Anna Dewdney is the author/illustrator of the popular Llama Llama books. Her latest book is “Llama Llama Home with Mama.” Below is a complete transcript of her interview with Cracking the Cover.
Where are you right now?
I am in my studio, typing on my computer, in Vermont. I’ve just come in from the garden, and the bulldog is snoring under the desk.
What came first, illustrating or writing?
I suppose I would have to say, “illustrating”, although I’ve always created stories, from the time I was a very little girl. However, I got paid as an illustrator first… it took me about 20 years to convince a publisher to buy one of my books! I got illustration work almost immediately after college.
Had you always wanted to be an author/illustrator?
Yes… always always always; ever since I can remember. I wanted to live in Vermont, write stories, and illustrate them. I also wanted to go back and time and live in the 1880’s, but I’m glad that part didn’t come true.
Where did the idea for Llama Llama characters come from?
The character of Llama Llama is some kind of combination of myself, my children, and the boys I used to teach. However, the name (“Llama Llama”) comes from my experiences with my children as we drove on the back roads of Vermont. When my two daughters were small, we would drive through the countryside and we would see cows everywhere. Every time we passed a field of cows, I would loudly “MOO!”. (I still do this, even though I only have dogs in the car now….) When we saw sheep, I would “Baaaaaaa”. When we passed chickens, I would “Cluck cluck cluck”. But sometimes we passed a field with a llama, and I had no idea what a llama “said”, so I said, “Ooooo… look! Llamallamallamallama! There’s a llamallamallamallama!” And one day, “Llama Llama” became “Llama Llama… red pajama….reads a story with his mama…..”
Your latest book is “Llama Llama Home With Mama.” Where did that specific idea come from?
I spent many days at home with my children when they were sick, and I very distinctly remember what it was like to stay home from school as a child. Those days at home can be very long, and Mama often gets sick soon after the child gets sick. I wanted to write a book about what that universal experience.
How long did it take to finish the book from start to finish?
Gosh…it is so hard to say how long it takes to create a book. A book usually begins at least a few years before it is “finished” in the studio. It takes many months of writing, and at least six months of straight painting to finish my piece. Then it takes another year from the time it leaves my studio before it actually becomes the book!
What were the challenges working on it? The highlights?
The most challenging part of writing is always making sure the verse is easily readable. The highlights are always the moments when I lose myself in the writing and the painting and make myself giggle.
Did the final product turn out the way you imagined it would?
That’s a tricky question! I’m not sure I ever had a set image in my mind of the way the book (or product) will look! I think I had an objective for the cover, and I feel very good about it; it conveys the sense of cosiness that I remember from my parenting experiences. But as for the rest of it – a book is really such an amorphous experience that I’m not sure I had a pre-organized concept. My work is all about feelings, and I try to express feelings; I don’t have a sense of the book as an object, as much. My primary focus is on the experience of the child reading the book.
Are you surprised by the success of the Llama Llama books?
Yes! And I’m very humbled by it. What it means to me is that many children (and their parents and caregivers) can relate to what I’m trying to convey.
Why do you think they appeal to children?
I think children see themselves in Llama Llama. I think they see truth in his experience of the world, and I think they can understand the love that Llama Llama and his Mama share.
What can your fans expect when you do bookstore visits?
I always start a visit with some drawing on an easel, and children like to see Llama Llama come to life on paper and say hello to them. Then I talk about where I’m from (Vermont) (a very soggy place right now) and then I read my books – dramatically! I love to meet individual children, and I have fun drawing little pictures in every book I sign.
Do you have a book that resonated with you as a child?
Oh…so many books! I loved the books of Tasha Tudor. I also adored The Pokey Little Puppy, and also Higglety Pigglety Pop by Maurice Sendak. I loved all of Garth Williams and Richard Scarey’s work, and I read everything by A. A. Milne, over and over again.
What are you working on now?
I’m working on about five books right now. I’ve just finished 4 Llama Llama board books, and I had tremendous fun with those. I’m also working on the next Llama Llama book, about sharing. There’s also a Daddy book in the works, and another book with a character that we will meet in the Llama Llama sharing book. And then there’s some Llama Llama sticker books, and a Llama Llama scratch and sniff book, and a book about recycling (in black and white) with an elephant in it. I think that’s more than five…but that’s what’s kicking around in my mind and in the studio!
