Book Reviews by Carol Neeland for LS 5603: Literature for Children and Young Adults

Talking with Artists: Volume 1

Compiled and edited by Pat Cummings

Plot Summary:

Talking with Artists does not have one cohesive plot. It is a collection of interviews with illustrators of children’s books. Each vignette begins with the illustrator telling his “story”. The story usually tells about the illustrator’s childhood, how he or she got started drawing, where they went to school, and how they broke into the world of children’s book illustration. After that each artist answers these questions: 

1. Where do you get your ideas from?
2. What is a normal day like for you?
3. Where do you work?
4. Do you have any children? Any pets?
5. What do you enjoy drawing the most?
6. Do you ever put people you know in your pictures?
7. What do you use to make your pictures?
8. How did you get to do your first book? 

Each vignette has a picture of the artist as a child and a current photograph. Pages from the each authors’ books also appear in each section. 

Critical Analysis: 

Talking with Artists would be an inspirational book for any young artist who hopes someday to make a living from this craft. All of the artists started out as “regular” children who like to draw. Some of them don’t even plan to be artists when they are older; they just know that drawing makes them happy. The stories are diverse and interesting, from Tom Feelings who was inspired by the first black artist he had ever met, to Lois Ehlert who did most of her early work on a card table that she still has. 

The sections on “Where do you get your ideas from?” and “How did you get to do your first book?” are the ones that child artists would probably find most interesting, especially if they hope to have a future in illustrating children’s books. Adults will probably not be as interested in whether or not the illustrators have pets as children would be. The illustrations and the quotes from the authors that appear in italics are also helpful in conveying the most important information to the reader. Young artists probably enjoy seeing the childhood drawings of famous illustrators as well. 

To be honest, after the first five vignettes that I read I was tired of the repetitive format. The most engaging parts of each section were the artist’s stories. Perhaps if Pat Cummings had interviewed the artists and only used the answers for each one that were really fascinating, this format would have worked better. The fact that every question from every artist is printed is a little bit like a bad school assignment. We instruct students to “show not tell” and not to put every detail, only the important details. For example, how important is it that Chris Van Allburg’s studio is thirty-five feet long by fifteen feet wide? (p. 81) This book does not practice what we preach for students to do in their own writing. 

Talking with Artists would have been more engaging if all of the information in the interviews had been included in the artists’ stories, in the artists’ own voices. As it is, it feels too much like Cummings is answering the questions at the back of the chapter in the textbook. As we know, that kind of reading is rarely engaging, especially for children. 

Review Excerpts: 

The excerpt below is from School Library Journal: 

Gr 3-8– Conversations with Victoria Chess, Leo and Diane Dillon, Richard Egielski, Lois Ehlert, Lisa Campbell Ernst, Tom Feelings, Steven Kellogg, Jerry Pinkney, Amy Schwartz, Lane Smith, Chris Van Allsburg, and David Wiesner form the content of this book. All say that “practice, practice, practice” is the key to success. The illustrators that Cummings interviewed and her own comments are primarily aimed at young people who love to draw. They tell about how they got started, and where they get their ideas and techniques. There are chatty bits of information about the artists themselves, examples of their childhood drawings, and beautifully reproduced samples of current work. The same questions are asked of each contributor, but the answers range from serious commentary to lighthearted humor. The cumulative result is a short course in how to succeed in the book business, and general agreement that illustration is a tremendously satisfying and enjoyable occupation. Young artists will learn a lot; teachers and other children will also love it. Well designed and well conceived, this book will be welcomed in all those classrooms in which children’s literature has become central to the curriculum. 

Shirley Wilton, Ocean County College, Toms River, NJ Connections: 

Using the Talking with Artists books for cross-curricular integration with art would be a tremendous learning opportunity for students. Each student could choose one of the authors in the books and create an illustration in that artist’s style. Taking it one step further, the artist could write a poem or short narrative to accompany the picture. 

Alternatively, students could interview each other using the same or similar questions that appear in the book. They could insert their illustrations into the text of the interviews and create their own, Talking with Artists book. What could be more inspirational for student artists than being interviewed about their craft, their style, and what inspires them to create? 

My only suggestion is that the students combine the information gleaned from the interview questions into one interesting, cohesive story rather than the question and answer format used in the book. That format is fine for one interview but not for a book full of interviews. 

Bibliographic Data:

Cummings, Pat. Talking with Artists: Volume 1. 2 ed. New York: Bradbury Press, 1992. ISBN 0-02-724245-5

Wilton, Shirley. “Talking with Artists: Volume 1.” School Library Journal (1992), http://reviews.schoollibraryjournal.com/bd.aspx?isbn=0027242455&pub=sl. (accessed January 31, 2008).

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