Show Me a Story!: Why Picture Books Matter: Conversations with 21 of the World's Most Celebrated Illustrators

by Leonard S. Marcus

In compelling interviews by the acclaimed Leonard S. Marcus, twenty-one top authors and illustrators reveal their inside stories on the art of creating picture books. Max and Mickey; Miss Nelson; Pack, Quack, and Mrs. Mallard; Pigeon; Sylvester; John Henry; and a very hungry caterpillar — these are just a few of the beloved picture book characters discussed in Show Me a Story. Renowned children’s literature authority Leonard S. Marcus speaks with their creators and others — twenty-one of the world’s most celebrated authors and illustrators— and asks about their childhood, their inspiration, their determination, their mentors, their creative choices, and more. Amplifying these richly entertaining and thought-provoking conversations are eighty-eight full-color plates revealing each illustrator’s artistic process from sketch to near-final artwork in fascinating, behind-the-scenes detail. Why do children love and need picture books so much? Recasting and greatly expanding on a volume published in 2002 as Ways of Telling, Leonard S. Marcus confirms that picture books matter because they make a difference in our children’s lives.

Genres: Nonfiction, Art, Writing, Books About Books, Picture Books, Adult, Biography

322 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 8, 2012

About the author

Leonard S. Marcus is one of the world's leading writers about children's books and their illustrations. His many books include The Wand in the Word: Conversations with Writers of Fantasy; Funny Business: Conversations with Writers of Comedy; Dear Genius; and others. His essays, interviews, and reviews appear in the New York Times Book Review, among other publications. Leonard S. Marcus lives in Brooklyn.

Reviews

[Barb Middleton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read picture books as a living to rambunctious kiddies, but when it comes to the illustrations I'm a dodo bird. Text I get. Artwork I don't. A mom said her kindergartener had to read some book I was reading about a tiger and a wheel, "I have no clue what he was talking about, but can I have that book?" She inquired. That kindergarten read aloud had me toodling through the text sounding like a dodo bird with the kids, "What the heck is the illustrator doing here? Ooh, I really like the dreamy feeling, but did she use the computer to get that funky background? Or maybe it's a collage? Isn't it surreal? I think that's the idea. Oh heck... why are there little wheels on every page? Hmmm... I do recognize she's using watercolor." You get the picture. The beauty of kindergarteners is they love chittering librarian dodo birds. And I love them. Leonard Marcus interviews 21 illustrators who have had a big impact on the development of children's literature. His goal was to find out how these people decided to become artists and what experiences prepared them for a career in illustration. This book isn't for everyone. You need to have some interest and background knowledge of illustrators, publishers, art, and writing. The illustrators explain their techniques, typography, and apprenticeships, as well as, mention famous artists, designers, editors who influenced their work.

Take illustrator, Vera Williams. She went to Black Mountain College and studied under Josef Albers who was a part of the Bauhaus movement in Germany. The Bauhaus movement in the early 1900s believed in the combination of craft, art, and technology and was the precursor to the International Style found in architecture. I have some knowledge of Bauhaus furniture and architecture, but I think her illustrations look more folksy and would have never made the connection on my own. When William's describes how her studies influenced her painting specifically with color and light value to create a spontaneity in her work, I began to see the Bauhaus influence through the combination of craft and art. She explains how she purposefully makes her illustrations reflect how a child would paint and I started to appreciate more what she did in her picture books.

Sections like Vera William's get more into technique than others. Each illustrator is like eating a different flavored Ben & Jerry's ice cream cone. James Marshall would be "Coffee, Coffee, BuzzBuzzBuzz", Maurice Sendak would be "Americone Dream", and Mo Willems might be "S'mores" because I always want some more Piggie and Elephant books. Marshall tells some hilarious stories and is quite outrageous calling teachers "cockroaches" because nothing can destroy them after spending a day with kids. His interview shows his wit so prevalent in his books. Maurice Sendak is quite a character whom the other illustrators refer to as being influential in their works. He took the children's book from a sentimental Victorian past to what you see today. Sendak pushed boundaries and saw children as more knowing and aware of the world around them. Mo Willems says, "Failure is funny" and discusses how he tried to imitate in his pigeon books Sendak's, "Where the Wild Things Are," manipulation of the audience's response through design. One of Willem's favorite characters was Charlie Brown because he was miserable but funny, not like "...Mickey Mouse and pals always merrily dancing around like they were on lithium."

Leonard Marcus introduces each author and gives a summary of their strength as an artist in the field before launching into a question and answer format. I wasn't sure I would like this but found his questions really interesting and the answers unexpected. Sometimes he'd ask such a sophisticated question about the work I wasn't sure if it was the illustrator answering. Other times, such as with the William Steig interview, Marcus compares his book, "Amos & Boris" with William Blake's, "The Tyger." Steig was so flattered and excited never thinking of the two as connected. It is obvious Marcus did a ton of research before his interviews. The chapters conclude with great quotes from the illustrators for the most part. Interviewers are stuck with what the person being interviewed says and Marcus shows tremendous writing and interviewing skills with the great chapter-ending quotes.

I didn't expect to get library lessons from this book, but got ideas for either author studies or more indepth read alouds. The artists discuss things that they've done when going on school visits or teaching art to kids such as Lois Ehlert's fish aquarium made with plastic milk cartons to complement the book, "Fish Eyes." While reading Tana Hoban's interview she talks about New York school children being asked what they saw on their way to school, to which they replied, "Nothing." The children were given cameras and it opened their eyes to what they passed everyday when going to school. I wonder if I give kids an iPad on their first day of library and have them take photos of what they see if we can put together a book or photo display that ties in with curriculum and gets them to notice their surroundings in a different way. I love this type of book. It turns my dodo brain into an electrically charged force field. Maybe "force field" is too much of an exaggeration, but it does make me excited about teaching. Elementary librarians should read this book. No excuse.

[Kaethe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating. My only disappointment was not being able to see more of each illustrator's work; some of them I didn't know at all, and others I am only familiar with a small portion of their varied output.

(Edited to add on 2/24/18) As a direct result I'm looking at a giant stack of books by authors I had missed in whole or in part, which exercise I am enjoying the hell out of. I have never stopped enjoying picture books, but I've never been methodical in my choices, mostly grabbing whatever looks good on the New Shelf or an endcap. Marcus' choices are a good mix so far.

Library copy

[Carolyn Kassnoff · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book contains interviews with many children's illustrators. The conversations are really fascinating, because they show the behind the scenes of how many beloved kids' books came about. I found it inspiring the hear how the illustrators came into their book field after exploring many other art mediums, and often attending art schools. Many of the authors were influenced by the historical/social backdrops at the time they created their illustrations, while some simply found inspiration from their kids and friends. They discuss censorship, editing, and life events that all influenced their books.

The book also includes a section of sketches and preliminary drawings from some of their works. I've now bookmarked many of the stories in the bibliography to read in the future (that section is quite helpful for references).

[Ben · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good collection of interviews with celebrated childrens' illustrators. I wish the e-book version had been arranged differently, with more examples of the illustrations themselves interspersed with the interviews.

[Thảo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Những nhân vật được phỏng vấn trong tập sách này thật thú vị, đều là những người bắt đầu sự nghiệp picture book muộn vì nhiều lý do khác nhau. Sau cùng, ở họ đều tắm mình, lĩnh hội nhiều sáng tạo, chân trời mới dưới góc nhìn của trẻ em.
Mình đọc quyển này trong những ngày rất tệ và tuyệt vọng. Phải nói là quyển này tuyệt vời, một phần quyển sách đã kéo mình lên, những con chữ chảy tràn vào lòng mình những hy vọng, những niềm tin cho những ngày ảm đạm, sự thay đổi và vài cột mốc phía trước trong chuyển dịch nghề nghiệp.

[Sharon Tyler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Show Me A Story by Leonard S. Marcus is a fascinating read. The interviews with notable illustrators are interesting to read, and gave me greater insight into a genre of children's books that I already adore, the picturebook. I will not relay here the number of times it has been said to me how easy it must be to write for children, particularly picturebooks. I will gladly put this book in their hands to help them understand the work, the inspiration, and deep thought that has gone into the most celebrated picturebooks so that they can see what it really takes to get it right. These twenty-one interviews and eight-eight color plates will help explain how picturebooks came about, just why picturebooks are so important, and the impact that they can have on the children that have access to them.

I was very interested to read Show Me a Story. I love picturebooks, the skill it takes to get a story across in thirty pages or so, and make it interesting is much more difficult than most people realize. Getting a glimpse at the mindset and inspiration of some of my favorite authors and illustrators was fascinating. Individuals such as Eric Carle, Mo Willems, Chris Raschka, Rosemary Wells, Peter Sis, and William Steig. The interview providing insight into Maurice Sendek's work was really poignant to me, since he just past away on Tuesday morning after suffering from a stoke a few days earlier.

I highly recommend Show Me a Story to anyone that appreciates picturebooks, teachers, librarians, and aspiring writers. I also recommend the read to anyone that thinks writing or illustrating a picturebook is easy and simple. It will give any reader insight and understanding into how some of the best and most celebrated picturebooks came about and how picturebooks can make a difference in the lives of children.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simply marvelous. I enjoyed the different perspectives on both art and literature and the vitality and importance of how they intertwine. Each illustrator captivated what art means and its powerful effect on the world of children - wonder is a beautiful thing and it's our job to encourage it.

Basically, I need to own this book so I can refer to and re-read whenever I please.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the interviews of my five favorite illustrators featured: Carle, Henkes, Oxenbury, Sendak, and Willems. Sendak, not surprisingly, made me laugh out loud. I learned some fun personal information as well as useful bits about their thought and work processes. Entertaining reading.

[Bea Elwood · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like a good stew. At first, reading it seemed like a chore, but as it has marinated in my memory the flavors are more vivid. Definitely a conversationalist piece, the personal reflections of the illustrators and their point of view on early childhood development is awesome.

[Julie Rowan-Zoch · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read for all interested in writing and illustrating for children.

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Show Me A Story! Why Picture Books Matter is a collection of interviews. Leonard S. Marcus has spent decades interviewing illustrators. In this collection, he shares his interviews with 21 illustrators. Some of the illustrators are also authors. The long list includes: Mitsumasa Anno, Quentin Blake, Ashley Bryan, John Burningham, Eric Carle, Lois Ehlert, Kevin Henkes, Yumi Heo, Tana Hoban, James Marshall, Robert McCloskey, Helen Oxenbury, Jerry Pinkney, Chris Raschka, Maurice Sendak, Peter Sis, William Steig, Rosemary Wells, Mo Willems, Vera B. Williams, and Lisbeth Zwerger. Chances are that if you've read any picture books in the past thirty years, you'll recognize a name or two from the list. I'll be honest, there were a few on the list who were new to me.

It is a book of interviews. Some of the interviews are older interviews. Some are newer, of course. Some interviews cover a greater number of books than others. A few just discuss the latest (at-the-moment) picture book published. Others do a better job of covering an artist's career, of touching on many, many books--often beloved books. In my opinion, the interviews vary in quality. I think some people felt more comfortable than others during the interviews. Some interviewees really gave it their all, and were very open and outgoing. Some interviewees I felt held back and were more reserved. It seemed like he had to really work hard to get answers from some. By far my most favorite, favorite, favorite interview was with James Marshall.

What I appreciated in this book is the discussion, the emphasis on how important picture books are, on how important good, quality art is in picture books.

Favorite quotes:

Picture books tell stories in a visual language that is rich and multi-leveled, sophisticated in its workings despite its often deceptively simple appearance. It is through the book's images that a child first understands the world of the story--where it is set, when it takes place, whether it's familiar or new. They read the characters' emotions and interactions in facial expressions and body language. They may notice secondary pictorial storylines happening alongside the main action, like a secret for them to follow. And nowhere is visual humor explored more fully than in the picture book. ~ David Wiesner

In my books, I don't want to teach. What I have done might better be described as "teaching without teaching"--providing the conditions that allow children to learn for themselves. ~ Mitsumasa Anno

Before I decided to go there [Cambridge], I thought, If I go to an art school I might stop reading, whereas if I go to university I know I won't stop drawing...as an illustrator, reading is an important part of what I do, so I think it turned out to be good training. ~ Quentin Blake

A picture book becomes a whole world if it's done properly. I'm very surprised that sometimes people don't understand this, or realize that the picture book is a true art form. ~ James Marshall

A good ending is inevitable, but it's also a surprise. ~ James Marshall

I'm quite suspicious of books that set out to teach things. A picture book, after all, is primarily a stepping-stone to reading. That is what one hopes will happen in the end. What a book must do is to make a child want to read it, to make him think: "Oh, gosh, now what's going to happen?"--and turn a page. ~ Helen Oxenbury

[Emilia P · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh man. The selection of authors for this was good - plenty of famous and well-respected people (did you know Eric Carle grew up in Nazi Germany? Huh.) , some newer comers who are good examples of the current picture book era like good old Mo Willems and Chris Raschka. Did you know Jerry Pinkney did a re-imagining of Little Black Sambo because it was a story he had enjoyed as a young African-American kid? Well now you do. There were a good number of interesting descriptions of process, inspiration, and thoughts about what children's books can and should be.

But, despite my compliments, I thought Marcus was kind of a lousy interviewer. He seemed a bit too proud of himself for "knowing people" and not as interested in getting new or complex information out of his subjects. A lot of the times he just let the subject answer questions however they felt inclined to do so, and interviews were less than they could have been because of that. The more famous and established the subjects were, the less serious stuff he seemed to get out of them. Of those, though, Maurice Sendak told some really interesting and moving stories about his Jewish heritage and the way he incorporated his real life into his surreal stories.

But...yeah. Basically picture books as an art form are an interesting and puzzling phenomenon and I want to read more about them on a critical level. This was a good start to that, but ... yeah. More authorial intent is desired.

[Emily]

Skimmed, really, rather than read; I wanted to have it on my shelves, but not in the to-read list. People who are into picture book illustration will love this, I think. A sad disappointment for my younger son though, who saw the cover and was thrilled, thinking he saw a new, really, really, thick pigeon book!

[Lois · Rating 3 out of 5]

brief biographies & interviews with 21 picture book illustrators. a few pages of illustrations show part of their process. interesting.

[Bronwen Lacey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Informative, interesting and enjoyable. I learned a lot about what makes some of the greatest illustrators tick. Picture books genuinely matter to me.

[Mary Ronan Drew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short biographies of famous children's book illustrators: Eric Carle, Kevin Henkes, Quentin Blake, Maurice Sendak, William Steig, Mo Willems (who did the cover), and others. Informative.

[Ian · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book has the courage to ask interesting people to answer flaccid questions.

[Jill · Rating 3 out of 5]

This isn't a book I would have read before having kids honestly. A few years ago, I dare say only Quentin Blake's name would have rung any sort of bell for me (thanks to his illustrations for Roald Dahl's books). But I swiftly learned about Eric Carle within the first month of parenthood and over the course of the first year, added Kevin Henkes, Helen Oxenbury, Rosemary Wells, and Maurice Sendak.

This collection of interviews with 21 children's books illustrators was a bit of a mixed bag for me. The most interesting interviews for me were those that covered the artist's "method" (for lack of a better word), how they approached illustration and their journey to becoming an illustrator of children's books. I loved the interview with Anno, where he spoke about how his books try to build understanding of abstract concepts, to "teach without teaching", and the challenges of making his illustrations work for different cultural contexts; Carle's interview where he spoke about being born in Syracuse, NY but having to move to Germany after he turned five and hating it, his formative training under Prof Ernst Schneidler and his process for writing The Very Hungry Caterpillar; Yumi Heo's account of moving to the US from South Korea to pursue her ambition to study fine art; Tana Hoban's photographic process; and Mo Willems' background as a stand up comic and writer for Sesame Street.

Some of the interviews, by contrast, bored me. Sometimes because they dwelled at length on books and characters I was unfamiliar with (the exception being James Marshall's interview - I've not read his books and now have plans to check them out at the library). I didn't enjoy the couple of Chris Raschka's children's books I'd read previously and his interview didn't make me feel like I'd want to give his works another chance. The interview with Maurice Sendak - the longest in the collection along with James Marshall's - was a lot less interesting than I'd expected it to be.

Despite the unevenness, Show Me A Story is a pretty fun read to curl up with. It has some fascinating nuggets about its subjects' lives - like how Eric Carle went to NYC hoping to find a job as graphic designer and contacted Lionel Lionni, the art director for Fortune magazine, after seeing the magazine's gorgeous designs. Lionni hooked Carle up with a job and after Lionni started creating picture books, suggested that Carle try his hand at them too. Or how Chris Raschka got a job doing illustrations for the Michigan Bar Journal, which included assignments to illustrate tort reform and water regulation. And it did give me some new authors/titles that I'd love to check out.

[Jillian · Rating 4 out of 5]

A captivating collection of interviews with some incredible picture book illustrators.

Some of the best material was longer anecdotes, but here are a few shorter quotes that stood out:

“When some adults see a rainbow, they think they must explain the color spectrum to a child. The sense of wonder at such things should come first.” – Mitsumasa Anno

"I have discovered that a lot of things get done in this world by people who don’t know what they’re doing, things that if they did know better, they might not even try.” Eric Carle

“For a story’s text to work, it needs to be incomprehensible. Otherwise you wouldn’t need the pictures. My job is to let the audience figure out what’s going on by themselves.” Mo Willems

“One of the most important things is to laugh with your children and to let them see you think they’re being funny when they’re trying to be. It gives the children enormous pleasure to think they’ve made you laugh. They feel they’ve reached one of the nicest parts in you.” Helen Oxenbury

“People say you musn’t frighten children, but you can’t, because they already are frightened, they already know all these things. All you can do is console them.” Maurice Sendak

I also now want to read an entire biography on Robert McCloskey, who apparently had incredible engineering and inventing talent in addition to his art skills, and also adopted a bunch of ducks to keep in his studio apartment while he was working on Make Way for Ducklings.

[Shelley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really fascinating set of interviews with picture book illustrators of varying renown. I enjoyed getting to meet some of these people and hear their histories. Some were interesting people, some a bit unlikable, but all the different experiences leading to this one job were so cool.

Fascinating and new to me facts I learned:
Ashley Bryan served in WW2 and was part of a cargo battalion that went in as part of the Normandy invasion. !!!

Eric Carle was raised during Nazi Germany.

James Marshall taught Spanish HS without knowing Spanish--the kids taught it to him. He says teachers become like cockroaches--after a certain point, nothing can destroy them.

I have a newfound interest in Maurice Sendak's books, which have never appealed to me, after reading about the background of a few of his books, like Dear Milli and Outside Over There. Also, he totally shut down Leonard Marcus's theory that girls don't identify as much as boys with Max and pointed out that Max is drawn without gender. His father's family died in the Holocaust, and they received the news on the day of his bar mitzvah.

Peter Sis got into animation because it was easier to create the art you wanted under the regime, with fewer opportunities for censure.

[Amber · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Children are the best living audience in the world because they are so thoroughly honest. ‘Dear Mr. Sendak, I love your book. Marry me. Yours truly.’ ‘Dear Mr. Sendak, I hate your book. Die soon. Cordially.’”- Maurice Sendak (author/illustrator of Where the Wild Things Are.)
I’m a huge picture book fan. If I could magically be skilled and successful at a career, I would be a childrens book author and illustrator. So this book was interesting to me. It’s a collection of interviews with famous childrens book illustrators. They go into their childhoods (did you know Eric Carle was a child in Germany during WWII? I did not), how they got into making childrens books (a surprising number of them seemed to stumble into it accidentally. Something that does not happen anymore, it’s an over saturated market) and their processes for creation.
It took me awhile to read because I would read a chapter/interview in between other books. The person who gave me this book has flipped on me and it being very cruel and no longer in my life, so I needed to finish it and get it off my night stand. But that’s not anything against this book at all, it’s not the books fault!

[Shanae · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this up purely based on the cover artwork. It was delightful. Every chapter I read I was placing more books on hold. Whether they are illustrators I was familiar with that had books I didn't know or books they were inspired by, I reserved them all.

And what wonderful conversations! Leonard Marcus knew these people, understood what kind of questions to ask, and transcribed their conversation. It's a great read to get a brief look at how 21 illustrators began their picture book career and to see their journey. I was inspired by many different parts of their journeys and gathered so many more books to read.

It is not current. It was published in 2012, and most of the interviews were done before 2009, several before 2000. The biggest hole is in the Mo Willems interview, there is no mention of Elephant & Piggie. Though we get great discussions and comparisons of his other books and what inspired him.

But what a delightful and inspiring book! Highly recommend. Just reserve a bunch of the illustrator's works before reading to be able to side by side see the books as you read the interview.

[Mitchell Friedman · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have read a lot of picture books. On goodreads, I read picture books compulsively. So the idea of reading about the illustrators sounded interesting. This was a bit disappointing. But it was a book of interviews so was essentially formulaic. I think it would work as a reference book, but really it made me want a much bigger reference book of illustrators. Even those artists whose names I did not recognize were intriguing to see the path they followed. But in the end the book dragged somewhat. But not so much that I wouldn't try another book by the author who has a number that look intriguing.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great book - especially for people who work with children's literature or just enjoy it themselves. The interviews are thoughtful and help shed light on the process and intention each illustrator has with his/her work. I have shared what I've learned from this book with library patrons and coworkers. I also thought it was fun to read about so many books I have enjoyed both as a child and an adult!

[Cat. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I will admit that I skimmed the last couple of entries because I've had this checked out so long, but it was overall an interesting look at the process behind some of our (mostly American) children's book illustrators, primarily those I either grew up with or studied in Library School (TM). Mo Willems was a significant newcomer to the crew who was included. I think, as a whole, not one of these people PLANNED a career in illustrating/writing picture books. That gives me encouragement.

[Vicki · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read the forward and introduction and then skimmed the rest. I found the book, Show and Tell: Exploring the Fine Art of Children's Book Illustration by Dilys Evans much more what I was looking for. This book is about the artists first and the art second with very little actual samples of the artists work where Dilys Evans book is about the art first and the artists second with beautiful recreations of the art being discussed.

[The Erudite Gryffinclaw · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is a book of interviews with well known illustrators of children's books. I feel as though sections of the book was slow moving, but that was mainly because I wasn't familiar with some illustrator's work. I would recommend this to anybody interested in art, or is learning to be a children's illustrator.

[Bridget Neace · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was OK. Not quite what I hoped for...although I'm not 100% sure what precisely I was hoping for. Maybe for chapters written by these authors, as opposed to interviews? More samples of their bodies of work? I don't know--I don't regret reading it, but it just wasn't exactly what I had in mind.

[Lina · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pretty inspiring read! It was amazing to hear from so many artists on their backgrounds, what drives them, and how they approach their work. At times the interviews got a bit off track though, and some were much better than others.

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed reading about the illustrators I love. Skipped the other interviews.