reviews Under 5s – Pre -School/Nursery/Infant continued


Steve Antony answers our questions on When I Grow Up


When I Grow Up    book you’ve


illustrated but not


written. What was the process of working with Tim, and do you think illustrating someone else’s words changed your approach to illustrations?


the When I Grow Up 


Tim Minchin, illus Steve Antony, Scholastic, 32pp, 978-1-4071-8042-7, £12.99 hbk


       ups say you can’t do because you are not grown up of course! This naturally will involve a great deal of the eating of sweets, staying up late, waking up early and ‘playing with the things mums pretend that mums don’t think are fun’. Here are the words of a song that is part of Tim Minchin’s stage adaptation of Dahl’s Matilda and they will certainly resonate both with a young audience as well as the adults likely to be reading them. It would have been a real bonus to have had   best with its music.            know grumpy Mr Panda and have The Queen’s Hat. Here a band of children burst from the pages indulging in every activity they believe the grown- ups really do enjoy. They are real children – Antony does not portray them as adults – full of anarchy and fun and it is this that brings the text to  of the children. Antony’s energetic lines and attractive palette create a world that combines reality and the imagined seamlessly. The reader turns the pages to the rhythm of the words while surrounded by fantastic activity and beguiling details. A joyous book to share with children – young and old! FH


I’m a really picky illustrator, but I knew that When I Grow Up was the kind of unique collaboration I’d been waiting for. It’s an evocative and wistful song, but visually interpreting Tim’s lyrics into a picture book was a harder than I thought it would be. It took around six months to complete. To begin with, Tim and the team at Scholastic gave me free rein to draw whatever I wanted. I listened to the song over and over, and came up with several visual narratives. At one point I considered animal characters: a koala bear, giraffe, crocodile     included a dream sequence, a city jaunt and adult characters. In the end I decided to illustrate an imaginative trio simply fantasising about all the wonderful and amazing things they can do as grown-ups. Shopping sprees, splashing in water fountains, epic  My drawings were regularly passed


to Tim, Scholastic USA and Scholastic Australia. They would then come back to me with thoughts and suggestions. At one point Tim sent me a list of emotions to explore. I didn’t start chatting with Tim face to face until the book was almost complete. My main point of contact was Strawberrie, the books designer and an absolute godsend. Now Tim and I just contact each other directly. Just the other day we Skyped each other to chat about our joint event at Leicester Square Theatre.


You say you listened to Tim’s song while working on the book. How did that affect your illustrations?


It was all about trying to capture an emotion. Not an easy task, I have to say. I was hoping my hands would magically respond to the song. If only.


I payed attention to how the song made me feel. The highs and the lows. For example, when Tim sings, ‘And when I grow up I will eat sweets every day’, I felt lifted, which is why I drew a character literally riding her


Socks for Mr Wolf A Woolly Adventure Around Ireland





Tatyana Feeney, O’Brien Press, 978-1847179067, £12.99 hbk


 very snazzy pair of long, red socks, this story immediately grabs our attention.  Turn the page to meet the owner, Mr        such eye-catching apparel. Indeed, ‘Mr


 the text and yes, in the illustration he is standing tall and proud, almost rising off the ground in Tatyana Feeney’s naïve, appealing pencil illustrations. Pictures follow of him dancing for joy, but trouble is approaching: a hole appears in the heel of one of the socks, and gets bigger and bigger until the    a book.


better at it now. I could draw these kids with my eyes closed.


Do you have a favourite spread or image in the book? If so, which one and why?


bike into the sky (a bit like Eliot did in the movie ET). And when Tim sings about being strong to carry grown-up things, I felt the a little sad, but hopeful. This is why I drew a grey statue of a man and a woman lifting the weight of the world in a sea of pedestrians.


How important were your own memories of being a child in the creation of the book?


It wasn’t until the half-way point that my mind began meandering down        I dreamt about going on shopping sprees. I was so jealous of my friends    it be amazing to just be able to buy whatever you wanted from the supermarket instead of milk, bread  did put in the book. I remember the foreverness of being a child. Adulthood was light years away. I wanted to capture that carefree feeling of anything is possible.


The children in the book are lively and vivid. How did you go about creating these three characters?


 animals weren’t quite working, I drew one main character: the girl with the yellow shoes and frizzy hair. But I felt like there needed to be more children, so I gave her two friends. Matilda, as we all know her, is not in the book even though I had the option to include her. I felt it would be better to create something new: a direct response to the song. I wanted every child and guardian


to see themselves in this book. The incidental inclusion was absolutely intentional. Drawing children can be quite        that prominently features children.        


This is where the story takes off in a  of yarn, just what he needs now, and follows it determinedly through town and countryside until he reaches the sheep it is attached to. The obliging sheep is happy to read the book while  and indeed creates two new pairs. It’s a warm, witty celebration of, well, lots      that something like a bright pair of


To me, a library is the perfect place to become ‘smart enough to answer all the questions that you to know the answers to before you’re grown up.’ This is my favourite spread. I have always wanted to draw a big library scene. An illustration that truly recognises and celebrates libraries. There are lots of fun little details to look out for on this page. Look closely and  melting snowman and even a sleepy dragon. I like how one of the main characters wants to borrow as many books as possible and how one child is physically overwhelmed by a heap of books. It’s quite a symbolic image. Several other illustrations in the book have different layers of meaning, too.


You’ve thanked your designer


Strawberrie Donnelly for her help. Can you say something about Strawberrie’s contribution to your work and how you work together?


At one point we were emailing         Many illustrators will agree that it’s sometimes hard to know if something is genius or a pile of pants, especially when you’re burning the midnight oil. I was lucky to have such a supportive, honest and encouraging designer by my side. I would send her my


roughs


and she would make suggestions. Colours were a bit tricky to get right. Most of the colours on the Candy spread, one of my favourites, were suggested by Strawberrie.


      between you and Tim Minchin?


I’d be happy to work with Tim again. But this is such a unique project, it feels like a one-off. I think Tim would agree that, if we were to collaborate again, it would absolutely have to be something we can both believe in. In the meantime I’m happy to continue working on my solo projects. Maybe another unique collaboration will 


Is there another song you’d really like to illustrate?


That’s a good question. A festive song would be fun. I really don’t know, but I’m open to ideas!


 – a map on the frontispiece shows  his homeland as he follows the yarn. Tatyana Feeney’s use of printmaking techniques adds interesting textures and despite the simple story there’s a real variety of scene, image and       appealing character, slightly gawky      and what he needs to do. A charming picture book for the very young. LS


Books for Keeps No.227 November 2017 23


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