This month's Picture Book Galley profile is Rebecca Bender. Rebecca Bender is the author-illustrator of Giraffe and Bird, Don’t Laugh at Giraffe, Giraffe Meets Bird, Giraffe and Bird Together Again, How Do You Feel?, and Ballewiena. She has also illustrated an early chapter book series, Slug Days, Penguin Days, and Duck Days. When Rebecca is not painting or writing, she is working as a graphic designer and art director in the publishing industry. Rebecca loves animals, arts and crafts, hiking, swimming, cooking, and hanging out with her kids. She lives in a lively house in Burlington, Ontario, with her husband, four children, and a creamsicle-coloured cat that sleeps through almost anything.
You can find out more about Rebecca at rebeccabender.com.
Your website mentions you started creating characters and books at four years old. What’s your earliest memory of making art?
My earliest memories of making art are drawing with my mom, who also loved to draw. We’d doodle in her old sketchbooks or make crafts together. She kept lots of supplies in a craft cupboard for us. I remember from a young age playing with everything from pencils, paints, charcoal, and pastels, to egg cartons, yarn, and scrap paper, and getting lost in the act of being creative. I used to dream up sets of characters and storylines that I wished were part of Saturday morning cartoons.
You are a writer, illustrator, graphic designer, and art director. As you take on many roles, how do you continue to find new ways to be creative?
The different roles I take on all require a lot of creativity and visual problem-solving, so I find they sharpen my creativity. They can also leave me feeling spent and wanting something different, like time outside in nature. For personal creativity time, I have learned to adapt to my circumstances. For example, I look for gaps of time to take out a pre-packed tote bag of art supplies for some art play and keep notebooks around to scribble down ideas to return to later. Also, I admit, I can get a little too into crayon colouring with my kids when I’m craving some personal creative time!
Your books, including Giraffe and Bird and Ballewiena, are favourites of parents to read with their young children. How does it feel to be a part of that special family time?
As a parent, story time is such a special and important time to slow down and be dialled in with my kids. I love listening to their observations and comments and hearing the connections they make. I sometimes see them act out parts of a story in interactions with friends or other family members. It's so rewarding to see how reading has positively affected them. I am grateful to the creators for all the wonderful stories and illustrations they pour their hearts into. I am also grateful that my books can be part of that special time for many families—what an honour!
You collaborated on an early chapter book series (Slug Days, Penguin Days, and Duck Days) starring Lauren, a third-grade student who has Autism. What was it like to bring Lauren’s world to life?
Lauren has a unique way of seeing and experiencing the world, so it was a fun challenge to come up with the look of her character. The author, Sara Leach, included very few physical descriptions of Lauren, trusting me as the illustrator. It took a few reads of the manuscript and several pages of sketching before Lauren started to appear.
I thought a lot about what sort of visual clues I could include to hint to the reader about Lauren’s personality. For example, I gave Lauren wild hair that she would pull back carefully, with determination (and hair clips), to keep stray hairs that might annoy her away from her face. I felt like it communicated in a small way the obstacles she faces daily, trying to make sense of the world.
Over the years, you’ve designed several striking book covers. What’s your approach to designing a book’s cover?
I was picky, if not reluctant, in grade school when it came to reading novels. The odd ones I devoured, Black Beauty and White Fang, come to mind. But many I struggled to get through. The cover played a key role in my experience as a reader. A good cover could help me through the struggle because I wouldn’t mind looking at it for so long. A bad cover… well, I would judge the book by its cover, and quit!
I think this has shaped my approach to creating covers. I like a cover to be attractive, eye-catching, and easy to read at a glance. It also needs to communicate a concept or theme, ideally offering some intrigue to the reader. I will read as much of the book as possible, talk to the publisher, editor, and sometimes the author, and watch out for key elements to use in the design and what the overall mood should be.