The penguin family are off on an adventure! Travelling by bus, train, and even by cable car, the persistent pals keep on going through rain or shine, sleet or snow. Finally, they soar through the wispy clouds and – yes, there it is! – their long-awaited destination is ahead, atop a frosty, snow-capped mountain…
A playful, happy read-aloud, which features a jolly family of big and little penguins and all the noisy modes of transport that little ones love.
Q&A with Leonie Lord
What was the inspiration
behind Super Duper Penguin Slide?
It was a combination of two things… wildlife documentaries
in which penguins would have to overcome insurmountable geographical problems
in their own charming penguin way, and a battery-powered toy in which little
penguins would climb an escalator and slide down a wiggly slide. You couldn't
really play with it; you'd just watch it until the batteries ran out, or someone
would throw it against a wall. It was strangely compelling. I also wanted to do
something fun! Wouldn't you like to be a penguin on a penguin slide?
I grew up in a creative household. I loved drawing; I would
mainly draw cats, my teddies or Wonder Woman. I did a Graphic Design degree at
Central St Martins, but children's book illustration was never on the cards.
After graduating, I worked as an editorial illustrator. My first picture book
commission came out of the blue (The Dirty Great Dinosaur by Martin Waddell).
At that time, I had a toddler and was pregnant; I was terrified that I would
fail. Oddly being a mum gave me room to rethink my career and be much more
productive with my time. After my third book, I joined up with literary agents
The Catchpoles, who have been hugely instrumental with my writing. As I failed
my GCSE English, I still find this quite remarkable. I almost enjoy writing as
much as the illustration (almost).
How did you begin
writing and illustrating Super
Duper Penguin Slide?
It started with a cover design and a title. The slide was
going to be the final hurrah to the story, and I knew that there would
be an escalator in it. I wrote a lot of different versions and made dummy
books. The story needed so much chipping away at. One version was where
the penguins struggled to the top of the slide only to find it was shut! I'm
not sure what was going through my head at that point! Eventually, the theme
that emerged was perseverance, and like the penguins, I got there in the
end. As you can see, my design for the cover hadn't changed very much from
the first
dummy.
Can you tell us a little
bit more about your process?
I will always start with the characters. I need to know how
they are going to look before anything else. It gives me a kind of friendly
reassurance once they are finalised, then I can have a clear run with the rest.
I draw something a lot, even if I know the first drawing I will
use. I use smooth layout paper and a lightbox, and chunky clutch pencils. I work
at two desks, one for drawing and one for the computer. I have my own lovely
workroom overlooking the garden. I'm not a great multitasker; if a book is
going well, I live on tea and biscuits and forget to pick the kids up.
I think it was the spread where the Penguins set off up the
escalator. The thought of penguins on an escalator really makes me chuckle.
Getting the scale right was quite tricky; I wanted the station set to feel
vast and for the penguins to look like they were going up and up. Adding tall
trees helped to give a vertical feeling to the space. There are some other
little animal characters, too, which are always fun to do. But visually, I love
the first and final spreads on the rocks best.
What are your favourite
picture books, both older and more recent?
Every Christmas, I would get unusual books from a good
friend of my parents who was an author. Amongst these books was a hefty version
of ETA Hoffmann's The Nutcracker, with pages on pages of awe-inspiring illustrations by Maurice Sendak. An 11-year-old me thought it was the most
gorgeous book, I still do.
Another book from my childhood is The Little Train by
Graham Greene and illustrated by Edward Ardizzone. Ardizzone's world is one of
summer mornings, men waving hats and sleepy branch lines. The illustrations are
so evocative you can almost taste the air. There's an illustration of The
Little Train rusting in a siding which makes my heartache. There is no face on
this engine, no rolling eyes. But together, Greene and Ardizzone create an
adventurous little train with a soul.
A favourite book from my boy's childhood is Emily Brown and
the Thing by Cressida Cowell and Neal Layton. Such a clever and funny story
for reluctant bed timers. Neal Layton's artwork is so fresh and energetic; it's like the art just landed as the page turned.
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A special thanks to our guest this week, Leonie Lord!
Super Duper Penguin Slide is now available from all good booksellers.
