When a cute little bunny wanders into the dark forest to be discovered by a hungry wolf, who knows what could happen?
Larysa Maliush is an author-illustrator who lives with stories every day. New drawings and ideas come to her in unexpected moments—while checking out at the grocery store, during a morning chat with a neighbor, or when she steps in a puddle. A sudden stop to quickly open her notebook often draws strange looks from people around her, as it can sometimes seem odd or impolite. But when an idea is there, you need to catch it as fast as you can! Originally from Belarus, Larysa lives in Berlin. You can learn more about her at her website or follow her on Instagram.
WHAT’S FOR DINNER? is a picture book all about a young bunny who loves to wander and the Big Gray Wolf who finds him. It’s the night of the full moon when all wolves must sing a song to the moon to ask for luck in the hunt and here is a cute, tiny, fluffy bunny hand-delivered by fate. Wolf Rules also dictate that anyone that wanders into the forest after nightfall must be eaten. Rules are rules after all. But then a note falls out of the bunny’s pocket from his family asking for him to be returned. What’s a wolf to do?
Welcome
Welcome Larysa!
Me: Can you share about your creative journey? When did you start creating art professionally? How did that bring you to being the illustrator of this book
Larysa: Drawing and making up stories has always been my hobby. I’ve been drawing since I was very little. But when it came time to choose a profession, I didn’t connect my life with drawing at all. I went to a technical university, got a degree in software engineering, and worked in that field for about 10 years until the pull of drawing finally became stronger. It took a lot of time to catch up on the skills I had lost. It required quite some dedicated time (thanks to my husband’s help). The first book with my illustrations came to life in 2021 — and that’s when it all really started.
Me: Looking at your project portfolio, it seems you have a penchant for storytelling. What gave you the idea for this picture book?
Larysa: It was a very, very long video call with my in-laws. I was doodling to pass the time and make it go faster, and I drew a wolf with a little bunny behind him, surrounded by wolves. And of course I immediately decided I wanted a whole story to come out of that sketch.
Me: I love the way you illustrated this book. All of the textures are just gorgeous. Can you tell us a little bit about your illustrations for the book? Did you work with traditional media or digital or both?
Larysa: Originally all the illustrations were done in pencil on textured paper. When the story started needing color — for simplicity and to speed things up — I switched to digital painting. So the book is a mix of traditional drawings and digital finishing/touch-ups.
Me: So much of your story is dark (as it has to be for a story told at night), yet you’ve managed to portray things with such light that there seems to be a glow. And your use of color is also very intriguing. What gave you the ideas for some of those illustration choices? Did you have any trouble with illustrating so many night scenes?
Larysa: I always considered myself more of a graphite/line artist. For the longest time I worked best — and most often — with just a simple pencil or charcoal. For years I found drawing in color quite difficult. Even my first sketches for this project were black and white.
Me: Do you have a favorite spread that you illustrated for this book? If yes, which one?
Larysa: Favorite spread? Oh, that is hard. I wanted to say the one with all those wolves. It was really fun to draw. But then I remembered the one where the wolf puts the bunny on his shoulders. And then the one with their tangled path. And then how great it was to draw the table full of food and all the different rabbits. And then how much fun it was to come up with the wolf sneezing. Every spread is some kind of memory. Either a challenge or just pure pleasure. Hehe.
Me: Ha! I love that. What is one thing that surprised you in illustrating this story?
Larysa: That in the end the book actually had a beginning and an ending. We spent a long time polishing the story (huge thanks to the editors). When I was standing at the very start of illustrating, the ending felt so incredibly far away. My child was less than a year old back then, and somehow that didn’t stop me from bringing the whole thing to completion. That surprised me the most, I think.
Me: Any advice for other new picture book illustrators?
Larysa: Just do it! Nothing is impossible.
Great advice Larysa. Thank you so much for stopping by my blog today.
Dear readers, this book was just published in English last week by NorthSouth books (after first publishing in Switzerland). It’s a funny twist on the Big Bad Wolf trope with illustrations that really nail home the humor. Trust me when I say, you won’t want to miss it!