Featured book:

Shulevitz, Uri, Writing with Pictures: How to Write and Illustrate Children’s Books, New York, Watson-Guptill Publications, 1985.

What this book meant to me as a writer:

An artist friend, Vickey Fuqua, asked if I knew of any guides for illustrating children’s books. Vickey’s artwork includes water colors, designs for fabrics, posters for children’s rooms, and a lovable soft bear. I admire her work and accepted the challenge.

Finding the perfect guide to writing and illustrating children’s books is not easy. I searched for a guide with an emphasis on illustration and realized how important it is to open a book and experience it. Due to COVID, many bookstores and libraries are closed except for curbside pickup, so I found myself unable to peruse a book the way I do when browsing. Instead, I visited my local library online. In times of COVID, borrowing a book involves driving to a designated spot and waiting while someone puts the book in my trunk.

I borrowed Writing with Pictures: How to Write and Illustrate Children’s Books by Uri Shulevitz, a lucky find. The cover portrays an illustrator’s infusion of life into a character who rushes into the story. (See the cover picture above.) Open the cover, and Shulevitz guides us through setting the stage, supplying the actors, and developing the story.

Examples are gathered from many children’s book illustrators, interspersed with Shulevitz’s own work, and include art from Maurice Sendak (Where the Wild Things Are), David Palladini (illustrator of books and tarot decks), Marc Simont (co-creator with Marjorie Weinman Sharmat of a personal favorite from my son’s childhood, the detective series, Nate the Great), William Steig (author of the book Shrek!, the basis for the movie series), and many others.

Spending time with Uri Shulevitz through his book, I imagine a quiet soul, a thoughtful artist. His tone is conversational. I lean in to follow his dialogue. The size and weight of the hard copy book reminds me of reading as a child. Some books seemed huge to me, larger than my hands could hold, designed for sharing with an adult who could hold the spine while I turned the page.

Shulevitz has written and illustrated more than 25 children’s books and taught the subject at the New School for Social Research in New York City. His credits include the Caldecott Medal for illustration (The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship), three Caldecott Honor Books (The Treasure, Snow, and How I Learned Geography), the Charlotte Zolotow Award (Snow), Golden Kite Award (Snow), and National Jewish Book Award (The Travels of Benjamin of Tudela).

His narrative is easy to follow and toward the end, includes exercises in artistic creation. The strengths of the book are his companionable tone and focus on the basics. Though published in 1985, before today’s graphic tools were available, Shulevitz’s guidance on communicating through pictures holds true in any medium.

A closer look at the book:

Shulevitz describes picture sequence and the use of action and content to portray a complete, understandable event. I laughed at the sight of a young man’s full head of hair sliding down to his chin in a five-frame progression, an action sequence of aging, but as the author points out, it is not a story in a child’s life experience. Though well understood by an adult, it is abstract for a child.

Shulevitz says, “The more clearly the picture sequence speaks, the more enjoyment the reader will be able to get from it. And giving a feeling of satisfaction is essential in children’s books…Only when the reader cares and likes the actor does the story’s ending matter to the reader.”

He spends time on the importance of a storyboard containing miniatures of the illustrations in one large overview. Another important tool is the book dummy, a preliminary model of the book. “Turning the pages allows you to experience the story’s progression and the pages’ relation to each other as the reader will.” These tools may influence the artist’s picture composition and decisions.

On the purpose of illustration, he says, “The main function of illustration is to illuminate text, to throw light on words. In fact, illustration in medieval books is called illumination and the term illustration derives from the Latin verb meaning ‘to light up,’ ‘to illuminate.’”

In his chapter, “Drawing Figures and Objects,” he notes, “My purpose here is not to encourage any particular way, but to point out some essentials that have helped me and that can save you time.” He covers figure drawing, liveliness, exaggeration and fantasy, animating objects, and more. On readability, “Sometimes the overall atmosphere …is more important than the details.”

Do you ever fear driving the spontaneity out of your work? Sometimes, after the thirtieth review, I realize the spark of enthusiasm I carried into my prose has become damped down in the hard work of editing. Shulevitz discusses how each successive draft of an illustration may lose the spontaneity of the first. Even though it is “resolved, polished, and readable…the emphasis shifts from the purpose of the picture to its outward appearance or surface look.” He suggests, “Even when you are moving in closer on a scene and sharpening the focus, try to bring to it the freshness of the first sketch.”

The guide closes with an interesting high-level recap of his process as he developed artwork for a selection of his books.

If you want to purchase Writing with Pictures: How to Write and Illustrate Children’s Books, you can find several editions online in hard or soft cover. Also, your favorite bookstore may be able to locate a copy. If you want to preview the book, try your local library shelves at 808.068 or ask about inter-library loans.

About my friend Vickey:

Are you looking for fabrics, prints, or something to brighten your life? My friend Vickey’s lovely artwork can be found at https://www.etsy.com/shop/applestarrstudio/