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Between the Lines |
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Interview with Will Hillenbrand |
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Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush
Will Hillenbrand
Will Hillenbrand
Will Hillenbrand has authored and illustrated many award-winning picture books, including Fiddle-I-Fee;'Twas
the Fright Before Christmas; Down by the Station, a Kirkus Reviews Children's Book of Special Note; Counting Crocodiles
by Judy Sierra, a Child Magazine Best Book of 1997; and The House that Drac Built by Judy Sierra,
an IRA-CBC Children's Choice. Will lives with his wife and son in Terrace Park, Ohio. www.willhillenbrand.com
Interview
Q: The age-old rhyming song, Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush, gets a delightful injection of modernization in your new book about first-day-of-school
jitters. Rather than singing around a bush, washing clothes, and baking bread, these children are saying hello, dashing inside, and reading books— like modern day kids. This is the
third book, including Down by the Station and Fiddle-I-Fee, in which you've chosen to revitalize timeless rhymes and bring them to life for a new generation of children.
What is it about these projects that appeals to you?
A: I have always loved music, almost as much as art and books. I never considered pursuing music because I have trouble keeping a beat. You can't go far
in music if you can't master that task. Nonetheless, I love music—even if I sing best in the shower. As far as my books are concerned, I believe that young children are attracted
to them because they can sing or read them. If children memorize the song before they are able to read the text, I believe they will, in the end, match the song to the print they are seeing.
The ideas of where the story takes them will move them well beyond what they might have guessed by having prior knowledge of the song. Sometimes, just for the fun of it I add lines to
songs we know in our family; my son Ian can get quite annoyed with me sometimes if I go too far with that.
Q: The mulberry bush takes on a new role in your version—instead of being a dance-hall centerpiece, it becomes a haven, a hideout, for two little
piggies who are overwhelmed by their first day at school. You've said that the inspiration for this modification came in part from a clump of honeysuckle bushes in your own neighborhood.
Would you please share the story behind the story?
A: When Ian was attending kindergarten at Terrace Park Elementary School, I would walk with him to school and then pick him up around noon, when the children
came bursting out of school at the end of their day. The children divided into three groups: those who went on to the extended day (a mixed group of girls and boys), and those in the remaining
two groups which were divided between the girls and the boys. The girls when right for the towering oak tree, sat down politely, and enjoyed genteel conversation and a picnic of finger
sandwiches. Meanwhile, the boys headed straight for the restricted area that happened to be a clump of honeysuckle bushes on the edge of the playground. The boys blew off a lot of steam
there, and at times they must have turned into other things, "wild things," perhaps. Once after hearing a loud crack, I peeked inside to check if any bones had been broken, but
the boys had just snapped a stick. Whenever it was time to go home, any boy in the bushes reemerged as perfect gentlemen, albeit a little muddy.
Q: When the teacher reads a book, reads a book, reads a book, she is displaying an open page with a train moving across it. This brings to mind (in detail)
your book, Down by the Station, which, as we discussed, was also a revival of an old sing-a-long song. Often illustrators create special visual elements in their art—was there
a specific reason for you to include the Down by the Station illustration in this book?
A: The book the teacher is reading and the train image represent a special inter-relationship for readers who are already acquainted with my book Down
by the Station. They will jump to point that out, remembering that experience; this in itself will be empowering and fun for them. For those who don't make the connection, they
will want to know or enjoy Mulberry Bush for just what it is.
Q: Tell us about your favorite illustrators and writers, including E.H. Shepard, illustrator of Winnie the Pooh. What is it about their work that influences
your art?
A: You have been reading my Web site! Well, let me just say this—Mr. Shepard is top of the top. For me, he creates magic in his line. Shepard creates
perfect book magic that is human, faithful, whimsical, and alive. All of my favorite illustrators and writers embody these qualities. I strive for them in my work as well.
Q: The personification of your piggy characters is superb—especially the little red-riding-hooded girl who adores her teacher, the "Poindexter"
pig, and, of course, the two main characters—frightened little piggy and his new friend. We often speak to writers about character development, but how do you develop character in
a drawing?
A: To create a character in a drawing, first I need to draw in my sketchbook. This primes the pump for the idea flow. From my pencil, people—or in
this case, pigs—appear. Some of them I recognize as people I know or have wondered about. I'll think about my own school days, or children I see in school now. After a lot of drawing,
I go back and try to pick out a good cast. One of the pigs is my best friend and school buddy, Tom. Tom passed away last summer while I was making this book. It was a very sad time for
me. However, part of Tom's spirit is alive in this book. It is an altogether fitting reminder of our friendship.
Q: Pigs are popular storybook characters and Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush is filled with the little porkers. What is it about pigs that
makes them so fascinating to kids—their cute cloven dancing feet, their soft little snoots, or perhaps the fact that they always look as if they are smiling?
A: Maybe we all have more in common with pigs than we like to admit. Pigs are enjoyable to draw and they are very expressive. This is the first book that
I have written where all the characters are animals. I think young children relate well to animals. It allows the action to be just one set removed from there own experience; this can
help create a comfort zone for the reader. They can see themselves and others and know they are not alone.
Q: Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush is designed to help young children face and then embrace their first day of school—all from the child's perspective.
You often visit schools on your tours and appearances—have you ever visited on a first day? And if so, did you see the various stages of social adaptation in the classroom. In particular,
have you seen the child like the one hiding under the mulberry bush?
A: I do love visiting children at schools; however, I don't think the first day of school would be a great time for an author visit. The transition is big
deal enough—that was true for me through college. My wife and I always take our son to school on his first day. It's an emotional day for all of us. Once when I was at a school I
saw a child on his first day at a new school in a new country. I saw him line up outside with the other kindergarten children. The bell rang, and the teacher welcomed them inside. When
he got to the threshold, he had a fit and would not go in without his mother. Neither he nor I will likely forget his experience. This little guy was in need of a mulberry bush. To help,
teachers can read this book on the first day, or if they get a new student in their classroom. Perhaps my book will comfort a child that I never will see.
Q: How would you advise teachers to use this book to ease first day, first week, or even first year jitters?
A: Perhaps the teacher could introduce the book and have students make learning choices with the book as the model. The song could be taught to the students
and could be performed by the children for the parents at the end of the first week. Alternately, older students could sing the book to the kindergarten students on the first day. A word
chart could be used explain the words of the text. Children could be asked to add their own additional lines to the story or to paint a picture about how they felt on the first day. A
certain part of the classroom could be called "the mulberry bush" and it could be used as a safe area where a child could go to be alone, or to hold a stuffed turtle, or to make
a new friend.
I would just keep in mind that whenever a teacher has a new student they should read this book aloud to all of the children and then ask them if they ever felt like any of the pigs. What
do they remember about their first day? What might they be able to do to make it easier for the new student? I think it also would be nice for the children to sing the book to the new
student.
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