It's been a while since I've written here. In that time I've been given what could only be described as a dream project..illustrating a children's book! I've had to wrestle with the usual low-confidence that creeps into my head around my drawing skills and abilities..but since putting those fears to rest I have started to fall in love with the illustrating process. Hurrah!
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One of the perks of this particular job is what I call the "research" stage, which sounds kind of important and professional but really entails going to the local library and roaming freely through the children's section, flicking through the wonderful, colourful, happy smorgasbord of picture books and nodding sagely to myself when I come across some kind of higher truth embedded in the simple stories. It's fun.
The loveliest one I came across was a very simple, very awesome book called The Falling Raindrop. It's about the water cycle, but in that beautiful way that only the best children's authors can write it's also about much more than that.
I've rarely seen a more stripped-back children's book: the illustrations are so simple, the writing is minimal, and yet there's something so wonderful and comforting about this book.
"As a storm rumbles and flashes, something wonderful happens up
in the clouds: a raindrop begins his journey to earth, thrilled and
delighted to be flying. But when flying begins to feel like falling, the
raindrop can't enjoy himself for fear that a big change is coming.
After hitting a campfire on the ground, the raindrop begins his
journey back to the clouds as a wisp of steam. Readers will cheer for
the little raindrop, experiencing his joys as well as his worries. This
simple story uses spare text and art to explain the science of the water
cycle, while happily showing that good things can result from change."
I cheered.
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