’s books so inspirational?

For any adult who was a child bookworm as I was, the thought of going anywhere without a book is unthinkable. I know - first hand from my TA days - this isn't the experience every child has, by  any means, but I do think that the thought that there could just be one book out there that changes a child's mind about reading is so very inspirational. It means that everybody involved in writing and making children's books could play a part in changing a person for ever.

What do you love about this book and what makes it stand out?

I think Jo has got the perfect balance between showing us the reality of war and all its hardships and brutality, with hope and imagination. What makes the book stand out for me from other children's books that are set in wartime is Amina's storytelling. There's the most wonderful scene - Jo read it at her launch party - where a young boy who has been stunned mute by the horrors he's seen is able to talk again thanks to his engagement in the stories Amina (the book's heroine) is telling and the world she's created. I read the book so many times but it still gives me goosebumps.

How many people have worked on this book and for how long?

I know that Jo has been working on it off and on for many years, but my involvement started in the summer of 2010. Jo's Sweet Hearts series had just launched, and we were having lunch in Queen's Park. I asked Jo what else she'd been working on when she came up with the idea for Sweet Hearts, and she told me about this book she had in her bottom drawer - Looking at the Stars. I loved the sound of it and said to Jo that when she was happy to share it I'd love to read it.

I bought the book for Random House and did my first edit in the Autumn of 2011. Then I went away for a year - on a secondment to Andersen Press - and Jo had her second daughter. We carried on working on it at the start of 2013, but it didn't need much more doing to it at all, just a few tweaks here and there.

In addition to me, there is obviously a wonderful designer and publicist involved. A sales team, who loved the book, a production department who made it,  and also I had support from a lovely RH editor who is now at Orchard books, Jessica Clarke.

What made you want to work in children’s publishing?

I always knew I wanted to work with words, and for a long time thought Journalism was the route for me. Then I went to a graduate talk and heard horror stories about journalists rooting through bins to find a gossip story and decided against it! I then thought about teaching, and spent a wonderful year working as a Teaching Assistant in the SEN department of a high school. I ended up doing a lot of work with teenage boys who had behavioural issues and dyslexia. I couldn't find things they wanted to read really - other than car magazines! - and suddenly everything fell into place and I thought that if I could be involved in the making of books that one day teenage boys just like the ones I'd worked with might find the right book to turn them into a reader.

Ruth Knowles, Editorial Director, Fiction, Random House

3D review –Looking at the Stars- Jo Cotterill – author interview

What was your favourite book as a child?

I had so many! But there were two that made a big impression on me: 'The Ordinary Princess' by M M Kaye, and 'The Dark Is Rising' by Susan Cooper. The first one is a story of a girl born a princess but who is desperately bored by her duties and so runs away to become a kitchen maid in another castle. She also builds her own cabin in the woods. It combined my love of all things fairytale with my innate sense that girls wanted adventure and challenge, not just to sit around looking pretty. The Susan Cooper book has remained a firm favourite through my adult life too. It mixes Arthurian legend and dark magic in a modern setting and is simply one of the best children's books ever written.

What is your favourite children’s book as an adult?
That's an excellent question, and one I haven't been asked before! 'Holes' by Louis Sachar is a book I regard as absolute perfection in storytelling. The structure and characterisation are as polished and gleaming and perfect as a diamond.

Why did you start writing for children? 
I've always loved writing, and I've always loved children's books. I would prefer to read a children's book (particularly a teen or Young Adult book) than one written for adults. I'd like to think it's because children's books encapsulate great storytelling in its purest form, but possibly it's because I haven't quite grown up yet.

What is your favourite aspect of writing for children?

Meeting them. Kids are directly enthusiastic and emotional about books in a way that adults aren't. School visits are always so exciting and rewarding. I have to say though that I also love the quiet creative magic that happens when I'm writing a book.

What do you think makes children’s books so inspirational?

Children aren't fully formed. Their opinions and knowledge wavers and changes, and they are so open to new ideas. It is a real privilege and challenge to write for children because your book can have a powerful impact on a young mind. All adults will recall stories they read in childhood. The stories we read then can quite literally change our path through life, and that's very exciting.

You are best known for your ‘Sweethearts’ series of books. ‘Looking at the Stars’ is quite different. What made you want to write this book?

I wrote 'Looking at the Stars' before I'd even had the idea for 'Sweet Hearts'. At the time the news was full of the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, and it made me wonder what qualities a child needs to come through such horrors. I started writing it without any real idea of where it was going, and discovered over the years (as it went through various re-writes) that it was becoming my vehicle for saying so many things about my belief in the importance of imagination. 'Looking at the Stars' is, if you like, the closest I have yet come to expressing what is most personal to me in a wider context. Family, loyalty, compassion, generosity, independence of spirit and being able to see beyond yourself: these are all things that matter greatly to me and that's why 'Looking at the Stars' is a book of which I am very proud.

3D review –Looking at the Stars- Jo Cotterill - reviews

I LOVED this triumph of simple, powerful storytelling. It's a story within a story about Amina and Jenna,  two spirited, independent - and very different - sisters. When foreign troops arrive in their country, the excitement of liberation quickly turns sour and events spiral terrifyingly out of control. Yet in spite of the bad things that happen, Amina discovers that her ability to tell stories offers much more than just hope to her family and the people around her. At times sad, it is entirely appropriate for 10+ readers who will be gripped and uplifted with how the sisters survive and craft a hopeful future with the power of stories.

Mark Thornton from Mostly Books

Our children’s-view review is from Katherine Burns from Didcot Girls School, where Jo Cotterill visited on World Book Day. Katherine is already a big fan of Jo’s through the ‘Sweetheart’ series and read the book in a day!

"It’s an absolutely stunning book which can hit hard and make you cry. I know I certainly did! The author’s writing is so creative and powerful in this, that I this is one of the best books that I've ever read. I would definitely recommend it."

We will be interviewing Jo on Monday and asking where the inspiration for such a different book for her came from.

3D review - The Dawn Chorus - Suzanne Barton - editor review

Fiz Osborne  is Senior Editor of picture books, novelty and eBooks at Bloomsbury Children's Books and is editor of debut author/illustrator Suzanne Barton's picture book 'The Dawn Chorus', which we are featuring as our 3D review for April.

What was your favourite children’s book as a child?

There were a few! Ramsbottom Rag by Christopher Masters, Roald Dahl’s Matlida and George’s Marvellous Medicine, the Heidi books by Joanna Spyri and Beyond the Rolling River by Kate Andrew and Chris Riddell. I didn’t actually own lots of books, but I was constantly borrowing from my local library.

What is your favourite children’s book as an adult?

I love any book by Anna Kemp and Sara Ogilvie, and Rhinos Don’t Eat Pancakes is a firm favourite. Aaaarrgghh, Spider! by Lydia Monks is another book after my own heart and I am in love with anything by Yasmeen Ismail, especially Time For Bed, Fred!, If I Had a Cat and Specs For Rex.

What do you think makes children’s books so inspirational?

They can challenge, excite, help, stimulate, and effect us so strongly – in a way that nothing else can – and that is exactly what I think makes children’s books inspirational.

What is it that you like most about picture books?

The way that the perfect balance between story and illustrations creates a little bit of magic. Anything can happen in a book. That’s quite fantastic.

What do you love about this book and what makes it stand out?

I love how Suzanne’s illustrations sing out from the pages. Her story is almost like a lullaby, surrounded by beautifully detailed, characterful illustrations that are incredibly endearing. The Dawn Chorus feels very special, there’s nothing else quite like it.

How many people have worked on this book and for how long?

So many people! I mean, in the confines of the Bloomsbury picture books team there was an editor (me) and a designer working with Suzanne. But while the book evolves, the Bloomsbury children’s team works hard to support it. Marketing, publicity, sales, rights, production . . . Every book has the entire team behind it.

Time-wise, the average picture book takes about 18 months-2 years to be published.

What made you want to work in children’s publishing?

I just love children’s books. I can still remember the excitement I’d feel when my dad read me bedtime stories as a child, and I can also remember quite clearly how it felt to read Harry Potter for the first time. I naturally gravitated towards children’s publishing and I’m very passionate about what I do. There’s a little piece of my heart that I set aside for each book that I work on.

3D Review - The Dawn Chorus - Suzanne Barton - author interview

Suzanne Barton's delightful debut picture book 'The Dawn Chorus' is published by Bloomsbury April 2014 and is about a tiny bird who can't ever seem to wake up in time to join the Dawn Chorus. 

Suzanne's illustrations formed the basis of a spectacular window at Mostly Books where children decorated birds to produce a whole flock to join the Dawn Chorus. The result was stunning - Thank you Suzanne! And also thank you to Bloomsbury who set the whole thing up.

Suzanne worked on the book when she studied for an MA in Children’s Book Illustration at the Cambridge School of Art.

What was your favourite children’s book as a child?

Can I pick more than one? Carbonel by Barbara Sleigh and anything by Noel Streatfeild. But when I was very young Richard Scarry’s Best Word Book Ever.

What is your favourite children’s book as an adult?

A Hole is to Dig by Ruth Krauss illustrated by Maurice Sendak. It captures what it is to be a child.

What do you think makes children’s books so inspirational?

Anything is possible in a story, you can identify with the characters and go anywhere, do anything.

Do you see yourself as an illustrator that writes or a writer that illustrates?

An illustrator that writes.

How did you become a writer / illustrator?

I always wanted to make pictures, but when I was young I thought I wasn’t good enough because there were so many things that I couldn’t draw straight out of my head like motor bikes and horses. But then I gradually realised that you could look at things and practise and get better. So I studied, eventually ending up on a fantastic MA in Children’s Book Illustration in Cambridge, where I started working on my first story, The Dawn Chorus.

What comes first, the ideas for pictures or the text?

For The Dawn Chorus the story idea came first together with some clear pictures in my head that I wanted to make. I think they evolve together which is the great thing about having the opportunity to both write and illustrate.

Which do you like most, the writing or the illustrating?

I love illustrating. Writing is a more recent activity for me, but I am fascinated by what makes a really good story. I have a lot to learn and studying storytelling is a great excuse to collect even more books.

Suzanne finished a hectic day at Mostly Books with a book signing - something she will have to get used to!

And was kind enough to draw us a picture to offer as a prize.

The next part of our 3D Review will be an interview with Suzanne's editor at Bloomsbury who we asked what makes Suzanne's work so special.

3D review - The Dawn Chorus - Suzanne Barton - review

Out today is 'The Dawn Chorus' by Suzanne Barton - and she is celebrating the launch at Mostly Books by designing a whole window based on the book.

Tiny little Peep is drawn to the sound of beautiful singing. He adores singing and discovers all the birds join together to create the magical, beautiful music of the dawn chorus. Peep longs to be part of it, but finds it a struggle to get up at dawn to join them.

Will Peep ever be able to be like other birds and create such wonderful music?

Suzanne Barton's debut book 'The Dawn Chorus' is a charming story, with such sweet illustrations, full of brightly coloured birds and tiny details, like the leaves on the trees being multi-hued.
I love all the movement that covers the page - from tiny mice trying to help Peep find his way, to all the expressions of the birds as they sing.

Although full of colour, I also like the way Suzanne manages this without a blaze of primary colours, which I think makes this illustrated picture book a little different.
I also like the fact that there is a subtle message in the story that not all of us are morning people, but that we can all find a way to be part of things in our own way.
A really outstanding debut. And thank you, Suzanne, for such a splendid day at Mostly Books and for producing such a fabulous window.