Welcome to the first Monday installment of "Behind The Page." as I attempt to say a little bit more about the illustration than you may know.
I felt it appropriate to choose one of my favorite pictures from "The Legend Of Grizzly Howl- a Bedtime Bear Story," being that we are now in October! I remember making the drawing for what I call my 'lower third' in the A Bedtime Bear Series books. Obviously, the 'lower third' is the part of the picture that holds my text or rather, the words to my story. I remember because it is very significant to me to make sure that the tone and pace of the book is carried, sometimes subtle and sometimes deliberately loud, by this little anchor of a drawing. For this book, I really wanted to to have some spooky pumpkins that were also kind of welcoming at the same time. And, the cornfield, kind of the same. I mean, cornfields can be kind of scary but just because we don't know what is in them or on the other side doesn't always mean it has to be scary. But, mysterious is more like it. And a little mystery can be really good!
The main story illustration is a special one to me. The significance of a group of friends just being friends and doing what friends should do, together, on Halloween; Trick or treat! The inspiration for this particular composition comes from the classic Charles Shultz favorite, "Peanuts" story, "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown." Of course, the Peanuts kids were dressed as ghosts (in sheets) as they walked down their neighborhood sidewalks. And, in Grizzly Howl, my Bears are classic movie monsters. If you look to the bottom right, you can see the friendly black cat among the pumpkins. That's our, "Logan." He is threaded throughout the story from page to page. A little like a "Where's Waldo."