Meet the Author: {Q&A with Chris Van Dusen!}

I've long been a fan of the illustrations of Mercy Watson, and last year we discovered all of the other books written and/or illustrated by Chris Van Dusen.  He has since become a favorite around our house not only for his engaging illustrations, but also for his delightful rhyming and storylines.  He was kind enough to answer a couple of questions for me.  Following his responses, I've highlighted some of his work that I highly recommend!

Which book(s) or character(s) have been your favorite to work on?

I have a special connection with Mr. Magee because he started the whole thing (I still hide Magee and Dee in one of the pictures in all my books). But I really enjoyed creating the Mercy Watson gang for Kate DiCamillo especially Eugenia Lincoln and I also had fun with Mr. Paine, the villain from The Circus Ship. They are two of my favorites. I guess I'm drawn to the dark characters!

What book are you currently reading?

I read mostly in bed before I go to sleep, but I listen to books on tape (or CDs) during the day while I work in my studio. It's a great way to pass the time. I just finished listening to Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand and now I'm listening to The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown. Both are excellent!

What is your favorite flavor of ice cream?

I love mint chocolate chip and coffee chocolate chip, and there's a place we go to in Florida that has a killer lime/chocolate soft serve swirl that's amazing. But a really good vanilla is really tough to beat. Sometimes a simple dish of plain old vanilla tastes the best.

If I Built a Car

Published in 2005

Jack is a young boy who has thought long and hard about how he would build a car.  It wouldn't be just any ordinary car.  Oh, no.  It would be complete with a swimming pool, a snack bar, and a robot.  It also has the abilities to float, submerge under water and fly.  Written in perfect poetry, this makes a fun read aloud.  My husband has said that this is his favorite story to read to the kids.  According to him, the book captures exactly how a young boy thinks.  I love the engineering and creativity portrayed throughout the book.

Perfect for: Preschool/Early Elementary/Late Elementary

If I Built a House

Published in 2012

Jack has put his designing skills to use again, and this time he has designed the house of his dreams (and my dreams!).  My favorite room that he imagines is the kitchen that cooks and cleans up after itself.  :)  What kid wouldn't want a flying room, giant slide, ball pit room, or room filled with water and sea life?  Like If I Built a Car, it puts thinking and creativity to use.  

Perfect for: Preschool/Early Elementary/Late Elementary

King Hugo's Huge Ego

Published in 2011

King Hugo is a very haughty king, and likes to boast.  In fact, he gives a speech every Friday morning to the kingdom telling everyone how wonderful he is.  When he is rude to a sorceress, she casts a spell on him that causes his head to swell everytime he says something boastful.  His bragging continues, and his head grows to an enormous size!  Once again, he has an encounter with the sorceress, and once again he is quite rude!  She tells him of the spell, and provides him with a very humbling experience.  Humor and magic are used to teach a very important lesson!

Perfect for: Preschool/Early Elementary/Late Elementary

The Circus Ship

Published in 2009

A circus ship full of circus animals crashes, and all of the animals swim to an island.  The people of the island are wary of the animals until one of them performs a heroic act and the town sees them as kind.  All is well until the unkind circus owner comes to collect the animals.  The town cleverly disguises all fifteen animals to hide them from the angry owner.  

My little family has the time of their lives locating all of the animals in their disguises. 

Perfect for: Preschool/Early Elementary

Head on over to his website to check out the rest of his books and a little more about him. 

Happy reading!

Emily

Moo! {Q & A with David LaRochelle!}

I am so excited!  Not only am I going to share one of our favorite books, but I also had the opportunity to ask the author a few questions and it was so much fun seeing his responses.  Without further ado, let me introduce you to Moo!.

Moo!

by David LaRochelle

Illustrated by Mike Wohnoutka
 Perfect for: 3-6 years old

The majority of the story Moo! is made up of only one word: moo.  If I counted correctly, the word moo appears 57 times in the story.  It is written with a wide variety of text formatting and punctuation to help tell the story of a fun-loving cow who takes a car for a joyride.  He takes the car for quite a wild ride, and he experiences a number of emotions.  The illustrations and text work together to help the reader easily know how to read the word with inflection to match how the cow is saying "moo".

I love the story for three main reasons:

1.  It is a great story to teach how to read with inflection.

2.  Little ones who don't know how to read are proud of their ability to read this book by themselves.

3.  We haven't laughed so hard while reading a book in a long time!  We laugh every single time we read it.

I contacted Mr. LaRochelle, and he was really kind to take some time to answer a few questions.  I especially loved hearing where he came up with the idea!

1.  What are your top five favorite children's books?

Of course it's impossible to pick just five, and my choices might change depending on the day that you asked me, but five children's books that I love are:

Rattletrap Car by Phyllis Root, illustrated by Jill Barton. This book is so much fun to read out loud that sometimes I read it out loud to myself just because I like saying the words so much!

The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear by Audrey and Don Wood. The illustrations make me laugh every time, and the story is distilled to exactly the right few words.

Roller Coaster by Marla Frazee. Marla tells multiple stories through her illustrations of the six couples riding this roller coaster. There are new things to discover on every reading.

Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus by Mo Willems. Hilarious. Those pigeon's emotions are all too human. True story.

Dear Mr. Henshaw by Beverly Cleary. I loved reading this story to my fourth graders when I was a teacher. It still makes me laugh and cry. Both the characters of Leigh Botts and the author to whom he writes resonate with me. 

What gave you the idea for writing Moo?

 I wanted to write a one-word story. I chose the word "Moo" possibly because my friend Gary and I both have cow noisemakers (cylinders that you turn upside down and they "moo") for which we've been creating imaginary adventures for many years. Initially I had hoped to be the illustrator as well as the author for this book, then in the mail I received a postcard from my friend Mike Wohnoutka advertising an art show he was having. On the front of the postcard was a painting of a cow, and I said, "THAT'S the cow for Moo!" We sent my dummy of the book and a sample painting of Mike's to an editor he had worked with, and she offered us a contract for the book within a month.

Do you have an author that has inspired you?

I'm inspired by wonderful books, like the ones that I mentioned. They make me want to write something just as good. The creativity of author/illustrators such as Lois Ehlert, Chris Raschka, and Paul Zelinsky also fuel my imagination.

What book are you currently reading?

I just finished reading In a Glass Grimmly by Adam Gidwitz, a companion book to A Tale Dark and Grimm, and I enjoyed that very much (it's very funny, and also just as dark as the original fairy tales on which it is based). Last night I started reading The Rooftoppers by Katherine Rundell, which I've heard many good things about. It's a middle grade novel about a baby who is found floating in the ocean in a cello case and the eccentric man who raises her.

Which of your books have been your favorite to write?

I'm usually most excited about my most recent book, and that would be Moo! I loved the challenge of trying to tell a complete story using only one word (sharp-eyed readers will spot that I actually used six words). It's a story that has made readers of all ages (including adults) laugh, and that is extremely rewarding.

I'm also very proud of Arlo's ARTrageous Adventure!, the first book where I was both author and illustrator. It's a lift-the-flap book with over fifty flaps, and I had a great deal of fun thinking of all the different ways that I could make the paintings in the museum come to life.


Check it out.  I guarantee there will be laughs!
Happy reading!

Emily