Most people are not aware that authors of traditionally published children’s picture books don’t usually choose who illustrates their book nor do they decide what goes in the illustrations. Illustrators work with the text (the words of the story), not the author, and interpret those words with images. They add to what is written to create something new. Both the images AND the text are needed to work together to tell the whole story. And this is MAGICAL!
With I Found Hope in a Cherry Tree, the character of the cat doesn’t appear at all in the text; illustrator Nathalie Dion chose to add it in. Ms. Dion says that she was looking for a way to bring more life to the illustrations and have someone for the child to interact with.
What do you think the cat’s name is? (Hint: what goes in and out with the child in Robert Louis Stevenson’s poem? Did you guess “Shadow”? You’re right!)
Some tools an illustrator can use:
- Color: Different colors can be used to create emotion and feeling. Read the book again, looking at the colors used in the story. How do they make you feel?
- Movement: How does an illustrator show wind and create movement? Look at the pictures in the book and find examples of movement (blowing scarf, etc.)
- Picture books are designed to lead the reader’s eye across the page and on to the next page. Look at how the cat is used throughout the book to move the story forward. Follow the cat with your finger. What direction is the cat travelling? To the front of the book, or through the book?
Did you know…?
Almost all illustrated picture books include a note on the copyright page that says how the illustrator created the images and what media (paint, pencil crayon, etc.) they used. Can you find that note in I Found Hope in a Cherry Tree? How did Nathalie Dion create the images?