This is perhaps a bit of a cheat but instead of waffling on to you today I'd like to direct you to this interview with Jon Klassen from 2021 about his book
The Rock From the Sky. There are three things that make it particularly interesting. One is Klassen's stated desire to write a quiet book, and his explanation of the static images. I often hear authors complain that agents and editors turn down their books because they are too quiet; it's great to see this defence and explanation of quiet-done-properly. Second, Klassen cites his influences as including Samuel Becket and Stanley Kubrick. I love this. It never occurs to people outside the sphere of children's books that children's authors are influeced by (or even read/view) work by serious intellectuals whose work is intended for adults. (A book I'm currently working on is influenced by Kant and J.S.Mill, among others.) Finally, and most importantly, I love Klassen's account of how he likes to challenge the picture book format and how some of his books have been spawned by anger yet spin that anger into gold. This brilliant challenge to the dreary, oven-ready 'show don't tell' advice, for example:
"I want boring pictures that have something exciting as their context. So
usually that’s emotional. If you tell the audience that this character
is having a horrible day or that something’s really wrong, but you don’t
draw that, then they get to load that drawing with emotion."
See read this interview on Tyger Tale instead of waiting for me to say something insightful.
Anne Rooney
Out now, Dec 2025, Arcturus publishing:
The Essential Book of AI
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