“Does Everything Get Squished Together?” An Interview with SPLAT! Author Jon Burgerman

By Bianca Turetsky / June 23, 2017 at 12:00 pm

Splat!

Hardcover $16.14 ~~$16.99~~

Have you ever wondered what happens to the characters in your books when you turn the pages? SPLAT! is a fun and original new picture book by award-winning artist Jon Burgerman which answers just that question. This hilarious, charming picture book is sure to make you and your young reader smile all the way through. Burgerman talked to The B&N Kids’ Blog about what he loves about making picture books, the value of making mistakes, and how he draws inspiration from junk food wrappers.

Congratulations on your first picture book! This book is so much fun to read! Where did the idea for SPLAT! come from?
Thanks so much, it was a lot of fun to make! The idea came from wondering what happens to the things on the previous page when you read through a book. Does everything get squished together?

I’m also a fan of very lo-fi animation tricks, like flip books or animating by just turning a page back and forth to reveal a before and after image. I think those kind of things were bubbling away in my brain at time I was making SPLAT! too.

What comes first for you, the story or the pictures?
For SPLAT! the images came first, and I think it could have easily been a wordless picture book.
For other ideas I’ve had it’s been a mix of both, pretty much at the same time.

I think one of the wonderful things about picture books is that the words and pictures both are equally important. The drawings aren’t just illustrating the words, and the words aren’t just describing the pictures. The space in-between what the words are saying and what the images are saying is filled by the imagination of the reader.

With SPLAT! I think it’s the time in between picking up a page and then turning it over where the reader’s imagination is spiked.

Miffy the Artist Lift-the-Flap Book

Board Book $9.53 ~~$14.50~~

Miffy the Artist Lift-the-Flap Book

By Dick Bruna

Board Book $9.53 ~~$14.50~~

I love your bright and bold illustrations, and am sure young readers will be super excited about them too. Where do you get inspiration for your artwork?
Thanks, I tried to make the artwork as rich and strong as possible. I’ve been creating artwork like this for a long time. I was keen to have my first picture book look and feel very much like my other works. I didn’t want to make something that was purposely picture book-y.

In the picture book world I’d of course say Dick Bruna is an inspiration. I went to his museum in The Netherlands a few years ago and it was wonderful to see his original drawings.

Outside of picture books my work has been inspired by artists such as Yoshimoto Nara, Basquait, Javier Mariscal and Keith Haring, as well as cartoons, animations, comics and (junk) food packaging.

Can you explain to our readers a bit about the process of making a picture book? What was it like compared to your other art? It seems like you work across a broad range of mediums (including toys, murals, and sculpture, etc.).
It took me a while (a couple of years) to get my head around how to make a book. Like any art form you need to make a lot of mistakes first to begin to better understand the medium. Sometimes you go back to your mistakes and use them as part of work of course, but you need to understand where the boundaries lie, and what rhythm and structures are possible.

It’s unlike painting or doodling or designing a product, even though those may also be telling a story. The story in a picture book needs to be a solid foundation on which everything else is placed.
The process was straight forward enough;

Have a really good idea (actually this part was tough).
Create a mock up of the book.
Listen to all the criticism / feedback / suggestions—but maybe ignore the bits you don’t agree with.
Revise and show people again (and again… this part can go on for a long time).
Make the almost final thing and show everyone.
Tweak, polish and pray.

Meg And Mog

Board Book $11.10

Meg And Mog

By Helen Nicoll , Jan Pienkowski

Board Book $11.10

What were some of your favorite picture books as a kid?
I remember enjoying all the Mr. Men books, Meg and Mog, Rupert Bear books, anything by Beatrix Potter, Spot the Dog, Thomas the Tank Engine and Richard Scarry‘s books.

What’s up next for you? Do you have any more picture books coming out soon? (We hope!)
Books, books and more books! I have some art activity books coming out this summer, Jon Burgerman’s Daily Doodle and It’s Great To Create. Both show how easy and fun it is to doodle or create fun art projects.

Then I will have my second picture book come out in the UK and then the US next year, it’s called…Rhyme Crime!

SPLAT! is on B&N bookshelves now!