Simon Philip
About Author
Simon was born in Chichester in 1988 and has lived there ever since, although he occasionally leaves to buy milk. After gaining a 1st class degree in History at Exeter University, he immediately put his skills to good use working as a barman before becoming a primary school teacher. Teaching rekindled his love of children's literature, particularly picture books, so much so that he had a go at writing his own. Deciding he was better at writing stories for children than he would ever be at teaching them, he made a swift exit from education to live the cliche of the writer who works in a bar. This is Simon's second title for S&S - his first being the 2016 Sainsbury's Book of the Year winner, You Must Bring a Hat.
Interview
I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO CALL MY CAT
SIMON & SCHUSTER CHILDREN'S BOOKS
JANUARY 2017
Simon Philip's debut title, You Must Bring a Hat (Simon & Schuster), won the 2016 Sainsbury's Book of the Year Award and expectations have been high for his second picture book. I Don't Know What to Call My Cat is another quirky, warm and child-centred story that, as its title suggests, explores the problems in naming a new pet. It is gorgeously illustrated by Ella Bailey.
In this story, a girl is adopted by a clever, demanding cat who promptly takes over her home - until his place is usurped by a rather large and entertaining gorilla, called Steve. Needless to say, the cat has other plans and before long, Steve the gorilla finds himself back in the zoo. But what is the best name for this clever kitty?
We asked author Simon Philip and illustrator Ella Bailey to tell us more about I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO CALL MY CAT.
Q: How did you come into writing / illustrating picture book texts?
SIMON: I discovered I loved picture books during English sessions in the university-based part of my teacher training course. Each session would start with the tutor reading a picture book, and I just thought, "These are great!" either because they made me laugh or moved me. Long story short, I decided I wasn't a great fit for teaching and thought I'd have a go at this instead...
ELLA: I was always the child who doodled in the margin of my notebooks at school - I've loved to draw for as long as I can remember, so perhaps becoming an illustrator was just a natural progression for me. I was also lucky enough to grow up in a house full of books, including countless picture books, so that had a big influence on my decision to become an illustrator.
My main influences have always been other illustrators - from childhood favourites like Judith Kerr and Shirley Hughes, to those I discovered when I was a little older like Mary Blair - and animated films.
There are many wonderful things about being an illustrator - the excitement of being able to work on so many different projects, the ability to manage my own time, and the wonderful feeling of seeing my own work in print all make the job incredibly worthwhile. I just have to remember to make myself leave the house sometimes, and around deadlines things can get pretty hectic, with lots of very late nights!
Q: Why did you feel a cat should be the subject of a picture book, and is this based on your experiences of owning a cat?
SIMON: Ironically, I am not (and have never been) a cat owner!
I do like cats, though. Not to the extent that I sit around all day watching videos of them (I promise, I don't), but I do think cats are entertaining and generally make great characters. They've so much personality, and often a mischievous side too, which means a fictitious cat can get up to all sorts (including outwitting a gorilla) without anyone paying too much attention to it.
Around the time I wrote I Don't Know What To Call My Cat, I was on good terms (professionally, personally and mutually) with a lovely cat named Penny - the most beautiful blue British Shorthair one could ever hope to meet. She wasn't outrageously naughty but she was mischievous, and massively attention seeking, too - a right diva.
It was quite low-level naughtiness, but she often deliberately knocked things off shelves. She'd wait until she knew you were watching, meet your eye, nonchalantly nudge a priceless antique off the cliff edge, and gaze through the window at the world outside, acting as if there was nothing going on.
Q: Have you ever had problems naming a pet?
SIMON: The only pet I've ever had was actually given to me, already named. I was celebrating my 18th birthday at a restaurant with a group of friends and two of them handed me a sandwich bag containing a goldfish named Jupiter. There was water in the bag, too - don't worry. It was quite an unexpected present!
Q: How hard was it to develop the cat, Tricky's, character, given that he never speaks - and was it difficult to find his name?
SIMON: Tricky is a cat of few words. He feels he's a bit above interacting with humans, to be honest. The character was fairly easy to develop - he's just a pain in the backside the whole way through, but at least he's consistent. The name grew out of his behaviour I think - it just seemed like a natural fit.
Q: How much work did you need to do on the text, especially given its brevity?
SIMON: My initial text for I Don't Know What To Call My Cat was actually in rhyme, so the short answer to this question is LOTS!
It had a nice tone and the rhymes were quite fun, but there wasn't much in the way of plot or structure, which is never the best start. Translating a rhyming text into prose was something of a challenge, but the story is much better for it.
In terms of brevity, the great thing about picture books is that so much can be said through the pictures. Some of my favourites are when the text and illustrations tell totally different tales. I try to leave room for inference and trust that much can be said through the pictures.
Q: Did you give any guidance to your illustrator, for example, on what kind of pet Steve would be, or about Tricky's goings-on?
SIMON: Funnily enough, Steve the gorilla actually began life as an elephant. I'd imagined Steve would be some sort of enormous animal, so that the little girl would have the most ridiculous pet possible.
Ella created a beautiful elephant character, which we were all very fond of. But as the story progresses, Steve pilfers more than his fair share of things and everyone decided this could be more clearly presented via a gorilla's arms than an elephant's trunk.
We (myself, Ella, Lara and Jane, our editor and art director, respectively) also agreed that is was far more logical that a gorilla should turn up and sit down at the bus stop next to the girl. An elephant would never do that - obviously.
Q: What appealed to you about illustrating I Don't Know What to Call My Cat?
ELLA: Way back when I first saw the original text, I knew it was something I wanted to work on. I am a big fan of dry humour, especially in children's books, so the story appealed to me right away. Also, I enjoy drawing cats, so it seemed like the perfect fit!
Q: How did you go about getting the 'look' of your kitties, and especially Tricky?
ELLA: I had developed the slightly off-kilter, naive way of drawing cats you see in the book quite a while before I began to work on it - the aesthetic just happened to fit perfectly with the feel of this story. Tricky needed to be cute, but also sassy, grumpy and even exasperated, and through this 'look' I hope I managed to achieve that!
Tricky's actual design and colour palette stayed pretty much the same from the very beginning - I wanted him to be simple and easy to recognise for the reader, so I kept him quite plain in comparison to other cats that appear. His yellow eyes also let him 'pop' in a colour palette dominated by pinks and blues.
I think the idea was always that Tricky would be quite a sophisticated, intelligent cat - it makes for a funny contrast with the naive heroine, and adds to the very surreal undertone that runs through the story. Of course, as I kept adding more and more funny details to the artwork, Tricky's sophistication grew, from his little violin case to the posters he puts up on the wall, he became a pretty cool cat.
Q: There is loads of humour in the images, how important is it for you to put some fun into the images? What is your favourite moment in the book?
ELLA: I think it was especially important for me to inject lots and lots of funny details into the the illustrations for this book. Simon's humour is wonderfully dry, so the dead-pan delivery of the text needed to be counterbalanced with some wacky pictures!
I always enjoy adding lots of little jokes into my illustrations - I want the reader to spend time spotting things on every page, and be able to find new things with every reading.
My favourite moment is definitely the scene near the beginning, where our main character is swarmed by dozens of cats looking for a meal. It was a lot of fun to illustrate, and really sets the tone for what is to come in the story.
Q: What media have you used to illustrate this story?
ELLA: I usually work digitally in Photoshop, and this book was no exception. I love the freedom and flexibility working on the computer gives me, being able to tweak the composition and colour of the illustrations at any stage. It was particularly helpful with this book, as there were so many elements to each page! I do tend to add some more natural textures, like pencil scribbles and paint splotches, over the digital colours, to give the artwork some more depth.
Q: Did Ella come up with any surprises for you with her illustrations? Which is your favourite spread or moment?
SIMON: One of the most enjoyable parts of writing picture books is when you finally get to see your words and idea brought to life in the illustrations. I'm in awe of illustrators, really - I'd love have that talent. But the fact that I don't actually makes it more exciting for me, and I'm always really excited to see the next stage as the illustration process progresses.
Ella did a fabulous job, and yes - there were lots of surprises. Many of the spreads are very detailed, and it's those details and little touches that help to enhance the story, atmosphere and comedy - that's all down to her.
I think one of my favourites is the zoo spread, as Ella's animals are gorgeously illustrated. And actually, bizarre though it may seem to pick them out, I'm really fond of the endpapers and the copyright and title page - I just find them visually really pleasing!
Q: How have children responded to the story about naming their pets?
SIMON: On the whole, I think they feel lucky that they got off lightly when trying to name their pet - none of them have had the trouble that the girl in the book experienced. Although, I think some children probably look at their cats slightly differently now, with a bit more suspicion perhaps!
Q: Where do you work and what are you working on now?
SIMON: I work entirely at home, either at a desk in my study or in a very comfortable green wingback chair in my living room if I feel like slouching around whilst I work.
I have a few picture book ideas that I'm either trying to tidy up or get started on, and I'm also experimenting with writing slightly longer texts, which definitely feels like a different sort of challenge, writing wise.
ELLA: As I rely so heavily on my trusty computer, I am mainly tied to working at my desk!
Q: What is your favourite way to escape?
SIMON: Writing can be very solitary, so I also enjoy socialising with real-life humans away from the strange things I've made up in my head. It can also be very sedentary so I try to get out and exercise at least once every couple of months or so.
I Don't Know What to Call My Cat
You Must Bring a Hat
