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Kady MacDonald DentonInterview with Kady MacDonald Denton "Imagination is … a learning tool and an escape and a gift to enrich life" An Interview with Kady MacDonald DentonBy Josiane Polidori Kady MacDonald Denton, you studied Fine Arts at the University of Toronto and completed the graduate program in Urban Planning at the University of Toronto's School of Architecture. How did your studies bring you to illustrate the world of early childhood? As a child and a young adult, I was passionate about art. As a young graduate, I worked in stage design and property design as well. Due to my husband's work, we were moving a lot, and I had to start jobs over each time. When we moved to Brandon, Manitoba, 25 years ago, I decided to go back to my interest in drawing. I had always been very attracted to the page and to paper. In a way, the transportable aspect of drawing was a factor in becoming an illustrator. You are both an illustrator and a writer of picture books. How do you decide to work on a book? Do you first have an image in your mind or does the story come to you first? In the case when I am both the author and the illustrator, it all begins with an idea. Sometimes it is an abstract idea and I need to find the words. I am not prolific; I need time to work my impressions and feelings into words. When I put them down -- if I believe it is a good enough story -- I draw rough illustrations and send it to my publisher. When I work with another author's story, such as Janet Lunn for The Umbrella's Party or Robert Heidbreder for I Wished for a Unicorn, I like to get in touch with them. Out of respect for them and their work, I ask them if they have suggestions. Generally, picture book stories do not come with visual instructions. I read the story intensely. I am often looking for the story behind the story or I can be searching for the story behind the words. Sometimes I can bring a slightly different slant or I can emphasize one aspect of the story. Their stories speak to me in a very special way. In your books, you are depicting various situations from the point of view of the young child. How do you capture the attitude, the liveliness of your pre-school characters so well? The world of early childhood matters to me a great deal. I respect children and I understand the importance of those early years. It might appear to be a small world to us adults, but it is extremely important to them. I want to show young children a universe that corresponds to their experience without patronizing them. The characters in my books come from memories of my own childhood, from observation of children and also from trying to imagine how such-or-such a character would react in a certain situation. Your books are published in Canada and in many other countries. Do you approach illustration differently according to each publication project? I don't work differently for a publisher in one country or another, but expectations can be different. I would say it depends more on the editors or on the editorial policies of a publishing house; some companies like to give more visual guidance than others. The format and size of a book can make a difference. For example, if I work on a big project with lots of text, such as Sam McBratney's In the Light of the Moon, I am given specific sizes of space for the illustrations, and I may be asked to depict a certain part of the story. There are more constraints in a big book like that than a 24-page picture book, where, usually, I have more control over the visual design. It is a different set of challenges. You have won important prizes for your books; many critics have praised your illustrations. You work mostly with water colour; can you tell us about your technique? I'm not trained as an illustrator, except for one excellent illustration course at the Chelsea School of Art. It was art history that I studied in university. I used to work mostly with water colour. I love the transparency of water colours, but that transparency doesn't always print well. I now use gouache and acrylic inks along with the water colour. I've used collage in my latest book. It's interesting how the printing camera sees an illustration, quite different from the human eye. What do you want to offer to children with your books? Most important, of course, is that the illustration serves the story well. With a good story, the words capture the child's ear. It can be a book in prose or a rhyming book -- I am very fond of rhyming books. An illustrator's job is to tell the story visually and interest the child's eye. When I was little and looked at picture books, I enjoyed seeing what was shown, but I also liked to see how it was shown, how the illustrator worked. I liked colours overlapping to make new colours, knots of dark crosshatched line and hints of objects. So now if a hunk of colour is visually pleasing to me as an artist, I trust that some child also will enjoy it. The cover of Read Up On It is illustrated with a watercolour from I Wished for a Unicorn. The child is imagining a whole playful world in the backyard. What is the importance of imagination in a child's life? It seems to me that imagination is more fluid and more open for children than it is for adults. As adults, we pass a gateway of sorts, imagination on one side and the real world on the other. For a child, the line is not so sharp. A child can eat a bowl of noodles and it can be a bowl of worms, or the trip to school can be an adventure to a castle. There is a charm to that world! Imagination is also a learning tool and an escape and a gift to enrich life. Certainly it helps flexible thinking and creativity. Imagination is also crucial to understanding consequences: one doesn't have to experience everything because results can be anticipated with a good imagination. In I Wished for a Unicorn, the child's imagination frees the child from the humdrum, dull backyard. In turn, the child goes on to set free the enchanted knight and the little animals that have been frozen into bas-reliefs. The child uses imagination to be creative and to play. BiographyPlace of birth: Winnipeg, Manitoba, 1942 Place of residence: Brandon, Manitoba Kady MacDonald Denton grew up in Toronto and is a graduate of the University of Toronto (Fine Arts). She has completed additional studies at the Banff School of Fine Arts, Alberta, and the Chelsea School of Arts, London, England. A move to Brandon, Manitoba, and a sabbatical in London were instrumental in changing the focus of Kady's art to writing and illustrating picture books. She has lived with her family in Brandon and worked at the Art Gallery of Southwestern Manitoba for 25 years. Awards
Selective BibliographyAdorable grand-mère. Text and illustrations by Kady MacDonald Denton; translation by Claude Lager. The Arctic Fox. Text by Mary Ellis; illustrations by Kady MacDonald Denton. Avant d'aller dormir: histoires bibliques, poèmes et prières pour enfants. Compilation by Ann Pilling; illustrations by Kady MacDonald Denton; translation by Dominique Chauveau. Before I Go to Sleep: Bible Stories, Poems and Prayers for Children. Selected and retold by Ann Pilling; illustrations by Kady MacDonald Denton. A Child's Treasury of Nursery Rhymes. Selected and illustrated by Kady MacDonald Denton. The Christmas Boot. Text and illustrations by Kady MacDonald Denton. Couac, la petite cane. Text by Betty Gibson; illustrations by Kady MacDonald Denton; translation by Christiane Duchesne. Dorothy's Dream. Text and illustrations by Kady MacDonald Denton. Find Your Coat, Ned. Text by Pam Zinnemann-Hope; illustrations by Kady MacDonald Denton. Granny is a Darling. Text and illustrations by Kady MacDonald Denton. I Wished for a Unicorn. Text by Robert Heidbreder; illustrations by Kady MacDonald Denton. I Wished for a Unicorn. Text by Robert Heidbreder; illustrations by Kady MacDonald Denton. Ich hab euch beide lieb!: wenn Eltern sich getrennt haben. Text by Claire Masurel; illustrations by Kady MacDonald Denton. If I Were Your Father. Text by Margaret Park Bridges; illustrations by Kady MacDonald Denton. If I Were Your Mother. Text by Margaret Park Bridges; illustrations by Kady MacDonald Denton. In the Light of the Moon and Other Bedtime Stories. Text by Sam McBratney; illustrations by Kady MacDonald Denton. Janet's Horses. Text and illustrations by Kady MacDonald Denton. Janet's Horses. Text and illustrations by Kady MacDonald Denton. Janet's Ponies. Text and illustrations by Kady MacDonald Denton. Jenny and Bob. Text by David Wynn Millward; illustrations by Kady MacDonald Denton. The Kingfisher Children's Bible: Stories from the Old and New Testaments. Told by Ann Pilling; illustrations by Kady MacDonald Denton. Let's Go Shopping, Ned. Text by Pam Zinnemann-Hope; illustrations by Kady MacDonald Denton. Let's Play Ball, Ned. Text by Pam Zinnemann-Hope; illustrations by Kady MacDonald Denton. Le Lièvre dans la lune et autres mythes et légendes du monde. Text by Ann Pilling; illustrations by Kady MacDonald Denton; translation by Marie-Thérèse Weal and Jean-Claude Lullien. The Life of Jesus: Bible Stories, Poems and Prayers. Text by Ann Pilling; illustrations by Kady MacDonald Denton. Noah's Ark: Bible Stories, Poems and Prayers. Text by Anne Pilling; illustrations by Kady MacDonald Denton. The Picnic. Text and illustrations by Kady MacDonald Denton. The Picnic. Text and illustrations by Kady MacDonald Denton. Le Pique-nique. Text and illustrations by Kady MacDonald Denton.
Tournai, Belgium: Casterman, 1988. Realms of Gold: Myths & Legends from around the World. Text by Ann Pilling; illustrations by Kady MacDonald Denton. Le Rêve de Dorothée. Text and illustrations by Kady MacDonald Denton; translation by Claude Lager. The Story of Little Quack. Text by Betty Gibson; illustrations by Kady MacDonald Denton. Til All the Stars Have Fallen: A Collection of Poems for Children. Selected by David Booth; illustrations by Kady MacDonald Denton. Til All the Stars Have Fallen: Canadian Poems for Children. Selected by David Booth; illustrations by Kady MacDonald Denton. Time for Bed, Ned. Text by Pam Zinnemann-Hope; illustrations by Kady MacDonald Denton. Toes Are to Tickle. Text by Shen Roddie; illustrations by Kady MacDonald Denton. The Travelling Musicians. Retold by P.K. Page; illustrations by Kady MacDonald Denton. The Travelling Musicians. Retold by P.K. Page; illustrations by Kady MacDonald Denton. Two Homes. Text by Claire Masurel; illustrations by Kady MacDonald Denton. The Umbrella Party. Text by Janet Lunn; illustrations by Kady MacDonald Denton. Watch Out William. Text and illustrations by Kady MacDonald Denton. Would They Love a Lion? Text and illustrations by Kady MacDonald Denton.
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