Maw Books

Maw Books – book reviews, book recommendations, book lists, author interviews and more!

Yesterday I posted about how much I LOVE Leslie Patricelli and her awesome, cute, adorable, bright, energetic, simple board books (seeing how many adjectives I could squeeze in there).

The other great thing about these board books that I didn’t mention is that they work!  When kids read these books, they get it!  Don’t eat the dog food!  Check.  A banana is yummier!  Libraries are quiet.  Playgrounds are loud.  Now only if Leslie would write a book about potty training, because my little guy seems to not be getting that lately.  Hop on over to that post, discover these great books then come on back for some Q & A.

This is one of those interviews that I can’t express to you I how excited I was to ask Leslie some questions.  I’m just giddy with excitement to share with you Leslie Patricelli and her awesome board books for babies and toddlers.

Maw Books:  Welcome Leslie!    I’m really excited to have you today!

Leslie Patricelli: Thanks for having me!

Maw Books:  Your books are so simple, bright, and full of energy.  What is the inspiration behind your adorable series?

Leslie Patricelli:  Thank you! My first child was the inspiration for the series. I was working on children’s books for several years before I had my own kids. They had a lot of energy but they were much more complicated. Reading board books such as those by Todd Parr and Lucy Cousins to my first child inspired me to aim to be more simple. Conversing with my baby in short sentences helped me to simplify the language in my books.

Maw Books:  Who is the cute nameless little boy who wears just a diaper.  Do you have a name for him?

Leslie Patricelli:  I first drew this little baby when my first child, Beck, was an infant. I was in a CPR class for new parents. The nurse leading the class was going on and on about all the dangers that faced my new baby – like drowning in tubs and toilets, being electrocuted by sticking a fork in a socket, falling down the stairs, choking and eating poisons. I started drawing cartoons of all these things happening to this little baby to make myself feel better. At the end of all the drawings I had a picture of the baby locked up in a box with a padlock and labeled it, “How 2 Keep Your Baby Safe.” I kept drawing this baby in different parenting situations as we ran across them. When he was about one-year-old and was sticking everything in his mouth, I found myself constantly saying “yummy” to try to get him to eat stuff, or “yucky” to keep him from putting things in his mouth.

One day I sat down and drew out the idea for Yummy Yucky. So – the character is Beck … though now I have three kids, so the baby has become an amalgam of all three of them. At one point my editor and I considered naming the baby (he would’ve been Beck), but we decided to keep him/her as just Baby so it could be an every-baby baby!

Maw Books:  I like that he’s an every-baby baby!  Were you always drawing as a child?  Or is it something you discovered later?

Leslie Patricelli:  Yes. I was always drawing. It was how I entertained myself. I also entertained my sister and parents, and then my friends. Lots of my friends still have funny drawings that I made for them. My school notes were always covered in drawings and my reports always had fancy covers, too. I remember the cover that I did for my ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ report. It illustrated nine different ways to kill a mockingbird. My drawings were often pretty twisted; I’ve had to tone my sense of humor down a bit for children!

Maw Books:  Tell us the hard knocks of getting your first book published.  Was it easy or hard?

Leslie Patricelli:  Well, it was hard – until it was easy. I spent pretty much my whole life practicing drawing and writing to finally get to a style and an idea that I could sell. I submitted one book called ‘The Nut’ and received twelve rejections. The worst rejection was an un-personalized form letter, the best was an encouraging phone call from an editor. Then I submitted Yummy Yucky and got two offers. So with only two attempts it sounds pretty easy, but really it took years of trying out styles and ideas to get there. Ironically, the style I ended up using looks so simple. There are years of trial and error behind those simple lines!

Maw Books:  What is your advice to the rest of us who would like to write or illustrate books for children?

Leslie Patricelli:  The first thing to do is to see what’s out there. Read as many books as you can. I’d suggest reading them out loud, too. Then figure out how to make a good submission. An essential book on this topic is The Children’s Book Writer’s and Illustrator’s Market. There is a new one every year and each has lots of helpful articles. I was fortunate enough to find a class in Seattle taught by two amazing local author/illustrators, Keith Baker and Laura Kvasnosky. That is where I learned the ins and outs of how to get a book published. In the class we used Uri Schulevitz’s book, Writing With Pictures: How to Write and Illustrate Children’s Books. Also, be sure to join your local chapter of the Society of Children’s Books Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) and attend the local meetings. Find out all about SCBWI at http://www.scbwi.org. This site also contains huge amounts of valuable information for someone looking to get into children’s books. Oh, and a good critique group is the best!

Maw Books:  What was the experience like when you first saw your book in a bookstore?

Leslie Patricelli:  I loved it! But I am also kind of shy, so I just looked at it and walked by.

Maw Books:  What is your working space like?  What mediums do you work in?

Leslie Patricelli:  My working space is a mess! I share a big room with my husband, who’s a drummer, so it’s also LOUD! I have three kids, so it’s chaotic, too. They love to get into my gum, which I try to hide, so I have gum wrappers all over. (We’re still working on the idea of putting things into the garbage). I do work here, though. On one side of the room, I have my computers. I work on a Mac G5. I have the coolest monitor ever, which is a Cintiq monitor by Wacom. I can use a stylus to draw right onto the monitor. It saves a lot of time during the prep phases of my books. On the other side of the room, I have my art desk. It’s currently covered in drawings from my kids (does anyone know what to do with all those papers that come home from school? ) I create the final art for my books at my art table, painting with acrylic on canvas paper.

Maw Books:  Sounds wonderful!  How old are your kids?  And how do you find time to work with kids around the house?

Leslie Patricelli:  Beck is nine, Tia is six and Tatum is four. Now that they’re in school more, finding time to work has gotten easier. One essential trick is that I make sure someone else is in charge of my kids while I’m working. That has meant hiring babysitters in the past, but now my husband and I both work at home, so we trade off taking care of the kids and working. (As if taking care of the kids isn’t working! But you know what I mean …) Also, I work while they are sleeping. This has gotten much easier since the kids now sleep through the night. It used to be a killer.

Maw Books:  What are some your favorite books for children?

Leslie Patricelli:  One thing I don’t understand is when people say that there aren’t a lot of good books for kids out there. I’m not sure where they are looking. Every time I go into a bookstore I’m amazed by how many great books there are … and new ones all the time! I love so many of them, this is a hard question.  Where the Wild Things Are is one of my all time favorites because it scared me and now it’s scared all of my kids, too. I also like Sesame Street books because it’s fun to talk like Elmo. Here are a few of the most worn-out books around our house: Jesse Bear What Will You Wear? (Nancy White Carlstom and Bruce Degen), Peek-a-Who (Nina Laden), Jamberry (Bruce Degen), Goodnight Gorilla (Peggy Rathman), The Going to Bed Book (Sandra Boynton), Green Eggs and Ham (Dr. Suess), No David! (David Shannon), Leonardo the Terrible Monster (Mo Willems), Ella Sarah Gets Dressed (Margaret Chodos-Irvine). Those are for the little ones. My son and I have loved sharing all the Harry Potter Books(JK Rowling) and recently enjoyed The Higher Power of Lucky (Susan Patron).

Maw Books:  Great choices!  What’s on your nightstand right now?  Anything good you can recommend?

Leslie Patricelli:  I’m reading Schultz, the biography of Charles Schultz. I love biographies, especially about authors and about mountain climbers. There is also a pile of half finished crossword puzzles. I’m addicted. The most inspiring book I’ve read recently (maybe ever) is Three Cups of Tea.

Maw Books:  One of my favorite features on my blog is to ask authors for a favorite recipe of theirs.  Would you care to share one?

Leslie Patricelli:  Here’s a great one for the BBQ. I got it from a book called Grill Every Day (Diane Morgan). I’m a coffee lover, so I think it’s the best. Feed it to your kids at your own risk, though!

ESPRESSO AND CARDAMOM RUB for beef, pork and chicken thighs and legs

1/4 c finely ground espresso roast coffee
1/4 c kosher sea salt
1/4 c packed dark brown sugar
3 T hot paprika
1 T ground ginger
2 t  garlic powder

Stir well. Use immediately, or transfer to a jar with a tight-fitting lid and store away from heat and light for up to 1 month.

Maw Books:  I’m sure a lot of people are going to love that one! What are you currently working on and what can we expect to see from you in the future?

Leslie Patricelli:  The next book that you will see from me will be released in the Spring of 2009. It’s called, ‘Higher! Higher!’ It’s going to be the first of my books that doesn’t have the baby character in it. It has a little girl, that looks just like the baby .. but with pigtails and a dress! Her Dad is pushing her on a swing and she pleads, “Higher! Higher!” She ends up right out in space – then back to Daddy to do it all over again. After that you will see a new preschool series about a dog family called ‘The Patterson Puppies’. A Mama, a Papa and four little white pups who are always getting carried away by their imaginations. Also, I have a book about a monkey drummer in the works. All of these are creeping up in age from the baby books. Meanwhile, I’m working on a chapter book and am loving writing it, so I guess I’m headed into older territory still. But – I have more baby books coming, too!

Maw Books:  Thanks so much Leslie!

Leslie Patricelli:  My pleasure. Thank you!

Don’t forget Leslie Patricelli has graciously donated three copies to be given away in conjunction with my Darfur awareness campaign.  Click here for details on how to get involved and entered to win. Check back (you are subscribed to this blog, aren’t you?!) at the end of the month to put your name in the hat for this one.

Thanks again to Leslie Patricelli for appearing, courtesy of Provato Marketing, for other stops on the tour please check www.provatoevents.com.

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