Reading picture books helps children develop language skills and literacy, as well as empathy. And their colorful illustrations and memorable lessons have a way of sticking with young readers long after they graduate to chapter books.
Idaho is home to a wealth of children’s book creators. One who stands out through the years is author and illustrator Leslie Patricelli, a longtime resident of Hailey. Patricelli has produced more than 25 board books as well as picture books, middle grade and bilingual books. She has also written a series of books titled “Mini Myths,” including “Be Patient Pandora” and “Be Careful Icarus!”
Patricelli focused on children’s literature after taking a class in 1997 at the School of Visual Concepts in Seattle, having previously worked as a copywriter and illustrator. The class was taught by two published authors from Seattle: Keith Baker and Laura McGee Kvasnosky. During this class she met other aspiring authors/illustrators, including Lorie Ann Grover and Margaret Chodos-Irvine. At the same time, she was contracting for Microsoft, designing and illustrating their cartoon help characters. Her office mate, Kevan Atteberry, now also a prolific children’s book author, designed the somewhat infamous Clippy, an animated “office assistant” that appeared in earlier versions of Microsoft Office. Patricelli, for her part, designed and animated Rover the Dog in Windows XP.
When Patricelli’s son Beck was about a year old and starting to stick everything into his mouth, she found herself following him around saying “Yucky!” all the time, or “Yummy!” when she was trying to get him to eat his nutritious meals.
“I had the idea to put them together into an opposite book and sketched out what was originally called ‘The Yummy Yucky Book,’ said Patricelli. “I decided to make a trio of opposite books and created ‘Quiet Loud’ and ‘Big Little’ to go with it. By 2003, my first books were on the shelves!
“For as long as I can remember, when anyone asked me what I wanted to be when I grow up, I would say, ‘an artist.’”
In college, Patricelli thought she might be a dentist like her dad. “I filled my chemistry notes with art, and I didn’t do well in the pre-med classes, so I changed my mind,” she offered. “The path to becoming an artist is rarely well-defined.”
As Patricelli recalled, “My school notes growing up were filled with caricatures of my teachers and classmates. My two best friends from grade school are still my two best friends now (45 years and counting!). I based The Rizzlerunk club books on some of our adventures as kids. My besties — Dianne and Michelle (Darby and Jill in the Rizzlerunk series) — actually snuck paints from the janitor’s closet and painted the monkey bars during recess! I wasn’t there but I always wished I had been, so when I wrote about the story in my book, I made sure that I was included!”
Patricelli’s favorite children’s book when she was a kid was “Mog the Forgetful Cat” by Judith Kerr. She identified with it because she was forgetful like Mog, looked like Debbie, the main character, and had horrible nightmares like her, too. Her favorite read-aloud book was “Hop on Pop” by Dr. Seuss because “… my Pop would read it to my sister and me, and we would hop all over him!” Patricelli recalled.
“I was diagnosed with attention deficit disorder in my 20s, which explained a lot about my forgetfulness. It means my brain is filled with a zillion random connections at once that make it hard for me to pay attention. But, sometimes, if I am quiet and listen, I will discover the most amazing things — like a brand-new idea for a children’s book!”
Patricelli once attended an event at The Community Library featuring Judy Blume, a noted children’s book author. Blume told the audience that in sixth grade she gave an oral book report on a series of horse books that she had invented. Patricelli could relate.
“In 8th grade, I was supposed to do a book report on a book of my choice. I hadn’t read anything, so I decided to invent the book! It was titled, “Sunsets Over Seas,” by Frank De Filitta, a romance novel. It took place during the French Revolutionary War. The main character was Devon from Devonshire. I trashed the book, writing, ‘I find the book to be very wordy. I’d consider most romances to be similar to this in their most notable trademark — bad taste!’ I got an A on my report. This was before the Internet. Good luck doing that now!”
Two more Idaho authors of note
A mother of two and Idaho resident since 2010, Stephanie Mullani was discouraged by a kindergarten teacher. She used that incident to write “Milo’s Glow,” a story Mullani explains is about “… a teacher, an authority figure, who told a young pupil that he didn’t quite have what it takes and dimmed his spark. But the tiny firefly continued to protect his spark and use it anyway and succeeded in the end because he didn’t give up.”
Another book about not giving up is the award-winning picture book “The Horse Who Wanted to Fly” by Idaho author Pamela Kleibrink Thompson (author of main story above). It’s based on the true story of how Leland Stanford, founder of Stanford University, hires a photographer to prove that horses can “fly.” This inspiring and historically based children’s book won the Gold Medallion at the Will Rogers Awards, a Winnie Award at the Equus Film and Arts Fest, and is a Spur Awards Finalist from the Western Writers of America.
For the Inspired…
If you aspire to write or illustrate children’s literature, check out The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (scbwi.org). Founded in 1971, SCBWI is the preeminent membership organization for children’s book creators. SCWBI has 20,000 members worldwide and is a global community of writers, illustrators, translators, publishers, librarians, advocates, and other industry professionals working to establish a more imaginative and inclusive world through the power of children’s literature. They have both in-person and virtual conferences, regional events, and an annual writer’s and illustrator’s retreat in Massachusetts at Whispering Pines. An Idaho chapter meets online the third Tuesday of the month from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Find out more by contacting Tanager at tanagerh@gmail.com.