Most attendees wandered in with several books in hand, eager to have personal notes and an autograph from popular children’s book writer and illustrator Bill Slavin at the launch of his latest book on Saturday, his first solo picture book in more than twenty years. As participants settled into stools, benches or spots on the rug, Slavin launched into an entertaining read of Who Broke the Teapot?, and it was clear that most of the audience were familiar with the story. Children were eager to comply with his request for participation, as they echoed the persistent question, well aware of the answer that offered a less-than-flattering conclusion about parental behaviour in moments of stress.
Slavin’s interest in illustration began at the age of seven, and he has never looked back. He is best known as an award-winning illustrator, having illustrated over 100 books for children, including the popular Staney series by Linda Bailey. In 2014, he wrote and illustrated his Elephants Never Forget graphic novel trilogy, propelled by his love of comic books in his youth. He is determined to keep that youthful perspective, and as an illustrator of books for the young and young at heart, this attribute is a key ingredient in his success.
He sums up his love of his career by explaining that it allows him to never grow up, and it was clear to anyone who heard his delivery of the story that this is indeed the case! Accompanied by his full-size original paintings for the book, he entertained the audience who anticipated every word and chimed in on cue with giggles all around. He then demonstrated his drawing technique first with pencil and then with ink, drawing a character from the book while the children competed to be first to identify the emerging image.
This is the process he uses in his work; quickly drawing light pencil sketches from which emerge the image in his mind. When illustrating a book for others, he finds inspiration in the words and after completing rough sketches in pencil, he proceeds to complete them in ink, ink and water colour for softer images or acrylics when a bold illustration is required.
While an illustrator’s ability to put on paper an idea is critical, what sets Slavin apart in his craft is his quirky sense of humour, which appreciated by audiences young and old. Who else could have put together images able to hold their own to illustrate that iconic Fred Penner children’s tune- “The Cat Came Back”? Slavin’s illustrations in a book version of this well-known song about a cat whose owner can’t get rid of him is a prime example of his genius. The playful lyrics are used as a launching pad for hilarious images that build on the playful lyrics. For example, when the cat is sent away on a hot air balloon and the lyrics explain only that the cat “came back”, Slavin takes the humour up a notch, showing the animal returning in style on a spaceship with green cheese from the moon. Through the rest of the book, Slavin continues to elevate the level of absurdity with each subsequent illustration.
Slavin keeps track of his youthful audiences with regular school visits, where he shares his love of story-telling through illustration. His objective is to “demystify” art, and to inspire children to take the plunge and create their own stories through pictures, offering some basic drawing lessons to help them get started. KG
