Donna Marie

One of my favorite children’s books is Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson. Not only is it a story of imagination, but it is a story that took me on the wildest adventures using only line art.

As a child, I would read about Harold’s adventures at the end of the day. Snug under my bed covers, I would imagine myself drawing on my bedroom walls. I drew a new adventure each night until I fell asleep.

I could easily create Harold and the Purple Crayon’s line art in my childhood mind’s eye. They are images I could actually draw as a kid. While more sophisticated, I felt the same about Shel Silverstein’s clean illustrations, especially in The Giving Tree. And who could resist E. H. Shepard’s map leading us through A. A. Milne’s world of Winnie the Pooh?

These three books influenced me greatly, and I included this style of line and illustrative art in my book, Mrs. Padilly’s Garden Poem. I illustrated this poem using simple line art combined with the inclusion of traditional Ukrainian pysanky folk art symbols; this art style brings my little poem’s story to life.

I wonder if I am taking a risk with this art form because most of today’s illustrated children’s books are almost works of art! Whether the artist is using digital software or paper. Full-color spreads greet you with each turn of the page and are full of depth and lighting. They blur the line between illustration and pure art.

Sigh, I wish I could illustrate like that, but I can’t. I am a doodler. It’s my art form. It is the art form I enjoyed as a child. It is the art form I could create in my childhood mind and on paper, too.

I will succeed if, after reading my poem, a child imagines a story in their mind, picks up a pencil and paper, and draws a garden full of mythical lands and creatures.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this subject. Especially from those who have written a children’s book and have or are now looking for an illustrator — are you looking for full-color computer-generated illustrations or simple line art?