TALK: Lucy Tapper & Steve Wilson

#PictureBook #writing #artists #authors

Lucy Tapper & Steve Wilson are the creators of the beautiful Hedgehugs, out now from Maverick Books. They spoke to StoryWorld about art, inspiration and working together:

Hi! Tell me about Hedgehugs!

Hedgehugs is the story of Horace & Hattie, two hedgehogs who are the very best of friends. They like to do everything together, but there is one thing they can't do, they cannot hug, they're just too spiky! The book follows their journey through the seasons as they try to find a way to cuddle, and ends up solving not only their hugging problem, but also one of life's little mysteries!

Where did the idea for the book come from?

Lucy had designed two gorgeous hedgehog characters in her trusty sketchbook, which Steve loved. She then coloured and textured the images to create the beautiful characters we know and love today, using scans of the fabrics from our kid's baby clothes [ we couldn't bear to part with them , and this meant we could make them last forever] and we knew that they had to be the stars of their own storybook.

The characters looked so cute and cuddly, but of course in real life a hedgehog is a spiky little creature, so a cuddle would actually be a rather prickly affair... which gave us the premise for our story. How could they hug? The answer to their plight and the ending to our book actually came when Lucy was sorting through our washing [ we're married! ] and said " where do all the socks go?" ...

That was our Eureka! moment. Socks! Horace & Hattie can crawl inside, nibble a hole for their arms and faces, and finally hug! 

So now you know that whenever your socks go missing, or you see someone wearing odd socks... a Hedgehug has happened !

Which writers or artists are you most inspired by?

Steve: I was very very fond as a child of DrSeuss. Wacky, weird and wonderful. The original 'thinking outside the box' writer. Lucy and I always try to think with no limits or boundaries when not only writing our books, but also designing and marketing our products that we create for our personalised illustrated gift business FromLucy.com. I also love David Lucas' children's books, which follow a similar theme of being different from the norm, in words and illustration. I presented CBBC for many years, so was always inspired by the storytelling in many of the great shows I used to introduce. It was amazing having our Hedgehugs book read out on Cbeebies Bedtime Stories recently, and felt like 'coming home'! 

Lucy: Growing up I loved Janet and Allan Ahlberg's books like The Jolly Postman and Peepo, but the Brambley Hedge books by Jill Barklem really got me started on the path of illustration. The details in her drawings inspired me to draw little worlds of my own from a very young age. I now read them to my own children, as well as many other books illustrated by many great artists like Emily Gravett whom I admire greatly. I also adore Rob Ryan's papercut pieces, and sip tea from a Rob Ryan mug every morning before starting work!

How do you find working together?

We have always been a team. In our marriage, our parenting, our decisions in life, and as partners in our illustrated gift business, so working together on our children's books is a natural extension of that, not to mention an absolute dream come true! 

Spending all your time with your best friend is rewarding, fun, exciting and feels right. Just the way Horace & Hattie are !

What’s the secret to writing a good picture book?

There are so many components needed to make a good picture book - but 3 major ones to think about are:

Images! first and foremost and obviously,  fantastic eye catching illustrations are key. We take great pride in the way our books look, and believe that the images are most important in making the reader have a 'feeling' about that particular book. Imagine if your favourite children's book from your past looked completely different. How would 'Where The Wild Things Are' have made us feel had it not had those particular dark, atmospheric drawings?  The words of course direct the illustrator in a certain direction, but each artist has their own creative spark, hence why the world of books is full of such diverse talent.

Words are important too! Finding the right style of talking to your reader can take time, but is important to get right, and differs from book to book or series to series [ if you're lucky enough to have a series of books! ]. With prose, sometimes leaving words out, or letting illustrations do some of the describing, can work wonders. With young picture books, it's crucial to choose words that won't flummox the reader, but at the same time use words in the right places that sound fun to speak out loud. Remember, that type of book will be read out loud more often than in silence. If writing rhyme, the rhymes must scan! Lucy and I  often have a bee in our bonnet when rhymes 'fall short' or the rhythm is slightly off due to not enough syllables. Rhymes can make a book such a wonderful experience to read and speak out loud, and we find that songwriters have an in-built talent for doing that right, like author Giles Paley-Phillips [and our own Steve!] 

Title! A snappy, or funny, or clever, or intriguing title will literally make someone pick up a book. Apart from the cover art, the title is the 'hook' that might make someone pick your book out of a book shop shelf, or out of the library tray. Thinking carefully about how those words are presented helps too - think about colour, font, extra imagery, and anything else that can reel the potential reader in!

Are you working on new anything at the moment?

We have many plans for our working life! As well as opening a branch of our personalised gift business in France next month, we are very very focused on Horace & Hattie's future:

We have just launched a Hedgehugs 2015 Calender and a 2015 Family Organiser  in time for Christmas, plus a brand new Hedgehugs website launching very shortly where readers and fans can get all the newest Horace & Hattie info, games, downloads and competitions, and send their own drawings / photos / messages to us too. 

Lucy has designed a new cover for our new size Hedgehugs book, which is out now, slightly bigger than before, and looks beautiful! 

We have the second book in the Hedgehugs series due for publication by Maverick Arts Children's Books next year [2015], with more Hedgehugs books and products to follow! We also have an exciting TV/animation project in progress that we hope to be able to make reality, plus our books will be launched in some big overseas territories next year.

The future's bright, the future's spiky! 

Wow! Someone's busy! Thanks for speaking to us.

Hedgehugs is available online and in bookshops.