Category Archives: stories

“Cowboy Come home”

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Working with text and pictures.

The text is written and the layouts are nearly done. The working tittle is above. Here are sketches showing the treatment of the text which, to me, should be almost illustrated. The final exploration will be to bring type and image much closer together.

Recently, agents and publishers have asked for more finished presentation of book ideas. I have to admit to refusing to do this. It takes blood, sweat and tears! The reward is often a rejection with little or no explanation. It is an understandable development, though. Many people want to be published and there are not enough publishing lists is one reason.

Self publishing has opened a door of opportunity for the brave ones. It will take a little while longer to find the best way to do this with kids books, in my view, as they are still more expensive to produce.

K

 

What about other cultures?

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I spent time in book shops over the festive season.  I realised it is still a better experience than being online.

I also noticed the lack of contemporary stories for children about other cultures. Most, if not all publishers have an anthology of folk tales from ‘the world’. Then, most publishers have the obligatory ‘multicultural’ collections, or a series about a character from somewhere else. But there aren’t many of these and they are so similar that they can be mistaken for being the same.

Children that don’t have access to cultural stories will grow up to be adults that don’t have access to cultural stories. What will they pass on to their children? Flights of fantasy for young children don’t have to all be dragons and giants and talking animals that are candy coloured, or warm and fuzzy. In this age where more respect is being given to a person’s background celebrating cultures could go a long way.

Youth culture is current and ever-changing and really quite exciting. We cannot look at it like a sub culture. It has its own language and code of behaviour which comes out of the your person’s experience as a child.

African culture is all but forgotten by publishers. Traditional culture is crammed in to the one volume I mentioned earlier and modern African culture is simply not present. 54 countries and the cradle of human life is not seen as interesting enough…

If you ever have the opportunity to sit with a book seller our buyer you will hear that these stories simply don’t sell, it’s a sales and marketing issue. I believe it is one of misunderstanding and slight fear. As the world looks to Africa and the East it is only a matter of time before that will change.

So, this year, I will be focusing on cultures of all kinds: How to make them fun, how to turn them into stories. What’s more, I’ll let you know how the year progresses.

K

Ring a Ring o’ Roses

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© Ken Wilson-Max 2011.

I think there is still some thought about the decoration of the type and the flowers that has to happen, but wanted to post it anyway as I’m fairly pleased with the progress.

Ring a Ring o’ Roses

The historical context for this rhyme dates back to around the time of the Great Plague of London (1665). The symptoms of the plague included a rosy red rash in the shape of a ring on the skin and violent sneezing. People carried sweet smelling herbs, or posies, as they believed the disease was transmitted by bad smells.

The death rate of the Great Plague was over 60% and it was eventually brought to a fiery end by the Great Fire of London in 1666 which killed the rats that carried the disease.

Baa Baa Black Sheep

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© Ken Wilson-Max 2011

The earliest publication for the “Baa, baa black sheep” rhyme or poem was 1744. The Music that we know today was first published in the early nineteenth century. The song  makes a link between wool and sheep. Babies imitate the sounds or noises that animals make –  onomatopoeia – as part of  learning through playing.

The rhyme has had its controversial moments too but it seems unfounded. That is there is no way to prove or disprove any controversy.

Nursery Rhyme sketches

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An early sketch for ‘Incy Wincy Spider’ threw up several questions about the final image. Should it be 3-d somehow? Is it too scary for young children? I’m now experimenting a little more with the treatment of the artwork and it’s so much fun!

Splash Joshua Splash

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Splash Joshua Splash by Malachy Doyle and Ken Wilson-Max

Joshua and his grandmother spend a day experiencing H2O in its many forms. The delighted boy feeds ducks on the river, runs through puddles, plays at a drinking fountain, swims in a pool, and snuggles up for a rainy “cosy, dozy” bus ride home. The child speaks only three words but his favorite is “splash,” which appears hand-lettered in block form. The lines of type are set at slight angles to one another to mimic flowing water. Though not a rhyming story, the words flow with easy-on-the-tongue phrases such as “Deep down, under the water,/under the water, deep down./Into the froth and the foam,/and the bubbles,/splashing and crashing,/fizzing and sparkling.” The bright, saturated illustrations are eye-catching in their colorful simplicity. One slight discrepancy: Joshua appears to change sizes, sometimes only coming up to Granny’s waist while at other times almost to her shoulders. Very young children who are fascinated with water will enjoy hearing about Joshua’s day.

-Maryann H. Owen, Racine Public Library, WI

What’s your story?

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Kimane Maruge was the world’s oldest student, starting in his eighties because he wanted to be able to read the bible. His story has inspired millions from his humble existence in Kenya. He showed that when the spirit is will ing the  mind and body will comply.

If you live in Europe or the US but don’t come from there, chances are that you will be buying and reading stories to your children that won’t always reflect their background. Publishers in these areas will naturally be targeting the market that will bring them the largest profit so smaller communities, or should I say less financially strong are going to be left out to a certain extent. I don’t believe its a conspiracy or anything, just business.

Business is changing though, especially the business of publishing, and there is a shift towards companies servicing a communities that they have nurtured with the products they want. The communities, aren’t fixed. They they have a multitude of interests and stories that define them so can belong to several communities through the internet and in real life.

What do you if you can’t see yourself in the stories? The answer is simple. Make you own. Share your stories with your friends. Let your community tell its own stories. It’s not always about money, but it should be about how you measure success and how high you set the standard for your project.

Think about the tools available to you; your brain, your work experience, the home computer, video camera, pencil and paper. Make your own definition of a story, and then a book so you know exactly what you are aiming for.

 

Everyone has a story to tell and a particular way to tell it

 

The Little Plant Doctor

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Published by Holiday house this spring (2011), written by Jean Marzollo. It was a great project to work on and gave my work a new freshness.

The Best New Illustrators Award 2011

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The top ten rising stars of picture book illustration were unveiled at an exhibition in central London on Tuesday 22 March 2011.

Chosen by a stellar panel of judges, Children’s Laureate Anthony Browne; Director of Literature Strategy at Arts Council England, Antonia Byatt; author/illustrator Lauren Child; founder of the Illustration Cupboard John Huddy and author/illustrator Ken Wilson-Max, the winners have been crowned the Booktrust Best New Illustrators 2011.

http://www.booktrustchildrensbooks.org.uk/show/feature/Home/Best-New-Illustrators-2011-winners

Anthony Browne gave a great interview about the picture books and children’s illustration in general to the Guardian.

http://gu.com/p/2zva8

Foxie and Mash Up Truck Version 2

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© Ken Wilson-Max 2011

Developing an idea is a process.  Its full of holes and spaces into which you can fall and be lost forever, though.  For some the thrill comes from avoiding the creative pitfalls.  For others the result is the thing. Shaping an idea is not an exact science and very few come out ready to use and there is  a balance between being practical and ‘out there’ that has to be maintained.

Its great when the result works. Its great when it doesn’t (once you stop crying or destroying the studio) because you’ve learned something more about what you are capable of achieving. For me, ideas are best developed with others.

An orange truck this time…