Eileen Spinelli is not afraid of commitment. She has belonged to the same Wednesday-morning book group for 20 years. And, since the age of six, she’s been committed to the idea of working with words for a living.

“I fell in love with books and words as a child,” she says. “As I grew older, I wanted to be a poet and wear big hats and long dresses like Edna St. Vincent Millay.”

Although the author wasn’t wearing dramatic attire when she spoke with BookPage from her home near Philadelphia (where she lives with her husband, author Jerry Spinelli), she did share tidbits from her bibliophilic childhood.

“My best friend Gladys and I—she was eight, I was six—would walk to our town library and spend the day. It had swings, we’d bring a lunch, and take the allotted 10 books home in shopping bags,” she says. “The library was my amusement park, my mall—it’s where we went for fun. I grew up in that little world of books.”

Sixty years and 50 books (plus six children and 17 grandchildren) later, the author has created her own world of literature, including the new picture book Princess Pig, which tells the story of an accidental porcine princess.

One day, a hearty gust of wind yanks a “princess” sash from a parade participant and deposits it in Pig’s pen. She takes the sash as a sign—deciding that she is, in fact, Princess Pig—and sets about living the life of a royal. But as the obligations pile up (she must spend hours in the sun posing for a portrait, and she can’t roll in the mud anymore), Pig realizes her new role is a difficult one that’s alienating her from her friends. Ultimately, she tosses aside her teacup crown and cavorts with her barnyard pals once again, happy in the knowledge that a non-princess Pig is a good thing to be.

The author says, “I try to write about things I’m already interested in, or want to know more about.” Princess Pig was sparked by a combination of imagination plus reality (in the form of a documentary Spinelli watched about the royal family). “They work very hard—princesses have a lot of work to do, sometimes five appearances a day,” she says. “And I wanted to show it’s OK to be a pig, or a princess . . . it’s OK to be whoever you are.”

That message is shored up by Tim Bowers’ artwork, full-page illustrations that demonstrate his intuition and skill: the animals’ faces are expressive—hilarious, adorable and kind. Each page bears detailed, appealing art that meshes with the characters’ vivid personae and the book’s engaging rhythm.

Spinelli says of that rhythm, “Writing a picture book is a lot like writing a poem. Language is very important to me, and a lot of my picture books are really poems.”

Spinelli’s first book, 1981’s The Giggle and Cry Book, was a poetry collection, in fact, and numerous picture books and chapter books (including the Lizzie Logan series) have followed. “Every book has a different voice and calls for a different mode of writing,” she says. “I don’t set out to do one or the other, it’s more, how am I going to do this particular idea? The more you do it, the more you have a feel for what works.”

Good information for aspiring writers, to be sure, and Spinelli hasn’t stopped trying new things, either: her first collaboration with husband Jerry, Today I Will: A Year of Quotes, Notes, and Promises to Myself, is due out in October.
“It was great working separately and then coming together and critiquing, but not great being in the same room working on the same book,” she says with a laugh. “I’m really pleased with how it turned out.”

Attentive readers may be wondering how Spinelli’s childhood friendship with Gladys turned out. That story, too, has a happy ending: the girls lost touch when Spinelli’s family moved to a new town, but several years ago, the women reunited at their beloved library.

“That children’s department is now a storage room,” Spinelli says. “The places where the stacks were, and Mrs. Armstrong’s desk—it’s so tiny! But to me, it was the biggest place in the world.”

Linda M. Castellitto is pretty sure her cat is a princess.

This month, David Wiesner's Sector 7 softly breezes into bookstores and libraries, taking readers on a tour of the cloud industry. Wiesner, a Caldecott medalist, has been interested in telling stories with pictures since his teen years, when he enjoyed wordless comic books and silent movies. "I think early on it was clear that my interest was telling stories with pictures, not just painting a picture. To me, it was more interesting to actually do a series, because if I came up with a character or place that I liked, I wanted to spend more time either in that place or with that character. So actually, telling stories with pictures was very appealing."

What marks the start of the holiday season for you?
Drawing the MUTTS holiday comic strips. In doing a daily comic I need to be between five and eight weeks ahead of the publication date, so I start playing holiday music and thinking about the holidays as early as October. I love the holiday season and always look forward to it.

Does your family have one very special holiday tradition?
Each person in my wife's extended family, about 30 people, picks a name on Thanksgiving and becomes that person's Secret Santa. We buy a holiday gift for that one person (of course, we all buy gifts for the children). On Christmas Eve we exchange these gifts. We sit in a huge circle and the presents are opened one at a time. It takes all night, but it's a lot fun.

What are you most looking forward to during the holiday season?
A dusting of snow and the quiet, peaceful quality it brings to the morning walk that I take with my dog, Amelie.

What’s your favorite holiday book or song?
My favorite holiday song is Leroy Anderson's "Sleigh Ride"; my favorite holiday CD is Vince Guaraldi's "A Charlie Brown Christmas." Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol tops my list as for holiday reading.

What books are you planning to give to friends and family?
Since I'm an author, my family expects (and I delight in giving them) my latest books. This year they are: my new children’s book, Wag!, a gift edition of The Gift of Nothing and my collaboration with Eckhart Tolle—Guardians of Being.

What was the best book you read this year?
I Am That: Talks with Sri Nisargadatta (I read this book often) and Sunnyside by Glen David Gold.

What’s your number one resolution for 2010?
To do more to help animals and the planet.

RELATED CONTENT
BookPage Meet the Illustrator feature with Patrick McDonnell

What marks the start of the holiday season for you?
Since we celebrate both Hanukah and Christmas in our home, the beginning of the holiday season can sometimes start with the lighting of a candle, or a trip to the local Christmas tree lot. My daughters, when still young, would always pick out the largest tree we could tie to the car roof.

Does your family have one very special holiday tradition?
We like to put antlers on our mini Schnauzer.

What are you most looking forward to during the holiday season?
My eldest daughter is going far away to college this fall as a freshman. I look forward to her return during the holidays.

What’s your favorite holiday book or song?
Nat King Cole’s rendition of “The Christmas Song.”

Why do books make the best gifts?
Because it is possible to find a book to suit just about everyone on your gift list. Because the inscription one can place within a book will connect the recipient to the gift giver each time the gift is opened. Because toys break but good stories are remembered forever, and because books are really easy to wrap.

What was the best book you read this year?
I read contemporary fiction, and I’m especially fond of short stories, as they make for ideal bedtime reading—one or two and it's lights out. However, I encounter around the house the paperback modern classics my children are assigned to read in school. It is very tempting to revisit these titles, which, in the last year, included works by Nabokov, Fitzgerald and Salinger. I guess I’d have to say The Catcher in the Rye was my most satisfying recent this read.

What’s your number one resolution for 2010?
To spend less time reading newspapers and consequently feeling the world is coming to an end, and more time reading books that provide momentary sanctuary in a reality that is not my own.

Take two insanely talented (and wry) octogenarians, throw in decades of combined artistic skill and add one previous collaboration for good measure. The result—50 years in the making—is The Odious Ogre, a new fairy tale picture book written by Norton Juster and illustrated by Jules Feiffer.

It’s their first professional reunion since their classic and revered children’s novel, The Phantom Tollbooth, was first published in 1961. The long gap in collaboration didn’t come about because the two artists lost touch. Feiffer, a Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist, says simply that an opportunity never presented itself for the duo to work together, until now.

“This one seemed absolutely right for me,” he says.

When readers meet the Ogre, he is doing what ogres typically do—rampaging through a village and terrorizing innocent citizens (many of whom—including the local librarian!—eventually get eaten). This is one mean, merciless, gnarly and BIG galumph of an ogre.

“My ambition was to do the biggest ogre in the history of children’s books and move him around a lot,” Feiffer says. “I just looked up ogres from other books and made notes . . . [and] played around with the character.”

“Illustrating a kids’ book is a little like being the director of a play or movie. . . . What is going to make the best story? What are they wearing, what’s their body language? Accidentally I hit on one I want.”

In fact, readers learn much about the Ogre through Feiffer’s watercolor brush stroke and colored marker illustrations. “I worked in forms I haven’t worked with before,” he says. “The whole thing was like playing in a sandbox.”

While readers do get a sense of the Ogre’s demeanor immediately through his carriage, colors and sheer size, they never see his face until almost halfway through the book. That, Feiffer says, was intentional.

“I didn’t want to give away the Ogre’s look on the cover,” he says. “There were endless initial covers.” The final one, designed by Steve Scott, simply features the enormous hand of the Ogre dangling a frantic villager.

Likewise in the story’s text, Juster fully realizes this ogre’s personality—he may be nasty, but nonetheless, he’s surprisingly articulate. In his own language, the nameless Ogre calls himself, “invulnerable, impregnable, insuperable, indefatigable, insurmountable.”

The Ogre’s impressive vocabulary continues throughout the book, something Juster was very cognizant of. “We sort of underestimate kids,” he says. “Kids love words.”

“Even as a kid, I would read books that were well beyond what I could understand. . . . It was almost like you were reading the lyrics to a song,” Juster says. “It’s not just a love of language. It’s a connection to the language of the world.”

SUMMER CAMP INSPIRATION
Juster says the character of the Ogre had been stirring in his mind for about 20 years. “I don’t know where it came from. It just intrigued me.”

He did, however, provide some clues to the Ogre’s possible conception. At age 10, Juster attended summer camp and was berated and “beaten up” by the “bunk bully.” When the bully issued a challenge, “I felt so humiliated,” Juster recalls.

“He proceeded to wipe up the whole place with me; it was not one of those happy ending things.” Juster says he later started thinking about what would happen if you opposed the bully—and a germ of an odious ogre may have been subliminally hatched.

As the Ogre continues on his rampages, he encounters a young lass who, oblivious to the Ogre’s apparent reputation, doesn’t fear him. Rather, she is the first of the villagers to show him kindness—even offering him tea and muffins.

Flummoxed, the Ogre puts on his action-packed dance of terror—which is spectacularly captured on a wordless double spread. Feiffer was especially pleased with these illustrations, since he could draw on his skills used in his decades of drawing cartoons for The Village Voice.

“As a lifelong illustrator of dancers, it was irresistible—a macho ballet,” he says.

Exhausted and overwhelmed by the lass’ response, the Ogre is “confounded, overcome, and undone.” The tale ends with a satisfying (to some) and thought-provoking (to all) twist.

“What is in that story is what you find in it,” Juster says. “There is no one way, there is no lesson; there is no moral that doesn’t occur to you.”

TEAMWORK IN TANDEM
All those years ago, Juster and Feiffer’s collaboration on The Phantom Tollbooth was a bit of an accident. The two native New Yorkers, then in their 30s, were neighboring apartment dwellers in Brooklyn Heights, and they met, interestingly enough, taking out the trash.

Through a series of serendipitous events, Juster’s manuscript and Feiffer’s sketches made it to a publisher (Random House)—and the book about Milo and his fantastic tollbooth journey went on to sell more than three million copies and was later made into a film.

Juster, a trained architect, says writing children’s books was a “total accident” for him, and he says he and Feiffer were “astounded” by the novel’s success. “You just have to do what you think is right,” he says.

Feiffer initially had no interest in children’s books. When he did Phantom Tollbooth, he says, he was “simply illustrating a children’s book for a friend.”

“If I didn’t have three children, there would have been no children’s books,” says Feiffer, who has written and illustrated several children’s books, including Bark, George.

“It didn’t mean anything to me until I had kids of my own and began making up stories for them . . . and began to realize what an important form this is.”

For Odious Ogre, the pairing seemed obvious, especially to editor Michael di Capua, who has edited both men’s work over the years—including Juster’s first picture book, The Hello, Goodbye Window. The book won the 2006 Caldecott Medal for illustrator Chris Raschka.

Juster says that although he had ideas for what the Ogre might looks like, he trusted his good friend Feiffer to come through with the perfect embodiment of the character.

“You never have a precise idea,” Juster says. “You have sort of a series of abstractions in your head. What you look for is the spirit of it.”

And that’s what Feiffer delivered even though the duo never worked in direct contact with each other; rather, they worked through their editor. “We went back and forth that way,” Feiffer says.

WHAT'S NEXT
Now both in their early 80s, Juster and Feiffer remain engaged in work—although Juster does admit to “doing a lot of loafing” these days.

Juster, who is known for his work as an architect on such projects as the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in Massachusetts, has more children’s books in the works, including a reissue of his Alberic the Wise.

Feiffer, also a noted playwright and screenwriter, teaches humor writing at Stony Brook Southhampton and says, “My schedule is now more busy than it ever has been.” Having just completed illustrating another book, he will soon embark on a graphic novel and is considering doing another play.

Both men joke that perhaps in another 50 years they’ll team up again—but who knows what the project will be. What they do know is that it will boil down to the key element that has made their previous collaboration—and hopefully this new one—successful.

As Juster notes, “It’s all about storytelling, in the pictures and the art.”

Comedian and TV host Jeff Foxworthy moves into the realm of children's books with Hide!!!, a picture book that reminds children of the fun to be had playing outside with only their imaginations. In our Q&A, he shares why getting off the couch is important, how his daughters inspire him and whether he really is smarter than a fifth grader.

Why did you decide to write children's books?
I had always had the idea in the back of my mind that I could write a children's book. When I started hosting "Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader" suddenly every kid knew who I was. My daughters said, "Dad, if you are ever going to write a children's book now is the time." I thought, "Oh this will be easy." Then you realize you are working with a restricted vocabulary. It has to rhyme, be funny and make sense. And there is an almost musical rhythm to it. After about three days I thought, "No wonder Dr. Seuss is such a big deal! This is hard!"

Hide!!! encourages kids to turn off the TV and be active with friends. Do you think kids are more likely to be couch potatoes now than when you were a kid? How can we fix this?
We really didn't have the option of being couch potatoes when I was growing up. There were only three television channels and the only kid's programming was on Saturday morning. We always played outside until we could hear Mom calling us (not by cell phone but with her hands cupped around her mouth) that it was dinner time.

I recently read an article that said that children that play outside develop better problem solving skills and have a stronger ability to work within a group. But my generation, as parents, has been so overprotective that we have taken away many of those opportunities. I'm not sure how you fix it. Sometimes I think we probably stagnate our children's emotional growth by not letting them have some separation from us.

What was your favorite book when you were a kid?
I was always a big fan of Dr. Seuss. He didn't write for adults, he wrote for kids. If he had to make up a word to make a sentence rhyme, so be it. To this day you can't find many adults that can't quote at least a few lines ofGreen Eggs and Ham. They were books you read over and over again and they still hold up decades later.

Which five authors would you like to have dinner with?
Matthew, Mark, Luke, John and Jamie Leigh Curtis.

Fill in the blank: "You might be a redneck kid if….."
"All of your kisses taste like peanut butter."

Fess up: are you smarter than a fifth grader?
I've said that if they didn't give me the answers that would be the shortest show on TV. We often have celebrities come on the show and play for charity. The fifth graders were trying to talk me into doing it. I told them, "It's better if everybody just thinks Mr. Jeff is an idiot than to take the test and prove them right!" 

What was the first thing that went through your head when you found out you had won the Caldecott Medal?
For the first moment, while the committee was still in mid sentence, absolutely positively nothing. I was still shocked that I was receiving the call and I was utterly speechless. The first actual thought to form was that I must have heard them wrong. In my most secret, wildest dreams I thought maybe I could pull off an Honor in my career. But not the medal, and not this year. I just must have heard them wrong.

Who was the one person you couldnt wait to tell about your award?
Philip! He knew I was getting a very important phone call when the phone rang (I did not). I think he thought he should let me have the moment for myself. Also, he had to take our dog out! So, after I received the call and stumbled off the phone, I then called my editor to ask him to repeat everything to me slowly. I took one deep breath and found my feet, then threw on my coat and snow boots and ran to the park to tell Phil.

Do you have a favorite past Caldecott winner?
I love books and have a suspicion that my answer would change depending on when I was asked and what I was looking at during that time. But oh, how I love Evaline Ness, David Small, Marc Simont and Alice and Martin Provensen. If I am including Honors, then I could go on and on. I am honored this year to be listed with Bryan Collier and David Ezra Stein, both of whom I am a tremendous fan. Leo Lionni, Kadir Nelson and Peter Sis are some others. I could make this a very long list.

What's the best part of illustrating books aimed at a younger audience?
There are so, so many good things about illustrating books. I love the idea of being checked out from the library or told at the local store's story time. If I'm really lucky and someone likes the book enough to buy it that feels very special. But I think the best books (the books that Philip and I try very hard to deserve to share shelf space with) aren't necessarily aimed at a younger audience. I think they're just aimed at people. I think it's just as hard to be a kid as it is to be an adult. If you can tug at a person a little (whether they're small or big) and make them feel sincerely happy, or sad, or silly, then that is a real book. The best part for me about being an illustrator is that it keeps me honest. If I can make a book as honest as I can and my book makes someone (small or big) feel something honest, than maybe I have made a real book.
 
What artists inspire you?
Like the Caldecott question, I could go on and on. William Kentridge tends to stop me dead in my tracks. Tara Donovan, Giacometti, Robert Motherwell, Ray Johnson to name a few. James Whistler and Paul Klee. This could be a very long list.

Have you read or listened to past Caldecott acceptance speeches? Are you excited (or worried!) about your own speech?
I have read and listened to acceptance speeches for the Newbery and the Caldecott in the past, but never truly thought I would have to make one myself. It was the second thing Neal, my dear editor, said to me after he had told me I won. I think he knew I would be pretty terrified about this. I am shy in front of three people, let alone a large group. I am worried but I'm glad I will have some time to get my head around it.

What's next?
As long as Phil and I can make this our job, this is what we'll be doing. He has a book coming out this spring entitled Jonathan and the Big Blue Boat. I have a book coming out next winter written by my friend Julie Fogliano. It will be called And Then It's Spring. Phil has written me another story (!) which I am working on right now. It's about a bear and will be out Fall 2012.

Also in BookPage: Read a review of A Sick Day for Amos McGee.

Shane W. Evans’ Underground, a spare and dramatic depiction of the Underground Railroad, is highlighted as part of February’s Black History Month picture book roundup. Reviewer Robin Smith praises the "stunning simplicity" of the illustrations, writing: "[Evans] respects the young audience and makes us want to join in with the book’s closing words, ‘Freedom. I am free. He is free. She is free. We are free.’ " 

Evans took the time to answer a few questions for BookPage on inspiration, Black History Month and what he’s working on next.

What was your favorite book as a child?
I would have to say that I was a fan of The Snowy Day and Where the Wild Things Are.

What’s the best part of creating books for a younger audience?
There are SO MANY . . . knowing that you are touching the life of young readers is a great privilege and a blessing. I look at all of the great stories there are to share and it is a BIG inspiration to me. I can often see in the eyes of children the JOY that they have when they learn that they too can tell stories through pictures and words. I always encourage them to share their creative ideas.

What artists inspire you?
The world is a BIG inspiration. I have traveled to MANY countries and seen many cultural expressions through those travels. One of my most favorite places to explore is the continent of Africa. It is so rich with stories that inspire so many feelings that I have shared through my work.

 

What was the proudest moment of your career so far?
I was invited to the Kennedy Center and asked to share the book Olu’s Dream with an audience of hundreds. In addition I wrote a song to go along with the book and to hear the audience sing along . . . that was a GREAT TREAT!

What sort of research did you do when working on Underground?
I wanted to go on the journey of “underground” myself, so I wanted to use my existing knowledge on the topic so that I could explore more of the FEELING of the experience through the art. I can only imagine what it would feel like from ALL of the stories that I have heard and read. This book is about the feeling of simple actions and feelings like fear, running, crawling, making friends, etc.; this is the essence and the spirit of the underground.

At the end of the book I researched facts to give a starting direction for readers to go deeper and learn more about the people and times. I also focused on the idea of the “underground” and the spirit of this story still living with us today and the importance of us helping our neighbors to freedom.

Do you have a favorite book to read in honor of Black History Month?
That is a GREAT question . . . there are so MANY. The one that comes to mind actually is The Middle Passage by Tom Feelings . . . this is more about FEELING and when I pick this book up I have to go into a sad and scary part of my imagination . . . this helps me truly appreciate all of the work that has been put into building this history of ALL people.

What’s next?
Continuing to create! That is a must . . . I have a great book coming out with a friend and TV/film star Mr. Taye Diggs called Chocolate Me! We are both very excited about the project. In addition I completed a book that I view as my “follow up” to Underground called We March which highlights the march on Washington, D.C., in 1963. Also two exciting projects working with Olu. The first is Olu’s Dream . . . The Musical . . . !!! which will be a stage production of the book Olu’s Dream. Oluizumz.com is a website that will showcase the MANY faces of Olu and offers a fun way to learn. This month we launch 28 “Faces of Black History” to commemorate the incredible offerings of wonderful people creating wonderful stories.

If you love dogs and good writing, chances are you’re familiar with the work of Jon Katz, a former journalist and CBS News producer who has chronicled his life with dogs in such memoirs as A Dog Year: Twelve Months, Four Dogs and Me and Dog Days: Dispatches from Bedlam Farm.

Now for the first time, Katz offers his wisdom about dogs and life to a younger audience in a new picture book, Meet the Dogs of Bedlam Farm. Featuring Katz’s own photography, the book profiles each of his four dogs—Rose, Izzy, Frieda and Lenore—and shows these beautiful animals at work and at play.

Though the language and the story are straightforward, there’s an important lesson contained within: that every individual (whether dog or human) has strengths and weaknesses, and that each can play a role in the success of a family or community.

We contacted Katz at Bedlam Farm in upstate New York to find out more about the project.

Why did you decide to write a book for children at this point in your career?

Children are the purest and most intense animal lovers on the earth. They experience animals in a very particular way, unfettered by the many issues adults bring to their attachments. Animals are the beloved and imaginary comforters and soulmates of many children, as psychologists can attest. Kids talk to animals in very touching ways.

Animals are sometimes scary to them, but more often are very loving and never cruel or wounding. Animal fantasies are a seminal part of childhood development. The Bedlam Farm dogs run the gamut for kids—the troubled dog, the love dog, the serious dog, the healing dog. Until I wrote Meet The Dogs Of Bedlam Farm, I didn't quite realize how broad and familiar an emotional range Lenore, Frieda, Izzy and Rose covered.

What would you say is the message of the book?

Being loving and generous is serious work. It's important. Despite all of the arguing and controversy we see and hear about, love and acceptance are very powerful forces. Every child I have ever met knows that, even if the grownups forget. Our culture is sometimes tense and combative and I think animals like dogs can reinforce for children the notion that we don't have to communicate in an angry way. We can come together, exist together, work together. Love is work.

Do you think the book will appeal primarily to children who love dogs?

Despite contemporary marketing ideas, I don't think books appeal so narrowly to one spectrum or another. You don't have to have a dog to love dogs and you don't have to love dogs to appreciate a sweet story. I get messages from animal lovers but also many people who just like stories. Marketing is an important tool, but it ought not overwhelm ideas.

You've long been known as a talented writer, but now you're a photographer, too. Why do you think photography has become such an important part of your life?

I can't even describe how much I love taking pictures. Words are one way of telling a story. Photos another. Now, videos yet another and I am doing all three. The new story is visual as well as textual and Meet The Dogs Of Bedlam Farm is very much a new kind of story. I was prepared to argue for my photographs being included, but it wasn't necessary. Holt wanted that as much as I did. Photos can be static and cold, but I have worked hard to use my photography to capture emotion, especially in animals. The photos in this book are very emotional, they capture the spirit of each of the dogs—you can not look at Lenore without smiling, Rose demonstrates the virtue of hard work, Frieda is the trouble side of all of us, and Izzy is a sweet soul who helps people in the most profound way. I can write that all I want, but the photos show it and add depth and credibility to the story. Photographing animals is complex, but I think animal photography works especially well for children, makes the stories real and credible.

You clearly love your dogs but you don't believe they should be treated like children. Can you explain why you make that distinction and why you think it's a bad idea to treat pets like human members of the family?

Children and animals are different, and we ought never to confuse the two, in my opinion. You don't ever want to treat a dog like a child, or a child like a dog. In our culture, the idea that dogs and children are different is becoming controversial. Dogs are not children with fur, or "furbabies." They are animals with alien minds and sensibilities and instincts. When dogs are treated like children, it is impossible to train them or communicate with them. Sometimes we become disconnected from one another and we turn to dogs and cats for comfort. That's great, but we need perspective.

And I would never want my daughter to think I think of her in the same way I think of a Labrador Retriever, as much as I love Lenore. I wonder what children make of the idea that people see dogs and cats as their children. It can't be good. There is also the important message that all animals can be a bit dangerous if they are misunderstood or mistreated. When a dog is frightened, it can hurt people, and many children do get bitten (a rising number.) We need to maintain the distinction between dogs and kids, for the sake of both. We don't need to transform these wonderful animals into mini-versions of us. Let dogs be dogs and kids be kids.

Dogs are very different from humans, young or old, and their minds are very alien. It would be so much better for them if we understood how they really think rather than turn them into versions of us.

Near the end of the book, there's a beautiful photo of all four dogs resting around the woodburning stove in your farmhouse. Did you have to pose that photo or do the dogs really gather together there at the end of the day?

My dogs all gather by the woodstove, especially in the winter. I never have to pose them there. Dogs are pack animals, they love to hang out with one another. It wasn't always that way. Frieda was very aggressive with the other dogs at first, and Rose likes to be alone, or at the window looking at sheep. They are at ease with one another now, and all I have to do to get them to band together outside is yell "photoshoot" and they all come together and wait. My dogs are all media experts. 🙂 They seem to know that's where the biscuits come from.

Each of your dogs has a distinct personality and temperament. Do they ever squabble like human siblings do?

Honestly, my dogs do not squabble, in part because I just won't tolerate it. They all get plenty of food, water and treats, so they don't have much to fight about. They all have different roles as well, as the book points out. My dogs are with me most of every day, so I have the opportunity to correct troublesome behaviors. I do a lot of calming training and obedience work. Well-trained secure dogs don't squabble, in my experience. They get food, exercise and attention and they are quite grounded and responsive. They also adapt to one another. There was some jockeying for bones early on, but we worked through that. I never worry about that now. I can't remember the last time where was a confrontation of any kind. Rose and Frieda are two dominant females and there was a lot of posturing for a year or so, but nothing serious, and that is gone. Lenore doesn't squabble with anybody or anything. She is really the Love Dog.

What were your favorite books as a child?

I'm sorry to say that books were not a part of my childhood, so I read few of them. I remember Grimm's Fairy Tales and Hardy Boys, but that's about it, so I am especially fortunate to be able to write children's books. It is one of the reasons I wanted to do it.

What's next on your writing schedule?

I have two more children's books coming out from Holt. And in October, a book for Random House on grieving for pets, Going Home: Finding Peace When Animals Die. Next year, a short story collection called Dancing Dogs. And then a book on Frieda called Frieda and Me: Second Chances.

If you’ve ever wondered—or tried to explain—what birds are saying as they flit about in trees or preen on their perches, help is here: Lita Judge’s new book, Bird Talk: What Birds Are Saying and Why, is a wonderfully illustrated compendium of bird behavior and communication for young readers.

The talented author-illustrator of 10 books and counting (including the recent picture books Red Sled and Strange Creatures), Judge knows what our feathered friends are up to—whether a series of caws or a sudden flurry of poop-missiles—thanks to a childhood spent immersed in nature.

Born on a small Alaskan island, Judge and her family traveled wherever her father’s soil-scientist jobs took him. Home base was in Wisconsin, where her grandparents, who were both ornithologists, lived on a remote farm with no TV or running water, but plenty of bird-centric chores to be done. “When I was young, I thought everyone had eagles and owls in the house,” she says in an interview from her home in New Hampshire.

At age 14, the author was accepted for two summers of work on a dinosaur dig in Canada, and after college, she became a geologist. She eventually quit her geologist job to work as an artist—mostly painting landscapes for galleries—but never stopped feeling a pull toward books.

“I always had a huge desire to be a writer and artist, but I didn’t have role models to show me it could be done professionally,” Judge says, adding that she spent some time wishing she’d gone to art school. But, she says, “I’ve realized I am who I am because of my past. I believe really strongly my background in science taught me a lot about art.”

She explains, “To get birds to look fluid and gestural and come to life when they’re essentially made out of graphite, you have to know anatomy and behavior; you have to spend a lot of time watching them. Geology is a science of observation, and as a kid, I spent hours on the marsh with my grandparents. I would write and draw what I saw, but I didn’t see it as art—more as a contribution to what they were doing.”

Her grandparents were “strong disciplinarians, and I spent hours and hours in blinds being absolutely still. To make a book takes so much patience and contemplation, and that training gave me a peaceful stillness and the ability to observe subtle things.”

In addition to her childhood adventures, Judge says she draws inspiration from the wildlife that surrounds her home. “I spend a lot of time outside going for hikes, where the inspiration comes, and I do the work in my studio. It’s a regular thoroughfare here because we have feeders everywhere. At any one time, we have 40 wild turkeys circling the house, bears looking right in at us, foxes, bobcats and lots of deer.”

The creatures that populate Bird Talk are a delight to behold, from the elegantly arched neck of the Indian Sarus Crane to the tensed body of a striped American Bittern who’s hiding in tall grass—but risking a yellow-eyed peek to see if his ruse is working.

And Judge’s eye for color will help young readers connect the fascinating images and facts in the book with what they see in real life, whether gazing up at flashes of blue or red in a tree, admiring vivid plumage in the bird-house at a zoo, or clicking through bird photos online.

“I wanted every child to have a bird they could identify from their backyards. I also wanted to include those really bizarre things kids just love. So, it’s a healthy mix of birds I’ve seen firsthand and those I remember being thrilled by,” Judge says.

The Sage Grouse will not disappoint (think: blowfish with feathers), and the charm of the Blue-Footed Booby belies its name. A bird-guide and glossary, plus a list of references, will aid curious kids in learning more about bird appearance, behavior and habitat.

Through her books, Judge says she hopes to convey the thrill—and value—of being around animals and exploring nature. Based on her visits to schools, there is a receptive audience: “The average kid is much more articulate [than kids of decades past] about the consequences we have on the environment.”

She adds, “They don’t have to be watching wild animals personally to care about them. I find they’re all heart and want to make a difference, but at the same time they have a lack of knowledge about just how complex the natural world is. One thing I want to do with this book is hopefully fuel kids’ natural inborn curiosity and love for animals, and give an appreciation of how complex animal behavior is.”

Bird Talk is just the vehicle to spark, or enhance, that appreciation: Judge’s expressive illustrations and textual translations add dimension and personality to the feathered creatures we see and hear every day. Her deep knowledge of and affection for nature is evident—not to mention her delight in at last becoming the author and artist she was meant to be.

“When I finally switched to children’s books, and to doing what I did as a kid with writing and visuals working together to tell a story . . . it felt like falling into myself,” she says.

David Ezra Stein sits poolside, hunched over his composition notebook and safely tucked in the shade of an umbrella. This is sunny California—ALA 2012 in Anaheim—and Stein, a lifelong New Yorker, is a little out of his element.

“This is so California,” he says, squinting at the hotel pool, which is empty except for a sunburned couple paddling around the far end. I can’t blame the guy for feeling out of place, especially with Disneyland around the corner. But it’s also clear that much of his inspiration and joy comes from his hometown streets of New York City, a fact particularly evident in his new picture book, Because Amelia Smiled.

The story opens on a panoramic spread of rainy NYC. It’s an explosion of smudgy colors and motion, and somewhere in the bustle, little Amelia smiles as she skips through the puddles. The butterfly effect is enormous. People’s lives change in England, Paris, Israel and beyond without even knowing it was all because of Amelia. The smile first brightens Mrs. Higgins’ day and encourages her to send cookies to her grandson in Mexico, who shares the cookies with his class and encourages one of his students to become a teacher, too—and so on and so forth, across oceans and continents. It comes full circle when Pigeon Man Jones releases his pigeons into the now-clear New York sky, causing Amelia to smile . . . and it all begins again.

The inspiration for Because Amelia Smiled came to Stein when he was a student at Parsons School of Design 13 years ago. It started with a conversation with his sister about Buddhism and how the choices you make affect those around you.

“Say somebody does something bad to you,” Stein explains, “like you’re trying to cross the street and they cut in front of you and won’t let you cross—which happens in New York all the time. So you can either carry that with you, carry that little scribbly cloud over your head for the rest of the day, or you could decide to go back to a few seconds before it happened, where you were just grooving along, having a good day, and then carry that energy forward instead of this grouchiness that affects everyone else you meet.”

A little girl's smile spreads happy vibes all around the world—from England to Israel—in the swirling new picture book from the author of 'Interrupting Chicken.'

After this conversation with his sister, Stein was walking home from the subway when Amelia’s story hit him. He wrote the whole tale on a paper bag, stopping every block or so to jot down the next effect of Amelia’s smile. The original version went on for more than 50 pages and visited India, Japan and New Zealand. (Fun fact: He still has the bag.)

Stein was taking a children’s book class at Parsons with author/illustrator Pat Cummings at the time, and he brought her the idea and presented it as “the interconnectedness of all beings.” He laughs at this: “I was in college at the time and I thought it was a really serious idea.” Cummings helped him pitch it to an editor, who was thrilled to publish him. However, Stein’s personal illustration style had yet to develop, and he stoutly refused to let them bring in another illustrator. He wanted to do it himself; he just wasn’t ready yet. So in 2000, Amelia was tucked away.

(In the middle of Amelia’s backstory, I slip off my sunglasses. Stein stops and looks at me as though I just sat down for the first time. “Oh, now I can see you,” he says with a smile, then goes back to his story.)

Stein spent the next few years sitting at his mother’s dining room table and drawing, drawing, drawing. He didn’t just make books; he also illustrated for set designers and interior designers.“I was doing watercolors and making really appealing renderings of spaces so the client would say, ‘Yes, let’s go ahead and make that,’” he says, his voice revealing how every artist feels about the work they have to do to pay the bills. However, those appealing watercolors came in handy and helped influence his first book with Simon & Schuster, Cowboy Ned & Andy (2006).

With several more picture books and a 2011 Caldecott Honor for Interrupting Chicken under his belt, Stein was ready to create the art for Amelia. He developed his own technique for the book, called “Stein-lining.” To imitate a printmaking look, he applied crayon to label paper, flipped it over and pressed on the back to create a line on the artwork. Most interestingly, he started each scene with “shapes of color.” Using crayon, he would draw the general shape of a yellow taxi or an orange building, then Stein-line over it to outline it. It’s almost like drawing from the inside out.

The effect creates illustrations filled with motion and swirling action, emulating the constant fluidity of day-to-day life. “There’s an immediacy,” Stein says. “Everyone’s moving; the cars are moving. Nothing stands still. The line work and the impressionistic quality of it—I’m trying to capture the energy and the momentum of the smile as it travels.”

Stein starts to flip through my copy of Amelia, and he smiles as though he’s looking through a yearbook. “I think of this book as a picture book novel,” he says, “because I really know all the characters. I did a lot of preparatory writing for each character to get into their voice and their world, and then I just threw it away and did a picture book.” I ask him if any of the characters will get their own story someday; he says yes, though the names will probably change.

Stein’s favorite characters are Gregor, the ex-clown in Paris, and his old flame, the Amazing Phyllis, who lives in Italy. Long story short, the effects of Amelia’s smile remind Gregor of Phyllis, and he sends her a bouquet with a note that reads, “Phyllis, after all these years, will you marry me?” The next page is arguably the best in the book: Red-lipped and silver-haired Phyllis tosses roses from a tightrope high above Positano, and people far below smile and point. “There’s something touching to me about that,” Stein says excitedly, thrilled to be sharing how much he loves these two old circus folk. “About people waiting till the last minute to declare their love and get married, but they still do it. They still have the joie de vivre.”

With Amelia tucked away for so many years, I ask if there are any other secret book ideas. Stein pulls out his composition notebook—his “famous author notebook,” he calls it—and flips open to a page covered with illustrations of dinosaurs eating one another’s heads, an unexpected preview of his next picture book with Candlewick. At first, it feels as though I’m trespassing on sacred ground, but Stein doesn’t seem to notice that he’s sharing something usually considered private. Much of the notebook is filled with handwritten scrawl, evidence of his hope to one day write a novel. “It’s like training for the marathon; you have to log a lot of miles of writing,” he says. It’s just one more thing for fans to look forward to.

Young readers will come away from Stein’s newest book with a sense of the powerful harmony of the world—and the knowledge that a smile wins over cloudy scribbles any day. I can’t be sure that our chat on a sunny Saturday in California changed the life of someone in Costa Rica or Croatia—but who’s to say it didn’t?

Author-illustrator Barney Saltzberg has a special talent for capturing the magic of the creative process, as evidenced in his 2011 picture book, Beautiful Oops. He returns to the subject of creativity in his latest picture book, Andrew Drew and Drew, an exuberant and clever portrait of a boy who loves to draw.

Beginning with “nothing . . . but a line,” Andrew uses his pencil and his imagination to bring the line to life, transforming it into a staircase and then the back of a dinosaur. The line travels across pages and flaps and folds, making several surprising twists and turns. As folded pages are opened, a simple curve becomes the comb on a huge rooster, and a starlit nighttime sky becomes a dark, magical creature.

"There is not a 'correct' way to draw a cat!!! Let your kids find their way."

Children of all ages—especially those with an interest in drawing—will love exploring the pages of Andrew Drew and Drew. Along the way, they just might absorb some of the book’s message about the power of art and the joy of creating it.

Saltzberg, who lives in Los Angeles and is currently touring to promote Andrew Drew and Drew and another recent picture book, Arlo Needs Glasses, answered a few of our questions about how the book came to be.

What was your inspiration for the character of Andrew?
Harold and the Purple Crayon has been a favorite and I wanted to make another book about the creative process after Beautiful Oops.

What are your earliest memories of drawing?
Kindergarten. My parents mounted two of my pictures and hung them in my room. Looking back, it was very validating.  My mother bought me lots of sketchbooks that I filled with drawings. 

The book is dedicated to your mother, Ruth Schorr Saltzberg, “who encouraged me to use my imagination and a pencil!” Was your mother also an artist? Why do you think she chose to encourage your interest in art?
My mother was a huge fan of art. She dabbled in painting, drawing and sculpture. She saw a talent in me, way before I did. She even sent me to Saturday art classes in primary school (which I loved).?

How did the concept for the book originate—the clever use of folded pages and continuing lines?
I'm a huge fan of Emily Gravett. She used flaps in The Odd Egg. I loved the way the unfolding story impacts the rhythm of the story. Andrew seemed like the perfect book to have images appear as the story progresses. 

Can you describe the process you used to create the book? Did you start by making a mockup that included all the flaps and folds and overlapping pages?
I had to make a mockup to write this. I came up with the flaps first and drew on each page. None of the drawings were pre-planned. I surprised myself when I saw what was unfolding as I was sketching. It was a lot of fun to see where the pencil would take me. ?

Did you encounter any problems bringing your vision for the book to life?
This was the hardest book to illustrate even though the drawings are simple. Making everything line up was quite a challenge. My art director, Megan Bennett, is brilliant and very patient!!!?

One of the cutest touches in the book is an easel with several different drawings attached. Was this element as difficult to produce as it appears? Did your publisher ever balk at the production cost of elements like that one?
My editor, Cecily Kaiser didn't bat an eye when I showed her the dummy. She wanted the book immediately and kept everything I envisioned. ?

What advice would you give to the parents of a budding artist?
Expose them to all types of art. Give them lots of paper!!! Don't be judgmental. Let them explore. If the sky they paint is pink with yellow polka dots, that's fine!!!! There is not a "correct" way to draw a cat!!! Let your kids find their way. Everything at school has a right and wrong answer. Making art is time for letting the rules go on vacation.

Standing head and shoulders (or should that be hat and fins?) above the competition, Jon Klassen was awarded the 2013 Caldecott Medal for This Is Not My Hat, the darkly funny story of a big fish in pursuit of a tiny thief. A writer and illustrator who has also worked as an animation artist, Klassen first received wide recognition for I Want My Hat Back, a 2011 picture book about a bear in search of his red hat. Just hours after receiving his big news, Klassen answered our questions about the illustrious award.

What was the first thing that went through your head when you found out you had won the Caldecott?
The first thing I thought was that a whole group of people in charge of deciding these things had been looking at my book. Even though it was in the context of having won the award, it was still a nervous thought, wondering what they’d been looking at and talking about.

Who was the one person you couldn’t wait to tell about your award?
My parents, though I called right after I found out and couldn’t get a hold of them, and I was about to catch a plane while the announcements were going to be happening. They were watching them on their computer and called me as I was getting off the plane after I got to turn my phone back on. It was great.

Do you have a favorite past Caldecott winner?
Probably Arnold Lobel. The Frog and Toad books meant so much to me when I was little, and they’re still so impressive now when I go back to them.

What’s the best part of writing books for a younger audience?
It forces you to be simple with your language and also with the plot itself. You want to grab their attention right away and not let go, because when they are that young they will just wander away, literally.

What kind of reaction have you gotten from your readers about this book?
So far the reaction has been great! It’s been a lot of fun because most of the people I meet in the context of the book come out because they liked I Want My Hat Back too, so you’re on safe ground most of the time. With I Want My Hat Back, people sometimes didn’t know the book so there was a moment of nervousness after you’d read it to them to see if they were smiling or upset. With this book there hasn’t been as much of that.

Have you read or listened to past Caldecott acceptance speeches? Are you excited (or worried!) about your own speech?
I got to be there for Chris Raschka’s speech last year, which was really neat. I haven’t read or listened to many, and I’m kind of undecided if I’ll make a point of reading or listening to more before I have to give mine, just because I feel like I’d be prone to copying parts of theirs that I liked. That said, I’ll probably panic when it turns out I have nothing and go and scour every past speech I can get my hands on. I think the needle is pointing more heavily toward “worried” than “excited” when I remember that I have to give one.

What’s next for you?
I’m working on another book with Mac Barnett and another of my own, and I illustrated The Dark by Lemony Snicket that comes out in April.

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Jon Klassen’s illustrated Q&A about This Is Not My Hat.