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I was quite taken and impressed by [Noodlenuts].
- Geneviève Coté, author and illustrator of What Elephant? |
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“I have had quite a lot of reviews and yours for me from my point of view is the best!” - Tracy McGuinness-Kelly, author & illustrator of Bad Cat |
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“Your review of my book . . . was so touching and humbling, I cannot find the words to express my gratitude.” - Marie LeTourneau, author of The Mice of Bistrot Des Sept Freres. |
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EVER WONDERED . . . . . . just what is involved in “authoring” a wordless picture book, particularly when the author is NOT the illustrator? It seems a bit contradictory--”writing” a wordless story--doesn’t it? On the occasion of publishing his first wordless picture book, The Bored Book (see links below, or for those of you who prefer to support independent bookstores, check it out at Indiebound), fantastic children’s author David Michael Slater shares a few thoughts on exactly what his job as an author entailed in this unusual circumstance: Greetings! There's a look I'm now used to that forms on the faces of folks who learn that I am the author of a (forthcoming) wordless picture book (THE BORED BOOK)--after I inform them that I did not illustrate it. Most do that doggie cock-of-the-head thing and say "Huh?" The snarkier ones say something like, "You're the author of a book you didn't write? How do I get in on this? I got tons of books I never wrote." Yes, it's a bit unusual for the author of a wordless book not to be the illustrator. The most famous seem to be that way (think of all those Weisners or The Red Book or Oops, Zoom, etc.). These kinds of books are more likely to arise from an illustrator because of the complexities involved in mapping out a story solely told in pictures. But since there isn't much call for books full of stick figures (or at least my kind--tried once), illustrating my own story was not an option. I can't say how I decided the story told in THE BORED BOOK would be best served without words, but I knew it instinctively. There is no early version written as I normally write a story. The process really isn't all that mystical, though it does require a different way of imagining the tale as it is told. The story is about a brother and sister bored to tears at their grandfather's book-filled house. When they begin to fuss with each other, he stands and opens a bookshelf to reveal a set of hidden stairs leading to the attic. The kids race up the steps only to find more books, but soon after the adventure of a lifetime. Normally, I might begin this story with something like, "Stop poking me, you lump of foul deformity!" (Okay, maybe not quite like that, but you get the point.) Instead the manuscript simply reads: 'Brother and sister are bored to tears in their grandfather's book-filled house. They begin to fight. Grandpa notices this. He stands and opens a bookshelf to reveal a hidden set of stairs.' And so on. Most picture books, and nearly all I write, top out at about 1,000 words. Anything under 1,500 will likely fit safely between the covers of a (not off-putting) 32 page illustrated book. In this case, I was not at all sure how my 'instructions' would translate to page numbers. It came as no surprise to me that the book needed a great deal more work with the editor after acceptance than is typically the case. Before it ever went the illustrator, I worked closely with Simply Read Books' talented editor, working through dozens of possible layouts that captured the key moments in a reasonable number of images. This often required rethinking of scenes. How to take, say, three instructions, and turn them into one picture that tells all that needs to be told? This was a challenge, but a thrilling one. Finally, off it went to an extraordinarily talented illustrator, Doug Keith. When I saw how he breathed vibrant, spangled life into my flat black and white list of instructions--well, what can I say? There were no words. Best and thanks, David |