AN INTERVIEW WITH THE AUTHOR
Kate DiCamillo published her first book with Candlewick Press, Because of Winn-Dixie, while she was working at a used bookstore in Minnesota. It was awarded a Newbery Honor. Her third book, The Tale of Despereaux, was the Newbery Medal winner. The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane is the fifth book she has written for Candlewick Press.
Q. Where did you get the idea for writing a book about a large china rabbit?
A. A friend gave me a very elegant rabbit “doll” (sorry, Edward) for Christmas a couple of years ago. Not long after receiving the rabbit, I had this very clear image of him underwater, on the bottom of the sea, minus all of his finery, lost and alone.
Q. Abilene’s grandmother, Pellegrina, is not happy with Edward. “You disappoint me,” she
tells him. What does she expect of Edward?
A. Edward is, in many ways, Pellegrina’s creation, and because of that her expectations for him are huge. She perceives, quite clearly, that he has failed at the simple and impossible task he was created for: loving Abilene as she loves him.
Q. Are there any other books that inspired you in the writing of this one?
A. I wasn’t thinking particularly of other books when I was writing Edward, but looking back, I can see that I was influenced by some pretty powerful stories: The Mouse and His Child, Pinocchio, Winnie-the-Pooh, Alice in Wonderland. I can see the influence of all of those masterpieces in my small story.
Q. Did any of this book come from your own childhood?
A. Everything that I write comes from my childhood in one way or another. I am forever drawing
on the sense of mystery and wonder and possibility that pervaded that time of my life.
Q. What was a defining moment, good or bad, that shaped you as a child?
A. My father leaving the family certainly shaped who I was and how I looked at the world.
By the same token, my father telling me fairy tales that he had made up shaped me
profoundly, too. As did my mother reading to me.
Q. Do you have any suggestions for engaging and motivating young readers? Do you have
any advice for classroom teachers or parents?
A. The best thing I know to tell parents and teachers about motivating young readers is that reading should not be presented to them as a chore, a duty. It should, instead, be offered as a gift: Look, I will help you unwrap this miraculous present. I will show you how to use it for your own satisfaction and education and deep, intense pleasure. It distresses me that parents insist that their children read or make them read. I think the best way for children to treasure reading is for them to see the adults in their lives reading for their own pleasure.
AN INTERVIEW WITH THE ILLUSTRATOR
Bagram Ibatoulline was born in Russia, graduated from the State Academic Institute of Arts in Moscow, and has worked in the fields of fine arts, graphic arts, mural design, and textile design. The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane is the sixth book he has illustrated for Candlewick Press.
Q. You change your style dramatically with each children’s book you illustrate, like an actor who never plays the same role twice. You’ve paid homage, always brilliantly, to Dutch masters, American realists, primitive folk art, Chinese scrolls, and more. Which style do you most enjoy using? What kind of research do you do for each book?
A. I enjoy any style—it is never my intention to copy a particular look or aesthetic. Instead I do a lot of groundwork and extensive research on the time period in order to come up with my own approach or style for a book that I can relate to and use naturally. I have a big reference library, and when that’s not enough, I turn to public libraries and private sources, which was the case for Edward.
Q. Do you use models or photographs for the people in your painting? How about the rabbit—did you see Kate DiCamillo’s big rabbit or invent your own?
A. Usually I create sketches and work off of them to create the final image. Sometimes I take inspiration from people and faces in old photographs or pictures of a specific time period in order to come up with an idea of what a certain character might look like. Although Kate sent me photos of her rabbit, I still had to sculpt my own model of Edward’s head, since we see the rabbit from many angles throughout the book.
Q. Did you consider yourself an artist as a child? What kind of art training did you have?
A. Since the time I can remember myself, I was sculpting. When I was ten, with advice from my parents, I went to the Children’s Art School. I studied there for five years. It was a basic art education—introduction to the world of art materials, history of art, basics of various crafts. Then I decided to continue my art education in the Art College of Kazan for four years. It was a time of the most intensive classic art training. After that I attended the State Art Institute in Moscow for five years. It was an important step for me, allowing me to understand and find myself as an artist.
Q. Each painting adds a rich and emotionally affecting dimension to Kate’s text. How did you find the heart of each of the characters? What did you want your illustrations to add to the story?
A. It’s not easy to explain how I found the heart of each character. Everything is in the text, as in “But first you must open your heart.” I couldn’t say it better.