Claire Powell is the author and illustrator of the new children's chapter book Marty Moose: First Class Mischief. Her other books include the forthcoming Marty Moose: The Great Stamp-ede. She lives in England.
Q: Did you work on the text of Marty Moose first or the illustrations first--or both simultaneously?
A: I write the words first, which are edited and copyedited before being passed to an art director. They lay the text out to make sure it all fits and brief me on the illustrations, and we usually get together to talk about it.
It’s incredibly helpful to have someone else brief me on the pictures – if it was left to me, I’d draw everything! The drawings are all done by hand using ink and some of the scenes take a long time… days, in some cases (especially in book two!).
Q: The Booklist review of the book says, “The splendidly eccentric story is populated with memorable characters and delightful descriptions, and Marty’s slew of emphatic exclamations beg to be shouted aloud. . . A wonderfully wacky tale of courage and camaraderie that really delivers.” What do you think of that description?
A: Honestly, I couldn’t ask for a better description! It uses all the words I’d hoped would be used to describe this book. I love using onomatopoeia words as they add energy to the story, so I’m pleased the review mentions how fun they are. Several parents have told me their children made their own exclamations up after reading the book, which is so cool!
Q: What do you hope readers take away from the story?
A: Firstly, I hope they have FUN reading the Marty series. I hope it makes them laugh and feel good.
Beyond that, I hope young readers will learn from Marty that mistakes happen, that things don’t always go to plan and that’s okay, it’s part of life!
I also hope they learn that being brave doesn’t always mean doing something big, it can be something small, something in your everyday – like speaking up when you feel afraid to or challenging yourself to try something new.
Q: Anything else we should know?
A: Readers might like to know that I only started illustrating books aged 37. I’d always drawn as a child, it was my favourite thing to do, but I was encouraged to study design at university and that led me down a career path that didn’t require much drawing, in fact, none!
It wasn’t until my mid-30s that I realised how much I missed it; when I finally picked up a pencil again it’d been 15 years since I’d drawn anything. It took a lot of practice and dedication to get to where I am today. Now I’ve been illustrating books for a little over a decade and my drawing has improved almost unrecognisably.
So, to any young readers out there who want to know how to get better at drawing, the answer is simply…. Practice!
--Interview with Deborah Kalb
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