It seems as if most of your books feature animals as the protagonists. Is there a reason for that?
Children protagonists are fun too, but there may be even more freedom with animals in terms of outrageous behavior. I think characters such as Jane Yolen's dinosaurs or my own Ike LaRue are basically kids anyway.
How do you decide on naming places and people in your books? For instance, "Mrs. Larue" definitely has a certain cachet that works wonderfully with those stories. And your new book — WHISKER CREEK — where did that come from?
I can't answer for WHISKER CREEK because Anne Isaacs came up with that one, but as for me, usually names just pop into my head. I treasure the really good ones because they suggest a lot about what a place might be like, or who a character is.
When you both write and illustrate a book, how does that affect the way you approach each book as compared to when you serve strictly as the illustrator?
In both circumstances, the story comes first. I always write the manuscript before I start on the pictures. When I'm writing, I have only a general idea as to what the possibilities might be for illustrations. The thing that makes illustrating someone else's manuscript so interesting is that other writers have such totally different ideas. As an illustrator, I feel as if I am borrowing someone else's imagination. In those cases, I often end up painting images that would never have occurred to me otherwise.
Which interested you first: writing or illustrating?
As a kid I knew how to draw before I could write, but what really interested me, always, was a good story. I loved looking at books and imagining my own stories. Drawing the pictures just went along with that.
Which of your books is your favorite, and why? Which book did you have the hardest time working on, and why?
My personal favorite of the books I have both written and illustrated is DEAR MRS. LARUE. It was also the book I had the hardest time with, because it is difficult to tell a story all in the form of letters, and it is hard to tell a story in which the narrator is constantly lying. Working out how to tell two very different stories at the same time in the pictures was also tricky. Still, I had so much fun with the Ike character that it was worth it.
Do you have any particular artists who have inspired you?
I am constantly inspired by artists-- so many that I couldn't possibly list them all. Some of the children's illustrators who inspire me are David Shannon, William Joyce, Mary Grand Pré, Brian Selznick, Mark Buehner, Kevin Hawkes, Brian Collier and Paul Zelinsky. That's just a few of them.
We've read that you have young daughters. What do they think of your work? Do you involve them in your books in any way?
They like my books, but my work isn't a big deal to them. Sometimes they give me advice. Sometimes they just hang out with me while I work. They both like drawing, and they are good at it, too!
Given your prolific works, have you changed how you approach your projects? How do you get inspired?
I keep very regular work hours, and I am always busy. At this point I have projects lined up for years in advance, stories just waiting to be illustrated. There isn't any way that I know to force inspiration. It just comes naturally out of experience and observation. The important thing is to make time at the computer or drawing table so that the inspirations have a chance to show up.
What are you working on now?
I'm writing a story that isn't far enough along to talk about, and I am illustrating another dinosaur book by Jane Yolen. In this one the dinosaurs go to school for the first time. I'm having a great time with the pictures!