Writing from the Inside Out . . . Award winning Author/Illustrator SUZANNE BLOOM shares

Dear Friends,

Please welcome Award winning author/illustrator, SUZANNE BLOOM! It's been years now since we shared a pan of warm cinnamon rolls on a snowy evening, but Suzanne is always a Splendid Friend Indeed. I'm sure you'll agree! (See details for the giveaway of Suzanne's new book at the end of the post!)

Author/Illustrator SUZANNE BLOOM

AUTHOR SUZANNE BLOOM shares:
 

Though I grew up in Queens NY, my first five formative years were spent in Portland, Oregon. That’s why I retained an “R “ and love rainy days. Living in upstate NY allows a continued appreciation for precipitation. As an antique, I’m mid-century modern. If I were yogurt I’d be traditional/plain.  

My first published piece, in a glossy magazine for teachers, was a third grade poem -- "Blue is My Favorite Color".  Prescient? I guess.

Parents and teachers encouraged my artistic endeavors, except for Jack Tworkov, abstract expressionist and painting teacher at Cooper Union. He urged breaking away from the figurative. Can’t quite do it. 

The idea of writing and illustrating picture books was expressed in a Jr. High autobiography. It came to fruition a quarter of a century later. Creating illustrations that enhance a story puts art into the hands of children. It’s both a portfolio and a passport to a bigger world.  

When I’m writing, it feels like drawing is the easy part and when I’m drawing…well, you know. But once I’ve doodled through the first few lame attempts, something sticks. A character takes shape and then brings a friend.Though the story is far from resolved, I have been reminded that this is what I do. This is how I wish to spend my time and energy. I believe I can do this again.

The perks of this vocation include observing people, eavesdropping, or as I like to say “over listening”, inventing lives from very few details, elevating the everyday with some attitude and flow. Not to mention visiting behind the scenes at the Jacksonville Zoo to draw anteaters. It also includes honoring the events and people who have inspired the stories.

You may be familiar with Goose and Bear who are best known for smoothing out the bumps that pop up in a friendship.  But did you know that A Splendid Friend, Indeed was inspired by my dad, who is the master of the rhetorical question?“What are you doing? Are you reading?” Yep, word for word. That was the start of a story that has grown into a series of seven books, so far.

Auditions for those two characters required many sketches of many mismatched pairs of animals. In fact, before illustrating begins, I must draw my cast of characters in a variety of poses so I know who they are. Body language and facial expressions are key to each character’s feelings. Pre-readers understand; as a kindergartener told his teacher, “I’m feeling like the Bear today”. The bushy tail on Little Fox doubles as a her emotional barometer. It’s easier to make a flamingo look frazzled than a turtle.

I’m always on the lookout for models -- in the grocery store, at the airport, during school visits. A quick sketch for reference is very helpful. I was trying to discreetly sketch teenagers goofing around on the subway and one commanded his buddies, “Sit down, man. She’s trying to draw us.” It was cool. I got their approval. So many times, revisiting a sketch takes me right back to the scene.

From one story to the next, the process changes. Ideas may first appear as a sketch, character, or some words.  But I do try to have the story settled before starting the art. And I try to work out the design decisions before finalizing the drawings. In the forthcoming A Number Slumber (BMP fall 2016) the tiger spread started out as something entirely different. 

When I draw, I listen to music like Buddha Lounge or The Music Man but when writing, I prefer silence.  

Even a book of 100 words requires revisions because every word carries its own weight. Whooshy and woozy, occasionally, chickadee and bamboozled are choice words. As the boss of the book, I get to make the choices. Which is more fun to say? Tricked  or bamboozled?  Robin or chickadee? Read aloud. Savor.

AWARDS

A Splendid Friend, Indeed has a life of its own. It received an inaugural Theodore Seuss Geisel Honor Award and was shortlisted for The UKLA award.  PA One Book for Every Young Child distributed it to pre-schools and libraries across Pennsylvania and several years later they did the same with The Bus For Us. Several books have appeared on the Bank Street College Best Books list.  There have been a number of starred reviews. But to know that a book is so loved that a dad has to purchase a new copy for his second daughter is a most appreciated seal of approval.   

Reviews of THE NEW BOOK - Bear Can Dance!

What Bear wants is to fly. What Bear does is dance. “It’s like flying, but with your feet on the ground. Mostly.” For the past six books Bear has been put upon and bothered.  It was time to let Bear discover some hidden talents. Goose and Little Fox try to help, but Bear comes up with a personal solution.

Bear Can Dance!

Suzanne Bloom. Boyds Mills, $16.95 (40p) ISBN 978-1-62979-442-6

Bear, Goose, and Fox’s seventh outing sees Bear attempting

to fly. All he wants is to “swoop and glide and feel the wind

in [his] fur,” but even after coaching from

Fox (who outfits Bear with a cape and goggles),

flight remains out of reach for the

lumbering polar bear. With music pouring

out of Bear’s portable turntable, the friends

realize that dancing is “like flying, but

with your feet on the ground. Mostly.”

Bloom’s soft pastel artwork handily captures both the

warmth of this three-way friendship and the wind in Bear’s

fur—while he cuts a rug. Ages 2–6. (Oct.) ~Publishers Weekly, Sept 2015

A review by Sue Heavenrich of Bear Can Dance! is posted Oct. 9, 2015 at Sally's Bookshelf:

http://sallysbookshelf.blogspot.com/2015/10/bear-can-dance.html

Bear Can Dance!

by Suzanne Bloom
40 pages; ages 3-7
Boyds Mills Press

theme: friendship, talents

I love Bear and Goose - they are "splendid friends indeed"... and this book includes their best buddy, Fox...What I like LOVE about this book: 

I love the way Suzanne Bloom can tell a story using a combination of dialog-only text and wondrous illustrations.

I love the creative ways Fox and Goose try to get Bear to fly. 

I love that Bear finds a way to fly with feet on the ground. 

And I love the endpapers where Goose and Fox are dancing the (what else?) Foxtrot.... ~Sue Heavenrich



Beyond the Book:
If you were going to teach Bear how to fly, what would you do? What does it take to fly? Can you get that whooshy feeling doing other things? When you're swinging, or sledding down a hill, do you feel like you're flying?

What animals fly? Birds fly, but there are other animals that fly about, or glide. Think about mammals, fish, amphibians and reptiles, and insects. How do they flit/ fly/soar/glide through the air?



What is that funny suitcase-looking thing that Bear is playing music on? If you have one, listen to a recording. If not, see where you can find one: a museum? A thrift shop? Take a close look. How do they work?…

 
SCHOOL VISITS

I learn a lot when I visit schools.  

During a writing exercise a fourth grade boy told me that he couldn’t write the assignment, about his family, because his dad was in jail and they lived with his grandma, and it would make him too sad and he might cry. He and his writing buddy picked another topic and I became their scribe. Kids think faster than they write, so when i read it back to them, their eyes widened as they exclaimed, “WE wrote that?”  It was deep.

  

I chose a skinny little kid in the front row to help me read the bi-lingual version of A Splendid Friend, Indeed.  The gym was hushed as he read very quietly. Afterward one teacher said she was impressed because he was always in trouble and another teacher said she’d never heard him read before and didn’t know he could read Spanish.  

A thank you note from a 2nd grader a student wrote, “You taught us to bleeve in ourselves."

A Texas 3rd grader stood up during question time and announced, “Ma’am, You were born to draw.”  

Indeed.

Thank you, dear Suzanne, for such wonderful insights about your writing and illustrating process. AND THANK YOU for donating an autographed copy of BEAR CAN DANCE! to one lucky reader who stops by to leave a comment for us. Dear reader, We'd love to hear about what gives you that wonderful whooshy feeling!

Learn more about SUZANNE BLOOM:

WEBSITE: www.suzannebloom.com 

FACEBOOK: Suzanne Bloom Author

LINKS: www.highlightsfoundation.org   

Google Suzanne Bloom YouTube videos

 

The winner of BEAR CAN DANCE! will be announced on Tuesday, February 16th. You'll also learn about Suzanne's newest title, A Number Slumber, coming in Fall of 2016 and get a sneak preview of her illustrations. How exciting is that?