It’s April 1st and National Poetry Month starts today! YAY! And I’m excited to once again start off this year’s posts off with another stellar poetry picture book interview.
Selina Alko is an award-winning author-illustrator of many books for young readers, including I Is for Immigrants, B Is for Brooklyn, Daddy Christmas & Hanukkah Mama, and The Case for Loving: The Fight for Interracial Marriage — illustrated by Sean Qualls. She lives in Brooklyn with her family. You can learn more about her at her website or follow her on Instagram or Facebook.
OTHERWISE KNOWN AS JUDY THE GREAT is a poetry picture book homage to Judy Blume (of course!). In this book, author-illustrator Selina explores young Judy’s life and inspirations through poetry and collage. This is an incredible tribute and work of art honoring an author who was an influence on many of us today.
Welcome Selina!
Me: Can you share about your creative journey? When did you start creating art professionally? How did that bring you to being the author and illustrator of this book
Selina: After graduating from The School of Visual Arts (majoring in illustration) in 1995, it took me at least a decade to break into the publishing field. Children’s books were on my radar for a long time before I got my first contract with a small publisher to illustrate a book called, My Subway Ride. When that book got into the Original Art Show at The Society of Illustrators, I got my first agent who eventually encouraged me to try my hand at writing stories too.
Me: You have written and illustrated multiple picture books at this point in your career. What gave you the idea for a biography about a young Judy Blume?
Selina: Picture book biographies take me 3-5 years to write and illustrate so I knew I would need to feel a lot of passion for my next subject. Since I was totally obsessed with Judy Blume books growing up, I asked myself, “who was this incredible woman who wrote all of my favorite childhood stories?” I needed to know more!
Me: Can you tell us a little bit about your illustrations for the book? Did you work with traditional media or digital or both?
Selina: I work entirely traditionally by mixing acrylic paint and collage together to create almost scrap-book-like illustrations.
Me: I noticed in your collage work there are bits of text. Were those from specific things here? Were there any Judy Blume books woven directly into the artwork?
Selina: Yes, I painted over copied pages of Judy Blume books to make some of the collage papers. I also hid words (or images) in the artwork to add layers of dimension to the storytelling. These things may or may not be noticed by the reader. For example, the Unlikely Events poem is about the time when there were three airplane crashes in Judy’s hometown of Elizabeth, NJ. The children were so frightened that they thought aliens might have invaded. On the art for this spread, you can find the following words within the collage: extraterrestrial, God, interstellar, catastrophe and fears.
Me: I love that. Why did you decide to write a poetry picture book about Judy Blume? Why not prose? What did the medium of poetry allow you to do that you might not otherwise have been able to do with your writing of this story? Did you use any specific forms or were you mostly drawn to free verse?
Selina: I chose to tell the story in a series of poems partly as a way to differentiate the book from Judy’s work, and also as a way to create distinct vignettes of her life growing up in New Jersey in the 1940s. At times, the poetic approach is meant to echo Judy’s confessional way of writing, like how Margaret asks questions in Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.
Me: What is one thing that surprised you in either writing or illustrating this story?
Selina: How much of a kinship I felt to Judy’s childhood, we had some very similar experiences and ways of being in the world. It made me feel the power in the universal feelings of childhood.
Me: Any advice for other new picture book writers and/or illustrators?
Selina: Join SCBWI for the wealth of information, resources, conferences (community) and inspiration. But most importantly, find an authentic connection to your projects so that your excitement will come through in the writing and/or the artwork. Bringing your passion projects to life is the greatest reward of all.
That is great advice Selina. Thank you for stopping by my blog today.
Dear readers, this book published in February. It’s a beautiful tribute to a beloved author that is sure to inspire young readers to become writers, as well as older readers to find more to love. Trust me when I say, you won’t want to miss it!
And if you’re looking for more poetry fun this month, be sure to check out the Kidlitosphere Event Roundup! Thank you for stopping by!