Sean E Avery is a teacher, sculptor, designer, and the author-illustrator of Harold and Grace, All Monkeys Love Bananas, and Happy as a Hog Out of Mud. Today we’re pleased to chat to him about his latest picture book, Frank’s Red Hat, which is out in Australia, Korea, France and Denmark!
From the publisher:
Frank is a penguin with ideas. Mostly terrible ones. That’s why his fellow penguins are nervous when he shows them his strange new creation. Something they’d never seen or expected to see in their cold and colourless Antarctic world — a red hat.
How did you come to set a book in Antarctica?
I wanted a black-and-white setting that I could slowly introduce colour to! Antartica fit the description perfectly.
Do you know how to knit?
I do not. My boss (the principal at the school I work at) tried to teach me once but I gave up in a huff. I may have had a small tantrum and thrown my knitting needles over my head in frustration.
Can you tell us a bit about the illustration process for Frank’s Red Hat?
I use lots of different media – paint, crayons, pencils etc – to create textures that I scan into my computer. From there, I can cut the shapes I need from the scanned textures and arrange them to make, rocks, snow, water, seals, and penguins of course!
Do you have a writing tip for kids who’d like to write their own books?
Write a little bit every day for a few months. It’s very hard (and not much fun) to try finish a whole book quickly in a week. If you work on something slowly, but consistently over a long period of time; the result will be better.
Can you tell us a bit about what you’re working on next?
I have three books coming out next year. Two of those are out next year. One is called Friendly Bee and Friends – a graphic novel about an annoyingly friendly bee who tries to make friends with every bug he meets. The other is a picture book called Mr Clownfish, Miss Anemone and The Hermit Crab which is an underwater adventure.
Frank’s Red Hat is out now! Ask for it at your favourite bookshop or local library.
AWESOME EXTRAS
Visit Sean E Avery’s website for more about him and his books
alphabetsoup.net.au 