Jonathan Emmett - De broek van Big

About Me! A brief autobiography I was born in Leicestershire in 1965, the son of a rig fitter and a primary school teacher. I loved books from an early age and some of my earliest memories are of visiting our local library. The picture books that I borrowed then, including Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak, The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss and Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson have had a great influence on the picture books that I now write. But like many children of my generation, the author who made the biggest impression on my early childhood was Roald Dahl. It wasn't until I was about fourteen years old that it occurred to me that I might write for a living. I tried to make the covers of my school rough books look like real book covers. I produced a whole Ruf Notes trilogy as well as A Complete Guide to Ruf Notes each with its own reviews and biographical details on the inside covers and publisher's blurb on the back. Of course, there was nothing inside the books – except the rough notes that I took during lessons! It was while I was at college, studying architecture, that I first started developing my own illustrated texts, illustrating poems and lyrics that I’d written. Click here to see some of these early illustrations! Pleased with the results, I found myself spending more and more time on writing and illustration. Although I qualified as an architect, I found the job unsatisfying and began pursuing a career in children's books in my spare time, eventually going full-time in 1995, a few months before my thirtieth birthday. As well as writing picture books such as Bringing Down the Moon, Someone Bigger, Pigs Might Fly and Ruby Flew Too, I also write and paper-engineer pop-up books. My books have won several awards including the Red House Children’s Book Award “Book for Younger Children” for Pigs Might Fly and the Kiekeboekprijs for Bringing Down the Moon. I now live in Nottingham with my wife, Rachel, and my children, Max and Laura. *

Julia Donaldson - Hutje Mutje

Growing up

I grew up in a tall Victorian London house with my parents, grandmother, aunt, uncle, younger sister Mary and cat Geoffrey (who was really a prince in disguise. Mary and I would argue about which of us would marry him).

Mary and I were always creating imaginary characters and mimicking real ones, and I used to write shows and choreograph ballets for us. A wind-up gramophone wafted out Chopin waltzes.
I studied Drama and French at Bristol University, where I met Malcolm, a guitar-playing medic to whom I’m now married.

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Busking and books

Before Malcolm and I had our family, we used to go busking together and I would write special songs for each country; the best one was in Italian about pasta.

The busking led to a career in singing and songwriting, mainly for children’s television. I became an expert at writing to order on such subjects as guinea pigs, window-cleaning and horrible smells. “We want a song about throwing crumpled-up wrapping paper into the bin” was a typical request from the BBC.
I also continued to write “grown-up” songs and perform them in folk clubs and on the radio, and have recently released two CDs of these songs. One of these songs, sung by Malcolm and called “Cochon Blues” was played as one of my choices when I was on the Radio 4 programme, Desert Island Discs.
One of my television songs, A SQUASH AND A SQUEEZE, was made into a book in 1993, with illustrations by the wonderful Axel Scheffler. It was great to hold the book in my hand without it vanishing in the air the way the songs did. This prompted me to unearth some plays I’d written for a school reading group, and since then I’ve had 20 plays published. Most children love acting and it’s a tremendous way to improve their reading.
My real breakthrough was THE GRUFFALO, again illustrated by Axel. We work separately - he’s in London and I’m in Glasgow - but he sends me letters with lovely funny pictures on the envelopes.
I really enjoy writing verse, even though it can be fiendishly difficult. I used to memorise poems as a child and it means a lot to me when parents tell me their child can recite one of my books.
Funnily enough, I find it harder to write not in verse, though I feel I am now getting the hang of it! THE GIANTS AND THE JONESES is a novel for 7-11 year olds, and I have written three books of stories about the anarchic PRINCESS MIRROR-BELLE who appears from the mirror and disrupts the life of an otherwise ordinary eight-year-old. For teenagers there is a novel called RUNNING ON THE CRACKS.
When I’m not writing I am often performing, at book festivals and in theatres. I really enjoy getting the children in the audience to help me act out the stories and sing the songs. When Malcolm can take time off from the hospital he and his guitar come too. and it feels as if we’ve come full circle - back to busking.

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A day in my life

Tea in bed. Second cup.

Dislodge cats.Get up.

Son to school. Spouse to work.

Sit at desk – mustn’t shirk.

Scratch head. Dream up snail.

Maybe team her up with whale?

Chew pen. What next?

Can’t think. Feel vexed.

Feed cats. Open post.

Read it, over slice of toast.

Little boy wants to know

Date of birth of Gruffalo.

Little girl wonders why

Giant gave away his tie.

Out to shops. Get idea

(Big grin, ear to ear):

Brilliant climax – whale gets beached!

(Rhyme a problem . . . reached? Beseeched?

Leeched? Well never mind, just now.)

Snail then rescues whale – but how???

Back home, get stuck.

Go off snail. Consider duck.

Phone rings. Who is it?

School, requesting author visit.

Check diary . . . shocked to see

“Monday, Brookwood Library”.

That’s today! Leap in car.

Thank goodness, not far.

Tell a story, act and sing.

Kids join in with everything.

(Teacher sits there marking books,

Blind to my accusing looks.)

Answer questions. Back to house.

Joined by son, later spouse.

Open bottle. Cook salmon.

Practise piano. Play Backgammon.

Have bath - that’s when

Inspiration strikes again:

Snail could learn to write with slime!

(Quite an easy word to rhyme.)

Crawls on blackboard, leaves a trail . . .

Children run and save the whale.

Story planned! Tomorrow, start

Writing it – the easy part.

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A Book About Me

Julia Donaldson:
a biography

by Gill Howell
OUP Fireflies, 2006
isbn  978 01984 73893

This is a very short book for beginner readers, part of the OUP’s Fireflies series of non-fiction books.  It includes pictures of me as a child and acting in university plays and tells the story of how I became an author.
Order from OUP Customer Services, tel 01536 741171

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Children's Laureate

It’s a great honour that I’ve been chosen to be the Children’s Laureate. My term will run from June 2011 until June 2013. I think it’s going to be a very busy two years and I see it as an exciting adventure, often to unknown places. So I can’t yet say exactly what I hope to achieve. However, with my background in plays and song-writing, I would like to explore projects which link books with drama and music. You can find out more on the Children’s Laureate website, which is www.childrenslaureate.org.uk,  but here is a
summary of my main plans and ideas:

• To encourage children to act and to read aloud. During the 15 or so years that I’ve been visiting schools and libraries and performing in book festivals and theatres,  I’ve discovered how much children enjoy participating in stories – acting parts  in them, and joining in choruses. As well as being fun, performing is, in my  opinion, tremendously good for children’s confidence. I also think that it can improve their reading skills.
• I’d love to see more children writing short plays too. When these are based on a book or story they can often be easier to write than starting from scratch to create a story; and then there is all the enjoyment of acting out the plays.
• I also think there’s a very strong link between music and stories, and will support or maybe initiate projects which encourage children to sing and to make up their own songs.
• I’d like to explore the possibility of a regular book or story slot on radio or television – maybe one which involves children acting out stories or reading out poems.
• I’m very interested in signed stories for deaf children and hope to find out more and promote this area of story-telling.
• I’m determined to support libraries, perhaps by doing a John-o-Groats to Lands End libraries tour! I shall of course lend my voice to the campaign to halt the cuts and closures which as I see as so damaging to our children and their future.
• The six previous laureates (Quentin Blake, Anne Fine, Michael Morpurgo, Jacqueline Wilson, Michael Rosen and Anthony Browne) have done all sorts of good things, and I want to make sure that I keep these alive.
• So drama, music, stories for deaf children, libraries,these feel at present like my “big things”; and they’re all linked to the “biggest thing” ofall – the pleasure and richness to be gained from reading. Here is a poem (from my Crazy Mayonnaisy Mum anthology) in which I’ve tried to describe that wonderful journey into other worlds and minds that reading takes us on.

I opened a book and in I strode.
Now nobody can find me.
I’ve left my chair, my house, my road,
My town and my world behind me.
I’m wearing the cloak, I’ve slipped on the ring,
I’ve swallowed the magic potion.
I’ve fought with a dragon, dined with a king
And dived in a bottomless ocean.
I opened a book and made some friends.
I shared their tears and laughter
And followed their road with its bumps and bends
To the happily ever after.
I finished my book and out I came.
The cloak can no longer hide me.
My chair and my house are just the same,
But I have a book inside me.

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Ken Brown - Vies Hondje heeft geluk

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Ken Brown werd geboren in Birmingham en studeerde Illustratie aan de kunstacademie van deze stad. Hij verhuisde naar Londen en werkte daar als art director bij het reclamebureau van J. Walter Thompson. Hierna volgde een periode, waarin hij als grafisch ontwerper werkzaam was voor de BBC. Vervolgens sloot hij zich aan bij een produktiebedrijf voor TV-commercials.
In 1980 begon hij voor zichzelf als producent - gespecialiseerd in computergrafiek, animatie en rechtstreekse uitzendingen - en vervaardigde reclamespots voor Engeland en Europa. Ken Brown is getrouwd met de bekende kinderboekenillustrator Ruth Brown. Ze hebben twee zonen en wonen in Bath. 

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Rebecca Patterson - De Gouden Ster

DE GOUDEN STER

origineel: The Gordon Star (Engels)

auteur: Rebecca Patterson - illustrator: Mary Rees

Tim zit in het eerste leerjaar. Hij is eigenlijk een gewone, gezonde, vrolijke knaap die graag kattenkwaad uithaalt. In de klas deelt juf Karen vlijtig gouden sterren uit aan de kinderen die netjes schrijven. Maar dat kan Tim niet. En hij is ook niet goed in rekenen of quizzen of voetballen. Als het erop aankomt, laten de leerlingen hem het liefst links liggen, maar zijn grappen en grollen vinden ze wel leuk. Ook juf Karens inbreng is bedenkelijk en weinig professioneel. Het duurt tot Tim een emotionele uitbarsting krijgt tot er eindelijk wat gedaan wordt aan zijn integratie binnen de groep. De juf komt dan plots tot inkeer en beseft dat ze niet alleen de beste en de flinkste aandacht moet geven. Van het ene moment op het andere staat Tim in het middelpunt van de belangstelling en worden er voortaan sterren uitgedeeld aan de leerlingen die net zoals Tim vriendelijk, behulpzaam, grappig en aardig zijn… De inhoud van dit boek is echt niet meer van deze tijd. In klassen wordt er volop aandacht gegeven aan de zwakkeren en beloningssystemen als deze horen hopelijk bij lang vervlogen tijden. Als boek om een thema als uitsluiten of pesten in te leiden kan het nog net, maar in zijn geheel heeft dit boek bitter weinig te bieden.

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Bärbel Spathelf - Pietje Precies helpt opruimen

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Beschrijving Pietje Precies helpt opruimen

Het is zo'n troep in Philips kamer, dat hij niets meer kan vinden. Er is niet eens genoeg plaats om te spelen! Mamma wil dat hij nu meteen zijn kamer opruimt. Maar daar heeft Philip natuurlijk helemaal geen zin in... En dan zit daar opeens Pietje Precies in Philips kamer. Hij heeft zijn hondje Speurneus bij zich. En samen helpen ze Philip bij het opruimen. Het is zo'n leuk werkje, dat ook Philips zusje Sofie komt helpen!

Recensie(s)

NBD|Biblion recensie
De kamer van Philip moet een grondige opruimbeurt hebben. Als hij spelend met zijn zusje Sofie een tractor zoekt, kan hij die vanwege de troep niet vinden. Pietje Precies - een fantasiemannetje - en zijn hondje Speurneus leren Philip spelenderwijs zijn kamer opruimen. Ook Sofie biedt de helpende hand. Pietje Precies laat Speurneus achter om kwijtgeraakt speelgoed terug te vinden. Prentenboek met op de rechterbladzijde een paginagrote, realistische geschilderde aquarel in zachte kleuren; op deze prenten valt veel te bekijken. Op de linkerpagina een kleinere illustratie en daarboven tamelijk veel tekst in een dunne, schreefloze letter. Veel dialoog. Sloddervossen wordt duidelijk gemaakt dat opruimen op een speelse manier ook leuk kan zijn. Lief, braaf prentenboek, zowel qua uiterlijk als verhaal, voor kinderen vanaf ca. 4 jaar.

(Biblion recensie, Ton Jansen)

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Hilde Schuurmans - Plotter wil een kerstcadeautje

Wie is Hilde Schuurmans? Hilde Schuurmans  is geboren op 13 maart 1973 in  Hamont (Limburg).  Als kind hield ze al van tekenen, schilderen en kleine boekjes maken. In 1996, vlak na haar studies  aan het St. Lucas te Antwerpen, ontwierp ze de tekst en illustraties voor het boek: “Plotter wil niet zwemmen”. Dit eerste boek werd uitgegeven door Uitgeverij Clavis te Hasselt. Zo kreeg ze de smaak te pakken en maakte Hilde afgelopen 15 jaar verschillende prentenboeken. Hiervan zijn er een aantal vertaald voor o.a. Amerika, Australië, Denemarken, Duitsland, Frankrijk, Italië, Korea, Spanje, Zweden ….  In voorgaande periode begon ze ook een 2de studie: Docerend theatermaker aan de Fontys academie voor Drama in Eindhoven. Ze  studeerde hier af in 2003. Dit gaf haar veel inspiratie en mogelijkheden om te groeien als schrijfster en illustrator.  Ze is steeds meer op zoek naar hoe ze het tekenen, schrijven en theatermaken kan combineren. In de theatervoorstellingen ‘Tante Patent’, ‘Plotter is jarig’ en ‘Viktor Bil’ (Voor meer informatie over VIKTOR BIL >klik hier) kwam deze combinatie al op een kleurrijke en beeldende manier tot uiting. Tijdens lezingen en workshops vertelt Hilde met veel plezier haar verhalen aan kinderen (aan verschillende doelgroepen) en ze laat hen op een speelse manier ervaren hoe haar boeken ontstaan. Ook ontwerpt ze de laatste jaren steeds meer illustraties voor gelegenheidsdrukwerk (geboortekaartjes, kerstkaarten, …) , tekeningen voor spel – en kleurboeken, ontwerpen voor muurschilderingen en etalages enz.  *

Chih-Yuan Chen – Kiekeboe

• Biography

© Privat

Gast des ilb 2011.

Bibliography

Memories
Hsin Yi Publications
Taipeh, 2000
The Featherless Chicken
Heryin Books
Alhambra, 2006
Gui-Gui, das kleine Entodil
Fischer Schatzinsel
Frankfurt a. M., 2008
[Ü: Barbara Wang]
Kleiner Spaziergang. Ein Bilderbuch aus Taiwan
Baobab Books
Basel, 2010
[Ü: Johannes Fiederling]

Chih-Yuan Chen was born in Taiwan in 1975, and he already loved making up his own worlds of imagery as a child. At the age of 19, he then began to concentrate on illustrating children’s stories.
In his picture books, for which he designs both the narrative language of the text as well as the illustrations, he defines the intercultural issues that are a main motif throughout many of his works in a way that makes them understandable all over the world. His finely sensitive eye for the peculiarities in the small scenes that take place in the everyday life of children is his way of taking a respectful bow in deference to children’s power of imagination. In »On My Way to Buy Eggs« (2010) the reader accompanies the girl Hsiao-Yü as she runs some errands in the city. A blue marble that rolls in front of her feet becomes a colour filter with magic powers, allowing the familiar surroundings to appear in a new light. Brief momentary images, like dew drops on a flower, looking through the spectacles of a stranger and the shadow of a cat become the starting point for rediscovering the world around with all of her senses. Chih-Yuan Chen’s illustrations reflect these crossovers and their transformation through a child’s awareness with its concomitant reduction, which opens up a subtle and associative space for interpretation and narrative to the onlooker. His gentle application of colour is combined with a filigree style of illustration using cut paper, collage technique and pencil drawings. »Unabashed happiness shines through these pages, illuminating childhood’s gift for finding the uncommon in the commonplace and drawing reader’s eyes and hearts like a magnet«, is how Heather Vogel Frederick described the narrative concept in »The New York Times« in 2004. Chih-Yuan Chen’s picture book »Guji Guji« (2009) deals with being different. Everything begins with an egg that has lost its way and, despite its different outward appearance, is hatched by a mother duck. As none of the freshly hatched chicks looks like the other, the crocodile Guji-Guji thinks he is growing up among his own kind. However, one day, three crocodiles try to test Guji-Guji’s loyalty to his own species and to use him to achieve their goal of eating the family of ducks. Guji-Guji luckily realises what they are up to and finds out that he is neither a crocodile, nor a duck − but a »crocoduck«. Certain of where he belongs, he comes up with a plan to rescue his adoptive family. With ink and watercolours and a rhythmical interplay of primary colours and subtle tones, the Taiwanese storyteller presents us with a parable about belonging, tolerance and about the discovery of one's own individuality and identity.
Chih-Yuan Chen received the renowned Hsin Yi Picture Books Award three times already. His book »Guji Guji« made it into the »New York Times« Top Ten List, and »On My Way to Buy Eggs« was elected Best Illustrated Book of the Year by »Publishers Weekly« in 2003. Chih-Yuan Chen lives and works in Taiwan.
© internationales literaturfestival berlin

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