We are very excited to welcome Satoshi Kitamura to the blog to talk about illustration and his books.  Satoshi was awarded the most exciting newcomer with the 1993 Mother Goose award for Angry Arthur.  He has been shortlisted for the Kate Greenaway Medal with Millie's Marvellous Hats.  It's a real pleasure to welcome him to the blog!

Can you tell us a little about your career?

I wrote and illustrated my first story when I was 19 years old. I showed it to some publishers but nothing happened. About the same time I started to work as a commercial illustrator for magazines and advertising.

Since I was a child I always wanted to go abroad and see the world outside my country.  So when I turned 23 I quit my job and decided to leave Japan for UK with the money I save in the last couple of years.  I really liked London and spent so much time walking about to get to know the different areas.  At the same time I was in search of what I wanted to do with my life.

One day while getting bored lying in my bed I came up with an idea for a story. I wrote it down and drew some illustrations. I made photocopies of it and sent them to ten publishers.  Most of them told me that they were interested and invited me to their offices. Two of them were quite keen and tried to publish my story but in the end it didn’t work out. Then I met Klaus Flugge of Andersen Press. He wasn’t too impressed by my story but liked my drawing and gave me the text of Angry Arthur written by Hiawyn Oram.  It became my first book to be published in 1982 and everything started from there.

I am most grateful to Klaus who has published so many books of mine since and Hiawyn who wrote such brilliant stories for me in my early years.

 

Where do you work?

I had a good size studio for my book works but because sometimes I do other things like sculptures in wood, I needed to have a bigger space. I have lots of carpentry tools and timbers and my studio got too cramp. Recently a flat downstairs became available so I rented it for the work I do that isn't on books.

The photo is the table where I work. There’s a scroll of paper spread over it. I buy a big roll of water colour paper and use it as it is. There’s a roll holder that I made on the right end of the table.  When I finish a drawing I it out and pull the paper onto the left and start a new one.

The other photo shows my kamishibai theatres and other objects I made.

Can you talk us through your approach to creating picture books?

It may start with doodles in my sketch book. An interesting phrase or sentence in a conversation I overhear in a café might become a starting point. Something quite ordinary can be an inspiration. If you see something common like a pencil as if you see it in the first time in your life, it suddenly looks so interesting that you would like to write a story about it ( as a matter of fact I have a pencil story that I’m writing at the moment. It’s nearly there but need few more ingredients to make it work).

 

  

You have worked on signage for sites like Eureka in Halifax and Seven Stories in Newcastle.  Do you think we make enough of illustration?

Many signages we see in streets or towns are very useful but sometimes if they had more characters and humours, not an obviously funny houmour but something subtle and witty like Ampelmannchen, the traffic light figures used in East Germany, our daily life becomes a little nicer.

 

You've worked with some incredible authors and poets, what are the differences between illustrating other people's work and your own?

I am very lucky that I started my career illustrating Hiawyn Oram’s text.  Angry Arthur is one of the greatest picture book texts. I learnt so much from illustrating Hiawyn’s writings.

I illustrated Roger McGough’s Sky in the Pie and it was a very interesting experience because I hardly knew anything about English poetry before then. Again, it was fortunate for me that my first poetry teacher was such a distinguished poet. The book taught me the joy of reading poetry and illustrating them.

John Agard and I come from very different background but we get along so well artistically as well as friends.

I love illustrating his books and at the moment am working on his picture book text.

 

Comic Adventures of Boots was, as the name suggests, told in comic strip form - as well as being comedic! - what differences are there working in this form, is it something you'd consider returning to?

Putting it simply, a picture book is a little like visual poetry while comics is theatre; you have to tell a story in dialogue like a play or film script.

It’s a very different approach from a picture book. Recently I have done some comics for literary magazines for adult readers. I’m beginning to understand how to write and illustrate comics and I like it even more. I’d love to do another comic book for children some day.

Which illustrators and what style of art do you admire?

The 1960’s graphic design and illustration from Japan, US and Europe were huge influence for me. Also, I have seen all kinds of paintings and sculptures from all over the world. There are so many artists I admire but if I chose one or two. . .

Paul Klee and Enku, Japanese Buddhist sculptor in 17^th centry.

 

The idea of expression and emotions run through many of your books and feature heavily in The Smile Shop, please can you introduce us to the book?

I have been to Mexico and other Latin American countries many times. I tried to learn Spanish at one point. A word for smile is ‘sonrisa’ in Spanish and I made up a word ‘sonrisaria’ the shop that sells smile. I liked the idea and made a rough sketch in very simple Spanish with pencil drawings about 20 pages. I thought of publishing it in Mexico because ‘sonrisaria’ sounded better than ‘smile shop’ to me. But I’m so much familiar with English publishing I showed my translation from Spanish to English to Scallywag Press. Sarah Pakenham, the publisher and Janice Thomson, the editor liked it, so I started to work on it in English.

While I was working on the book Brexit happened and that made me so sad. I left UK in 2009 for good after living there for 30 years, so it’s none of my business perhaps but I felt as if the country that I lived and had loved had become a different place. The Smile Shop is a tribute to London that had been a part of my life for so long. After finishing the book I realized both ‘Millie’s Marvellous Hat’ and ‘The Smile Shop’ are stories about someone getting something nice because they didn’t have money.

 

 

You've run workshops around Kamishibai storytelling, can you tell us a bit about this?

I’ve done workshops in Japan, UK, Latin America, Korea, India, South East Asia, Dubai and South Africa.

I enjoy meeting children. One thing I learnt having met so many children in different countries is that they are not different. Their sense of joy and fun are same. They speak different languages and their parents’ politics might be poles apart but people are same when they smile and laugh.

To see Satoshi performing a Kamishibai version of Hat Tricks (highly recommended!), please click here 

 

What are the differences between how children's book illustration is created and considered in Japan and in England?

There may be some differences between the cultures but I always try to find something in common.

 

 

Are you able to tell us what is next for you?

Apart from a book with John Agard, I have quite few ideas for the next book but haven’t decided to pick which one to start working on it. I’m busy preparing a show of paintings and sculptures in a gallery in Kobe in October at the moment.

 

A big thank you to Satoshi Kitamura for his time and insights and to Scallywag Press for the opportunity.

 

 

One of the challenges when appraising picturebooks and illustrated texts is exploring the ways that artwork and text interrelate to form the narrative. There are numerous ways this can happen, sometimes they can relate to one another in a way that is very literal and linear, at other points this can be far more playful and imaginative. This can provide a real energy and dynamism for storytelling. This walk through has been written to show one way to approach illustrated books and to better understand some of the mechanics as to how these work. Whilst this might be useful in selecting books for storytimes or for sharing, it is intended more as a guide for how to appraise the form as a whole. What better book to use as a walk through than Rosie’s Walk by Pat Hutchins?

Let’s begin by looking at the cover. On it we see Rosie walking purposefully from the hen-house. Rosie is being followed by a fox whose ears are pricked up and are attentive. The style is influenced by folk-art and draws upon conventions of the rustic and the pastoral with images of fields and fruit-filled trees. The colour palette is limited, its original reproduction used only three inks, but nonetheless creates an earthy and organic atmosphere totally in keeping with the subject of the narrative. The artwork makes strong use of triangles, a technique which helps to draw the eye to particular subjects, here the roof of the hen house and its implied suggestion of domesticity and safety, something Rosie is walking away from as she progresses towards the right-hand edge of the page – progression which is in harmony with the Western tradition of reading from left-to-right.

The title uses alternating orange and green text and features both Rosie the hen and the fox. Already the fox is behind Rosie establishing the pantomime-like dynamic for much of the action that will ensue as the narrative progresses.

The title page itself shows a panorama of the farmyard and surrounding fields with Rosie sitting in the henhouse. It acts as a pictorial or prototype map outlining the areas through which Rosie’s walk will occur.

One of the curious developments which happens as we become more accustomed to reading text is that the conviction and confidence to read images often declines. With that in mind, it’s often helpful to read a picturebook more than once and on the ‘first pass’, to concentrate more on text and the opportunities this provides for artwork to enrich or even contradict this. Rosie’s Walk is comprised of only 32 words and a single sentence relaying factually the nature of the journey Rosie has taken.

The narrative itself, however, is far more complex as a reading that explores both the artwork and the text displays. The opening double-page spread shows Rosie walking away from her hen-house. As readers we are given a point of view that allows us to see the fox crouching beneath the hen-house, its tongue anticipating his desires… Rosie is separated from the fox by the gutter of the page.

Page turns are often crucial in picturebooks, they can signpost humour, anticipation and suspense. Here they are used to great effect here as we see the fox leaping towards Rosie. The triangular construction of the farmhouse, of the fox’s ears and on the prongs of the rake lying on the farmyard floor help to establish the set-up for this mini episode as the text tells us Rosie is walking ‘across the yard’. As we turn the page to the next double-page spread, sure enough logic dictates that the fox collides with the rake which bounces and impacts against the fox’s head. Movement lines show the direction the rake has travelled towards the fox. Movement lines around the fox help to show the reverberation and force of its impact. Rosie meanwhile walks on, tempting the reader to turn the page.

The reader’s point of view on the next double-page spread is similar to that of the frogs who have their front legs raised in warning as they see what Rosie cannot, the fox primed with paws forward, ready to pounce upon Rosie as the text tells us Rosie walks ‘around the pond’. Inevitably the fox’s pounce ends up in the pond where the water splashes and ripples on the pond are substitute motion lines. The peace of the pond has been broken as the frogs are thrown into the air and the bird takes flight in fright from the tree.

What we also notice at this point is that a visual rhythm or pattern is being formed where a set-up is established in one double-page spread and the resolution happens in the next. This is a little like the visual equivalent of a rhyme-scheme in poetry and it repeats itself as the fox makes attempts to capture Rosie and is thwarted while Rosie walks ‘over the haycock’ and ‘past the mill’.

The scheme is broken when Rosie walks ‘through the fence’ we see the fox leaping over the fence. There is an intermediate spread which shows the fox landing in the cart before this collides with the beehives that Rosie is walking under. The final double-page spread shows bees exiting their hives in the foreground and, through use of perspective, chasing fox into the background of the picture.

The final page tells us that Rosie ‘got back in time for dinner’ and we see Rosie re-entering the hen-house, returning to safety and domesticity after the adventurous walk. It is not clear whether Rosie has been oblivious throughout to the advances of the fox, or whether using cunning and guile Rosie has been leading the fox on a merry dance. There is a visual clue on the page with the windmill which suggests it might be the latter. The interpretative space between the text and the artwork of the narrative challenge an active and engaged reading making the form a particularly lively and dynamic one to encounter.


With thanks to Jake Hope, Chair of the CILIP Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Medal working party and author of newly published Facet book, 'Seeing Sense: visual literacy as a tool for libaries, learning and reader development.'

 

There is always something exciting about encountering a new talent, a voice that has something fresh to say and a new style through which to convey this.  We are delighted to welcome Soojin Kwak to the blog.  Soojin has a degree in illustration from Kingston University in Surrey.  Her first picturebook A Hat for Mr Mountain was published by Two Hoots and in 2019 Soojin won the Bologna Book Fair Silent Book Prize for her silent picture book Starbuilders.  Soojin lives in South Korea but enjoys spending time in the United Kingdom.

 

 

When did you realise you wanted to be an illustrator and can you tell us a little about your training?

 

 

What kind of books did you enjoy as a child and why?

There are some wonderful comments on creativity, kindness and belonging as part of a community in A Hat for Mr Mountain, what do you hope readers will come away feeling?

 

Can you describe your creative process in writing and illustrating the book?

 

 

You came second in the Macmillan Prize for Illustration.  How important are prizes like this in giving a platform to new illustrators and what effect did this have on you?

 

 

You won the Bologna Book Prize for Silent picture books, are there any techniques that are needed to tell a wordless stories and ways to help ensure the pictures carry the story?

 

Have you noticed any differences in terms of prevalent styles or attitudes towards illustration in the UK and South Korea?

 

 

What's next for you?

 

 

Chair of the Carnegie and Kate Greenaway working party and Youth Libraries Group blog editor Jake Hope shares his first experiences attending National Conference...

My first job in libraries involved working on the Lancashire Book of the Year award.  It was an amazing experience and a chance to really excite and engage young people in books and reading, showcasing that both can be vibrant, creative and social!  It did feel isolating, however, as much as I'd hoped to share experiences and enthusiasm with colleagues, with the exception of my line-manager, there were rarely opportunities for that. 

Joining YLG was the most incredible tonic, at last, I felt like I'd found 'my people'and 'my spiritual home'!  The group was so friendly and welcoming and my first conference was brilliant - I well remember having breakfast with Wendy Cooling and talking with her about BookStart, being invited to join the Random House crew on their table for evening meals and hearing about their forthcoming titles,hearing then Children's Laureate - Jacqueline Wilson - talking about the plans she had for her tenure and talking with Janetta Otter-Barry (then of Frances Lincoln) and Nicky Potter around representation in children's books.  

I came away buzzing with ideas and with bags chock-full of books, posters, resources and more and having made new friends - and indeed future colleagues!  These are not easy times for librarians working with children and young people and this year has been particularly challenging.  Connections and community become ever more important against this context and that is one of the deeply special things about conference, it's a chance to network and to connect not only with other professionals, but also with ideas and creative ways of working.

Our conference this year is called In the Frame: Putting Readers in the Picture and it is scheduled to take place at the impressive Imperial Hotel in Torquay from November 20 to 22.  There will be an astonishing range of authors, illustrators and experts attending.  Over the coming weeks we will be teasing more content.  For further information about the conference, including its programme, visit here

We hope we can welcome you to what promises to be an incredibly special and memorable weekend.

Special thanks to sponsors Nosy Crow and the National Trust and to illustrator Britta Teckentrup for the conference cover.

 

It is a pleasure to welcome Natalie Ramm to provide an insight into her picture book, Man in the Mountain, and the way her career and life have fed into the creation of this.

 

Six years ago, I took a three month sabbatical from my job in publishing to set off on a road trip across Europe with my husband. The plan was to check out of work entirely – but no sooner had we hit the end of week one, than I felt a sudden urge to write.

 

Perhaps it was the peacefulness of the surrounding landscape, or just the sheer desire to still be working, but each day I would sit down excitedly to write for a few hours. When our trip came to an end, I filed the stories away and thought little of them for years. This is largely because I work in publishing.

 

After spending seven years at Penguin Press, I now work freelance – as a copywriter and marketing consultant – for some of the best publishers in town. I love my day job, but there is nothing like it for reminding you of all the reasons never to get your hopes up of being published: there are just too many books – excellent books – being published already, most of which barely anyone has heard of.

 

Each year, the market seems more crowded, and the space for capturing readers’ attention increasingly small, and contested by all kinds of media. At the same time, in the children’s world at least, big brand authors continue to dominate much of the landscape.

 

And yet, last year, I started to think about my stories again. And in a fleetingly hopeful moment, I sent a few of them to some smaller publishers who accept submissions directly from authors. I was pretty sure it would come to nothing, so when Ragged Bears said they were interested in publishing Man in the Mountain, I knew not to get my hopes up. I didn’t think about whether the book might be a success or not, because I’d worked in publishing long enough to know that it couldn’t be. 

 

When you work with books (and especially in marketing), you can get fixated on sales figures, and other standard measures of success. But what if ‘success’ just meant you’d written something that people (who aren’t just your mum) actually want to read? What if success was a finished book you were proud of, kind words from respected colleagues, a spring in your step?

 

Over the past year, as I’ve worked alongside the amazing illustrator Gaia D’Alconzo, my friends and family have often asked ‘aren’t you excited to be having a book published?’. My response was almost always ‘well, it’ll probably sell about three copies’. They would look perplexed, and rightly so – because this is not the attitude to have if you’re writing a book, or creating anything for that matter. Feeling excited and hopeful is an important part of the creative process.

 

So now, upon publication, I’m allowing back those feelings of hope and excitement I felt when I first sat down to write.

 

And it’s a thrill.