In Mitchell’s License, a boy who’s not ready to go to sleep gets to drive his dad to bed. Author Hallie Durand wrote some early chapter books based on her childhood experiences starring Dessert Schneider (including Dessert First). Mitchell’s License is inspired by her own children’s bedtime rituals with their father. Artist Tony Fucile started as an animator of films like The Incredibles. You may recognize his artwork from Let’s Do Nothing! in our Readeo Library. We hope you’ll enjoy reading and bookchatting with this great new children’s book this month! Here author and artist discuss their first collaboration.

Hallie, where did this idea come from?
Hallie Durand: It was probably about a decade ago that my husband put my daughter on his shoulders, and he called it “Remote-Control Dad.” He let her pull his ears to turn and pull his forehead to go upstairs. I’m a big fan of Pete’s a Pizza [by William Steig] and The Daddy Mountain [by Jules Feiffer], and I thought this would make a good children’s book.

How did you come up with all those great details, like his dad’s ear being the way to put the car in reverse?
Hallie: When we played it at home, my husband, Michael, would pick the kid up, put him or her on his shoulders, and take them to bed. When Tony first saw the book, the car was an automatic. I’d gone halfway to where we are now. We had an awesome conference call with Chris Paul, our art director, and Karen Lotz, our editor, where they encouraged me to go as far as I could. We did the sippy cup and the speed bumps, and I really wanted to put a trunk in, but I couldn’t make it work. None of that stuff was  in the Remote-Control Dad game we played at home.

We liked how unflappable the father, er, car is.
Tony: When I first read, it I thought, “Well, the dad’s a patient man.” I think I’m a little bit like that. I can take a beating, so it came pretty natural to have him unflappable.  My kids are 7 and 9, they still do that stuff, and now it hurts.

We thought it was funny when the car goes so fast that it runs into a wall (“Bonk!”).
Hallie: I have to give credit to my husband for that. He’s so good at making a loud noise and pretending that he hit the wall–that was part of the original game. Are you good at that Tony?
Tony: I do that all the time. I used to hit the wall with my fist and then let my head go back so it looks like I made contact.

How did you create the illustrations, especially the one of the “two-way traffic”?
Tony: Originally, everything was designed on paper, with colored pencils and stuff, and I experimented on this program called “painter.” I’d draw directly on the [computer] monitor using Wacom tablets, so it feels like you’re using natural media. It’s less messy, and you can control the color and break things out in different ways. I could separate the graphic elements, like the arrows on “the road.”

I ended up pulling away a lot of detail. When there was too much stuff it distracted from the road. In that picture where Mitchell grabs the flashlight, you start with that and then fill in. Chris Paul has taught me a lot about negative space. It’s a huge part of the book visually.

The only real conversation in the book occurs when Mitchell wants to stop for gas (cookies) and the car says, “No.” But in the end, Mitchell gets the gas station of his dreams. How did you come up with that, Tony?
Tony: Just from a color standpoint and a stylistic thing, you can see it in his room on the page before. I wanted it to be a lot brighter, more cartoon-like. The rest of the book is fairly representational. When you see a chair, it looks like a chair. Then in that last page it’s a little more stylized. That’s supposed to hark back to Dad with the reds and browns like Dad’s hair, and the painting on the [hallway] wall earlier.
Hallie: Isn’t one of your kid’s paintings in it, Tony?
Tony: Yes. That’s my son Eli’s octopus, and my daughter did the heart. Those are literally their drawings scanned and placed in there.

Jenny Brown is the editor for Readeo and oversees all book selection for the site. She has worked in the children’s book world for the past 25 years, holding positions with HarperCollins and Scholastic, and was the Children’s Books Reviews Editor for Publishers Weekly.  She currently writes for School Library Journal, Kirkus Reviews, and Shelf Awareness. Jenny graduated from Princeton University. You can read more from Jenny on her Web site, Twenty by Jenny.

Dear Readeo Friends,

Two new books by Guido van Genechten explore what it’s like to be different.

The first title, The Big Sleep Book, shows the many ways creatures rest, from the fish in the deep blue sea to sheep sleeping under a full moon. Even though they all rest in their own way, they are just like Josh, who needs sleep too, nestled between his two cuddly toys in his own bed.

The rabbit hero of Ricky does not like being different. If only his right ear would stand up like his left ear, the other rabbits would stop making fun of him! He tries everything to set things right, and nothing works. At last, he comes up with a different solution.

Each time you BookChat this weekend, you’ll automatically be entered to win a free copy of The Big Sleep Book. Visit us on our Facebook page for more giveaway details. And, as always, enjoy reading or BookChatting with these great new children’s books on Readeo!

We love hearing from you!

With all my best,
Jenny

Jenny Brown is the editor for Readeo and oversees all book selection for the site. She has worked in the children’s book world for the past 25 years, holding positions with HarperCollins and Scholastic, and was the Children’s Books Reviews Editor for Publishers Weekly.  She currently writes for School Library Journal, Kirkus Reviews, and Shelf Awareness. Jenny graduated from Princeton University. You can read more from Jenny on her Web site, Twenty by Jenny.

In the book The Cazuela that the Farm Maiden Stirred by Samantha R. Vamos, illustrated by Rafael López, the story builds up through repetition, like “The House that Jack Built.” This cumulative form is ideal for a story about making a recipe, and for teaching us all some Spanish words (there’s also a glossary at the back). Best of all, the results of the recipe are a surprise! Here Samantha Vamos talks about how a cold Chicago day planted the seeds for her heartwarming tale of many farm hands (and hooves) that come together to make a wonderful meal.

How did you come up with the idea for The Cazuela that the Farm Maiden Stirred?
We were living in Chicago in a frontier area of the city and didn’t have a car. I wanted to make pancakes, but I didn’t have two crucial ingredients: milk and eggs. In order to get them, I’d have to take a taxi or a bus, but it was bitterly cold. I thought about how great it would be to live on a farm. I’d be the farm maiden and I’d ring the cow and say, “Could I have some freshly given milk?” I did have a pot, and this line came to me, “This is the cazuela that the farm maiden stirred.” The rhythm reminded me of “This Is the House that Jack Built.” I never made the pancakes, but I did finish writing a first draft of the story.

We liked the way you taught us Spanish words through the repetition of the story’s events.
I wanted the story to be bilingual, and I always wanted to write a book with a recipe. I needed to create specific characters to bring a different ingredient. The cow and chicken were obvious choices.  “The House that Jack Built” structure was the perfect way for the Spanish words to be incorporated and remembered, since they’re repeated. Organically, it just kind of flowed.

We liked the part where the cow is teaching the cabra (goat) how to make mantequilla (butter) with her own milk!
As I thought about it, I needed to have some transition, I needed to have action animals to advance the story. It made sense to me that the cow would teach the goat. I didn’t know Rafael would put a toque [chef’s hat] on the goat’s head!

We also liked when the duck (pato) rides the burro (donkey) to the mercado (market) to buy azúcar (sugar) for the recipe. At first, we didn’t notice the burro’s back!
We had that experience here too! I didn’t see any of Rafael’s early work; I saw it when it was ready to go to the printer. I was looking at that page, and I loved the colors. He draws a black line as if it’s a coloring page, and then paints them in. You see a lot of lines because he paints on wood. So I was turning the page, and for me it was the same! I thought, “He’s riding on the back of the burro!” But I only saw that on the second or third reading. I loved that the burro has boots.

Another thing Rafael did is he made the sun look different in–I think–eight different images, sometimes laughing, sometimes winking. The sun is on each page when the duck appears.

Most of the characters had not one but two jobs to do to make the meal. It’s kind of the opposite of The Little Red Hen, isn’t it?
In The Little Red Hen, the animals aren’t mean, but they’re eating on their own, it’s kind of lonely. I’m not trying to pat myself on the back, but I like that, in this story, the animals are doing things and participating. It’s only natural that they’d enjoy the meal because they deserve to.

Samantha Vamos and her publisher, Charlesbridge, have created an activity guide with ideas that you can do together with your youngster to extend the book’s themes, from math to Bingo cards featuring the Spanish/English words used in the story. Rafael López did the illustrations. Read or BookChat with this fantastic children’s book for free on Readeo during May!

Jenny Brown is the editor for Readeo and oversees all book selection for the site. She has worked in the children’s book world for the past 25 years, holding positions with HarperCollins and Scholastic, and was the Children’s Books Reviews Editor for Publishers Weekly.  She currently writes for School Library Journal, Kirkus Reviews, and Shelf Awareness. Jenny graduated from Princeton University. You can read more from Jenny on her Web site, Twenty by Jenny.

David Ezra Stein received a Caldecott Honor for his illustrations in Interrupting Chicken, which he also wrote. It’s about a little chicken whose father is trying to read to her, but she keeps jumping in to give advice to the characters! Will poor Papa ever get to finish a story? (Sound familiar?) We asked the author-artist about his inspiration and artwork for this picture-book celebration of reading aloud together.

We liked all the details in the picture before the story starts, the “title page.” Are these clues to the little red chicken’s energetic personality?
Yes. All the details in the title-page art speak volumes about the house and who lives there. We see that the papa is rather formal and that his stately, old-fashioned home has apparently been “accessorized” with a child’s paraphernalia. We can imagine what happened just before we came upon the story. An enthusiastic chicken and her dad had dinner together. We can almost hear the echoes of the little chicken as she told her dad all kinds of things, all the while spilling pasta everywhere. Our brains are filling in gaps like mad at this stage. When we get to the actual text, we are ready for the present story to begin.

When Papa says to his little red chicken, “And of course, you are not going to interrupt the story tonight, are you?” you let us know that the feathered hero may have broken into the story once or twice before. Was it important to choose stories you thought children would know well?
A good book works on many levels. It helps if a child knows about these stories. But a chicken promising to be good and then jumping out and making her dad mad is funny in itself. I chose stories that had a crux moment, where one single interruption would really ruin everything!

We liked the way the artwork in the storybook tales—“Hansel and Gretel” and the others—had an old-fashioned feeling, with just a dab of color (red for the wolf’s coat and Little Red Riding Hood’s bonnet and bloomers, for example). Then when the little red chicken enters the storybook, she’s all Technicolor! How did that image of the two worlds crashing together come to you?
Thanks. I really enjoyed trying to find an old-fashioned style that was still “me” and still loose. I definitely used the contrast in styles to make the chicken’s entrances jarring. But I didn’t start out knowing that that was how I was going to paint it. The final style you see came from lots of experimenting with the art.

The reactions of the storybook characters to the little red chicken’s entrance are hilarious! Especially the birds’ reactions in Chicken Little.
Hee hee. I really enjoy the birds’ reactions, too. There is something funny about a fussy bird wearing headwear and then being startled. Go figure.

We liked how little red chicken’s story, “Bedtime for Papa,” has her crayon drawings and stickers.  Were the main illustrations of Papa and his little chicken also done in crayon? How did you do the storybook illustrations? We noticed you also used “tea” in your artwork.  (Did you know that Peter Reynolds also uses tea? You’re the only two I know of that use tea!)
Yes, there’s a lot of crayon in the main art of the book (Especially in the wallpaper). It is added over watercolor washes. The chickens themselves are mostly watercolor with crayon and pencil highlights. In the storybook I used pen and watercolor. And of course, tea, to give it that aged look. I didn’t know Peter Reynolds used tea. I love his work. Very inspiring and pro-creativity.

Where did you get the idea for an “interrupting chicken”? Do you have your own “interrupting chicken” at home?
The book is based on the knock-knock joke:
-Knock knock!
-Who’s there?
-Interrupting chicken.
-Interrupting chi— BWOK BWOK BWOK!
I do have an interrupting chicken at home. But he wasn’t born yet when I was working on this book. He toddles over to me now with a book and asks me to read it. I guess my book predicted the future!

What’s the best thing about bedtime stories?
When someone reads to you, it means they love you. It’s a wonderful way of being together!

With all my best,
Jenny


Jenny Brown is the editor for Readeo and oversees all book selection for the site. She has worked in the children’s book world for the past 25 years, holding positions with HarperCollins and Scholastic, and was the Children’s Books Reviews Editor for Publisher’s Weekly.  She currently writes for School Library Journal, Kirkus Reviews, and Shelf Awareness. Jenny graduated from Princeton University. You can read more from Jenny on her Web site, Twenty by Jenny.

We wanted to kick off the New Year with Peter H. Reynolds because he believes that each of us has a powerful creative impulse. He says, “Even if you put you on hold for awhile, you can still get to know yourself and show that to the world.” He knows many kids who stopped making art in 4^th or 5^th grade who took it up again when given the chance. As he talks about The Dot and Ish, he makes a strong case never to give up—keep the creative juices flowing!

What comes first for you, the art or the words?

Usually, there’s a lightning bolt moment when the idea is formed. I’ll quickly write down a word or a few words to capture the idea and often I’ll put a little drawing next to it. It looks a lot like a book cover. I love the story of how The Dot began. I fell asleep with my pen to paper. When I woke up, the little dot I’d made had mushroomed into one giant black dot, and I wrote, “by Peter H. Reynolds.”

In Ish, Ramon mentions that he likes to draw with a “loose line.” Is drawing your favorite part? Or do you like the watercolor part just as much?

It’s all one process and I enjoy it all. I would say that the watercolor is the most free part for me. The equivalent would be if you’re baking a cake and then you get to frost it. The more relaxed I get, the better the art comes out. There’s actually very little color in both The Dot and Ish. There’s no color in their clothing or their faces. For me, less is more. I think black-and-white films are wonderful because your brain can do the painting for you.

Is it true that you used tea when you made the pictures in Ish and The Dot? The kind you drink?

Yes. I grew up in a British household and we drank a lot of tea. I have tea when I’m painting, and when I’m ready to start painting, sometimes I’m too eager to go and get water, so I use tea. It turns out that it adds a little bit of that sepia color.

We loved the “crumpled gallery” that Marisol makes of Ramon’s discarded drawings in Ish.

When I’ve done workshops with kids, I’ve seen them crumpling, tearing or erasing their drawings. It’s not a crisis if the picture doesn’t go the way your brain had envisioned. Put it to one side and grab another sheet of paper. That’s where the idea for Ish came from. A boy was drawing a tiger, and I thought, “What a beautiful image.” A few minutes later, I saw him erasing the tiger. I asked him about it, and he said, “Oh it was supposed to be a tiger, but it doesn’t look like one.” I said, “It’s Tiger-ish.” And his head whipped around and he said, “Tiger-ish?” The other kids wondered what we were talking about and came over, then they went back to their own work and said, “This is lion-ish,” “This is monkey-ish.”

We also liked the way Marisol’s comment that Ramon’s vase of flowers is “vase-ISH” helps him turn around his attitude toward his artwork.

Being a twin, I was born with someone who not only shared my DNA but also my experiences and values. Paul sees things from a different point of view, like Marisol did for Ramon. I think we need to allow people to take those first wobbly steps in an area that’s new to them. We’re not all going to be great at everything. If we were, we wouldn’t need each other. Communities thrive on differences in talent and abilities. That shouldn’t prevent you from dabbling in it yourself. The more we play sports, the better we’re going to be. The more we write, the better we get; the more we read, the more words we know. If you’re acting, reach inside and find your voice; don’t just find the words. It has to connect with you.

You have said that The Dot is the first in a “creatrilogy.” Is Ish the second? And what is the third?

Sky Color. I’ve just finished writing and illustrating it. The Dot is about getting brave and getting started. Ish is about finding your voice, and keep on keeping on. Sky Color is about how the learning journey never ends. There’s always a way to become more wonderful at whatever you do.

Peter’s activity suggestion:

When you read The Dot and Ish together, it’s powerful if the adults who are reading with children to create art and sign it and proudly display it on the refrigerator or elsewhere. My hope is that parents and grandparents will splash along joyfully with their child or grandchild. Art is not a solo sport. You can create art together.