We are delighted to welcome Polly Dunbar to the blog to talk about her illustration, theatre and working on her new book with Mihael Morpurgo, Owl or Pussycat?

Can you introduce yourself please?

Hello my name is Polly Dunbar, I am a children’s author and illustrator. Not only have I always loved drawing but since being in school plays as a child I have a passion for theatre. it became very apparent as I grew up that I was better at illustrating than I am at acting (I’m a terrible singer and a bit shy) In 2006 my best friend from college and I co-founded a children’s theatre company called Long Nose Puppets.  This was the best thing ever because we got to make all the puppets and to act but all the while hiding in a booth and letting the puppets take the lime light. Being part of a puppet company meant I got my fix of theatre, all the  twinkly magic and being part of a team... life as an illustrator is quite solitary so it was nice to be out in the world one again.

How did  it feel to be working on Edward Lear's Owl and the Pussy Cat which is such an iconic text and has been illustrated by so many?  Were there any challenges with illustrating

such a well known text?

When I was sent Michael’s text to read I bowled over by it. It’s such touching story beautifully written. The book recounts Michael in his first school play, at last I could do a book that included my love of theatre, not only the glory and colour of being on stage but all those other fun bits like making costumes and designing sets. To top it all off the play was of The Owl and Pussycat, my all time favourite poem. I remember not sleeping a wink the night after I first read the story, my head was full of images of what I’d like the book to look like.

The book is set in the past and is based around Michael Morpurgo's childhood, did you have any interaction with Michael or did you do any type of research?

The book is set in late 1940s London. I wanted to the colour palette and the outfits to reflect that era. I had an enormous fun making pictures that offset the grey hues of London in contrast to the popping colours theatrical costumes. I incorporated a lot of collage to the costumes to give the tactile impression that the children had cut them out and tuck them together themselves. I didn’t have any interaction with Michael beforehand, expect he was sent the roughs. He was brilliant at letting me just go ahead with how I imagined it giving me lots of space to take liberties and at the same time offering encouragement. It is such personal story for Michael, I wanted to do it justice and for him to be happy. 

What interested or excited you most about the story?

Not only does this book include my favourite poem and brims with the magic of theatre, the reason I  liked it best of all because it’s a LOVE story. Michael’s words really do express so much of the anguish, excitement and pain of those feelings of first love. That’s what really inspired me, trying to capture those emotions in the drawing. I find once I’ve got the “feeling” of the character right all the rest of the colour and composition tends to fall into place. And vice versa, if the character isn’t spot on I can never get a picture to hang together. I guess drawing is a bit like acting. I have to really feel what the character is feeling to make it look believable and not a caricature.

Do you have any memories of texts being performed in school and, if so, what role did you play?

I remember being in school plays very vividly. My first big part was in Alice in Wonderland, I played the Mad Hatter. I had long blond haired and of course at the time I hoped to play Alice but I have two left feet and can’t sing a note- The Mad Hatter was much the best roll for me, also I got to make my own costume.

Can you talk us through your process for creating illustrations?

The artwork for The Owl or Pussycat is different from my normal illustration. My work is usually very pared-down, not much background all focus on the emotion of the character.  This tale needed lots of busy scenes, the school hall, the audience at the play and the atmosphere of smoggy London at the very end. It was challenge of me to illustrate in this way, especially as I had such clear visions in my mine of the atmospheres I wanted to capture. The process for me was a bit like collage, I drew the characters with a combination of pencil watercolour and collage. I drew the background separately and layered them all together on Photoshop. This way of working gives me a lot of freedom so I can make changes and tweak things as I go along. It also meant many hours sat in front of a computer. Putting all my hand drawn elements together in a none slick and “computery” way. Sometimes the technology can be more of a hindrance than a help and I have to be careful not to lose the essence and directness of my initial sketches.

You've collaborated with some amazing authors, Margaret Mahy, David Almond, Michael Morpurgo, what in your opinion makes the richest opportunities in a story for illustrating?

I’ve been extraordinarily lucky to work with such brilliant writers. A text for me must have an “otherness,”  some sort of magic that sparks the imagination. I love writing that leaves space for the illustrator, doesn’t over describe, lets me do my job with a free reign, hopefully bringing something to the story that wasn’t there before, at the same time I have to leave space for the reader, if they can bring their own imagination to the story that’s when a book really flies.

What is next for you?

My next book is by brilliant young poet Raymond Antrobus, it’s about a young bear coming to terms with being deaf. Again this is a story close to my heart, for very different reasons. I’ve also been working on something completely different a book for adults called Hello, Mum, it tells the story of my two boys early childhood and myself as a mum. It’s full of all the doodles and musing from my sketch book from this chaotic and magical time.

A huge thank you to Polly Dunbar for a brilliant interview and to David Fickling Books for the opportunity.

We are delighted to welcome Onjali Q Rauf to the blog to celebrate the publication of her new novel The Night Bus Hero and to discuss her writing.  Onjali has won the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize, a Blue Peter Book Award and many more, she was selected as one of the World Book Day £1 book titles this year.  Onjali’s books have quickly become renowned for trademark blend of humour and the understated ways in which they broach complex social themes.

Please can you introduce yourself?

Hi, my name is Onjali Rauf, and I’m a women’s and refugees rights activist, as well as (by some wonderful miracle), a children’s author. My first two books, The Boy at the Back of the Class, and The Star Outside My Window hit on issues very close to my heart - the refugee crisis currently unfolding in the world; and tackling all forms of domestic violence actioned against women and children. But at their heart, they are also adventure stories and feature characters based on people I know and love in the real world, and want others to know and love too. I love reading journey-based books and meeting phenomenal people through them, so as a writer, I guess I’m naturally inclined to wanting to go on an adventure too.

Congratulations on the publication of The Night Bus Hero please could you tell us about it and about Hector its slightly unlikely hero?

Thank you so much. The Night Bus Hero is really a story of a bully - Hector, and his encountering of a homeless man named Thomas, who lives in the local park. It’s not a nice encounter - and leads to all kinds of mischief and revelations, whilst across London, at the exact same time, lots of important pieces of public art are being stolen by seemingly invisible thieves. The blame for those thefts are being placed on the homeless communities - which is where Hector and Thomas come in… IF they can stop hating each other long enough that is. They’re an unlikely pair of possible heroes, but you have to read the book to find out if they actually turn that possibility into a reality!

The Night Bus Hero continues your tradition of really shining a light on the underdog or the outsider exploring the story and motivations behind bullies and the homeless.  How important is it that young minds are exposed to these stories?

I think young minds are exposed to underdog and outsider stories through pretty much all the stories that have been written from them, past and present - and even the most fantastical stories explore real issues of loss, death, trauma, bullying, loneliness and injustice. Whether that’s our fairy tales or Harry Potter or Paddington Bear. The Night Bus Hero is no different in that respect and is following that time-honoured tradition of presenting issues children are already acutely aware of and constantly exposed to, through a new story. It’s not the exposing that’s just important - the gifting of a safe space and opportunity to explore those issues and get discussions going is crucial. So I’m hoping the story will help create just that.

Your first book, The Boy at the Back of the Class was incredibly successful winning both the Waterstones Children Book Prize and the Blue Peter Book Award.  The book itself was based around some of the work you do with refugees, can you tell us more about this?

Absolutely… I have been heading out to help frontline refugee aid teams in Calais and Dunkirk in my spare time since 2015, and have had the huge honour of meeting hundreds of not only refugee families and children trying their best to survive in dire situations, but heart-stoppingly wonderful volunteers who give their hearts and lives over to aiding those that are being ignored by our world leaders. The Boy at the Back of the Class is dedicated to a baby I met in 2016 named Raehan, and I am so proud to say that the book and my attempts to help are now linked forever (a percentage of all royalties from the books now go into O’s Refugee Aid Team), and will hopefully go on helping other babies like Raehan and their families not just in France, but in Greece too. I never went out to the refugee camps thinking I would write a story about it one day, but I am deeply thankful that Baby Raehan inspired me to do so.

You explore often quite sophisticated and emotionally challenging subjects are there any considerations you have to make when framing these for young people?

Yes, absolutely. My editor, Lena McCauley is brilliant at pulling me back from story pathways that might be just a little ‘too much’ for young hearts to take, and making sure that we lighten some of the darker, sadder moments of a story, with a little humour or explanation. So the stories are always carefully read and proofread time and time again, to ensure nothing is too overwhelmingly painful, even when the issue being discussed, has the potential to be.

Your work has been selected for the Empathy Reads list, what roles do you think books and stories are able to play in helping to engender more empathic understanding?

An eternal one. Stories - no matter what form, be it in film form, or in Manga form, or in poetry and song form, are the most powerful stimulations we can possess, create or encounter, in helping all of us break out of our own bubbles, and think about the world or an issue from a different perspective. Right now, we’re seeing the wider repercussions of what happens when stories are eradicated, ignored, hidden away or changed to fit an agenda, and the glaring voids of empathy this creates. So stories are the best, most brilliant tools to widen worlds, and help people be brave enough to deeply understand - and respect -  someone else’s lived experience in the world.

The Day We Met the Queen was one of the World Book Day titles this year, how did it feel to be one of this year's authors and how easy was it returning to the world of Ahmet and friends?

I lived for World Book Day at school - and many a voucher was ‘bought’ with the contents of my lunchbox! It was surreal to be asked to contribute a story, and even more so to see the picture of the cover on a McDonalds Happy Meal box! It was an honour to be a part of it, and writing the story was a joy. I didn’t realise how much I had missed Ahmet and his best buddies until I began writing it, and the joy of it made it a much easier affair than I thought it would be.

Can you let us know what is next for you?

Sleep, lots of chai, and trying to keep up with all my brilliant teams… Oh! And moving onto book baby four of course!

As the finale to our Libraries in the Picture feature for Libraries Week, we are delighted to welcome illustrator Yu Rong to the blog.  Yu Rong is a great friend to libraries, she created the Youth Libraries Group logo and was the cover-artist for the inaugural issue of Pen & Inc magazine.  Yu Rong's work is a fusion of traditional Chinese papercut and pencil sketches creating a distinctive and fresh style.  Yu Rong has been awarded the Golden Apple by the Biennial of Illustrations, Bratislava for Free as a Bird in 2013.  She has illustrated Matt Goodfellow's Shu Lin's Grandpa which will publish with Otter-Barry Books in 2021.

Please can you introduce yourself?

My name is Yu Rong and I am an illustrator whose work grows out of traditional Chinese folk art form of papercut.  Traditionally papercut has very strict limitations, it is flat and two-dimensional.  When I was a student, publishers and my course-leaders were impressed by these techniques.  I felt encouraged by this and wanted to experiment to find ways that I’m less limited by the method of papercut.  I am the type of person who likes to accept challenges so I wanted to play and find ways to overcome the barriers with papercut.  I use different papers, experimented with limited colours and different types of material – from Chinese rice paper which is only red and blue, to tissue paper available in all sorts of colours.  I love to experiment with colours and textures.

The way paper is cut can make it difficult to show features and body language, so I see it as being like a stage-play.  My white paper is the stage and the paper is the puppets that I move around to form the drama. 

When I started out, I was very passive, but I have turned papercut into a good friend and spent a lot of time thinking about how to be able to portray what I want.  Now when I think about what I want to show, I have good ideas of how best to do this.

This year’s Libraries Week is themed around books and reading, can you tell us about some of the books you enjoyed as a child and why these connected with you?

I grew up in China and in my childhood we didn’t have many story books that were specifically for children.  My mother was a headteacher in a primary school and there we had some memorable fairy-tales from overseas like The Little Match Girl and The Little Mermaid.  We also had traditional Chinese stories like Hua Mulan.  There were also little booklets which told stories by Chinese authors and which were illustrated.  They were not much like picture books nowadays. 

We had special sort of comic books which were the size of postcards and featured rectangular illustrations and text underneath.  They were useful in helping children to learn and often told traditional tales like The Monkey King.  Maybe there is a link between these and why I’m so interested and fascinated by picturebooks.

What do you feel is important about libraries?

Having a library for children to read in is amazing!  The library is not only for books, it’s a special world for children to be in and find all manner of different stories and enter new worlds!  Even a corner with children’s books in is a treasure trove and I love that in waiting rooms there are little places where children can pass the time and explore and imagine!

Can you share details of one of your favourite libraries – this could be a school library or a public library?

The library I choose is at the Peace Primary School in Shenzhen.  It is a very innovative school in China.  What I liked about the library was the way they had little corners where children could sit and cuddle themselves up, losing themselves in books.  The space was comforting, relaxing and inspiring.  It was a really fun place to be and a hideaway too.  One of the things I love about libraries is the way they have different sections for different ages - even toddlers can be like adults making their own choices about where they want to be and the stories they love the most!

Can you tell us anything about your next book?

I’ve just finished illustrating a book called The Lost Child.  It has a very simple text ‘I am a lost child’.  It’s a story about a subject that happens to everybody.  We all get lost very easily and sometimes we just need a moment to find ourselves.  One of the things I loved about working on the book was the chance I had to add a special baby book, a rainbow book, that has a one-tone paper cut for every colour of the rainbow.  The baby book has no words, it just shows an imaginative journey and then we come back to reality.  I still love to experiment and challenge myself as an illustrator!

My next book is going to be around the story of Turandot the opera.  I am excited to work on the stage design and costume design.  The story relates to China but was made outside China so it gives me a good chance to experiment again.  I always feel I need to love the process of what I am doing.  My job is about finding what is best for me, what is best for the author and what is best for the story, I experiment and play to achieve this and there is a joy and an energy in that!

Photos 1-4 Copyright Jake Hope, 2019

Image One shows Yu Rong creating a very special library doodle on the walls of the Peace School Library where it can be enjoyed by children and staff alike!  

 Image Two shows Yu Rung with author Qin Wenjun enacting I am Hua Mulan at the Shanghai Book Fair during a celebration of its publication.

Image Three shows children at the Peace School Library dancing and reciting I am Hua Mulan in traditional dress during a visit by Yu Rong.

Image Four shows the outside of the Peace School Library.

Image Five shows the brilliant logo Yu Rong created for the Youth Libraries Group.

A big thank you to Yu Rong for the interview, for the brilliant support that she offers to libraries and for creating the Youth Libraries Group logo!

We are delighted to continue our Libraries in the Picture feature for Libraries Week and welcome Jen Khatun to the blog.  The books Jen has illustrated include David Ashby's Gribblebob's Book of Unpleasant Goblins and most recently Chitra Soundar's wonderfully warm Sona Sharma, Very Best Big Sister.  

Please can you introduce yourself?

Hi I’m Jen, a Children’s Illustrator, represented by The Bright Agency Group. My clients include Bramble Kids Books, Pushkin Press & Walker Books.

My favourite things are: 

-Spending time with my family, fiance and our dog Juno. 

-Collecting Berets and wearing them (See my doodle for proof!) 

-Cooking and dancing at the same time. 

-Watching my favourite Mystery moguls, Poirot, Columbo and Holmes. 

My work is heavily inspired by natural surroundings, the people around me and my favourite childhood books. I enjoy creating quaint yet quirky, loose and spontaneous illustrations that deliver an essence of nostalgia and everyday magic. I have always been an avid pen and ink Illustrator, but recently I have tried creating my illustrations digitally, which does help with time and meeting quick turnovers with projects. 

This year’s Libraries Week is themed around books and reading, can you tell us about some of the books you enjoyed as a child and why these connected with you? 

My favourite books that really moulded my creativity were Roald Dahl Books. His stories alongside Quentin Blake’s illustrations were altogether awe-inspiring. I loved the simplicity, the natural-ness, the imagination that they both delivered in each book. 

What do you feel is important about libraries? 

I feel a Library can bring communities of all ages together to read, learn, inspire and provide a great insight of the actual world and the imaginative world.

 Can you share details of one of your favourite libraries – this could be a school library or a public library?

I can’t say I have a favourite Library, as each library has a specialness to it. But I always have a lovely memory in the Library in my hometown, Winchester, Hampshire. When I was very little my Dad took me to the Library where he got me my first Library card. And the Librarian explained to me all the books I can borrow. I was so delighted, I felt like I had ‘the golden ticket!'

Can you tell us anything about your next book?

I can’t say much, but it’s full of fun facts about maths and science…and there’s a library mouse in there too!

A huge thank you to Jen for taking part in our interview and for creating a brilliant library doodle!

As part of Libraries Week, we have an illustration focus.  We'll be talking with a number of illustrators about their thoughts and views about libraries and many have created special library doodles for us to share!  We are thrilled to welcome Ehsan Abdollahi.  Ehsan is an art teacher, illustrator and animator.  He has illustrated several books including Thinker: My Puppy Poet and Me and A Bottle of Happiness.  

Please can you introduce yourself and your work?

I'm a lecturer of illustration at Tehran University of Arts and an illustrator.  Most of my illustrations are for children.

I always like to experiment with different techniques in illustrating my books, such as collage, watercolor, acrylic, etc.  In the last book I published in the UK The Secret of the Tattered Shoes (Tiny Owl), I used a combination of paper dolls and collages.

This year's Libraries Week is themed around books and reading, can you tell us about some of the books you enjoyed as a child?

When I was a child, I was very interested in The Little Mermaid storybook.  My father always read this book to me or I listened to his story tape and looked at the pictures in the book.  The mysterious spaces under the sea have always fascinated me.  Although the  characters had fish-like tails, they were amazing and magical to me.
Sometimes I thought that maybe one day I would have a tail like a mermaid

What do you feel is important about libraries?

In my opinion, the most important thing about library spaces is their soothing atmosphere. This is where people, children, and grown-ups can find peace. They are also points of knowledge and nothing can replace them. A dreamy library for me is one with sunlight, green plants, beechwood, and white walls.

Can you share details of one of your favourite libraries please?

The most beautiful library for me is still the library in my nursery school. This library was not large, only a few blue shelves with a number of children's books. But it is still the most beautiful library for me.

What are you working on next?

Currently, I'm working on a book about the lockdown. This book is an experience of group work, in which various illustrators contribute their experiences during the lockdown in the form of an illustration. Hopefully, this book will be published by Tiny Owl in March 2021.

The latest book published by me was a unique experience collaborating with Jackie Morris, The Secret of the Tattered Shoes, (Tiny Owl).

I'm going to write a story about mermaids. This is a good opportunity for me to illustrate my own story.

A huge thank you to Ehsan for sharing his thoughts and creating such a special library inspired doodle!