The Littlest Bushranger Blog Tour

The Littlest Bushranger picture book is no shoot out at the high corral, no Ned Kelly re-enactment; this beautifully written story is a true-to-life, fast-paced drama as played out in the backyards and imaginations of children all over Australia and the world.

The Littlest Bushranger The Five Mile Press

ISBN 97817434664977

Author, Alison Reynolds, and illustrator, Heath McKenzie, have teamed up once again to produce a winner both in words and pictures. 

Jack, the littlest bushranger, is brave and determined as he takes on the villain lurking in many of our suburban gardens – the dreaded crow. Together with his ‘gang’ of dog, Hector, and trusty steed they leap into action. “Jack seized a sword and galloped after the Outlaw.”

Now, I have to admit I have an ‘illustrator crush’ on Heath McKenzie. I follow him online wherever I can; it’s not stalking, right? If you’re a curious person like me, have a nosey at Heath’s illustrator studio via Tristan Bancks’ website. Or Heath’s interview here the last time he visited me for the blog tour last year of A Year with Marmalade, also by awesome author, Alison Reynolds.

The good news today is that Heath is once more visiting Under the Apple Tree to answer more meaty questions about the illustrator process.

Hi Heath! Welcome to my blog, Under the Apple Tree. Grab a spot on the picnic rug.

Hi Angela, glad to be back.

You must be very proud of how well The Littlest Bushranger has turned out. It's delightful! One of the first things I do when picking up a new picture book is to look at the end papers, front and back. In The Littlest Bushranger I learnt the crow and the bicycle (both common to an Aussie backyard) are integral to the story. What were your thoughts when designing the endpapers? How do you choose what to include and what to leave out? Or the title page for that matter?

Often, these things come fairly late, unless I have a decent idea of things earlier on. In this case it was open for discussion between myself and the editor, with the editor ultimately coming up with the idea and then between us we refined it to tell that little hint of story! The title page can be a similar situation - in this case the image used was actually an alternate cover concept that didn't make the cut - so it was great to see it find a use elsewhere in the book. 

Yes, the title page is so much quieter and contemplative than the pages to follow.  For me the illustrations in The Littlest Bushranger are brimming with movement, varying perspectives and face-paced visual narrative. The beginning few pages set the scene and introduce the characters. As the dog, Hector’s distrustful eyes check out the crow and its long, menacing shadow, there is a hint at the drama about to unfold as the bicycle wheel bleeds off the page.

Then suddenly it is game on! A heightened visual drama so strong I could only just keep up. The sudden, repeated changes in perspective and page-turning speed of the narrative fling the reader forward through the next six double page spreads. I am on the horse with Jack and Hector, bolting across the page from left to right. I am giddy with page-flowing suspense.

Heath, you must’ve had a lot of fun illustrating those pages. Would you be able to share your process for one or more of the double page spreads with us together with your reasoning behind decisions on pace, perspective and movement?

The outlaw was, in hindsight, a big setter of the pace, so to speak! Given it swoops in and then takes off, the imagery needed to follow suit. I wanted things to start out much looser and less saturated, colour-wise, even to the extent of the first spread sort of bleeding in from left to right, casually sort of trickling in in a lazy afternoon sort of way! (illustration below) And then of course as the action and fantasy takes hold, particularly given Jack leapt onto a horse, the story needed to visually gallop along at a hefty pace as we give chase. Adventure was the key component to get across - and plenty of drama! Hence the dynamic angles used throughout the fantasy sequences.

It certainly works. The varying dynamic angles and perspectives add so much to the drama. I read once that diagonal movement across a page is like an illustrator's exclamation mark. Pages 14-15 are a good example of this. (Illustration below)

When you received this manuscript from the publisher, how did you approach your first read through? Were illustration notes attached from the publisher or author? Do ideas for images come straight away? How do you first begin to naturally decide on page breaks?

There were loose illustration suggestions for certain things, but overall it was left wide open and the text itself was much the same - leaving it up to me to work out how best to portray things. The manuscript was provided in basic page breaks which is often the case, so that decision is made for me and gives parameters to work with, sometimes for the best, sometimes for the worse!

Can you tell us about this example above of a rough for pages 14-15?

It shows a change of perspective as well as how a layout page looked when I received it (to show the page break spreads I received and how little information I was given allowing me to figure out whatever I thought worked best!) plus I've provided it as the initial rough to really show the scribbly, messy decision making and desired action for that spread!

That's so generous of you to share, Heath. Aspiring illustrators can learn so much from roughs that show the thought processes and multiple, overlaid sketches behind an illustration.

Jack and his ‘gang’ are all so brave. Their steely determination is shown through their posturing and the fierce glare in their eyes. It’s a team effort to defeat the villain, “Good work, everyone.” Were Hector and the horse based on animals you know?

The horse, I guess, was based on classic archetypes of the wild west hero on his white steed....which I designed prior to thinking about the bike, so the challenge became colouring the bike to suit what it would become without it looking either uninteresting or out of place in the real world.

The dog is actually inspired by Tex, a little dog from Melbourne's 'Little Bookroom'!

Thanks so much, Heath, for visiting today. Congratulations on The Littlest Bushranger’s release.

Here, take some apple pie home for the family.

Readers, as part of The Littlest Bushranger's book tour there are some fantastic prizes along the way:

MONSTER drawing competition.

There are a couple of monsters in The Littlest Bushranger. One's a bunyip and the other an outlaw/monster who steals Lil's telescop. What sort of monster do you like? Send along a painting/drawing/model of a monster and you could win a piece of Heath McKenzie's amazing artwork for The Littlest Bushranger.

Upload your own best monster to Facebook  https://www.facebook.com/alison.reynolds.524 or email it as a low res jpeg file to alrey@msn.com.au and we'll upload it. If you don't have a scanner, take a photo on a smart phone and email that. There are two categories - under 12 and 12 plus, including grown-ups. Entries close 25th June.

Jump the Slush Pile!

Win a free pass to an adult non-fiction commissioning editor's desk. Just comment on this blog post or any other blog during the Littlest Bushranger book tour and add the initials NF. The more you comment, the more chances you have to win the draw.

Watch out for other prizes along the ride. 

These include:

a piece of Heath McKenzie’s artwork from The Littlest Bushranger, 

a picture book assessment by Alison Reynolds, 

2 free passes direct to an editor’s desk (you get to skip the slush pile), 

and copies of The Littlest Bushranger. 

Just comment on the posts.

  

June 11 Kat Apel  http://katswhiskers.wordpress.com/blog/
June 12 Chris Bell  http://christinemareebell.wordpress.com/
June 13 Angela Sunde  http://angelasunde.blogspot.com.au/
June 14 Boomerang Books Blog  http://blog.boomerangbooks.com.au/author/dpowell
June 17 Ask the Sales Rep. Interview with Melinda Beaumont  www.alisonreynolds.com.au
June 18 Dee White  http://deescribewriting.wordpress.com/
June 19 Kids Book Review  http://www.kids-bookreview.com/
June 20 Ask the Editor. Interview with Melissa Keil.  www.alisonreynolds.com.au
June 21 Heath & Alison interviewed by Juliet Chan, Marketing & Publicity Executive.  www.fivemilepress.com.au

Days 26 - 28 in the Burrow

At the beginning of an adventure no amount of planning can truly prepare you for what lies ahead. Leaving behind a supportive family to live alone in a strange city for four weeks took a great deal of courage for me, and of course the Doubt Fairy sat on my shoulder in the weeks leading up to my May Gibbs Fellowship. But armed with a quote from Martin Freeman (when referring to his character, Bilbo Baggins in 'The Hobbit'), I realised that not only did the quote relate to my own main character but also to myself and the journey I am on.

"True heroics is not the absence of fear, but having that fear and doing something anyway." Martin Freeman

The temptations of Adelaide's Mad Feb/March

When my time in Adelaide was almost up, it was tempting in the last three days to spend hours in North Terrace hopping from The Museum to the Art Gallery to the State Library. But the 37-39 C heat and my characters kept me locked away in the Burrow, chipping away at the manuscript. On the desk in front of me I had printed out in very large letters,

 'Just follow your gut feeling and write the bl....dy thing.' 

As many of you know writing the first draft of a novel is both pleasure and pain. There have been many times when I've wanted to go back and begin editing (which I love). But there's no point editing if you have not finished. And that is where I'm at - very nearly finished.

The Burrow

Now once more at home I still have the flush of enthusiasm spurring me towards the final chapters. And I have a great deal to be grateful for. Normally February is not a month when I achieve a lot. It's too humid, it's hot, it's clawing, it's busy with the start of school and uni and did I mention it's HUMID?

But, having spent most of that month in the dry air of South Australia (where every day is a good hair day) in the lovely air-conditioned Burrow, I have had the most amazing kick-start to the year. I'm far ahead of where I expected to be and the momentum to keep going has been put firmly in place. I've also learnt a lot about myself. For one, I'm pretty tough and if I say I can achieve something then I will, no matter how long it takes me.

Sad to hand back the keys

So this is not the end. I will always be a May Gibbs Fellow and I will honour the Fellowship and the May Gibbs Children's Literature Trust by working hard to achieve my goals in the future. I am truly grateful to the trust, its volunteers and foundation members for this opportunity.

I'd like to heartfully thank the trust's National Program Coordinator, Sally Chance, for all her hard work and gracious assistance during my stay, together with the volunteers (you're all gorgeous); and also Mary and Ian Wilson, whose open-hearted generosity and foresight as founding members of the May Gibbs Children's Literature Trust and the establishment of the Creative Time Residential Fellowship has enabled children's writers and illustrators like me the time, space and quiet to work, think and create.

Thank you all sincerely.

Days 24 & 25 in the Burrow - Adelaide Writers' Week

Well actually it's really just Day 25, the Sunday of the 3rd March. On the Saturday I was too tired to venture out and spent the day with my laptop sitting up in bed, resting. All in preparation of course for the BIG EVENT and a bright sunshine, early start on Sunday morning - The Booklovers' Breakfast organised by The Independent Arts Foundation in the beautiful grounds of Government House, South Australia, followed by a day full of Adelaide Writers' Week sessions in the parkland behind.

A perfect blue sky day in the grounds of Govt House, SA.

His Excellency Rear Admiral Kevin Scarce, Governor of South Australia, attended together with his wife, Mrs Liz Scarce and other dignitaries. You can read the Governor's speech, and below is a short sample: 

"We're particularly glad to hear that the event was sold out weeks ago, and that there are several international visitors here this morning - both writers and publishers - along with some local home-grown writers. We extend to you our best wishes for a thoroughly stimulating and enjoyable visit to Adelaide."

I was a guest of the May Gibbs Children's Literature Trust and dear, Mary Wilson, a founding member of the trust committee, had organised a table for the May Gibbs members. It was wonderful to sit with people I now consider friends.

Mary Wilson, Margaret and Andy Wilkinson - my May Gibbs buddies.

The pretty garden party frock I wore (made for me by my daughter).
Notice how my 'inner child' has popped out and shown herself in my morning shadow.
Hmm, she seems to be only about seven.

As tempting as it was to stay on in the beautiful, lush-lawned garden, Mary and I headed out the back gate and straight into the setting of Adelaide Writers' Week. It couldn't have been more perfect.

The best thing is, all the sessions are FREE.

and in the shade!

Dear friend, Janeen Brian, reading her latest picture book, I'm a Dirty Dinosaur
(Penguin Books Australia) to the crowd of children and parents.

Janeen Brian actually has two new books out simultaneously. She also engaged everyone with her picture book for older readers, Meet Ned Kelly, Random House Australia.

While in Adelaide I was very fortunate to meet with Janeen, author of over 65 books, on three occasions. She was sweet enough to lend me some books on the craft of writing. And here is a quote from one of these called 'Juicy Writing' by Brigid Lowry:

"The spirit of play will slide into your work and make miracles."

The Art of the Picture Book with author/illustrators, Tohby Riddle and Nick Bland,
chaired by Dyan Blacklock.

The first thing you'll notice at the Adelaide Writers' Week is that there are two Auslan signers for the deaf at every panel and one for the children's tent. This really impressed me.

Here are some little snippets from Tohby and Nick's conversation with Dyan (from my very messy notebook.)

Nick: 

Considers himself a commercial artist and is self-taught and colour blind.

 "The best texts take half an hour to write....  The Runaway Hug took just an hour."

"Don't be married to the idea of doing the text and the illustrations. You can't always." 

"Pictures mustn't be hard to read. Decide whether to draw the action just before, just after, etc."

"Not too wordy is best." 

"Morality comes through, good vs bad. Happy endings aren't always 100% necessary." 

"Pictures and words shouldn't do or say the same thing."

"Ideas aren't precious, just a fleeting thing. Grab the good one and write it in a notebook."

Tohby: 

"A decent submission is only competing against a few other decent submissions."

"I would never have got an 'in' if I hadn't submitted text and illustrations together."

"One page can spoil the whole book, so re-do it even if it took you five days to do the first time."

"Find work you like and work out how they did it."

"The simplest books are the hardest to do. There's nowhere to hide."

"Don't think you'll only get one idea to a problem. There's always more. Keep your thinking playful and flexible and wonder a lot."

"Write down your curious and interesting thoughts. I send messages to myself."

Hmm, Tohby says, keep your thinking playful... Remember the quote from Janeen's book, 'Juicy Writing' by Brigid Lowry?

"The spirit of play will slide into your work and make miracles."

Now that's a good thought to leave you with. 

Days 19 - 23 Glimpses of Victor Harbor

The Anchorage, Victor Harbor, SA

The Causeway leading to Granite Island from Victor Harbor

Beautiful Granite Island

Home to a penguin colony

The penguins' version of Hobbiton

Looking back at the town of Victor Harbor from the top of Granite Island

Penguin bronze

The Grosvenor Hotel

On my way out to dinner one night I found an old man in a wheel chair rolling along on the road. He was really struggling and had one arm bandaged. 'Do you need a push?' I asked. 'Oh, yes.' 'Where you off to?' 'The pub.' 'How'd you hurt your arm?' 'I fell out of my chair.' 'How'd you get here?' 'By taxi.' Hmmmm.
The staff at the Grosvenor Hotel knew him well, when I finally pushed him in there, laughing to myself. Apparently he absconded regularly from his nursing home. The people you meet.

Gorgeous flowers on the street

The horse drawn tram that crosses the causeway to Granite Island

In memory of the whales who perished when it was a whaling port

The town's first public toilet, 1867

Days 19 - 23 in Victor Harbor

A cool change arrived overnight and very early the next morning I was picked up by the May Gibbs Children's Literature Trust National Program Coordinator, Sally Chance. It was raining and pretty cool as we drove the hour plus down to the Fleurieu Peninsula and the historic town of Victor Harbor.

Arriving just in time for the start of the school day at Victor Harbor Primary School, we were warmly welcomed by the lovely teacher librarian, Margaret Wilkinson. The brand new library was all set up and waiting for me. I was in heaven!

Victor Harbor Primary School is the only state school in Australia affiliated with the May Gibbs Children's Literature Trust. Their support is very much appreciated.

Over the course of five days I presented talks and workshops to every class in the school. With the seniors I focussed on finding a character's vulnerabilities and then developing a plot around these. I showed how I brainstorm/mind map ideas - the crazier the better, and how as a mean and nasty author it's my job to make my character's life as difficult as possible.

With the juniors we looked at how a picture book develops from a one page storyboard and thumbnail sketches through to larger rough sketches, page layouts and a dummy book to test out visual and written narrative 'readability'. We did a final read through and then compared it to the story arc of an already published book.

I'm proud to say that not one class wanted to leave when the time was up. One teacher announced, 'It's lunchtime!' and a little boy answered, 'But I'm not hungry now.'

It's not enough to just read to students, or entertain and make them laugh, or even show and tell your art work. To truly engage them, kids want to be able to create. So little time is available in schools to opening the creative mind (of all from P/R to 7) and allowing it freedom to play. I tried to impress upon the kids this week that all ideas during brainstorming are valid, even the silliest ones - they might just turn out to be the best. 

In a world where creative people are needed more and more in a broader range of occupations, the creative minds of our children need to be nurtured.

At the Victor Harbor Primary School author dinner with TL, Margaret Wilkinson.

If you ever have the chance to visit Victor Harbor Primary School, you must go! The students and staff are warm and caring. Straight away I was welcomed at a lunch table and included in the chat. People greeted me by name and asked how I was going. Students lingered and chatted long after their teacher had lined up the rest of the class to leave. The teachers listened and took notes during my talks, asking questions and (together with the kids) being 100% engaged. They are all a fabulous example to their students. Principal Brenton Robins believes a school is like an extended family and the contented lives of those at Victor Harbor Primary School are testimony to his philosophy.

The library at Victor Harbor Primary School

The wonderful Margaret Wilkinson has created a library which is an oasis of peaceful interaction with books and online reading. There is even a book garden and a shaded outdoor area with garden seats and tables. At lunchtime children eagerly wait to come in. I truly pity the schools that don't have a teacher librarian like Margaret. Indeed some now have no TL at all.

I'd like to warmly thank Margaret Wilkinson for her meticulous care of my every need. It felt like a family member was watching out for me and her kindness put me at ease immediately. I truly appreciate it.

Thank you also to all the teachers at Victor Harbor Primary School, the Principal, Brenton Robins and the Deputy Principal, Sue Dixon, and also Linda in the canteen for all the yummy lunches.

Day 18 in the Burrow

Government House, South Australia (I'm having breakfast there on Sunday as part of Writers' Week)

I have a thing about visiting old houses. The sensory detail you can pick up from walking in the footsteps of people from history is inspiring. I know it will inform my writing in the future as I breathe in the airs and graces of a bygone era and imagine myself suffering the hot summers of Australia dressed in layers of petticoats and cuffs.

On my girl's last day with me in Adelaide we visited Ayers House, which is opposite the Adelaide Botanical Gardens on North Terrace. Now in the hands of the National Trust the interior of Ayers House is of national significance. From the outside you don't expect a house that is actually three storeys high, all habitable. Designed by colonial architect, Sir George Strickland Kingston, the two imposing bay windows hide the grand ballroom (now unfortunately a restaurant) and the official dining room, where Sir Henry Ayers held state dinners while he was (seven times) Premier of South Australia.

Ayers House

It was 37 degrees Celcius on the day we visited, but the underground floor with its low ceilings was beautifully cool and fresh. And this is where Sir Henry had furnished and decorated a suite of rooms for his family to use during the very hot summer. Clever man.

Adelaide Railway Station

Few people may know of Mary Lee. But she was a staunch fighter for the rights of women in South Australia. In fact it is here that Australian women first gained the right to vote and also (and this is quite amazing) stand for parliament in the same amendment in 1894.

Mary Lee (details below)

Then through the searing heat we dashed into the Migration Museum. As the child and grandchild of Croatian immigrants to New Zealand (over 100 years ago) I am always fascinated by the stories behind their sacrifices. And it truly is a sacrifice to leave everything and everyone you know behind. I've only had to leave my family behind for a month while here in Adelaide. But just imagine knowing you'd never see them again. It would be beyond me.

The Migration Museum Memorial

The Migration Museum (formerly Adelaide's Destitute Asylum)

The Rings in Osmond Terrace, Norwood. Each one tells an anecdote by a family from Norwood's past.