Show Me a Story: Why Picture Books Matter (Candlewick, May 2012) is a collection of interviews conducted by Leonard S. Marcus with 21 different children’s illustrators over the past two decades. From Quentin Blake to Eric Carle, Helen Oxenbury, Peter Sis, William Steig, Mo Willems and many more, Mr Marcus covers a variety of backgrounds, childhoods, and inspirations.
I loved the peek in to the lives of illustrators. Each of them have such different styles of illustration, and the interviews helped me understand their motivations, inspirations, and especially the personalities behind their work. While the volume does not really attempt to explain why picture books matter, as the subtitle suggests, it does inspire the budding artist to follow his or her own style and dreams, and it helps the reader of children’s books, like myself, better appreciate the fine art that makes a picture book what it is.
The book contains brief introductions to each illustrations, the interviews, and a center section highlighting some examples of each illustrator’s work.
Note: I read a digital review copy from the publisher via netgalley for review consideration.