The Illustration Machine has a new ally; they don’t know this yet but it won’t be long before they do!
Books for Keeps is one of the coolest magazines going and anyone who is involved in any way with children’s books whether that’s writing or illustrating, designing or promoting should read it.
I first came across the magazine many years ago; it actually began in 1980 and I became an avid reader about ten years later. I was lucky enough to work at a school which had the money for such subscriptions and there used to be a fight for ‘first read’ when the librarian notified us the latest copy was in.
Books for Keeps reviews hundreds of children’s books every year and it is there I first learned about Terry Pratchett’s Discworld, JK Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Lemony Snicket novels.
In fact, if you can believe such a thing I even managed to get Terry Pratchett to make a visit to the school and he even stayed at my house! No one ever believes my son when he says he had breakfast with Mr Pratchett, who did actually remove his black hat, it has to be said!
Of course, Books for Keeps doesn’t just review books, although it is wonderful at it. You will also find in depth articles about all aspects of children’s literature and they feature top illustrators as well as authors.
They manage to source and attract the very best commentators, scholars and just about any of the glitterati associated with the world of children’s fiction and have therefore become a fabulous resource and archive.
In the current issue, an interview with the illustrator Jackie Morris, caught my eye specifically as she talks about her latest book East of The Sun, West of Moon.
East of The Sun, West of Moon. Jackie Morris
She is a water colourist predominantly and has eschewed tradition to develop a very distinct style of her own. She admits to not mixing colours and says it has been a long journey fulfilled by time and patience. These qualities have allowed her to reach her specific destination.
Morris talks of how creating covers is so testing and how, of course, a book can live or die by what is on the front of it. She discusses how covers really need to give an insight, a flavour, a texture of what lies within and of course must catch the eye first and foremost.
Her latest book cover was extremely challenging and took about a month of sketching, thinking and planning. The illustrator managed to produce two paintings but rejected them as she felt they were weak.
Morris is self-critical of her work for the cover of East of the Sun, saying it was to steeped in narrative rather than being mysterious or intriguing. This title, is in fact, her first novel and therefore the pressure really was on. Morris has much to say about the quality of the illustrations and likens them to having decorative qualities that act like points of punctuation. As this particularly book is not contained within chapters she says it is like a play with separate acts.
Not only are there punctuation pieces but the full bleed double page spreads are intense and dramatic and contrast perfectly to the cover. Morris states that she sees these as highly descriptive illustrations like the writing and they are very much part of the book’s internal scenery. She feels they have been created and designed to carry the narrative, augment actual description and strengthen the sense of place within the book.
We look forward to featuring the writing and illustration of all the Illustration Machine’s roster and if you would like to be interviewed please contact marketing@theillustrationmachine.com
East of the Sun, West of Moon is published by Frances Lincoln Children’s Books
Books for Keeps website: http://booksforkeeps.co.uk
Vivienne Neale is a children’s author and her latest book The Cashpoint Kid will be published soon. She is the director of a writing retreat in Portugal www.awritingretreatportugal.com
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