childrens illustration | Kid Lit Dish

FINALLY… On Loosening Up

by Kim MacPherson

Well, here it is “tomorrow” and I’ve actually got another post! Wow, two days in a row after two weeks of nada… from the sublime to the ridiculous. (THAT one’s for my hubby, who can’t stand that phrase!) 😉

Those who know me know I love tennis. Well, I may not be AS passionate about it as I used to be, but I do think it’s a great sport and when I’m feeling “on,” I love to play.

And those who love this game can always come up with comparisons of how tennis is a lot like life. (Probably a lot of sports can say that, but tennis is one of those unique games in that it ultimately IS about you and you alone. Unless you’re playing doubles, you’re really all alone out there… a team of one.) There are a myriad of analogies out there. Just Google “Tennis and Life” and see for yourself.

And there are other little nuances of the game that can be analogous to the real world, such as the fact that you can be the best in the world, but if you lack confidence in your abilities, you probably won’t be successful. And one subtle change in your thinking out there on the court can shift momentum from your side to the other, or vice versa. It’s truly 80% mental. Again, just like life. Believe in yourself. Set goals. Work hard. Success!

But it drills down from there. And that gets me (finally!) to my point for today and that is that when you’re nervous playing a real match, you’re going to play what the pros call “tight”– meaning your forearm (your whole body, really) will be stiff. If your arm is tense and not loose, it’ll react against the ball in a completely different (read: not good) way. It’s an almost guaranteed error or fault most of the time when you’re hitting. And that’s how matches are lost.

I was thinking about this today when I was thinking about writing and drawing. I know when I started this whole process, I wanted to be so precise with everything. So I wouldn’t even write down one word until I had the entire story outlined. And I wouldn’t draw a picture without making sure my lines were smooth and straight. But that was doing nothing to improve either my writing OR my drawing.

So now instead of these precision drawings (that invariably all ended up cartoon-like), I’m drawing nothing but these rough sketches and really trying to focus on GESTURE. And two weeks ago, I wrote a pure-prose PB manuscript that I’m really happy with… in one day. (“Precision”-me wouldn’t have been able to do that!) Granted, this past Saturday was spent in a first round of revisions for that sucker (I had to get away from it for two weeks… to really see it for what it is) but I do believe there may be something there.

So I leave you with this: No matter what you’re doing– if it’s a picture book, an illustration, a poem… whatever– don’t THINK about it so much. Loosen up a little. Leave all your inhibitions in the ethers and just DO what flows from your fingers and brain. See what comes out of that kind of freedom. I’ll bet you anything some really good stuff awaits.

Enjoy the day, everyone!

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Perfect Picture Book Friday: Remember, Grandma?

by Kim MacPherson

I was browsing in Ian’s school library earlier this week and came across this little gem. At first glance, I thought the title was “Remember Grandma” — so I thought it was about a child’s memory of her departed grandmother. When I peeked inside, however, I realized that this book is about a little girl who is realizing that her dear grandmother is slowly but surely losing her memory… and along with that, all recognition of her and her family.

Remember, Grandma?

Written by Laura Langston; Illustrated by Lindsey Gardiner
Viking Children’s; May 2004
Suitable for: Age 5+

Theme/Topics: Grandparents, Family, Loss, Illness

Opening Lines:
My grandma lives with us now because she can’t remember.
She is not the wrinkled kind; she’s the special kind instead.
She wears high-topped sneakers with yellow laces and she laughs very loud.
Once she had a houseboat and an art gallery by the sea.
Then she played the piano and made mile-high apple pie.

Now
she sits in
her special chair
and rocks quick,
quick,
quick

Synopsis: Narrated in first person from the little girl’s point of view, this is a story of remembering– how a granddaughter first senses, then realizes the impact of her grandmother’s increasing senility… and how she copes. From the book description: “Warm and accessible, Remember, Grandma? is an important book that will strike a chord with many readers. For families who have a relative facing memory loss, it may trigger important conversations. And for all children with aging family members, it provides gentle reassurance about the love within families that endures even when memory does not.”

Why I Like This Book: This is a beautifully written and illustrated… and very poignant… little picture book. One of the things that got to me were the illustrations of the grandma– especially her eyes, which are at once sad with remembering, and next confused with forgetfulness. But through it all, she smiles, as does her granddaughter. I was drawn to this book because of the cover of the little girl and her grandma, because I was especially close with my own grandmother up until the day she died… and that probably makes it all the more bittersweet for me, personally.

Aside from the illustrations, though, I think the language and the tone are just gorgeous. And SO childlike. For instance, when it’s clear that Grandma’s “forgetting” is getting worse, there’s a scene where the two are making an apple pie:

When I cut away the bruised parts,
Grandma stops me.

‘The bruised parts are best,’ she says.
“All the sweetness in the apple
rushes to the soft brown part.”
Dad laughs, but Grandma insists.
“I remember,” she says.
“A fruit man told me once.”

We keep the bruised parts in
our mile-high apple pie.
Because Grandma remembered.

I mean come ON– how can you read that and NOT be moved? That passage gets me every single time.

Resources: Laura Langston’s web site. Also the back of the book contains a real mile-high apple pie recipe, which would be great to make with the kids as you discuss the book (especially the part about the bruised apples!)

For more “perfect picture books” (and to see the KidLit blogging world’s latest entries for today), visit author Susanna Leonard Hill’s Perfect Picture Book Friday page. I could spend every day on Susanna’s site! (Actually, I think I do…) 😀 Happy Friday, everyone!!

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