Sophy Henn - Author of the wonderful "Where Bear?" and "Pom Pom" books.

One of our favourite author-illustrators has very kindly popped by the blog to say hello. With a second fantastic "Pom Pom" book coming very soon, we talk to Sophy Henn and find out a little bit more about her awesome work.

Q1: Hi Sophy and welcome to ReadItDaddy, thanks for stopping by to put yourself under the spotlight. Tell us a bit about yourself!

Well, I'm a Mummy who read lots and lots and lots of books to my daughter. Books by Lauren Child, Dr Seuss and my childhood favourites Roald Dahl, Janet and Allan Ahlberg, to name a few. And it was while I was reading those books I thought I'd like to have a go at writing and illustrating a picture book myself. That's how I ended up here! But I never imagined I'd get this far, and certainly not being interviewed by your good selves!

Q2: As you know, we loved "Where, Bear?" and "Pom Pom Gets the Grumps" ("Where Bear") was a Book of the Week, we loved it that much! Now Pom Pom the Champion is on the horizon, are you sticking with awesome bear characters for a while longer?

It's funny but I never realised I loved bears so much! To be honest it wasn't a conscious decision to do lots of bear books they were just the strongest and most fully formed characters I had in my head/sketchbooks. But the book after Pom Pom the Champion has a little girl as the main character. There are some animals in it, even a Red Panda, but mainly children.


Q3: What's your favourite place to work? Are you happy jotting ideas down in a notepad while sipping coffee at your local coffee den or do you need a quiet space to work in?

If I am at the beginning of a project, the ideas stage, then I can work almost anywhere. Ideas can come at any moment so I try and have a notebook on me at all times. I usually lug around a laptop, phone and sketchbook too, so I am always prepared and have excellent arm muscles!
But if I am writing a final draft I do need a quiet room and endless supply of tea. I can't concentrate if it's noisy or I'm thirsty! I don't drink coffee anymore as I get the fidgets and had to go for a run the last time I tried! If I am doing final illustrations I need my big old iMac and a lightbox, so on a practical level I need to be in my workroom. I like the radio on when I'm drawing ( Lisa Tarbuck or a Radio 4 whodunnit are my favourites), and more tea!

iMac jealousy! What an awesome studio!

Charlotte's Questions:

Q1: Will there ever be a cuddly Pom that we can buy and take home?

I really, really, really, really hope so! I think he would be pretty cuddly and rather cute. I had promised myself I would try and crochet a Pom Pom this summer (I'm not too bad! I've managed to make a pear, bunny and a hedgehog!), but it's been a bit busy so far. I will send over a picture if I manage it!

Q2: What's the best way to become a children's author?

Hmmm, thats a very good question! I think there are lots and lots of different ways and I'm not sure I know the best one, but I do know what worked for me and that was to remember who I was writing for...children! I know that sounds obvious but when you are making a book you get very attached to it and it's easy to cling onto the things you love or think are clever, but they might not be right for your audience. I try to remember what it was like to be that age, what it felt like and the things that really mattered to me. And that's no mean feat as that was about a million years ago!
Also keep writing/drawing as much as you can manage, again I fear I am stating the obvious! Jump in and go for it! Accept that not everything you write or illustrate will work out, that is FINE, it happens to EVERYONE! A lot of my mistakes have really helped me, pushed me in a different direction or given me a new idea. And some haven't, you can't win them all!

Q3: Who is your all-time favourite fictional bear?

OOOh, so many to chose from. Paddington, Yogi, Baloo, Fozzie (come on he invented "Fart Shoes"), and even the one from the Muller Rice advert is pretty cool. But I suppose it has to be Winnie the Pooh (or Winnie A Pooh as my daughter used to call him). He's far from perfect, but tries his best and is, by and large, a good friend. Oh and he gave us Pooh Sticks, classic!

"Pom Pom the Champion" out on 3rd September 2015. Reserve your copy now!

Don't miss Sophy's new book "Pom Pom The Champion" coming tomorrow (3rd September 2015) from Picture Puffin.

Rosie's Walk by Pat Hutchins. Sheer picture book perfection!

We're very excited about this book, can you tell?

"Rosie's Walk" is an utterly fantastic and legendary children's book by one of the most amazingly talented children's authors in the world, Pat Hutchins. Pat's tale of an unassuming hen out for a brisk constitutional is a masterpiece of storytelling as we see a wily fox succumb to cruel karma in various comedic ways as he tries to pounce on the hen as she passes by. I fell in love with this book as a tiny wee whippersnapper and couldn't wait to share it with Charlotte when we found a copy nestling between the stacks in our local library. Know what? It's still as fantastic today as it was all those years ago (and you've gotta love that groovy 70s artwork, maaaan!)

News that a sequel was coming had us checking and double-checking our peepers. A sequel? From Pat herself? Are you KIDDING?

No we're not, and in fact here is the awesome cover of "Where oh where is Rosie's Chick"...

Where oh Where is Rosie's Chick by Pat Hutchins.

Hachette have very kindly sent us a brilliant interview with Pat herself, including some insights into her fab art technique revisited here for the new book.

On the original inspiration: ‘I lived in New York for two years with my husband, Laurence. I couldn’t work whilst I was out there because I was a “secondary alien” according to the US government. This was actually great because it gave me the time to concentrate on my illustration. I wanted to write a book about animal noises, which I took in to see a publisher, who pointed out that the most interesting character was the fox who said nothing. I went home and thought about that and from there sprung Rosie’s Walk – the name Rosie is a friend’s pet hen when I was young. I envisioned the book as a sort of silent, funny, film, one where the audience or readers are in on a secret that Rosie doesn’t know – a ‘he’s behind you!’ idea. It’s special not only because it was my first book, but because I had my first son on the same week that the book was published!’

On Rosie’s distinctive palette: ‘I used a ‘pre-separated’ art technique which starts as black and white, and then you layer over different sheets of different colours on top. That’s where Rosie’s Walk’s palette comes from – so obviously for the orange, I layered over red and yellow… When I began Where, Oh Where, is Rosie’s Chick? I was going to include some blue, but it didn’t seem right.’ On returning to Rosie 47 years after initial publication: ‘I only wanted to re-visit Rosie if the story made sense – I didn’t want to create something just for the sake of it. But Rosie having a chick makes sense, and always gives Rosie a way to have another walk without just repeating the same story.’

On the success of Rosie’s Walk: ‘I only lived in New York for two years, so it’s funny that the book is sometimes seen as an American book. I did include a woodchuck in the book for the American audience… It was a lovely surprise when the book was successful so quickly – I was thrilled with my £250 for writing the book, I didn’t expect anything else! It’s really very nice that it’s still read and enjoyed today.’

About Pat Hutchins: Pat Hutchins was born Yorkshire, the sixth of seven children. She won a scholarship to Darlington School of Art in 1958 and continued studying illustration at Leeds College of Art, graduating in 1962. She worked for advertising agency in London to 1966 when she married Laurence Hutchins and moved to New York City for two years. There she worked on writing and illustrating her first picture book, Rosie's Walk, published in 1968.

Pat Hutchins has written novels for early readers, some illustrated by husband Laurence and more than two dozen picture books. Her work is widely acclaimed; she won the Kate Greenaway Medal in 1974 for The Wind Blew.

Pat Hutchins also played the role of an artistic narrowboat owner in the classic children's television series, Rosie and Jim. She has two children and four grandson

Charlotte and Coral hard at work producing wonderful books for children!

We've had so much fun reading and re-reading Coral Rumble and Charlotte Cooke's fabulous version of "The Adventures of the Owl and the Pussycat". A fantastical flight of imagination with two wonderful children sailing off to sea in a beautiful pea-green cardboard boat, it notched up our prestigious "Book of the Week" award.

We are extremely lucky to have nabbed a smidge of Charlotte Cooke's time for a mini interview, so here's Charlotte being interviewed by Charlotte (and me!)


ReadItDaddy (Daddy): Hi Charlotte, thanks for stopping by our blog. Tell us a little bit about yourself as an introduction (and a little bit about The Adventures of The Owl and the Pussycat!).


Charlotte Cooke: Hi thanks for having me! I'm Charlotte Cooke, married with 2 wonderful (but exhausting) under 3's, and live in Kent by the seaside. The Adventures.... Is a book full of imagination. Following two little children into their own imaginations, as they dress up as the owl and the pussycat, and have all sorts of fun experiences at sea (and sometimes under it!). The book is very special as Coral Rumble is actually my mum.


ReadItDaddy (Daddy): We absolutely loved "The Adventures of the Owl and the Pussycat". What sort of things inspired you to come up with such brilliant illustrations for the book?

Charlotte Cooke: In this instance, I had quite a few ideas before we wrote the story out. I took these ideas to my mum (Coral Rumble) and asked her to form them into better phrases and she added more ideas of what the children could do too. So as I already had ideas of imagery in my head, it was easy to put it all down on paper. It's just a bit of fun and I wanted that to come through in each spread. Anything can happen in your imagination, there are no limits!


ReadItDaddy (Daddy): Who are your favourite artists and illustrators? We're always on the look out for more fab illustrative folk to take a peek at!

Charlotte Cooke: Obviously I have to mention Oliver Jeffers. He is ultimately my illustration hero, I think his work is beautiful and the way he uses space and type in his children's books amazes me. I'm always scared of white space but he seems to take it in his stride! I also LOVE Kate Hindley, Benji Davies (his book 'The Storm Whale' is so beautiful!), and my lovely friend Holly Surplice and her wonderful guinea pigs. Oh, and Quentin Blake. It always starts with Quentin.


ReadItDaddy (Daddy): What were your favourite stories as a child?

Charlotte Cooke: I loved books as a child. The main ones I remember are 'Bear's Adventure', where a child's bear is stolen from a beach by a naughty bird! and dropped in the sea, and various things happen to him before, eventually, he is found again. I also used to like 'Not Now Bernard' 'Angry Arthur' , and the emotive 'Gorilla' by Anthony Browne.

One of our favourite spreads from "The Adventures of the Owl and the Pussycat" by Coral Rumble and Charlotte Cooke. Shark graffiti rocks!

ReadItDaddy (Charlotte): What's your favourite thing in the world to draw?

Charlotte Cooke: I really love drawing most things. I wouldn't say I have a favourite thing to draw, more that I get excited about a new spread I have to interpret, and how I might do that, and what details I could put into it to make it interesting to look at again and again.

Horses are hard to draw. We like to avoid horses. And bikes.

ReadItDaddy (Charlotte): Who is your favourite princess? (Disney or otherwise!)

Oooh, good question. I think I'd have to go with Princess Jasmine from Aladdin. She isn't a pushover, and knows her own mind, which is good. But she's still beautiful. And she has a tiger.

Huge, huge thanks to Charlotte for stopping by for a chat. "The Adventures of the Owl and the Pussycat" is out now, published by Parragon Books.

Visit Charlotte's illustration blog at: http://www.charlottecookeillustration.com

(Psst! Don't miss Charlotte's fabulous artwork in the utterly entertaining "The Talkative Tortoise" by Andrew Fusek-Peters, published by Child's Play)