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Biography
 Eve Bunting is the author of many acclaimed books for young readers, including the Caldecott Medal–winning Smoky Night and has received the prestigious Kerlan Award for her body of work. Ms. Bunting lives in Southern California.
C. F. Payne is an illustrator known equally for commercial art in magazines as for his work on children’s picture books. His art is identifiable by large faces full of expressions and has been recognized by the Norman Rockwell Museum. He is the illustrator of several books for children, including Brave Harriet: The First Woman to Fly the English Channel and True Heart, both written by Marissa Moss. His artwork has also graced the covers of some of America’s more popular magazines: Reader’s Digest, Time, Rolling Stone, and Sports Illustrated. He lives in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Synopsis
Pop’s Bridge recounts the monumental task of building an “impossible bridge,” one that stretches across the wide San Francisco Bay and can withstand high winds and dense fogs. The bridge took four years to complete and was a costly venture—$35 million was raised to fund its construction, and eleven men lost their lives while working on the project—ten in the scaffolding accident described in the book. Through the eyes of two young boys, learn how this monument project was completed. Eve Bunting and C. F. Payne capture the amazing efforts and difficulties that went into making this majestic American icon.
Interview with Eve Bunting, author of Pop's Bridge
Q: Your first glimpse of the Golden Gate Bridge was on the day you arrived in the United States as an immigrant from Ireland. What were your initial impressions of the bridge? Have those impressions changed over time?
A: I thought it the most beautiful bridge I had ever seen. To me, it bridged the gap between my old life and the new one that was just beginning. I still feel that way.
Q: You often weave “tender topics”—dramatic, sometimes unsetting events—into the tapestry of your stories. Pop’s Bridge, for example, recounts a horrible accident that occurred during the construction of the bridge. Why did you choose to include this tragic historical event in the book?
A: Because it was true. It showed the boys the value of the life of each worker, not just the ones that Robert felt were, like his dad, “the most important.”
Q: Robert is proud that his dad is one of the many laborers working on the “impossible bridge.” In fact, Robert feels his dad’s job as a skywalker is “the most important job of all”—a job more important than that of Charlie’s dad, a painter. After the boys witness the terrible accident, Robert realizes all laborers are risking their lives and are in “equal danger.” What might young readers take away from this story?
A: I hope young readers understand that building the beautiful bridge required teamwork and came at a great price.
Q: Your books have been recognized by librarians, teachers, and children alike. In fact, young readers have voted your books onto numerous state awards lists. What qualities of your books capture their admiration and praise?
A: Perhaps it is because I tell a story that touches the reader in some way. I received a letter from a fourth-grade student who said, “[You] wrote this story just for me.” What an affirmation!
Q: Whether writing a well-researched historical story or a heartwarming family relationship book, your love of storytelling is evident. Please share your thoughts on the process of committing a story to the page.
A: I write only stories that touch my heart. I listen to what the story says to me. Is it worthwhile? Does it say what is true? How does it sound when read aloud? I don’t begin until I’m ready, and even then, it takes many revisions.
Q: You once mentioned in an interview that your “success has been a constant surprise.” With a large body of published works to your credit, does the level of success you’ve achieved still come as a surprise?
A: Yes, I am still surprised. I am also confused and uncertain. It is difficult to see where you fit in among the many, many talented authors who produce children’s books. If I am successful, I am grateful. I know writing makes me happy, and I hope I can tell my stories forever.
Interview with C. F. Payne, illustrator of Pop's Bridge
Q: You are a well-respected artist whose caricatures have been featured in popular magazines such as Time and Rolling Stone. How did your commercial experience lead you to children’s book illustration?
A: I can only guess that the editor who first called me to work on a children’s book felt my work had the potential to be meaningful to kids.
Q: Does the process differ when creating illustrations to accompany a picture book’s text in comparison to creating artwork for the back page of Reader’s Digest?
A: For me there is a huge difference. Illustrating for Reader’s Digest or Time is always a one-shot deal. Even when I illustrate a series—such as the art I’ve created for Reader’s Digest—each piece is an individual idea or a slice of life.
A children’s book has eighteen or more pictures, and they all have to work together. When you work on a big project, you have to balance your schedule for that type of assignment with the rest of your workload. I see the individual art piece as a short sprint and art for a children’s book as more of a marathon with distractions.
Q: Your illustrations place particular emphasis on facial features and expressions. Do you feel this style is more accessible or appealing to young readers?
A: I feel that expression is an effective device for telling stories to children. A character’s facial expression gives readers clues for how they might respond to what is happening on the page. Filmmakers have incorporated facial expression into movies ever since that industry began and, it is still in use it in the movie-making process today.
Q: Would you please explain the use of perspective in your illustrations, particularly in depictions of large crowds confined to small spaces?
A: As you can tell from my last answer, movies are one influence on my work. All picture making—paintings, comic books, photographs, and films—has influenced my style. Telling a story with pictures is what I like to do. The tools of perspective—cramming a lot of images into a picture—give viewers a lot to digest. It also allows them to use their imagination as they read. The picture may set or establish the tone, but having a figure break in or out of the frame gives readers a sense that a world exists beyond the page: It encourages them to imagine the world beyond the walls of the picture.
Q: Eve Bunting, the author of Pop’s Bridge, has very fond inspirational memories of seeing the Golden Gate Bridge for the first time. Do you have a Golden Gate Bridge experience that inspired you?
A: Unfortunately I do not. I was born and raised in Ohio and didn’t see the Golden Gate Bridge until I was an adult. Obviously I saw pictures, but none that inspired me in the same way.
Q: As you know, kids tend to notice small details. Do you ever include hidden art, puzzles, or messages in your illustrations? If so, did you include any in Pop’s Bridge?
A: From time to time I do include images of Ohio or Cincinnati, or the names of my kids in my pictures, but I did not do that in this particular book. I have used friends as models, and there are a few whose faces have contributed to this effort.
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