TitleTales

Author Interview: Melanie Watt

BWI: At what point did you know the title character in Augustine would be a penguin? Was Augustine originally another species?

MW: Actually the idea about moving came first, then the penguin, then the name Augustine. I wanted to write a story about a character that moves to a new and unfamiliar place surrounded by unfamiliar creatures. That’s where the idea of a penguin character came into play, and moving from one end of the world to the other (South Pole to North Pole) was a nice metaphor for this story.

BWI: Did you study real animals for your illustrations or can you do them completely from your imagination?

MW: I usually research my characters in the beginning by referring to photos. I observe key features and try to grasp the essence of that animal and reproduce it on paper.

BWI: Both Scaredy Squirrel and Augustine focus on dealing with fears and with change. Both of these themes seem to be something children must deal with, and I wonder how you pick what kinds of stories you want to tell.

MW: Leon the Chameleon, Scaredy Squirrel and Augustine all deal with fears, change and fitting in. These are definitely themes that are close to heart. My childhood was a little unusual in the sense that I moved from place to place many times. These experiences played a significant role in shaping my personality. I try to write about what I know. There is a lot of Augustine in me and believe me, there’s a lot of Scaredy Squirrel, too!

BWI: Augustine uses drawing to help her cope with the loneliness and anxiety she feels at her new school. Did you find writing and illustrating a solace to you growing up, and if so, when did you realize you could use these talents professionally?

MW: When I was a kid, I loved to doodle in my notebooks. I didn’t write for myself but I wasn’t too bad at inventing stories for school papers. I knew I loved to draw but honestly, I never even considered it to be a possible career path. It wasn’t until I was enrolled in an administration class in College that I realized that I’d rather be in an artistic field. I later enrolled in Graphic Design and discovered a new world.

BWI: The design of the book is very clever with text and main illustration on the right page and additional illustrations on the left page that both incorporate the text and add additional layers. There’s a lot going on, but it never feels too busy. Instead, the reader is invited to add his/her imagination to build upon the story. Can you talk about how you decided upon this design and what went into that decision?

MW: Letting the reader build upon their own imagination is exactly what I was hoping to achieve with the mosaic images. As we know, kids read books over and over again and I really wanted them to have visual details that would allow them to explore their imagination and bring a new creative level to the story. Augustine is visual; it’s the details and objects around her that trigger ideas and emotions. I hope this can also develop kid’s sense of observation. I think art is about observing what’s around you.

BWI: I love your word choices (puns) that tie in with the incidents happening in the story: “tip of the iceberg,” “head in the clouds,” “It’s cool!”, “getting chills” and so on. Did you start out with intent to use these, or did they start occurring to you as you wrote the story?

MW: I think kids will love them, btw, perhaps not recognizing them the first read, but in subsequent reads, they will. The first story draft I did had one of my favorite lines: break the ice with my drawings. From then on, I integrated more, and more. I had a lot of fun coming up with these as the book progressed.

BWI: The allusions to artists and their works is also a genius stroke in a kids’ book, I think, as over the years the meanings will evolve from remembrance of the story.

MW: Actually the art references were not part of the initial book idea, they came much later on. When I was sketching my initial mockup, I thought one of the passengers with the clouds resembled a Magritte painting, I later wondered if there was a way to have an art reference in each spread. So I tried, but the key thing that brought all the ideas together was to have these art references be interpreted by Augustine herself (which wasn’t the case in the first draft).

BWI: What were your influences for becoming an artist?

MW: Michèle Lemieux. She was my art teacher at the University of Quebec in Montreal in 1999. It was in her illustration class that my first picture book idea Leon the Chameleon came to life.

BWI: The artwork and text for your book match so clearly the thinking processes of a small child. What preparation did you do to find the level to speak to young readers?

MW: I think I have a really good memory when it comes time to remember what it was like to be a kid. I love how kids think and how their communication is uncomplicated and to the point. Things also need to make sense to them, in their own kid like way so, I always try to keep that in mind.

BWI: You’ve lived in a number of cities in Canada, and you’re obviously a very talented artist. To what extent is Augustine based on your own experiences?

MW: I was very shy as a kid like Augustine, and we moved from Quebec to Calgary then Winnipeg then Toronto and back to Quebec over a 5 year period. My younger sister and I had to adapt quickly to our new schools and friends. In my case, I used drawing to break the ice. I remember being in a school yard and doodling little Garfields on paper. One Kid came up to me and asked if I could draw one on her hand. Next thing I knew, I was surrounded by kids who all wanted the same thing. In every different school I went to, I always seemed to be considered the class artist and I was often called upon to create decorative billboards and class decorations which I just loved to do.

BWI: You did your first book as an assignment in art school. Did you know right after your first creation that you wanted to become an illustrator?

MW: Working on Leon the Chameleon with Kids Can Press really gave me the urge to pursue writing and illustrating. I just loved the experience and I knew I wanted to dedicate myself to picture books from that moment on.

BWI: How did you come to submit your work to Kids Can Press?

MW: Michèle Lemieux, my teacher, suggested I translate my Leon the Chameleon story from French to English and send it to Kids Can Press. They phoned me shortly after that to let me know they were interested in my project.

BWI: You’ve created Leon the Chameleon, Scaredy Squirrel, and now Augustine. Why do you think these animal characters resonate so well with children?

MW: Leon, Scaredy and Augustine each have certain qualities, but they also have flaws, they’re not perfect… Being a kid is about discovering yourself, solving problems, building confidence and finding out what you’re capable of. Each of my characters go through some sort of personal growth in their own individual way. They each evolve in their story and I think kids can relate to that.

BWI: I appreciate that you incorporate the works of legendary artists into a book for very young children. Did your own appreciation of fine art begin in childhood? How was it fostered, and how do you see Augustine as a way to foster it in your readers who may not encounter these famous works for years?

MW: As a kid, I was far from having the artistic sensibility that Augustine has. Famous paintings were not something I was familiar with until I got much much older. I would have enjoyed a book like Augustine when I was growing up. Part of the approach for Augustine was to try and introduce kids to famous paintings in a subtle way. Augustine’s drawings are inspired by famous art and this will hopefully trigger kids’ curiosity in finding out more about the original paintings. Also, the selection of artwork styles is quite vast. I think kids will enjoy seeing how a Mondrian painting is so different than a Van Gogh painting and how diverse art really is.

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