We were delighted to interview picture book author and illustrator Rose Robbins for the blog. Rose has written two books for Scallywag Press and is an Inclusion Ambassador with Inclusive Minds.

Please can we ask you to introduce yourself?

I first started making stories and comics when I was very young, it was so early in my life that can’t quite put an exact date on it. When I was sixteen I started printing my own comics out and giving them to friends, I was immensely proud. I grew up in a very arty household so going to study illustration always felt right to me. I did my foundation year at Suffolk college (now University Campus Suffolk) and then went on to study illustration at UWE in Bristol. I spent a lot of my early career in illustration and writing making self published comics, I loved the freedom, and I really enjoyed being part of what was then a growing DIY community. I stopped making comics quite suddenly, for various reasons (time and money being major factors), and after a year or so I applied to do the Masters in Children’s Illustration at the Cambridge School of Art. I was studying part-time and working part-time, it was a very intense two years, but I learned so much about the craftsmanship of picture books. 

During the MA, I was working on an activity picture book about frogs with Proceso in Mexico, which was published towards the end of my course. This book is probably my favourite in terms of art-style, it is very loose and messy! It is currently only available in Spanish. My final piece for the MA was my picture book Elena’s Shells, a story about a Tapir with hoarding tendencies, and a little hermit crab. This was picked up and published by Starfish Bay in Australia. 

It wasn’t until after I graduated and attended the Bologna Book Fair in 2017 that I met my wonderful agent Alice Williams, who has supported me wonderfully through my career since. 

My most well known books were both published by Scallywag Press, who had not yet emerged as a fully formed publisher at the time that I entered negotiations with the founder Sarah Pakenham. Sarah was interested in my concept of a book about siblings, and wanted to develop something. I worked with Sarah, Janice Thompson (my editor) and book designer Sarah Finan to produce Me and My Sister and Talking is Not My Thing!.

Can you tell us a little about the brother and sister in Me and My Sister, the sibling relationship feels a very simple but massively effective way of allowing organic consideration of the differences between the pair?

The brother and sister in the books are largely based on me and my own autistic brother. There are key moments in the book that I have taken directly from my childhood, such as the image of the sister in her bedroom, looking at toys under her duvet, while the brother looks on. At first I wasn’t sure a wider audience would be able to relate to the story, as it is quite specific (not only is the sister autistic, but she is also non verbal). However, I have since met with a number of another siblings, adult and children alike, who feel recognised and validated by the representation. 

Talking is Not My Thing makes sensitively shows non-verbal communication, picture books feel an ideal medium for this, do you feel there is a particular role for illustrations to play as part of this?

Yes, in fact I had toyed with the idea of making the book without words at all! But somewhere in writing “Me and My Sister” I fell in love with the simple language of picture books, which is as much about rhythm as content. I think it is important for the illustrations to be interesting and fun, as well as suiting the story. With non-verbal communication, there are so many visual themes to play with, I might have to write a follow up book to explore more of them!

Can you explain about how you approach creating a picture book?

I always start with the characters. I will sketch and refine characters for weeks before I am happy with them, and along the way a story will usually take form. A lot of my process is trial and error, sometimes I will come up with a concept while drawing, but then find that it doesn’t work when written down as a draft. I also make very messy thumbnails and drafts, then usually a few different versions of the finished product before sending it on to the designer (Sarah Finan in the case of my books with Scallywag, a brilliantly talented illustrator as well as designer). I work mostly in Ink, with watercolor brushes, then I edit and arrange digitally. 

You are an Inclusion Ambassador with Inclusive Minds can you tell us a little bit about your work with them and how this has affected your own creative processes?

I got involved with Inclusive Minds right after I graduated from my MA, I had followed them online for some time, and really wanted to be part of what they were doing. Working with them has taught me the importance of authentic representation in children’s literature, and that there can be a place for everyone in the book world if we start listening. I think I am also a lot more open to criticism now, I used to take it all very personally, but now I realise that making a book is a collaborative process.

You created visual notes to document Inclusive Minds' A Place at the Table this feels a really exciting and dynamic way of capturing discussions and meetings, what do you think the benefits are of visual note-taking and should they be used more?

I have always found it much easier to imagine and recall visual information as opposed to words and sounds, so visual note taking is very natural for me.Visual note taking allows content to make an immediate impression on an audience, which is very helpful for people who do not naturally like to read through long articles. I think that images can provide a doorway into further learning, as well as being good reminders of already held knowledge. I don’t think they work for everyone, as images cannot be read out or converted into audio in the way that text can (making them inaccessible to some), but for visual thinkers like me they are the natural way to record and communicate information. I think that we are seeing a general rise in visual communication (GIF reactions for instance), and I think it would be wonderful if students were able to choose to make visual notes for School assignments.

Which illustrators (and authors if appropriate) did you enjoy as a child and are there any that have helped influence your style or approach?

There are so many! I have a particular love of American picture books from the 60’s and 70’s, as these were the books that we had from when my mum was growing up in California. I love all of Maurice Sendak’s books and illustrations, they are all so beautiful. William Steig had quite a big influence on me stylistically, with his wobbly lines and animal characters. I also love his writing, it is so sweet and life-affirming. Russell Hoban is another writer that I love, both his books for children and adults, although some of his work for children is quite traumatising (see: The Mouse and His Child). Then of course there is Tove Jansson, an absolute legend. I think a similarity between all of the books that I grew up loving is that they do not shy away from the darker subjects. Childhood is not all fun and playtime, and I think it is important that children have books that reflect the complexities of growing up.

You were awarded the Best New Blood at the D&AD graduate fair and were runner-up in the Carmelite prize in 2017, how useful are awards of this kind when starting out your career?

Well, I think prizes can be a great confidence boost, and can certainly look very good on your CV. I really don’t know what effect the awards that I have received have had on my career, perhaps they legitimise my work in some way and that has led to some success. However, I know illustrators who have never won any prizes, and yet are brilliant and successful. Competitions can also have the effect of excluding people who do not have the time or money to enter. I think that making the publishing industry more accessible as a whole would be infinitely more beneficial to authors and illustrators than using prizes as a means to an end.

What is next for you?

I have a new book coming out in March 2021 with Scallywag Press called LOUD! - You can expect new characters, action, adventure, and even a musical number!

I have always been inspired by Judith Kerr, she kept on making children’s books right into her nineties! I hope to do the same.

Thank you to Rose for her time and brilliant answers!

Ronda and David Armitage's The Lighthouse Keeper's Lunch recently celebrated its 40th anniversary.  We are delighted to be joined by Ronda and David Armitage who have written a guest blog about the latest title in the massively popular series, The Lighthouse Keeper's Mystery and are lucky enough to be able to provide a behind-the-scenes glimpse at the development of some of the book's artwork.  

In 1974 accompanied by two young children Ronda and David came to London for a working holiday expecting to be here for a couple of years.

Six months later they moved to East Sussex and soon the family found itself standing on the top of the famous white chalky crumbling cliffs  looking down at the Beachy Head lighthouse near Eastbourne.  Previous to this trip David had been looking for work calling on assorted publishers initially clutching some of his book design work. He observed that the queue for those carrying illustrations was shorter so illustrated several well known fairy tales to show what he could do.

An editor at Hamish Hamilton, then one of the great children's publishers, liked them and suggested that if Ronda could write a story and David could do some run up illustrations he could be very interested.

Ronda had always loved reading and as an adult taught young children just as the wave of wonderful and less expensive picture books came onto the market so although she thought it was a ridiculous idea she didn’t completely dismiss it.

As the family stood on the cliffs our son noticed a line running down to the lighthouse. ‘Whats that for Dad?’ he asked. David likes to amuse, so his reply was that the line was for the lighthouse keepers lunch.

Ronda might have ignored that throwaway line if that editor had not suggested writing a story. So Ronda stored it away and in her head began to work out a tale.

‘The Lighthouse Keepers Lunch has been in print since 1977 and Ronda and David  have lived in East Sussex ever since.

David and Ronda come from Tasmania and New Zealand respectively.  Ronda’s parent  bought a farm in the ‘back of beyond’ when Ronda was 12 years old. From the verandah we could see a beautiful bay surrounded by hills and cliffs. Further out was an island and at night Ronda went to sleep watching a lighthouse light way in the distance.The sea became part of our lives.  We swam, we fished, we played in boats and raced round the rocks seeing who could leap most skilfully.

Ronda discovered her first octopus and tried to carry it to show the friends but it wriggled so much that she returned it to a pool.

Although a number of people camped or visited the bay in the summer holidays rubbish was not a problem.  Now photos from around the world show the horrendous piles of rubbish in rivers, lakes and of course in the sea with many creatures mistaking it for food.  Life in the sea is in danger.

In 2002 The Lighthouse Keeper's Christmas was published and after eight books about  Mr Grinling, he retired from being a Lighthouse Keeper.  David and Ronda thought they had written their last Lighthouse Keeper title.

The books have remained popular, particularly in schools for topic  work with Key Stage One. David Wood who has written many plays for children rewrote the first book  as a musical which was  first performed in Oxford Playhouse in 2000 but there have been many performances based on the eight lighthouse books shown around the world.

So Ronda and David  settled to doing different things. There were already other books that they had worked on together but David decided he would like to spend more time painting and the books Ronda wrote were illustrated by others. They were so used to working together that at first Ronda would insist on helping the illustrator just as she and David had done as they worked through a story. But this is not what usually happens.The illustrator and the writer very rarely meet until perhaps the illustrations are completed. Fortunately before too long she realised perhaps that was not a good idea. An illustrator needs to have their own ideas about the illustrations.

As we know climate change is having a massive affect on our world and is already causing many changes to the environment and to peoples lives.

Attention has focused on people such  as Greta Thunberg and David Attenborough who have spelt out very clearly what needs to happen to avoid catastrophe.

When Scholastic suggested another story about the Grinling family, it seemed to David and Ronda a possible way to introduce some aspects of the contamination of the sea with characters who are already known to many children and in a way that they could understand.  It also encourages children to play a part in keeping the seaside clean.  The emphasis was on rubbish rather than just plastic for obvious reasons.  We also wanted to show the disasters that can happen when the sea becomes contaminated.

The Youth Libraries Group are pleased to welcome Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed to the blog to talk about their graphic novel When Stars are Scattered.

The United Nations estimated there were 71 million people across the globe who have been forcibly displaced from their homes.  How important does it feel to have their stories told and to make sure their voices are heard?

OMAR: I wanted to tell my story because I wanted to be a voice for the voiceless. My story is like any other refugee’s story.  No one chooses to be a refugee, to leave their home, country, and family. The last thing I wanted in this world was to be a refugee. I hope readers gain an understanding of how no one would ever want to leave their country unless circumstances force them to leave.

VICTORIA: I am honored that Omar entrusted me with this story. It was a privilege to get to know Omar and his family through listening to his story and bringing it to a graphic novel format. I learned so much about the daily life and the struggles of living in a refugee camp. Since there are so many people displaced from their homes, it's important to listen to these stories.

Omar, You were already drafting your story when you met Victoria Jamieson, can you tell us anything about that early draft and did you have in mind at this stage a book for young people?

OMAR: I have always wanted to write a book to educate others about my experiences as a refugee. I had already started drafting my story when I met Victoria. I had envisioned the book as one for adults. I didn't have much experience with children's books or graphic novels at the time. I may continue with a book for adults at a later date.

How did the pair of you meet and how did the idea for the book come about?

OMAR: We met when Victoria visited Church World Service, the organization I work for that is dedicated to showing welcome to refugees, immigrants, asylum-seekers and other uprooted people within the United States, who are seeking safety and the opportunity to rebuild their lives. I was introduced to her by my coworker who was showing her around the office. After the introduction, my coworker told Victoria how I always wanted to write a book. 

VICTORIA: I had been volunteering with my local resettlement agency, and through that experience I met lots of people and heard harrowing and heartbreaking stories of their journey to the U.S. I had already been thinking about the possibility of a graphic novel based on some of the stories I'd heard, but I didn't know where to start. When I met Omar and we decided to collaborate, neither of us had any idea what the end result would look like.

Can you tell us a little about how the collaboration worked?

OMAR: We met in person and used other means of communications, including phone calls and text. I have a busy daily life, so we would meet during my lunch breaks or during the evenings or weekends.

VICTORIA: When it came to creating the art, that was something I did at home in my studio. We didn't meet in person as much during this time, but I was in constant contact with Omar throughout the day. I would send him screenshots of the pages I was currently working on to make sure the details were correct. I mainly looked at internet pictures of Dadaab to create the art, and it was important to me that scenes in schools, market, or homes were as Omar remembered them. We also worked with our amazing colorist, Iman Geddy, based in Atlanta, Georgia. She would send digital files after adding color, so Omar and I evaluated the art at every stage, from early sketches to final files.

Were there challenges in revisiting the past to tell such an intimate and personal story?

OMAR: In my current role with Church World Service, I work with refugees arriving to the U.S., but I also share my story frequently with local organizations and outreach programs. By sharing my story, I hope to inspire others to always persevere.

A lot of the story is deeply affecting, what considerations were there in making this a story for young people? Did this affect any of the content or shaping of the story and if so how?

OMAR: We did leave out some details; these may be included in a future book for adults!

VICTORIA: Omar and I had lots of discussions with our editor, Kate Harrison, on how to depict the more graphic parts of the story. When we had flashbacks to Omar's early childhood and the events that led him to flee Somalia, we depicted the violent acts off-panel. Similarly, we hinted at the violence that women and girls face during times of crisis. Older readers and adults may pick up on the subtleties, but we were careful to keep our audience in mind. We wanted the story to be honest, but not overwhelming for young readers.

Graphic novels have been used to convey often very complex and sophisticated stories - Spiegelman's Maus, Stassen's Deogratias, Joe Sacco's work. What qualities make the graphic novel form so well suited for this?

VICTORIA: Graphic novels, to me, are a very intimate reading experience. When I read a graphic novel, I feel like I'm invited into a character's world. As an American, I didn't know what schools in a refugee camp looked like, or markets, or bathrooms. A graphic novel seemed like a good introduction to what is likely a new way of life to readers living in the US or the UK.

How can readers who have been moved by When Stars are Scattered make a difference?

VICTORIA: I always thought the refugee crisis was happening far away from me, and there was nothing I could do to help. I was wrong! I learned there was plenty I could do to work with recent immigrants and refugees, right in my own community. Readers can search for local refugee resettlement agencies; they will offer many opportunities to volunteer. I also hope readers will check out www.RefugeeStrong.org. This is Omar's non-profit organization that continues to empower students living in Dadaab.

OMAR: Empowering and supporting refugees is key to helping them succeed not only in the camps but also in their new communities. I hope readers will get to know their neighbors, even if they have different clothing than you or speak with a different accent than you. One kind action can have a huge influence in another’s life.

Thank you to Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed for such an inspiring interview.

Shaun Tan has been announced as the winner of the 2020 CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal for his extraordinary collection Tales from the Inner City,  a collection of illustrated stories and poems exploring the shifting relations between the natural and human environments and the interconnectedness is suffused through these.  Julia Hale, 2020 Chair of judges for the awards describes it as 'a masterwork of illustration'.  YLG was delighted to discuss the awards and illustration with Shaun.

The Kate Greenaway is awarded for outstanding illustration, what qualities do you think make illustration outstanding and how important is it for children and young people?

Gosh, that’s that big question! I guess the word outstanding, broken down, means work that stands out, maybe stands apart a little bit. It’s very hard to put one’s finger on what that is, either in the noise of a book fair or the silence of one’s own desk, but you know it when you see it. It just grabs your attention and demands a second look, then and third, a fourth. Other work may not strike you immediately, but will reward sustained attention, will keep on paying dividends. I think that’s basically the measure of good illustration, if you can keep returning to it again and again, seeing different things, sustaining a certain fire of joy or disturbance, something you could hang on your wall forever and be perfectly happy to see it every morning. But there are no set rules for what that is, it doesn’t even have to be well drawn. To be honest, I’m still trying to figure that out – what makes an outstanding illustration.

How important it is for children and young people? Probably best to ask them individually. But to hazard a guess, I would say simple inspiration. Certainly the feedback I get from most young people involves them wanting to let me know that I’ve inspired them to draw and write. I really appreciate that, because it reminds me of the way I was inspired by other artists and writers as a young person. Just that feeling of mind-opening excitement when certain images reveal a whole new way of looking at the world. I think that’s probably the greatest contribution of illustrated books, especially where the reader is aware that they are created by individuals, people not so different from themselves. It inspires further creativity. Each good book is saying ‘look at what you can do with little more than words and drawings’. It’s an invitation to be an artist, the artist that I believe everybody is, regardless of whether they practice a craft. Just using imagination to test your experience of the world, to see things from other points of view, that makes you an artist.

The mission statement for the awards is to ‘inspire and empower the next generation to create a better world through books and reading.’  To what extent do you feel stories and art are able to act as agents of change?

Good question. I think that basically stories are the way that humans think about complex issues. We are an animal that thinks through story. That probably goes back a very long way, where stories, as a chain of events involving various places, characters and emotions, allowed successive generation to remember very big and complex things. Indigenous Australians are particularly good at this, and have been for thousands of years, understanding an intricate and vast geography through songlines and dreaming stories, connecting narrative directly with the land.

In other contexts, I believe stories have a similar function, they lay down ‘dreaming tracks’ in the mind, provide examples of possible outcomes to possible problems. When faced with a difficult situation, we may well be reminded of an anecdote, a book, a film or any story that suggests a way forward, and the principles to follow – particularly ideas about truth, integrity and empathy. That last one is the most important. Stories are basically about empathy, of imagining what it would be like to be someone else. And then recognising that there is no single story – contrary to fundamentalist thinking – but thousands, well, billions. Lots of different ways that things can go, including ways you cannot yet conceive of. Isn’t that why we read? To see something play out that we could not have imagined alone, to be curious about that, to want to think about it carefully. That’s a very good thing to be interested in. That open-mindedness will help you adapt to whatever life throws at you. And it’s going to throw a lot, the good, the bad, the incomprehensible, the downright depressing. How can you take that all in and still move forward?

You’ve spoken in the past about unease with the term ‘illustration’, are there better or more apt terms?

Of course, the definitions of words broaden out in time, so it doesn’t really matter – and certainly a century or so of children’s book illustration has helped with that a great deal. Anyone who appreciates it well knows that it is not about literal ‘illustration’. That said, the term is still misleading for a mainstream that does not study it closely, and it leads to economic, educational and institutional divisions which tend to favour other art forms over book illustration.

When I was an art student, it was actually considered a derogatory term. But I would then be confused by those celebrated painters who, to my eye, where creating close equivalents to book illustration… When I visited the Sistine Chapel for instance, it looked a lot like commercial illustration to me, albeit for an unusual client. Actually the majority of painters throughout history are illustrators, especially if you look beyond western modernism. When I look at Ancient Egyptian friezes, cave paintings, medieval tapestries, Aztec codices, Hindu temples, I see illustrated, figurative stories, very close to picture books and comics. Images that show things happening, with implied beginnings, middles and endings. So I tend to think in terms of narrative painting and drawing. Some art is about singular impressions, either abstract or figurative, and others are about specific things happening, they are narrative images, or ‘illustration’. I have similar thoughts about science fiction and fantasy, that it seems to me more of an historical mainstream than a modern subgenre. So much of human visual culture is basically fantasy illustration.

In any case, I think a lot of those straitjackets of language and definition are dissolving as more and more artists, writers, musicians and filmmakers cross over, or work in different fields simultaneously. Also, it’s nice to see that the boundaries between children’s and adult literature are often transgressed, and that my own books have come to be regarded as either-or. I think we spend too much time talking about differences between groups of readers and creators, when really those differences are often just statements of convenience. We are not too different from each other when it comes to appreciating good art.

You’ve experimented significantly with ideas of media and form from your graphic novel, ’The Arrival’ through to the ‘The Singing Bones’ with its use of sculpture?  How do you decide the form and media to use for different projects and how easy is it to garner the support of publishers?

I’ve been pretty lucky to have those opportunities, and to work with very adventurous editors and publishers. Occasionally it’s taken a bit of convincing when the medium doesn’t sound intuitively practical – sculpture for instance – but in each case I would do a few experiments to prove a point, a few complete pages of The Arrival or a few sculptures inspired by Grimm’s fairy tales. Largely to check for myself if they work, particularly because it’s a big commitment to make a book, and I have to fully believe in a style and technique before taking that on. I know when it works when it feels logical or intuitively right, when it does not feel like I’m forcing anything.

The analogy that comes to mind is a puppet; you start by pulling the strings, building and controlling, and if it then begins moving by itself you can cut those manipulative strings. The style and medium is working, movement and feeling flows through it naturally. Good editors can see that too, that is what they are skilled in understanding, sometimes even more so than an artist. Often those experiments don’t work, it feels like you are endlessly pulling strings, masking some falseness, and you start again with something else. The Arrival was very much like that, the final pencilled form is very different from an original, cartoony version, and before that a simplified sculptural version. It was very difficult, and I almost gave up on it, but glad that I kept experimenting until I found a relatively simple solution, albeit a very long one!

On the eve of publication for Hotel Flamingo: Carnival Caper, the third book in the brilliantly inventive, witty and whimsial series, we are delighted to speak with author and illustrator Alex Milway.

(1) How important do you think children's book illustrations are and why?

As a young reader, illustrations were the first thing that grabbed me in a book - yes, hang my head in shame, I judged books by their cover. Looking back, I think that because I loved animation so much, this was the way I connected books to the world of cartoons. If it looked like it might make a good cartoon, I was in!

So I think illustrated books provide an entry for readers that don't immediately get drawn in by words, for whatever reason. Looking at it another way, I think the illustrations and 'branding' of books are more important than ever, and younger fiction depends upon it, especially if they're to compete with all the other media industries that vie for kids' attention. 


(2) What books did you read as a child and what do you feel created their appeal for you?

This is a toughy! I remember a few books vividly, but I wasn't a huge reader. I spent way more time playing football, drawing, building LEGO models and coding on my Spectrum 48k. But I do remember devouring The Witches whilst on holiday once. I read lots of comics weekly, like Whizzer and Chips. My love of stories really kicked off in my teens - partly on the back of wanting to write stories like I saw in animated films (Miyazaki's Laputa: Castle in the Sky was immensely important to me, having chanced upon it on ITV one Sunday afternoon when I was about 13/14.) As with many kids of my generation, I read a lot of books like 1984 and James Herbert's Rats when at secondary school. YA didn't exist, but those fantasy/dystopian/horror classics worked fine. 

(3) Can you tell us how you came to create 'Hotel Flamingo'?

I saw my youngest daughter playing with a crowd of her cuddly toys, putting them to bed, teaching them, feeding them, and I thought it would be lovely to somehow get that into book form. A story about a child playing the adult, I guess, caring for others. Animals were an obvious choice for characters, but I didn't like the notion of it being a zoo - I don't think humans have any ownership over nature - and a hotel popped into my head. 

This world of animals became a place where Anna, the main character, could meet everyday human challenges head on in a gentle setting. All the problems of social cohesion, community and fairness are there for her to deal with in Hotel Flamingo. (Not to mention all the fun, very animal-centric problems, too, such as a rock band of nocturnal animals that have to practise at night!)

(4) There is a delightful sense of imaginative play in the models, animation and songs you create, does this help create a connection with young readers and what kind of responses does this get?

Yes, it really helps! I often find that children think the songs are the best bits of my events. I even had one lad ask for an encore! I blushed! But seriously, I love making things, from models to songs, and it's such a privilege to be able to bring that into schools and show what I do. It definitely helps with some children, making my books less like work, and more like fun. Which I obviously know reading is, but you know how literacy is these days!

(5) There is a warmth and wit that belies the stories, is the role of humour in children's books underrated?

Absolutely. I could go on for hours about this, but when a class full of children are laughing, you know immediately that they will remember your visit as a positive experience. That works with laughing when reading in your head, too. Humour linked to words is one of the most powerful tools we have for building and keeping young readers. 

(6) What animal would you most like to see visiting the hotel and why?

Beavers! I have been reading a book called Eager, by Ben Goldfarb, and I'm now a Beaver Believer, as they're known. I wish I'd written a story about a visiting beaver damming up the swimming pool... MAYBE I WILL?!

(7) Can you tell us anything about what you are working upon next?

I'm working on the illustrations for Hotel Flamingo 4 right now. Once those are complete, I have a lot of thinking to do... So many ideas, so little time. But there may be some adventures in the wilderness involved.