Today we’re so lucky to have both the creators of a wonderful new picture book, Cicada Sing Song visiting Writing Classes for Kids and talking about their craft.
Author, Pat Simmons created the fabulous concept and text and Katrin Drelling is the talented illustrator who has brought Pat’s words to life in pictures.
Today they’re talking about their journeys with the book and they have two great creative prompts for you.
ABOUT PAT
Pat Simmons lives at Scarborough on the NSW south coast with her cats, dog and the occasional mini beast. Pat writes poetry, short stories, flash fiction and children’s picture books.
Pat loves encouraging children to explore the natural world.
ABOUT KATRIN
Katrin creates quirky illustrations that feature a mix of different media, texture and techniques.
Her picture book “The World’s Worst Pirate” has been awarded “Notable Book 2018” by the CBCA Australia, short-listed for the 2018 Speech Pathology Australia Award and the Society of Women Writers NSW Biennial Awards 2018 and she also delivered illustrations for a highly successful video animation production.
Additionally, Katrin conducts illustration workshops for both children and adults.
https://www.katrindreiling.com/
ABOUT CICADA SING SONG
Free teacher notes written by Kellie Nissen can be downloaded from Pat’s website. They appear under, ‘Latest News.’
The cicadas are above ground at last. This is the loudest sing song ever. Who knew that cicadas could rap?
Come along to the Festival of Sound.
THE HARDEST THING ABOUT WRITING
The hardest thing about writing a book for me is getting started. I spend ages thinking about an idea. Will it work? Where to begin? I write lots of messy notes before a story starts to take shape.
THE HARDEST THING ABOUT ILLUSTRATING CICADA SING SONG
My characters never really look realistic but of course require a certain recognition value. With this book, the text aims to introduce different kind of cicada species to children in a fun yet educational way and so it was important that the main characters looked cute and appealing AND could be identified as cicadas. I went for very round shapes (and let’s not forget the Rapper clothing) and was happy with how the cicadas turned out in the end but I can also see that some kids will think they are ‘green potatoes’ maybe…? 😊 I do believe though that at some point the artist/illustrator has to let go and let the creation speak for itself and just see what happens.
THE MOST FUN THING ABOUT WRITING THE BOOK – PAT
The most fun thing is watching my ideas come to life. What if? What if cicadas actually plan a music festival? What if they’re rapping in their own little way?
The very best fun thing is seeing how the illustrator interprets my words. That is so special.
THE MOST FUN THING ABOUT ILLUSTRATING THE BOOK – KATRIN
Exactly what I have described above – figuring out how to create cicada characters in my style. I love that challenge. Also, I really enjoyed illustrating the end papers for this book. I used a combination of mixed media and digital, as usual, but in this case also tried an etching technique for the tunnel system. There is something immensely satisfying about scratching paint off paper while other parts of creating this book require more of a steady hand and detailed elements. Apart from the technique, I really love showing what is happening in “secret places” and make it visible to the audience.
THE WRITING PROMPT
- ‘If you could be any insect in the world, which one would you choose and why?’
- Compose a haiku or rap about this insect.
THE ILLUSTRATING PROMPT
- Draw a parade of cicadas with different instruments together
- Draw a tunnel system for your cicadas in the shape of a maze. How do the cicadas get out and up to the surface?
- Illustrate a cicada habitat: collect leaves and use them for printing, create paper collages for leaves, mushrooms, branches, flowers and combine with your prints. Lastly, hide a little drawing of a cicada somewhere in your nature illustration
Cicada Sing Song is published by Little Steps
