Got Quicktime and a fast connection? Joe talks about being big and noisy!
For kids: Writing a Children's BookóYou're the Boss!
BEHIND THE
SCENES
Even now that Big and Noisy Simon is on bookstore shelves, I'm not sure exactly what possessed me to write a picture book for 4-to-8-year-olds. After all, my writing career has lasted almost two decades, and for the first fifteen years it never occurred to me that I might want to write for young children. At the time, I just
plunged in. I had a story I wanted to
write-about a kid who was a lot like I was
when I was a child-and I knew how I wanted to
write it. But now, looking back, I can see
that there was another reason I went ahead
with Big and Noisy Simon. I wanted to see what my words looked like when they were turned into pictures. Let me tell you: I have no artistic ability whatsoever. I couldn't draw a picture if my life depended on it. In spite of this, or maybe because of it, I've always been in love with the work of talented illustrators who draw for comic books, the daily newspapers, and children's books. I don't have clear memories of the picture books I owned as a child in the early 1960s, with the exception of the wonderful Curious George books by Margret and H. A. Rey. But back then I was already fascinated by the great illustrators who had for decades been filling the "funny papers" with brilliant stories: Winsor McKay's Little Nemo, George Hermann's Krazy Kat, Walt Kelly's Pogo, and Charles Schultz's Peanuts. I wanted to draw like them-but even more, I wanted to know them, to understand the sources of their creativity. When my younger brother was born, I was nine years old. That meant that I was introduced to a new generation of picture books: Maurice Sendak's classic Where the Wild Things Are and In the Night Kitchen; the early books of William Steig, and many others. I was glad to have the excuse to read these books to my brother, because I think I enjoyed them as much as he did! But then my brother grew up. It wasn't until my daughter was born eight years ago that I took another look at children's books. I was amazed! I think we're currently in the golden age of the picture book. There are so many superb writers, artists, and writer/artists focusing on the genre today: Cynthia Rylant, Phyllis Root, Lane Smith, David McPhail, Kevin Henkes, James Stevenson, Kevin Hawkes, Laura Cornell, David Wiesner, Lynn Munsinger, and countless others. While I was reading
to my children, I'd find my mind wandering.
Imagine what it would be like, I'd think, to
have a picture book of my own in my hand.
Imagine working with one of the illustrators
I've been admiring for so long. Imagine
actually doing something about it, instead of
just thinking about it! So I did, and Big and Noisy Simon was born. My editors at Hyperion found the ideal illustrator: Kevin O'Malley. I had the great pleasure of watching Kevin turning my words into funny, haunting, and surprising images, just as I'd always dreamed someone might. When you take a look at the book, I hope you can feel some of the pleasure I got out of its creation. In a way, it's the culmination of dream that began nearly forty years ago. |
