Book of the term - Tiddler
Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler talk to read me editor, Kate Element, about their brand new picture book, Tiddler.
There's a perfect harmony between your words and Axel's pictures - what is it that you like about Axel's work?
One of the many things I love is the way Axel always manages to inject so much extra humour. In Tiddler, the school of fishes are acting just like children - on the page where the words read 'Nearly hometime', he has the fish starting to play around, flicking sand on each other or just daydreaming. These extra touches are brilliant; they always make me laugh when I see the his first drafts.
What is the main theme of Tiddler?
Tiddler is about how people love stories - how enjoyable stories are, whether they're real or not. Even the fishes who don't believe Tiddler still enjoy hearing his tales. I think it's wonderful that stories can travel around the world, from culture to culture, and Tiddler shows how far stories can go. The book is a celebration of storytelling and the imagination.
Why did you choose the underwater setting?
I'd wanted to do an underwater story for Axel to illustrate ever since we did The Snail and the Whale. In that book there was just one underwater scene which I know Axel really enjoyed doing. Also, I'd been snorkelling in the Red Sea and found the underwater world amazing. But for ages I couldn't think of a plot.
So how did you hit on the storyline?
It was when I was writing a phonic reading scheme called 'Songbirds', which consists of 36 short books, each featuring different sounds. The book based on the 'er' sound was called Where Were you, Bert? and was about a boy who was always late for school and made excuses such as 'Er .. . er ... I was helping a mermaid find a pearl.' Suddenly I realised that my underwater story could be about a fish who made similar colourful excuses. It's funny how one piece of writing often leads to another.
Whose idea was it to portray yourself in scuba gear on the last page of the book?
Axel's. In the book, one of the fishes tells Tiddler's story 'to a writer friend who wrote it down for you', so I had to be in the picture. My suggestion was for the illustration to show me in a rowing boat, with the fish jumping out of the water to talk to me. But Axel said, 'No, this sort of fish couldn't jump like that' - so instead the picture had to show me under the water! Which of course, works much better (though I've never actually been scuba diving!)
Can you explain the importance of the repetition and refrain in picture books for this age group?
It's something that comes naturally for poets and storytellers. It's always important that the language is memorable and becomes something that children like hearing again and again. I'm often told that children know one of my books off by heart!
The beautiful rhythm of the language you use sounds like it has just tripped off your tongue. How long did it take to create Tiddler?
I looked up a lot of fish names. I wanted the words to be alliterative, and I also wanted animal names and colours too - so there are Rabbitfish and Redfin, Spiderfish and Sunfish and so on. They also have to be mixtures of three, two and one syllables. So, a lot of crafting goes into it. I think the actual writing took a fortnight - two weeks of hell (it's a bit like having a baby, you think it's never going to come but then you forget the pain afterwards!)
Do your ideas for books need a long 'percolation' time?
Normally it takes ages for me to think of a plot. But with Tiddler, once I knew it was going to be a story about telling tales, the idea of him getting lost and following his story home came to me in a flash. A plot has never come so quickly to me before.
Do you trial your stories on children when writing?
I test them out on my family. I make my husband read them aloud to me. If he stumbles on any of the phrases or it's not clear where the stress lies, then I know I need to rework it. I don't really try them out on children. I can't write by committee and I don't write with anyone in mind - I just concentrate on writing the best story I can!
What has been the best reaction you've had to one of your books?
I get lots of lovely fan letters but the funniest time was when I went to see a theatre production of The Gruffalo. When the lady sitting next to me realised I'd written the book, she exclaimed 'My child's very first word was Gruffalo'!
What is it about Julia's words and your pictures that works so well?
It's a bit of a mystery to me... Julia is a brilliant writer and it is inspiring to illustrate her stories. We never actually collaborate on the stories, nor do we interfere in each other's work.
What research did you have to do before you could start illustrating Tiddler?
One of the publishing team at Alison Green Books looked up all the fish on the internet and put a very nice reference book together for me. But I also used my own reference books; I wanted to go to a seaside port to sketch some fishing boats, but I didn't find the time - so I had to make it up.
What do you love about Tiddler?
I love the maritime subject - especially, as I come from Hamburg, drawing the fishing boat and the sailors.
You have worked with Julia on many books - which has given you the most pleasure and why?
I enjoyed Tales of Acorn Wood...they were small and had dressed-up animals. And I liked drawing the world in which 'The Smartest Giant in Town' lives.
For a fun class activity using Tiddler click here