Eric Rohmann believes that each story needs illustrations that match its tone, content, and sensibility. As a children’s book illustrator, this means knowing how and when to use different media and techniques. For The Cinder-Eyed Cats Rohmann painted with oils. For his Caldecott Medal book, My Friend Rabbit, he used wood cuts. For his 2008 picture book, A Kitten’s Tale, Rohmann spent two months experimenting with a watercolor ink he had never used before. Trying new media can be scary, Rohmann admits, but it also keeps his artwork fresh. “Anxiety’s a good thing,” he says with a smile, “even for a children’s book illustrator.”
“You know what?” Erica S. Perl is the author of the wonderfully silly, begging-to-be-read-aloud picture book, Chicken Butt, as well as the sequel, Chicken Butt’s Back. Kirkus Review calls Chicken Butt “an unhinged piece of slap-happy rhyming rocket-propelled artwork the romp is a powerful piece of cacophony, more frenetic by the moment.” Perl’s other titles for young readers include Dotty, a gently told, perceptive story about school days and imaginary friends and Ninety-Three in My Family, a lively rhyming story that is part tall tale and part counting book. Her books tap deep into what’s funny, what’s real, family, friends, and growing up.
