Booksource Interview

An Interview with Anna Dewdney
By Sarah Erwin

Q. When did you first start writing and drawing? Is there a specific person who most influenced your artistic side?

A. I've been drawing and making stories since I was very small. My fantasy world was always much more interesting than anything else around me. If I wasn't drawing or imagining things, I was reading books or playing dress-up.

The person that was most directly influential in my artistic life -and probably the course my life has taken, in general - is Tasha Tudor. For years, I wanted nothing more than to live the life she seemed to have; what could be better than living life in the 1800's, amidst gardens and goats, doing watercolors at the kitchen table? Of course, once I grew up, moved to Vermont, and started illustrating at the kitchen table while my children played at my feet, I realized that things were a great deal more complicated than they appeared in Tasha's world.

My mother, of course, was critical to influencing the moral or philosophical aspect of my art; I think I learned from her how important it is to be kind and to give love. In terms of actual technique, artists like Georgia O'Keefe, Rothko, Cezanne, early Sendak, and Rackham have also been important.

Q. What inspired Llama, Llama Red Pajama? How long did it take you to write and illustrate this? Did the rhyme come easily?

A. Llama, Llama is a true story, as every mom knows. I can't count how many times I heard the plaintive cry of "Mommy!" coming from upstairs after I thought my children were long since asleep...usually when I was on the telephone, washing dishes, or just generally running around doing the millions of things that moms do once children are in bed. And, of course, I remember how scary it was to be alone in the dark... it's still scary for me sometimes. I came up with the idea for the story years ago when my children were smaller. And I've always said "Llama llama" every time I see a llama, the way most people say "moo" when they see a cow; it's an odd habit. I wrote the actual story in a day or two, but it had been cooking for a number of years. Most rhymes come easily for me, but every story has its bits that are difficult - and these are brutally hard to work out.

Q. How do you come up with the faces that you draw? Do you look at pictures or models?

A. All my pictures are self-portraits. I make the faces as I draw and feel the feelings in the story. I must look pretty silly most of the time. I was in the airport a few months ago, working on the sketches for my next book (about a very grouchy bulldog), when I glanced up and saw the entire row of people across from me giving me odd looks.

I do use actual references for some things. I did look at pictures of llamas for the book. But, of course, none of the pictures of the llamas I used had any of them sitting up in bed, clutching their toys.

Q. How do you envision teachers using Llama, Llama Red Pajama in the classroom?

A. Teachers could do all sorts of different things with Llama, Llama. A class could study rhyme scheme; the book has a very stable set of syllables that children can clap out. Children could write some simple poems or even stories using the 8/8/7/7 scheme. Or the book could be used to discuss pragmatic issues like how we can recognize feelings by looking at faces; how do we know that the little llama is frightened without even reading the words of the story? How does his mommy feel when he screams? How can we tell? Are there situations in which we (the students) have been able to tell how someone is feeling without that person using words? Which faces express which feelings, etc.? And, of course, children could discuss their own fears and feelings.

Q. What types of books or authors do you enjoy reading? (adult or children)

A. As a single mom with a full-time teaching job, I dream of the day I will have the time to pick up a good novel. Right now, I read the occasional magazine article. When I have had time to read books, I find that I usually enjoy fiction by women, except by someone like Alan Gurganus (Oldest Living Confederate Woman Tells All) who "gets" women. I enjoy reading history, too. But really, I think that all the drama, philosophy, and truth one might need can be found in a good children's book; it's just distilled. Higglety, Pigglety, Pop (Or There Must Be More To Life), by Sendak, The Giving Tree, by Silverstein, Miss Rumphius by Cooney...what more can one ask for?

Q. Would you be willing to tell us a little about any upcoming projects?

A. Absolutely! I'm working on the book I mentioned before about the bulldog, Grumpy Gloria; I'll be doing the paintings this summer. Grumpy Gloria is about how it feels when you think that you've lost your best friend, and how one hug can change everything. Grumpy Gloria is also a true story.

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