In a picture book it is very important that text and picture should fit together perfectly in mood, style and sympathy – a partnership in which each enhances the other. I like the equal blend of word and picture in picture books and I’d hate to give up the excuse to do plenty of art work. Children ask me, would I write ‘chapter’ books? The answer to that is: I doubt it.
Writing was something I had to learn once I began to have picture book ideas of my own after working with Eve Sutton on My Cat Likes to Hide in Boxes. Picture books are a natural development – they provide the opportunity for plenty of illustrating. Art was my first choice through childhood, art school, teaching, finally freelance illustrating. I was an artist first and a writer second. There is one scrap in the book, a rough sketch of a small hairy dog, under which I wrote: All reminders for the day when they might prove useful. I keep an Ideas Book, which is a motley collection of bits lists of words, scraps of drawing, newspaper cuttings, snatches of storyline and verse. Funny names and juicy words to roll around the tongue, things I see, things people say and do, Natural History programmes, items of news, family happenings etc.
I tell children that I have ‘ideas antennae’ sticking out of my head, ready to collect anything that takes my fancy.
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