- Apr 13, 2023
- 3 min read
When Wally, the world's greatest piano-playing wombat, hears Wylie play, he becomes envious. Wally tries toe-tapping and ball-twirling as he plays piano, but every time Wally thinks he's one-upping the competition, he discovers Wylie can do all the same tricks. Wally has had ENOUGH!
Max's Boat Pick:
WALLY THE WORLD'S GREATEST PIANO-PLAYING WOMBAT
Written by Ratha Tep and illustrated by Camilla Pintonato
Publisher: Princeton Architectural Press (April 13, 2023)
Hi Camilla! Thanks for joining today! Can you tell me how you got started in picture books?
CP: "I fell in love with picture books exactly thirteen years ago, when I came back almost by accident to visit an exhibition I remembered I saw once in my childhood and which took place every year in a small town called Sarmede, near the home of my maternal grandparents. The exhibition consisted of a few rooms on the first floor of the town hall and that year the guest of honor was Beatrice Alemagna. I think I stayed there for two and a half hours. When I went out it was dark and I was very clear what I wanted to do in life. I haven’t looked back since."
An interior spread from Wally the World's Greatest Piano-Playing Wombat:
I'm so grateful that you loved the manuscript and took on Wally! You really brought him to life. What was your initial reaction upon reading the text? What most drew you in? "When our agent, Debbie Bibo, showed me the manuscript, it was love at first sight! I love ironic stories that touch upon the problems that both adult and children might have. I also loved the ‘timing’ of the early scenes. Wally plays the piano only to realize there’s another wombat who plays better, so he adds to his routine—and is outdone each and every time! It is all very comic but also sweet. I mean, I really feel for Wally.”
An interior spread from Wally the World's Greatest Piano-Playing Wombat:
Your feelings for Wally really show, because your take on him is just SO perfect, from his vivid expressions to his tux. How did you approach the initial character development? What did you most want to convey? “I wanted a sweet wombat, an animal that immediately inspired empathy. I wanted him to be a bit clumsy but combative, tenacious, and convinced of his greatness (hence the outfit of a serious pianist). He was more adult-like in my early sketches, but I gradually realized that I had to make him smaller and ‘defenseless,’ because in my opinion the fact that he ‘fights but doesn’t win’ is also very sweet.”
He definitely is all of those things—clumsy, combative, and convinced of his greatness! I know you work digitally. What do you use? “I use a graphic tablet and many Photoshop brushes. Although I work digitally, my approach is very analog. If I have to erase something, I don’t press cmd-z, but I use the eraser every time. I take this manual approach with all my other techniques. This makes the illustration less perfect and more alive.”
What are your favorite illustrations from the book? “My favorite sequence, as you probably know, is definitely the opening one in which the two wombats compare themselves with one another. I specifically repeated the scenes to make it quicker to read and to emphasize the text’s pressing rhythm. Another very nice scene is the one where they enjoy cookies, and then practice together in a more calm manner. This not only reminds us that they are just two little animals, but also conveys the importance of balancing hard work with fun. As an Italian, this makes me think of my coffee breaks with others, and I believe this is a great lesson, too.”
An interior spread from Wally the World's Greatest Piano-Playing Wombat:
Who are some other illustrators you admire and what do you think they do especially well? "There are so many. I'll mention just a few that I really love: Oliver Jeffers for his absurd irony, Jon Klassen for his iconic designs, Beatrice Alemagna for her magical atmospheres and Marc Boutavant because nobody makes animals as beautiful as he does!"
What are the contemporary picture books that you hope will become the classics
of the future?
"On my dream list:
Little Bird by Germano Zullo and Albertine
What is a Child? by Beatrice Alemagna
Stuck by Oliver Jeffers
The Wall in the Middle of the Book by Jon Agee
The Forest by Riccardo Bozzi, Valerio Vidali and Violeta Lopiz"
What do you think the best picture books do? "For me, the best children’s books teach without doing so explicitly, using irony and simplicity.
Chris Haughton is a master of this, and he achieves it in all of his books. But if I have to pick a favorite, it would have to be Little Owl Lost."
- Mar 17, 2023
- 2 min read
Rory’s dad, Fox, is a tailer. The BEST in the business! Animals come from all over to have their tails made by him. Rory helps his dad in the shop and one of his jobs is measuring the customers for the tails - which isn't always easy! But Rory is bored of making the same old tails. He has his own amazing ideas . . .
Max's Boat Pick:
FOX & SON TAILERS
By Paddy Donnelly
Publisher: O'Brien Press (September 2, 2022)
Thanks for coming onboard, Paddy! Can you tell me the origin story behind Fox & Son Tailers? Love the wordplay by the way! PD: "Thank you! It actually started with the first spread from the book where you see a little street, filled with animals running about doing 'human-like' things. I really wanted to just illustrate that scene. I didn't have a story in mind. I started to then think what shops they would have in this animal-filled town. Would rhinos come into a shop to get their horns sharpened, and things like that. At some point I thought maybe the story could centre around a hat shop. And then when I had the idea to have animals come in to buy different tails instead, I knew I had a fun story on my hand. Then the creativity really started flowing, and the story very quickly wrote itself."
Interior spreads from Fox & Son Tailers:
Your illustrations are so detailed and fun. Who are some illustrators you're admiring these days? "The list is endless. I love Karl James Mountford's The Circles In The Sky and Steve McCarthy's The Wilderness would definitely be up there.
Mark Janssen's Island is a firm favourite, as are any books by Jacques & Lise - especially Oskar. The Comet by Joe Todd-Stanton is an incredibly beautiful book. And I also love Molly Mendoza's Skip."
What forthcoming books are you most looking forward to getting your hands on? "I think the book I'm most looking forward to is The Skull by Jon Klassen. I'm a huge fan of all his books, and this one looks so intriguing."
What would be on your list of 100 best picture books of all time? "Ooh, that's a very tough question. If I really had to choose one, maybe Rules of Summer by Shaun Tan. It's incredible."
- Mar 13, 2023
- 3 min read
Meara's Grandad lives by the mysterious lake of Loughareema. Some days it’s full and shimmering, and some days it's completely empty! Grandad has plenty of stories about why it vanishes. Is it mermaids? Narwhals? Giants? Meara doesn't believe any of these stories, but with a little imagination she may eventually discover the ‘real’ reason . . .
Max's Boat Pick:
THE VANISHING LAKE
By Paddy Donnelly
Publisher: O'Brien Press (May 30, 2022)
Thanks for popping by, Paddy! I'm thrilled to call Ireland home and am in awe of its wondrous landscape. In your author's note, you mention growing up near the actual Loughareema, which disappears and reappears every so often. Was this story idea bubbling inside you all this time? Were there different ways you had tried to approach the story before landing on the characters of Meara and her Granddad? PD: "I hadn't thought about Loughareema (the real Vanishing Lake) in a long time. I guess when you grow up with something like that on your doorstep then you take it for granted. But now having lived away from Ireland for many years, I get a renewed sense of wonder when I go back home to visit and see these magical things which Ireland has in abundance. I'd love to write a few more stories about interesting places and phenomena from Ireland, so maybe down the line there could be more books based in reality.
When creating this particular story I started with a lake which would mysteriously vanish and reappear, and then plopped a child character (Meara) in there. Naturally she would be curious why the lake was vanishing, and went in search of the answer. I had her grandad live at the lake, so that there was a character to bounce. Meara is very much rooted in the real world and only believes what she can see and explain, while her grandad is full of fantastical stories of mermaids and giants. This enabled me to keep creating wilder and wilder tales from grandad, which keeps those pages turning."
Interior spreads from The Vanishing Lake:
In your process, do the illustrations or the words come first? "It's different if it's for my own stories, or if I'm illustrating another author's story. If someone else has written the words, then they've been refined and refined before it gets to me. When it comes to creating my own author illustrated stories, I tend to have both the images and words appearing in my head at once. Sometimes I just start with one image of something I want to illustrate, and then I try to work out a sketchy beginning, middle and end. Once I have that, then I can start writing some words. And usually the writing process gives me ideas on things to change in the illustrations, and vice versa. It’s a messy process!"
Who are some of your favorite Irish picture book creators? "There are so many beautiful books coming out of Ireland at the moment, it's very hard to choose! I'm a huge fan of Steve McCarthy's work, but especially his recent picture book, The Wilderness. It's an adventurous tale about the The Vasylenko family, but especially litle October who prefers the warm and safe comfort of the inside world. Steve's illustrations are stunning. Be Wild, Little One by Olivia Hope and Daniel Egnéus is a beautiful picture book which highlights the beauty of nature.
I also really love Girls Who Slay Monsters by Ellen Ryan and Shona Shirley Macdonald. It explores the strong female characters of Ireland's ancient myths and legends."