 |
|
DID YOU KNOW THAT VERY YOUNG BABIES FIND BLACK & WHITE BOOKS THE MOST APPEALING? Scientific research suggests that new born babies are able to see objects up to 20cm away and that they can distinguish differences in shape and size. However, research has also proven that babies are not able to see in full colour until they reach about 4 months old. It comes as a surprise to many people that in the first few months black and white images have the most appeal to babies, such as those in Farm and Pets.These high contrast image books capture a baby's attention and encourage visual activity far more than colourful image books or pretty pastel ones. By 3 - 4 months however, babies do develop their ability to see a full range of colours but even at this stage they prefer bold images with strongly contrasting colours. As a baby develops further, textured books and bright colourful books with sounds all provide stimulation and amusement. A strong sense of curiosity will also begin to develop and interactive books with flaps and tabs are a great source of fun and learning. However, in those first few precious months it is worth remembering that very simple black and white books are best!
|
||
|
OUR INTERVIEW WITH WRITER AND ILLUSTRATOR DAVID MELLING David Melling began illustrating children's books in 1993 and he has worked on a broad range of projects from reference to picture books. He now not only illustrates books but also writes them and he is recognised as an author/illustrator who is going from strength to strength. His books are proving to be huge hits with young children and his latest release - The Kiss That Missed - has been flying off our virtual book shelves, so, we decided to interiew David Melling in order to find out a little more about the man behind the books! Qu. What inspired you to become a children’s book illustrator? Ans. Becoming a children’s book illustrator came about through a natural progression of events rather than an early inspiration. My father was a sculptor and so I have been lucky enough to have been around someone who drew, painted and of course carved shapes and figures from a variety of materials. I studied art at college but became interested in photography and spent three years studying in Blackpool.... I became distracted when someone offered me work in an animation studio. Here I drew backgrounds, painted animation cells and assisted animators with their designs. By now I had become very interested in drawing characters and telling stories with pictures and, eventually I met someone who suggested I look at illustrating children’s books. This was such a revelation for me as I realised immediately that this was what I wanted to do. Qu. You have brought lots of characters to life – which character is your favourite? Why? Ans. I don’t have a favourite character of mine but I do have a soft spot for tigers and really enjoyed drawing the tiger character in Jump In and All Change. I am also fond of the hapless knight and horse in The Kiss That Missed, you have the feeling they need each other on any quest. They are so close you almost expect the knight to give a piggy-back ride to the horse if they were in a really tight spot! Qu. Do you find writing more difficult than illustrating? Why? Ans. Yes, I would say that, for me, writing is more difficult. When I was at school I was hopeless when it came to writing stories so I am amazed that I am writing now. However, my drawing plays an important part of developing ideas for stories. I will have an idea for a story, for example in The Kiss That Missed I knew I wanted a knight and horse having an adventure in the woods. But instead of writing down plots and dialogue I will draw animal characters jumping and bouncing across a page which then spark further ideas of what they could be doing and who they could be doing it to! Qu. How long did it take you to create the illustrations for The Kiss That Missed? Is that typical for you? Ans. It took about six months to illustrate The Kiss That Missed. At that point it was my most detailed book, (I have just finished a book with even more detail). It was during this time, however, that we had a baby girl which meant that I had one or two ‘distractions’ for a few weeks. Usually a book will take between three to four months to illustrate only. But if I write as well, of course it will take longer. My latest book, which I wrote, took eight months – a record! Qu. Which illustrators do you admire? Why? Ans. I admire Maurice Sendak very much. He taught me the role of pictures and words; how they must work together but be independent of each other. An excellent example of this is his book ‘Hector Protector.’ It shows how the words mean little without the pictures and the pictures mean little without the words but together they are a perfect combination. Qu. Is there anything else you would like to tell us? Ans. I would like to finish by saying once again how lucky I am to spend my days writing and drawing pictures. Sometimes I try and imagine what it was like when I was younger and what I liked exactly about the stories I read, and can I recreate those thoughts in my books? But, it’s no good. I can’t remember very well, and I think if I try to analyse everything too closely I might become confused about what I do quite naturally now. That is, playing around with pictures and words. The Children's Bookcase would like to thank David Melling for answering our questions. Some of our favourite books by David Melling are listed below!
|
||
 |
 |