Lydia Monks

Rabbit Races Ahead!
Lydia Monks

About Author

Lydia Monks lives in Sheffield. Her favourite subjects at school were Art, English and RE. She then went on to Kingston University where she studied for a degree in illustration.

She has always liked the idea of writing and illustrating books and finds her ideas in everyday life, and is now one of the most original picture book artists. Lydia illustrates several bestselling series including the What the Ladybird Heard adventures and Princess Mirror-Belle, written by Julia Donaldson.

Her distinctive use of colour and collage has won her critical acclaim and several awards, including the Royal Mail Scottish Children's Book Award, the Stockport Children's Book Award and multiple nominations for the Kate Greenaway Medal.

She is also the author and illustrator of the preschool picture book series Twit Twoo School.

A keen Irish dancer, she wins trophies at the weekend. She also enjoys going to aerobics, watching films and visiting her friends. Monks lists her favourite foods as ice-cream, and her extravagance as buying a cornflake cake at the baker's when she only went into buy a loaf of bread!

Interview

WHAT THE LADYBIRD HEARD: TENTH ANNIVERSARY

TWIT TWOO SCHOOL: RABBIT RACES AHEAD

MACMILLAN CHILDREN'S BOOKS

JUNE 2019


WHAT THE LADYBIRD HEARD by Julia Donaldson, illustrated by Lydia Monks, has become a hugely successful picture book that is widely used in schools and early years settings, and its tenth anniversary will be celebrated far and wide!

Illustrator LYDIA MONKS has now illustrated a number of Julia Donaldson's titles, including the PRINCESS MIRROR-BELLE series, as well as her own books.

Her latest picture book, RABBIT RACES AHEAD, is a new title in her preschool series, TWIT TWOO SCHOOL, which is perfectly pitched at young children in nursery school and includes Mouse's Big Day and Frog Hops Off. We asked LYDIA MONKS to tell us more about her work and her new series:


Q: This month we celebrate the tenth anniversary of WHAT THE LADYBIRD HEARD. How did you begin working on Julia Donaldson's books and do you have a favourite?

A: I was asked by Macmillan to illustrate a black and white fiction book called Princess Mirror-Belle about 15 years ago. I had already illustrated a few books for Macmillan, so I knew the team. The then editor Alison Green asked me to illustrate a picture book by Julia Donaldson. She said it was about a crab, an anemone and a thing called a bristle worm!

I have to admit, I was a bit dubious. They are not the characters that an illustrator's dreams are made of! But I read the story, which was titled 'Sharing A Shell', and I loved it! Alison suggested that we use glitter throughout the book, to represent the glistening sea - and the rest, is history! It was glitter all the way from then on.


Q: What do you feel made What the Ladybird Heard so popular?

A: I think everyone loves a farmyard story. Children like to make the animal noises, particularly the wrong animal noises! Everyone loves an unexpected hero, and the ladybird appeals to both boys and girls.

Lanky Len and Hefty Hugh are brilliant buffoons. Baddies who aren't scary, and always get it wrong!

 

Q: Can you give us some idea of how you approached the illustrations for this book, especially how to make the very small Ladybird stand out?

A: I start off making little thumbnails of each page, and then work them up into full-size drawings. They are sent off for everyone to see, and once everyone has approved, I start the artwork. The cover is often done first, or quite early on in the process. As 'What the Ladybird Heard' is such a long title, we decided to make a feature of it.

I can be working on a book for around four to six months usually. Some of the detailed spreads can take over a week to complete. I actually tried not to make the ladybird stand out too much, as the challenge is to find her on every spread. My big regret is not including her on the endpapers. I constantly get worn-out parents asking me where the ladybird is, having spent hours searching for her!


Q: Do you have a favourite spread or moment from the book(s), and do any of the characters stand out for you?

A: I quite like the London scene from What the Ladybird Heard on Holiday. It was a bit of a challenge, with all its tiny detail. My two daughters are in the picture, and I gave Julia the artwork for her birthday.


Q: Is there one event or activity around What the Ladybird Heard that you particularly remember? Will you be doing anything special for the anniversary edition?

A: Julia and I spent a day in a What the Ladybird Heard black cab, (which was actually yellow), driving around London visiting bookshops to deliver signed copies of What the Ladybird Heard on Holiday.

We also visited London Zoo, and I have a great photo of Julia reading the story to a monkey! I also really enjoyed my involvement in the stage production of What the Ladybird Heard. I loved seeing the story brought to life!

I think I will be celebrating the 10th anniversary at my desk, as I'm right in the middle of a new book!


Q: We've also enjoyed What the Ladybird Heard Next and What the Ladybird Heard on Holiday - do you hope there will be / are you expecting more Ladybird books?

A: I couldn't possibly say a word, but those pesky robbers just never seem to learn!


Q: You're now working on a preschool series, based around their experiences of nursery school. Why did you decide to approach this age range and what sparked its name?

7. Twit Twoo school has been hanging around my desk for ages. When my little girls were at infant school, there was a wildlife garden just next to the playground. I thought that it would be nice to have a school for animals going on at the same time as the school for children.

That's where the idea came from, but in the books so far, I've not had the chance to connect them with human school! School is such a big part of life, and the same issues crop up again and again. It is a great source for stories.

As the school is in a tree house, I had to think of a teacher who would be happy there. An owl is the obvious answer, and Twit Twoo School had a nice ring to it - or hoot to it, I should say!


A: How do you go about creating the storyline for each book (Mouse's Big Day, Frog Hops Off, Rabbit Races Ahead) given how concise the stories need to be?

A: I start with the character and what kind of personality I think they should have. I often think of children I know - good examples and bad! Then I think what sort of adventure they might have.

Mouse's Big Day was the introductory story, so it had to be about starting school really. Mouse is reluctant to go and doesn't want to join in, but eventually she finds the courage to join in and discovers that school is not as bad as she imagined.

Frog is a very different character. Very bouncy and enthusiastic but finds it difficult to listen, so finds himself getting into big trouble.

I think of the idea first, then do my thumbnail sketches. I find once the pictures happen, the story often changes. I spend a lot of time deleting!


Q: Can you tell us a bit more about your latest book, Rabbit Races Ahead, which is based around sports day. Do you have fond memories of your own early school days (and sports days!), or did you dread them?

A: Rabbit is very confident and a bit of a show-off! She is based on a friend of mine's little girl, who I overheard boasting to my daughter about how well she thought she was going to do in her SATs! She was totally convinced that she was going to get the best score in the class.

My daughter was a bit crestfallen about the conversation! I was both impressed and appalled at the girl's self confidence! That's where Rabbit came from. She's very good at winning, but loses friends while she's at it!

I dreaded Sport's Day! I liked the event, but not the taking part! I was quite shy when I was little, and didn't like being on show.


Q: The characters are gorgeous, how do you go about creating them? Are you constantly doodling ideas and new characters even when you're not at your desk?

A: No, I don't spend a lot of time doodling! I think there are always things going on around me that I take notice of. I make notes occasionally. I've just looked to see if I have any written down - 'carrots cut not sliced' is one of my notes! A bestseller in the making obviously!


Q: The colour in your work is very distinctive, what do you aim for when creating a colour palette for your books?

A: Sometimes I worry that every book looks the same! I try to vary the colour palette from book to book. There is always sky, and always grass or sea, and I'm conscious that I want each book to be a little different from the last, although that's hard with a series like Twit Twoo School.

I would have liked to have included different seasons in the Twit Twoo books, but I constrained often by the publishing dates. We can't have a winter themed book coming out in the summer!


Q: What else are you planning for Twit Twoo School?

A: Mole is next up for his Twit Twoo adventure. This time it's the school play. Whatever could go wrong?!


Q: Where do you do most of your work?

A: I have a studio in my garden, where I can see real life Twit Twoo School going on around me!


Q: What are your favourite escapes from creating and illustrating picture books?

A: I never want to escape from picture books! My biggest frustration in life is having to leave my desk! I genuinely love my work. I know I'm very lucky!

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