Garth Williams Article

Remember Garth "Charlotte's Web/Little House/Stuart Little Illustrator" Williams? Well, now you do. This article talks about all those books and more, including the exhaustive research and work Williams put into his illustration.

Williams then embarked on a long, ten day driving expedition along the same trail that the Ingalls family had taken, and eventually re-located the place on the prairie where the Ingalls house had once stood. The trip culminated in a search along the riverbank along Plum Creek where the family had built their sod house home, so long ago.

Zowie. I'm kind of intimidated now.

AuthorsNow! Online

Here's a link that'll be handy to teachers and librarians: AuthorsNow! bills itself as "The Internet’s Largest Collaboration of Debut Children’s and Teen Book Authors and Illustrators." Pretty keen.

My favorite part? Being able to narrow down authors by age group, geographic location, speaking availability, and a number of other factors. Very nice.

Illustrating with Water with First Second

Fuse #8 put this up on her Sunday videos last Sunday. I watched my head cocked to one side at an ever-increasing angle, like one of those "Baroo?" dogs on Cute Overload. Then I got to 0:49 and shrieked, "Wow!!" Click play to see why.

Illustration and Choices Thereof

A little bird tells me that Neil Gaiman's newest, The Graveyard Book, is being offered with your choice of illustrators in the UK. Dave McKean, who illustrated Coraline to deliciously creepifying effect, has the "adult" version and Chris Riddell the kids'. A quick Amazon check tells me that the US seems to be sticking to McKean for both.

I got a cover image (over to your right) of Riddell's work, enough to see that although it's not the angular creepiness of Dave McKean, it's not fluffy bunnies.

I read an ARC without any illustrations (sigh), but it was a great yarn nonetheless. Has anybody seen either or both of the versions? Can you weigh in?

ETA: Betsy Bird over at Fuse #8 has a much more thorough gathering of the various covers. Take a look!

Lauren Child in the Telegraph

I've loved Lauren Child's work since reading Utterly Me, Clarice Bean. Today, my faithful RSS'd Google search delivered unto me a fun little interview with the lady herself.

The world of Lauren Child, children's author

Unfortunately, it's not very meaty, but she does talk a bit about her unique creative style.

Still Snowing!

Hey folks, don't forget about the Robert's Snow for Cancer's Cure auction. That's still on, and so is the tangential project, Blogging for a Cure. Check out this post from A Chair, a Fireplace, and a Tea Cozy for a list of this week's blogger/illustrator interviews.

Don't miss your chance to own some amazing art and support a great cause, all in one.

Blogging for a Cure

Don't forget about the Robert's Snow auctions and 7-Imp's accompanying brainchild, Blogging for a Cure.

The Robert's Snow auctions were created to raise money and awareness for Ewing's sarcoma, the cancer that recently took the life of Robert Mercer, husband of author Grace Lin. Children's book illustrators are painting wooden snowflakes and auctioning them off to some lucky bidder.

But wait! It gets better! During the auctions, the artists will visit various blogs and talk about their art, Robert's Snow, and their books. Today's guests:
Randy Cecil at ChatRabbit
Michelle Chang at The Longstockings
Kevin Hawkes at Cynthia Lord's Journal
Barbara Lehman at The Excelsior File
Grace Lin at In the Pages

Check out the sidebar over at In the Pages for a comprehensive list.

Thanks to Fuse #8 for the reminder.

Jan Brett Interview

An interview with children's author/illustrator Jan Brett.

"I love to tell stories, but the actual craft of writing still is something I have to tie myself into the chair (to do)," she said from her home in Norwell, Mass. "It is such hard work for me. But the drawing, I can't help myself. Like right now, I'm like, 'Don't start drawing, you have to concentrate on your phone conversation.'"

My favorite one of hers is The Mitten, with all the gorgeous Scandanavian details in the home and all the details of the winter woods outside.