1. Please tell us how you go about crafting both comics and picture books. The process is surprisingly similar. I always start with the story and the specific tone or mood that I want for it. I develop the idea and write a manuscript, describing the eventual images and placing the text or dialogue. From there, I draw very loose thumbnail sketches. I love this stage in the process because it is low-pressure due to the simplicity of the sketches but at the same time you are making important decisions about the flow of the eventual book. The thumbnails are followed with another sketch version, getting the ideas tighter but still keeping it loose so I have room to improve everything in the final art stage. 2. What themes/messages do you want to share in your work? Kindness, empathy, and joy in the simplest things. I believe in happy endings no matter how dark the story. There always needs to be hope. 3. What do comics and picture books allow you to do as a storyteller? Telling a story with words and pictures allows me to use all of my tools to create the book. It invites the reader to engage cognitive skills for both words and images. I think that leads to a uniquely involving reading experience. Recently, for books like The Sheep, The Rooster, and The Duck and Knights VS. Dinosaurs (and its sequels), I’ve been using a hybrid that combines prose, spot illustrations, full-page illustrations, and comics sequences to tell the story. It’s basically mixing all of my favorite book styles (picture books, chapter books, and graphic novels) together. 4. What message would you send to teachers who share about your books with young readers? Children are naturally superb at reading pictures. It should be encouraged and cultivated. I don’t think anyone should ever “age out” of books with illustrations.
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