Shannon, David
The mantra repeated in any writing class is to “write what you know.” David Shannon, author and illustrator extraordinaire of No, David! and the soon-to-be-reissued Georgie Radbourn, embodies the illustrator version of that statement and shows what he knows.
Take No, David! for example: The pointy-toothed, irrepressible hero’s roots in childhood drawings is clearly evident in the finished art but there’s a manic energy and tangible emotion in every spread. David seems to be moving on every page, making the book almost feel like a cinematic experience: “Sit still David!!! Sometimes a book seems like a little movie to me,” says the big David. “There’s all the stuff like lighting, point of view even acting – that goes into illustration. They’re both telling stories.”
We all feel like we know a David or perhaps even have a bit of David in ourselves. The author acknowledges “I have a huge collection of David” drawings from kids’ I love ’em! Some of them are pretty bizarre, too (“No cross-dressing, David!”). They’re a great reminder for me to stay genuine with him.”
It’s that ability to tap into the childhood psyche and still be true to his own passions and history that makes David Shannon’s work so satisfying. For new fans of David Shannon’s work, the reissue of How Georgie Radbourn Saves Baseball is a special treat. “Georgie Radbourn was the first book I wrote as a professional, so it comes from some parts of my life that go way back.” David has noted that the things he drew as a child have come up in his work as a professional illustrator. “When I was a kid I filled a ridiculous amount of sketchbooks with drawings of baseball players,” he confirms. “I loved playing baseball, but I was also really interested in the history of it. I think that’s one reason there are so many books written about baseball; the deep history that is so conducive to storytelling and the pace and setting of the game lends itself to contemplation and conversation.” Is this a clue why baseball seems to draw writers like a homerun hit is drawn to the tall grass? David adds, “Then there’s all the metaphoric stuff, the way baseball seems to mirror what’s happening in America, the combination of pastoral and urban imagery, the mixture of luck and skill, individuals competing one-on-one within a team sport, and the fact that the defense controls the ball.” Interestingly, it’s the open-ended possibilities of the game that attract David Shannon to the sport-as-story as well: “And there’s no clock! It’s possible for a baseball game to go on forever (I’m sure every baseball game feels that way to some people!). Those were some of the things that made me want to write Georgie.”
David’s next book coming this fall is Jangles, a tall tale meets fish story that should delight fans and win new friends. “He’s broken so many fishing lines,” the author explains, “that his jaw is covered with old lures and hooks that rattle together when he swims – hence the name.” What happens when the most wily fish in the river finally meets his match? “One evening a young boy hooks him and has an amazing adventure he’ll never forget!,” teases the author. “I’ve loved fishing ever since I was a kid, so I’ve heard, or been a part of a lot of fish stories,” David confesses. “Jangles is all of them rolled into one tall tale, so it’s about a boy and a big fish, but it’s also about the magic of storytelling.”
David is the first to reveal that storytelling can be collaborative. In the read-aloud favorite A Bad Case of Stripes, the cure was effected and affected by the editor. “It was my incredible editor, Bonnie Verburg, who brought about that change,” recalls the author. “The main theme of the book is being yourself no matter what people might think.”
“Originally, the cure was just something yummy (marshmallows),” he explains. “Bonnie thought the cure should be something Camilla liked but most kids can’t stand so she would have to assert herself even if it was unpopular.” David adds, “The funny thing was that when I came up with lima beans, Bonnie didn’t understand it at all. Turns out she’d always loved them! She took a poll around the office and said, ‘OK, people really HATE lima beans!'”
Inspiration can come from anywhere. “Sometimes the Story Fairy plinks you on the head with her magic wand and you say, ‘Ah-ha!,’ laughs the author. “Too Many Toys was like that. I stepped on one of my daughter’s toys in my bare feet and shouted, ‘EMMA! YOU HAVE TOO MANY TOYS!!!'” Plink! “It struck me instantly as a book title and the rest just spilled out from there.” Future writers take note: “Most of the time it’s more gradual and less obvious,” confides the author. “I write down all my ideas in a notebook and wait for one of them to jump up and say, ‘Look at me – I’m a book!'”
To hear David tell it, it almost seems like he was destined for his calling. “I only realized a few years ago that illustrating books is something I’ve loved doing my whole life. There were always drawings around my room of whatever I was reading.” Way before Georgie, David was constantly checking out biographies of players. “I’d read the books and then draw from the photos in them.” But the future illustrator of The Pirate Queens and How to Be a Pirate had diverse interests: There were also knights, pirates, Indians and hobbits. And the first book the future artist remembers is almost predictable: “It was The Boy’s King Arthur and those paintings were the coolest thing I’d ever seen! He’s still a gigantic influence on my stuff – you can especially see it in the clouds!”
So, we should thank David’s parents for ensuring that he had plenty of art supplies and books and we should especially thank David’s mother for hanging onto his childhood art. David adds, “I’d like to thank her, too, but she’s suing me for royalties (just kidding).”
– Interviewed by Ellen Myrick, February 2012
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