career talk : picturing picture books illustration by klaas verplancke
I’ve always been a huge fan of children’s books, my all-time favorite, “The Little Engine That Could”, had a serious impact on my journey as an artist, designer, and art director. The book has scribbles on almost every page where I tried to express myself while looking at the images. But not all picture books are created equal.
In the past 20 years we’ve judged, published and unpublished picture-book entries as part of our international illustration competition. Personally, I prefer books from across the pond over books produced here in the States, with a few exceptions. Books especially from Europe have always held an appeal for me merely by being interesting stories well-illustrated. Books in America seem to follow the path of ‘everyone is always smiling’, illustrating happy times, whereas books from Europe approach serious issues head on; they treat their readers differently.
Recently I ran across an interesting perspective on books for children by illustrator and author Klaas Verplancke. “I’ve always been fascinated by children. They are, at the same time, strong and vulnerable creatures: eager to explore, to experience, to discover, and to jump fearlessly into the unknown—so long as they know that at the end of every adventurous road, there are open arms in which they can find rest, safety, care, and comfort. That’s what they expect from us as adults, parents, teachers. I wanted to capture this duality in a story,
and started working on storylines where loneliness and snugness came together.” Something of a rarity when looking at America’s books for children.
When discussing his book, “Appelmoes” (which translates to ‘Applesauce’), the book is a recognizable story for all parents and children who deal with the same daily situations, Klaas adds “Children are sometimes lonely, scared, angry or confused. Real stories can help to deal with real life, making us more prepared and confident. That’s why books and art in general is made. Recognition as a form of consolation.” And he can speak from personal experience, being a dad himself with a young son.
And who gets to decide what children are ready for, as Klaas recounts, “One always throws all children on a pile, as if ‘The Child’ exists. Like a baker would bake his bread for a particular kind of child. What if we applied this reasoning to adults? Not all adults understand and read Kafka’s books. So, the books of Kafka are not suitable for adults???” In his eyes not understanding is not equal to not liking it; the not understanding creates fascination and imagination and that friction stimulates future solutions and nuanced thinking.
Asked about the importance of children’s books, Klaas remarks, “Children’s literature on one hand can be seen as a romantic medium for social and/or religious education and easy entertainment, or on the other hand it can be considered as a form of art: confronting, reflecting, and giving a voice to sometimes uneasy topics, emotions, and thoughts. I’ve always worked according to these latter principles here in Flanders, where there’s a great respect for artistic freedom and authenticity.” He elaborates, “Children are wonderful creatures who turn a yellow sphere into a sun. Life could be that simple. I’m jealous of their guts, their happiness, and the smart, simple logic they apply to learn about and understand the world around them. They are not fragile creatures that should be protected from every conflict or evil, nor grow up with the illusion that life is a Barbie-world.”
As for the reception to the internationally successful “Applesauce” when it was released, he explains, “The most negative reactions come from reviewers in the United States. Different expectations lead to different evaluations. In particular, the scene with the angry dad transformed into a stupid kind of ape, and the passage through the forest seems ‘too scary’, ‘too sophisticated’, ‘disrespectful’.” Though he adds, “Children do have a malicious side, their drawings of an angry dad are even more scary than what I’ve drawn.”
And it seems that even in the U.K. there’s been a trend towards Americanizing picture books, “In the past, I worked for several U.K. publishers, and I noticed that my artistic approach didn’t fit with the typical illustration style in (mainstream) U.K. picture books. I didn’t feel comfortable with the adaptations I had to make, mainly because most of these interferences weren’t essential (smaller nose, rounder eyes…).”
In the past one could tell where a children’s book came from, now there is very little difference in what you see out there. “The market has changed a lot, thanks to smaller publishing houses, but one cannot deny that there’s still a gap between the English-speaking and the general European children’s book market. Just walk through the halls at the Bologna Book Fair and you immediately see the differences,” he says.
Leaving on a positive note, “Books are also becoming more beautiful and better finished,” Klaas says.
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