Emma Yarlett

About Author

Discover what the book-loving monster Nibbles has been up to in his latest adventure, Nibbles the Very Hungry Book Monster!

Emma Yarlett grew up in Leicester then moved to study Illustration at University College Falmouth in Cornwall. She won the Macmillan Prize for Illustration 2011 while studying and began her career as an author and illustrator.

She now paints, draws, collages, designs, doodles, splatters and sketches for a living from her studio at home in Falmouth. In her spare time, Emma loves to eat Jaffa cakes, craves pets and suppresses a desire to spend her entire income on colouring pencils.

Interview

Nibbles: The Very Hungry Book Monster (Little Tiger)

September 2024

Nibbles the book monster is very hungry, and in Nibbles: The Very Hungry Book Monster, he has found his way into a library! Oh no! Which stories is he going to chew through and re-write this time?

We speak with author and illustrator Emma Yarlett to find out more about the cutest book-nibbling monster Nibbles, including how Nibbles 're-writes' the fairy tales and nursery rhymes that they chews through, how the little monster can help inspire a love of stories, and how these adventures can help young readers themselves to create their own mixed-up fairy tales.

Review: "There is so much for little children to enjoy as they follow Nibbles, peeking through die cut holes, lifting flaps and following trails of footprints." Sue

Emma Yarlett tells ReadingZone how Nibbles can help inspire a love of reading

"I really hope that Nibbles inspires in kids a love of diving into literature; whether that be planting one's nose
in a book or physically diving into bookshops or libraries as they walk past!"

1. Who is Nibbles and what inspired your book-eating monster? Has he been an important part of your life?

Nibbles is a mischievous little book monster who lives inside one of my books. Fortunately for him, but unfortunately for me, he likes to eat the very pages of the books I write about him… which means he gets to go on lots of crazy, exciting and frankly ridiculous adventures, tearing up the fragments of lots of well known and loved fairytales, stories and nursery rhymes.

Nibbles first nibbled into my brain back in 2015 - 2016. I was interested in writing a book that could be interacted and engaged with in a new and exciting way that used some of the ideas I had for paper engineering. I'd always thought the idea of a book worm tunnelling through a library of books was a fascinating visual concept, and Nibbles really plays upon that idea - but with the added fun (and cute factor) of being a little fluffy monster.

And that little fluffy monster has had a profound impact upon my life, I've been writing Nibbles storied for nearly ten years, with this being the fifth book in the series. It's been a special joy in the last ten years to meet some of Nibbles young readers and hear of the fun they've had exploring Nibbles' literary world.

2. What happens in his new adventure, Nibbles: The Very Hungry Book Monster?

In this book Nibbles tasks himself with finding the tastiest book in the world to truly satisfy his tastebuds. He tackles with his teeth three books; a recipe book, Hansel and Gretel and Old MacDonald. Also, in this escapade he gets to finally nibble his way into a library, which also gave me an opportunity to illustrate my dream library space... It was definitely one of my favourite artworks to create!

"my dream library space... It was definitely one of my favourite artworks to create!"

3. What do you love most about the mischievous monster, and why do you think he has caught children's imaginations so much?

Put very simply, Nibbles is SUCH a fun character to draw. When I sit in my studio and sketch and paint him, he really does leap across the page in such a simple way. Not all characters are like that - but he really is! And I just love how silly I get to be when I'm imagining and illustrating him.

There are always a few brain pickles as I grapple with the design of the flaps and page holes and where form meets function with the paper engineering, but I really enjoy it nevertheless. And I really hope that it's that joy, the joy I find in creating the books, that children find and enjoy in reading them.

4. How can adults sharing his books with children take his adventures and the latest book, Nibbles: The Very Hungry Book Monster, further, perhaps re-writing stories themselves?

I really hope that Nibbles inspires in kids a love of diving into literature; whether that be planting one's nose in a book or physically diving into bookshops or libraries as they walk past!

Whenever I get the chance to meet Nibbles readers, I will often chat with them about how they could dream up their own Nibbles adventure by taking something they know and love (a song, a rhyme, a book, a joke) and imagining how Nibbles could interact with that in a fun and interesting way. Using book characters to spark their own imaginative stories is a great way to help children flex their creative muscles and gain confidence in their own reading, writing, drawing and ideas.

5. Each of Nibbles's stories is told by the narrator and through the images. Is it difficult having a main character who doesn't speak? How do you drive the stories?

Oh boy, the short answer is; yes.

The longer answer is; yeeeeeeeesssssssssss. Many an hour has been spent scratching my head trying to figure out who is saying what and when and to the maximum effect. It can take a long time to reach a conclusion - and even then, years later I will suddenly come up with an idea of how I think it could have been done better!

Visually, Nibbles is the driving force; catching him, stopping him, finding him… but he is supported the whole way by the main narrator as well as the interrupted characters within the stories he nibbles. I strive when creating a Nibbles book to do very complicated things as succinctly and simply as possible… hopefully I've managed it in this book? You'll have to let me know!

"I strive when creating a Nibbles book to do very complicated things as succinctly and simply as possible…"

6. Part of the story is told through the 'mixing up' of stories that Nibbles is nibbling his way through, with flaps and holes in the pages. Does this make it hard to develop each adventure?

It takes me often a year or so to create a Nibbles story, and a large proportion of that time is spent plotting out the physicality of the book (where things are glued down, where flaps are and where holes are, and then where the reverse of the holes are etc) whilst not compromising the illustrations…

The aim is always that any paper engineering adds to the art, giving it another interesting layer, rather than detracting from it. And trying to achieve that can be very tricky! Thankfully I have a brilliant literary agent and a brilliant publishing team that support me.

7. What is the process for creating each Nibbles book, and how do you create the illustrations? Does everything need to be created by hand or do you use digital resources?

I will begin each book by finding a narrative drive (such as going to bed or finding the tastiest book etc). Then I will start storyboarding and sketching out lots of ideas to support the narrative drive. I'll be thinking at this stage about which books Nibbles is going to interrupt, and how that will work to maximum effect with the paper engineering.

I'll then begin to collate these ideas into a physical picture book - adding more and more detail, stripping bits out, changing them and replacing with stronger ideas. When I've reached the strongest idea for every page I will draw it in a lot more detail. It then will be checked and triple checked by my publishers and alterations made to the drawings and the words until everyone is happy.

Then I will begin to fill lots of sketchbooks as I work out how the book will look in colour and how to approach each 'mini book' within the book (some of the mini books are black and white, or line drawings, or purely collage etc). Once that's done and I'm feeling ready (and not too nervous) I will begin to create the artwork.

This is all done by hand by tracing my designs on to watercolour paper and then slowly building up the artwork with whatever medium achieves the finish I am looking for. I really enjoy creating art traditionally; give me a box of paints, a stack of paper and a pot of pencils and I am very happy indeed!

When I've finished the artworks, they are scanned and appear as digital copies on my computer screen. At this point I'll make sure I'm happy with the colours and tones and will also check that all of the holes, flaps and everything else are in the right place (a hold-your-breath moment). The text will be added on and hopefully… the book is then more or less finished!

8. Do you have a favourite story from the Nibbles series?

I have lots of favourites from across the series. I really love the way that Nibbles interrupts the Goldilocks story and Jack and the Beanstalk in Nibbles the Book Monster (book 1); I love it when children greet me by saying 'fee fi fo BUM!'

I really enjoyed creating the artwork for Nibbles: The Bedtime Book (Book 4), but I especially love the theme of helping a little monster get ready for bed… Perhaps because it was inspired by my own little daughter's bed time and it really reminds me of those special moments with her.

In this latest book I think my favourite interrupted story is 'Old Mac Donald'; I really enjoyed messing with the iconic rhymes!

"In this latest book I think my favourite interrupted story is 'Old Mac Donald'"

9. What other kinds of books do you enjoy creating, and what are you working on currently?

I really love writing and illustrating heartwarming tales, that leave you feeling warm and nostalgic whilst also hopefully making you laugh. I do find myself drawn to creating books that encapsulate an aspect of pop-up or paper engineering. I've just finished writing and illustrating 'Unicorn Post' from my post bag series (Dragon Post, Monster Post, Santa Post) which each feature pull-out post and will shortly be beginning a new picture book as well as a 'ficture book' for kids ages 4-8.

10. What does a day in your studio look like, and what must a favourite day away from your desk include?

My day starts with a bit of admin; checking my emails and making sure I've not forgotten to do anything. Followed by doing the thing I've forgotten to do. Then I will begin work on my current book project, which could mean staying in my studio and making art or could mean going for a walk to Swanpool Beach with a pad of paper and a pencil. After lunch it will be more of the same alongside having a few meetings to chat to my publishers or agent about my current project. I'll then end my day by picking up my beautiful daughter from school!

And to answer your second question; ice cream.

Thank you for joining us on ReadingZone to talk to us about creating our favourite book monster, Nibbles!

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