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Between the Lines |
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Interview with Lisa Westberg Peters and Jeff Mack |
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We’re Rabbits!
Lisa Westberg Peters
Illustrated by Jeff Mack
Can three hungry rabbits eat an entire garden full of mouthwatering vegetables and not get caught? They'll do their best, but one thing stands in their way: the diligent young gardener who doesn't want to share her tasty lettuce, cucumbers, and carrots. She'll only let the rabbits stay if they eat all the vegetables she doesn't like.
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Biography |
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Lisa Westberg Peters is the author of Our Family Tree: An Evolution Story and many other books for young readers, including The Sun, the Wind and the Rain and Cold Little Duck, Duck, Duck. She lives in St. Paul, Minnesota. More about Lisa Westberg Peters.
Jeff Mack made his publishing debut with Rub-a-Dub Sub by Linda Ashman and is also the illustrator of James Howe's Bunnicula and Friends beginning-reader series. He lives in Skaneateles, New York.
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Interview with Lisa Westberg Peters—Author of We’re Rabbits! |
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Q: Rabbits are very appealing to small children. Why?
A: I think we all like small furry animals. Kids must especially like the pesky, mischievous nature of rabbits. And of course rabbits are the definition of vulnerability and children must identify with that vulnerability. Jeff’s rabbits are unique – I love their random floppiness and expressiveness. I think children will, too.
Q: Are you the gardener in the story?
A: Maybe a little bit. In writing the story, however, I began with an adult male gardener, switched to adult female and eventually wound up with a female child. Part of my personality was in each version of the gardener, I’m sure. In the final version, I could easily see myself trying to dump the smelly vegetables on the rabbits. That was fun to imagine. It was a little bit of secret revenge.
Q: When caught, the rabbits collectively droop their ears and lament,
"We're only rabbits!" Why does the gardener smile and change her tactics at this point?
A: I suspect the gardener doesn’t want to be too harsh to these charming creatures, but at the same time, she can accomplish her own goal of getting rid of the vegetables she doesn’t like.
Q: The ungrateful little bunnies don't want the gardener's offer of smelly leeks and tough old turnips—they want carrots! Are carrots also the favorite food of the wild bunnies in your garden?
A: The rabbits in our garden eat whatever they please, but especially green beans, lettuce, peas. It’s the young ones that can squeeze through the fence and then we’re faced with these cute little bunnies that eat great heaps of vegetables. I’ve chased lots and lots of rabbits out of our vegetable garden.
Q: As a child, what was your favorite book?
A: My parents read Margaret Wise Brown’s book The Sailor Dog to me when I was very young. When I had a child of my own, it was one of the first books I bought, and recognition flooded back to me. It was such a pleasure to reacquaint myself with that book.
Q: And now?
A: It’s hard to pick a favorite book. I love Lois Ehlert’s books, Douglas Florian’s poetry, , Miss Rumphius, Blueberries for Sal, Peter Sis’s work, The Salamander Room. It’s hard to pick a favorite.
Q: Does We're Rabbits! remind you of the types of book you read as a child?
A: I think what I most enjoyed about writing We’re Rabbits was playing with language. I love casual rhyme and the chance to occasionally break the cadence of the verse. I have a contrary side, and it’s fun to break the rules a bit. I don’t remember if I read these kinds of books as a child, but I know my father loves to play with words as well—and I suspect I inherited that tendency from him.
Q: How has writing children's books shaped or changed your life?
A: Having children shaped and changed my life more than anything else I’ve done. Writing for children was a natural outcome of wanting to stay at home with them, but not wanting to stop writing (I’d been a journalist). I consider myself very lucky to be able to work in such a creative field, day after day. I recognize that many jobs don’t offer the kind of creative outlet that writing children’s books offers.
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Interview with Jeff Mack—Illustrator of We’re Rabbits! |
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Q: Your editor, Karrie Oswald, told us a little about the discussions regarding "wild rabbit" vs. "cartoon rabbit" illustrations. What were your thoughts.
A: Those discussions were about matching the style of my illustrations with the style of Lisa’s story. The book I illustrated before this one, Rub-a-Dub Sub, had lots of underwater creatures that I drew with lots of cartoonish exaggeration. For example, the shark looks like it could be a big soggy sock puppet. Why this distortion? It’s because... (I’m about to give away the surprise ending here) ...the whole story takes place in a kid’s imagination!
We’re Rabbits! is a little more grounded in reality. In other words, the girl acts like a girl and the rabbits pretty much act like rabbits (Okay, one of them sticks his tongue out, but that’s as weird as he gets). So Karrie and I agreed that a natural wild rabbit look was more appropriate for the natural tone of the story. I also know for a fact that all wild rabbits think in verse but lose this ability once domesticated!
Q: You use three rabbits to tell Lisa’s story. How did you decide on this number?
A: Originally, I sketched the book with a different scenario. There were just two rabbits and they gradually multiplied until there were about twenty hopping around on the last page. Karrie and I talked this over and decided a growing rabbit invasion might be tricky to explain to two to five year olds. We finally settled on the number three when I divided twenty rabbits by the original two, subtracted one for the gardener, and then found the square root of the result, which turned out to be three.
Q: There is a turning point in the story when the rambunctious rabbits are accidentally caught by the gardener. Why did you give them sheepish, apologetic looks instead of frightened looks?
A: The rabbits have sheepish looks in part because Lisa’s text— "We’re just rabbits" sounds humble— sort of like, "We’re sorry, but you can’t blame us for wanting your veggies. I mean, it’s not our fault we’re rabbits." Also, I didn’t want to make the gardener seem too menacing to the kids who read the book, so I made sure the rabbits didn’t look too frightened by her.
Q: Did you base the look of the gardener on anyone you know?
A: At the time I was working on We’re Rabbits!, I lived with some friends who were trying to start an organic farm business. Lots of people would come over for meetings, and almost everyone wore dreadlocks and denim overalls and muddy boots. Somehow the gardener in We’re Rabbits! ended up looking like a young version of one of those enthusiastic carrot growers who was named Rebecca. She actually shaved her head before I finished the book. Rats!
Q: Your illustrations were done in acrylics on watercolor paper. Isn’t that a bit unusual? Do the materials themselves dictate how they should be used, or do you get a more interesting effect by mixing them up?
A: I like using watercolor paper because it doesn’t curl up into a tube after I prime it. Once the primer dries, the surface becomes water repellent. That’s unnatural for watercolor paper, but it lets me smear the wet paint around with different brushes and rags to get interesting textures and blends. I use acrylics because I can slow the drying time down if I want, but mostly it dries quickly. Fast-drying paint helps me meet my deadlines!
Q: As a child, which were your favorite books?
A: When I was two to five years old, my favorite book was probably the one with
the best tasting cover. I remember eventually liking the Dr. Seuss book On Beyond Zebra about a fake alphabet that followed the letter Z and included a list of fake animals whose names began with those letters. It inspired me to invent my own imaginary alphabet and strange animals. The Ed Emberley books had a similar way of encouraging the reader to take over the author’s and the illustrator’s jobs. I also liked Bartholomew and the Oobleck because of the slime that fell from the sky and plugged up those guys' bugles. I remember my grandmother reading a book to me by Kin Platt about a detective with a big mustache who flew around under an umbrella. His name was Big Max. Robert Lopshire did the pictures. One last favorite was Curious George and the Man with the Yellow Hat by H.A. Rey. I loved the way that guy drew donuts. Nice and round!
Q: And what is your favorite book now?
A: My favorite kid’s book now is probably William Steig’s Amos and Boris from 1971. It’s a bittersweet story. He communicates complicated feelings of loneliness and love in a way that children can understand without compromising the beauty of the language. His picture of a mouse running laps on a whale’s back is very touching. I’m amazed by Mr. Steig’s entire body of work, and I’m sorry I never got to meet him. He’s sort of a hero to me.
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A Note from the Editor about We’re Rabbits |
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When Lisa Westberg Peters sent us her text for We’re Rabbits!, everyone at Harcourt responded to its jaunty rhythm and wry sense of humor. We knew right away that we needed an illustrator, who could capture the rabbits’ boundless energy and unique personalities. When Jeff Mack’s vibrant art for Linda Ashman’s Rub-a-Dub Sub arrived, we knew he was also the perfect match for We’re Rabbits!
From that point forward, Lisa, Jeff, and I worked together to make We’re Rabbits! the best picture book it could be. Lisa fine-tuned her text, Jeff created his sketches and paintings, and we would all toss out suggestions and ideas. Then our designer, Suzanne Fridley, added her special touch with the flowing, brightly colored type. Throughout the process, we were all mindful of finding the best ways to capitalize on the humor, to getting those clever rabbits’ personalities just right, and to making We’re Rabbits! a fun book that kids would want to read again and again.
Our collaboration even provided We’re Rabbits!’s terrific ending. After Jeff sent in his final art, we weren’t clear that the gardener had finally relented and given the rabbits some tasty carrots. Then one day Lisa said, "Wouldn’t it be great if the carrots were in the gardener’s hat?" We couldn’t believe we hadn’t thought of it before! So Jeff repainted that piece, everyone loved it, and at last we had the perfect conclusion to this wonderful book.
We really hope that kids and their parents will enjoy We’re Rabbits! because we sure had a great time making it!
--Karrie Oswald
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A Note from the Book Designer about We’re Rabbits |
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For We're Rabbits! we used "type" to show movement of the jumping, frisky bunnies, and color to match the bright, vibrant vegetables described in the book. Sometimes we shaped the type to illustrate other actions or attributes, such as "tall", "drooping", "stringy", and "smelly." And sometimes we boldfaced or enlarged the text for emphasis, aesthetics, or to mirror the terrain of the rabbits' favorite garden. We worked hand in hand with Jeff Mack, the illustrator, to shape the type around his art and shape his art around the type. And then, for the finishing touch, and thanks to designer Judythe Sieck—we added carefree, bouncy title calligraphy. The whimsical shape of the letters, especially the ascender on the B’s, really remind one of bunny ears. It accents the art and communicates the feeling of this playful, active book beautifully. The careful, thoughtful design collaboration creates a strong connection between the words and the pictures, which helps children to understand—and enjoy—the playful, visually appealing tale
—Suzanne Fridley
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