Tao Nyeu is the author and illustrator of the new children's picture book Exactly as Planned. Her other books include The Legend of Iron Purl. She lives in Southern California.
Q: What inspired you to create Exactly as Planned, and how did you come up with the idea for the book's reversible design?
A: I am a big fan of knitting. The idea that any knit garment is just one really really long string looped upon itself is such a fascinating idea. I love that you can unravel a sweater or scarf and then knit something completely different with that same piece of string. The possibilities are endless!
I’ve been wanting to incorporate that idea into a picture book and I finally got my chance with this story.
I didn’t start out with the plan of making a reversible book. The initial idea was to tell the same story from two different points of view. I wanted to play with the idea that one set of events is happening, but when you get inside the characters heads, there are two very different stories going on.
There are so many ways to approach telling two different stories on the same time line. I tried many variations, and finally I figured out that I wanted two physically separate stories to share the same exact last page.
It was a fun puzzle to play with. Because creating a reversible book wasn’t my initial intention, getting to that point felt like a surprise excavation. Like I thought I was digging up a potato and it turned out to be a wombat.
Q: Why did you choose a fox and a moose as your characters?
A: I had drawn some foxes in my previous book, The Legend of Iron Purl, and I really enjoyed drawing them. I knew that I wanted to draw more of them in my next book.
I also had a moose knocking around in my sketchbook. His antlers are great for holding balls of yarn. So it was the perfect time to bring him out into this book. Also, a big and small character size contrast makes for a fun visual dynamic.
Q: The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books said of the book, “This is the very definition of a book to pore over, so little ones should settle into a comfy lap and join the amiable Moose and Fox to traverse their charming setting.” What do you think of that description?
A: I love it! It makes me very happy because it describes how I loved Richard Scarry books as a kid. I could read them over and over (I still do) and always find new things in the illustrations.
All the details speak to the interior lives that the characters live beyond the text on the pages. Even when the covers are closed, the characters in his books are still grocery shopping, going to work, crashing cars and eating pickles.
Q: What do you hope kids (and adults) take away from the story?
A: On the first read, I hope they just enjoy the fun of it. It is a silly story!
Beyond that, I hope they get a kick out of discovering details in the illustrations that connect Fox and Moose’s worlds. I feel like reading the book for the second time is a very different (and more fun) experience.
And of course, I hope the reader learns that two people can experience the same event in two very different ways. Our own experiences color the way we approach and perceive the world and it’s not the same for everyone! Life is fun like that.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: I’m working on a picture book where one character is trying to eat the other. Who will you root for??
Q: Anything else we should know?
A: Thank you for reading my silly books! That someone might read my book and have a laugh delights me to no end. I am truly grateful.
--Interview with Deborah Kalb
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