While I was at the ALA Annual Conference in San Francisco this summer, I received an advanced copy of the book Lost. Found (Macmillan, 2015) at a Macmillan event. I listened to editor Neal Porter talk about the book there, and loved the cover. I had a good feeling about it.
I read the book at home, and reread it a few more times, thinking about the story, and how different it was-- Imagine telling a story using only two words!
In the book, a bear loses his red scarf in a snowy forest. Several other animals each find the scarf, and use it for different purposes. Each of them in turn also loses the scarf. When the scarf is lost once more, the animals (who are together at this point) all come across the scarf at the same time. They immediately start to tussle for it. The bear happens upon them, discovering that his scarf has been completely unraveled. How does the story end? Get a copy of the book to find out!
Lost. Found was published this week, and today, I am hosting Matthew Cordell, the illustrator of this book, on my blog! You can imagine how happy this makes me! (Very!)
My interview questions are in red, and Mr. Cordell's answers are in black.
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| Matthew Cordell: Image courtesy of MacKids Books |
Matthew, you have
illustrated so many books! (Find a link to his website below.) Tell us about what you hope to do as an illustrator
with each book.
I’ve definitely been
incredibly fortunate over the years, with all these opportunities to work on a so
many incredible manuscripts. And also given the opportunity to write and illustrate
my own picture book passion projects. And in all that time, I feel like I’ve
slowly figured out my place in all of this. I’ve grown—little by little—more
comfortable with opening up and showing a lot more of myself in my work (the
good and the bad). I’ve evolved and, I hope, become more accepting of taking
risks. But there are two things that have been constant markers in my work in
books from day one. Selfishly, I want to satisfy myself. (And believe me, it
ain’t easy.) I’m always trying to push myself in the ways I know how—in my
artistic media, a very loose and free pen and ink line with very loose and free
watercolor brushwork. Secondly, (not necessarily second in importance, of
course) I hope to satisfy the children who will be looking at and reading my
books. I’ve always got those little eyes, hearts, and minds in mind from start
to finish. How will kids respond to this character? These expressions? This
scenery? These colors? Quite often now I read many of the books I’ve written
and illustrated to kids at schools all over. I know I’ve got to get this just
right. I owe it to them. I owe it to myself. Otherwise I’m totally bombing in
front of those kid crowds. And nobody wants that.
I remember reading hello! hello! (Disney-Hyperion, 2012) for the first time and thinking about it long after I read it.
What have you heard from readers about the story/message in this book? How did
you come about writing it?
I love to hear that
it had that affect on you. This book holds a very special place in my heart. It
was the first book I wrote that was entirely inspired by one of my own children
(our first born). More specifically, I suppose, it was inspired by my
shortcomings of being a dad! At least in this one particular moment. I was
playing with my daughter, who was about 2 years old at the time, when I felt
the lure of a nearby laptop. The ever-addictive Facebook, Twitter, email, etc.
I thought if I snuck over to this computer and did my thing, surely my daughter
wouldn’t even notice I was gone. I was wrong. It only took a few minutes and
from across the room I heard her little voice squeak out, “Dada, stop checking
email and play.” It was quite an awakening. I felt: 1) shocked that my 2-year-old
new the word “email” and 2) horribly guilty that I was on the computer doing
something selfish and lame instead of being present for her. Afterwards, I kept
thinking about what had happened and it occurred to me that this must be playing
out with families all over, all the time. And I knew that a picture book (a
book that is read by both child and adult) was the perfect format to bring up
this sort of commentary. Never at any time in making this book did I mean for
it to be some sort of finger-wagging session. I really just wanted it to be observational.
Like I said, I fully own up to letting technology time-to-time wedge it’s way
into my parent-child relationships. Working from home especially, it’s a very
real situation in my life. And continues to be. I don’t like that it is, and
when I realize I’m doing that I stop. With hello! hello!, I never wanted to
preach. I merely wanted to suggest… observe, accept, understand, and evolve. I
mean this DOES happen. Most people, I think, appreciate it and can enjoy what I
did, how I rendered it, on that level. But I think there’s others who—for
whatever reason—will just be annoyed by any book that they think is trying to,
I guess, scold them. And those people aren’t really into hello! hello!. Such is life…
Matthew, can I tell
you how much I adored Special Delivery? There is so much color
and detail within the pages of this book! And thank you for the gift under the
dust jacket! Can you tell us about your work on this book? What was the
partnership like between you and Philip Stead?
Wow, thanks so much! Special Delivery was an absolute treat
to work on from beginning to end. It was a whole lot like three friends and
kindred spirits just… messing around. I mean, really having fun. (Those three
being Phil, me, and our editor Neal Porter.) And in the process we were making
pictures, story… music. I think at some point I likened it to free jazz. The
story and art are so very topsy-turvy, yet painstakingly put together like that.
Phil and I had known
each other for a while, having met and hung out at various ALA and other
conferences over the years. And Neal too. We all got along so well (similar
tastes in books, life, and laughs) that at some point it was suggested
(probably by me) that we should really do a book together. Sometime later, Phil
mailed me the manuscript for Special
Delivery. (Snail mail, not email. Natch!) I knew as soon as I saw Phil’s
manuscript that I NEEDED to do it.
As I read it the
first time, images were already materializing in my brain, and I simply had to
get that stuff out! And I couldn’t wait. It’s not everyday that one gets the
opportunity to illustrate a picture book that includes an attempt at mailing an
elephant, a plane crash, a train robbery, a ride in an ice cream truck… and
more! And I’m so pleased to say that the wildly unspooling thread of Special Delivery will continue to…
unspool. I’m currently working on sketches for Phil’s next chapter of Sadie’s
story, titled The Only Fish In the Sea.
Matthew, this book news you've given us here is so wonderful to hear! So glad we will be hearing more from Sadie, and thankful that you and Philip Stead will give us another book!
(Back to our interview:)
Your most recent work
and the focus of this post is Lost.Found. I first saw this book
at ALA Annual this past summer, and it is such fun to able to blog it about
here!!
The book contains
only two words: lost and found, and Marsha Arnold truly uses these words
brilliantly to tell an eventful story. When the single word “lost” is
paired with your illustrations, the end result is so powerful! Several spreads
in Lost. Found. show this. What was it like to illustrate this book?
Your illustrations
show every movement and emotion of each animal who comes across the scarf.
I had such a great time
with Marsha’s wonderfully inventive and creative text. Which might sound odd,
since there are only two words in this book. But for me, the experience of
creating the spaces in between those words and even how I first read the
manuscript… these things will always shape my understanding of how I have read
and will read this book then and now and forever. I barely notice that there
are only two words!
When I first read
Marsha’s manuscript, there was a little bit of “stage direction” so to speak.
It wasn’t the kind that steps on top of the pictures-to-be, not at all. Not
very particular or detailed. It was simple description of what animal (bear,
raccoon, beaver, etc.) has the scarf what it or they do with it and how it’s
ultimately lost. And repeat. There was just enough description to outline the
thread of the thing. Once I really got into the sketches, there were one or two
sequences that had to be tweaked to make better sense in one way or another.
But otherwise it stayed true to Marsha’s vision of how this book plays out. I
love how it can be, at times, campy and fun, and other times quiet and warm and
sincere. It’s a lovely blend. A blend I often like to achieve in many of my
books, in fact.
And thank you for
your note about the nuances of animal expressions! When one works with an
economy of line (as it has been done here) the slightest curl or wrong turn of
a line—a misshapen circle or line around an eye for instance—it can throw an
entire drawing off. Simple line work is only deceptively simple. In the making
of a book, I will throw many a drawing in the trash. Not only because maybe my
wrist snapped too quickly and the pen went the wrong way. But sometimes a line
is TOO clean and uniform. Or is TOO illegible and messy. No one would ever now,
right? My strife!
The readers in my
library always want to know what inspires authors and illustrators. How do you
get your ideas for your illustrations?
When it comes to my
art and images, I think a great deal of it is a cobbling together of bits and
pieces of me and my life experiences. The things I find funny or not funny, animals
I think are distinct and characteristic in one way or another, etc. In terms of
inspiration, it can’t be any secret that I’m over-the-moon inspired by the many
loosey-goosey pen and ink greats who’ve come before me. Namely William Steig,
Jules Feiffer, Quentin Blake. I love their lines so much. So free and fearless,
all of them. When it comes to story, I used to try and lean on experiences from
my own childhood to conjure up book ideas. (With a hazy memory of it all, this
yielded wildly mixed results.) I’m sure my kid life is still a little in there when
I’m working on writing my own books. But now that I’m a dad, I get SO many
ideas from my kids. I often say—as an author and illustrator of picture books—that
my kids are my best investments. Truth be told, I actually get a little nervous
when I think about them getting older! (I mean, for more reasons than just this
one.)
Before we end this
interview, please tell us about your work with Julie Sternberg on illustrating
the Eleanor books! These are such a favorite in my library!
So nice to hear that!
Those books have been a real joy to work on. It’s another great example of
being able to ride the line between silly and sincere. Julie is terrific at
bringing out the right amount of humor in a moment but not send it right over
the top. And like I said, beyond that, there are so many poignant moments in
Eleanor’s books that were so great to finesse and get just right a picture to
go along with. In the beginning, it wasn’t always easy to find that balance,
but once I tuned into it, it was smooth sailing. I loved collaborating on those
with both Julie and our lovely Abrams editor, Tamar Brazis. Such fond memories!
What else would you
like to tell readers about Lost. Found. and your work?
Lost. Found. is a book about a group of individuals that find friendship and
community. Albeit after a long day of being wildly self-interested.
Having said
that, it’s been a lot of fun spending some time with you, Cynthia, after having
been connected via social media for a while now. Thank you for taking the time
to connect further and for having such thoughtful things to say and questions
to ask!
And I love to expand
community and friendships online with others too. Folks can find me on Twitter:
@cordellmatthew and Facebook: facebook.com/cordellmatthew (but no other social
media… My poor lil’ brain can only handle so much!)
I am so grateful to Matthew for appearing on my blog today and answering my questions! Learn more about Matthew Cordell's work by visiting his website here.
To read more about Lost. Found, check out the other stops on the blog tour below:
Blog Tour Schedule
November 6: Librarian in Cute Shoes
