Jill Lewis
About Author
Jill Lewis is actually two people! Jill Walkinton and Alison Lewis met whilst training to be nurses in the early 1990s. They both realised nursing wasn't for them and retrained as teachers. After losing touch for a few years, they met each other again and started writing together. Jill and Alison combine their talents (education and theatre production) to bring a fresh, inventive voice to the world of picture books
Interview
SOMETHING DIFFERENT
EGMONT
FEBRUARY 2014
The gorgeous 'Little Somethings' live in a cave, not far away, and each has something different and very special about them. One star-gazing night, they discover a new Little Something, an alien, who seems to be very different indeed - until they take a closer look and realise that they are all a little bit different - and a little bit special!
Author Jill Lewis is actually two people, Jill Walkinton and Alison Lewis, who trained as teachers and now combine their talents in education and theatre production. They answered some questions for ReadingZone about their new book, Something Different, which has just been published by Egmont.
Q: How and when did you start working together?
A: It must have been in the early 1990s. We'd first met some time before that, but lost touch. When correspondence was rekindled, we realised that our lives had taken similar paths and that we were both teaching reluctant readers for whom we were also writing material... so we decided to join forces.
Q: How has your teaching backgrounds influenced how you write stories for children?
A: We are always aware of the importance of a love of reading so the appeal and the early 'hook' in a story are both crucial. Also, for picture books the tone and complexity of the word choices have to be considered. More than our teaching backgrounds, it's probably our memories of our own childhood reading habits that have guided the writing.
Q: Do you have a favourite book to date that you have created together?
A: (Lewis)I love each new one better than the last but Ali's illustrations in Something Different are especially gorgeous.
Jill) I think we will always be grateful for Don't Read This Book as it was such a challenge for the illustrator and designer to realize such a surreal idea so I'm not saying it's my favourite more that it was an important book for us because I love them all.
Q: What sparked the idea of the 'Little Somethings'?
A: (Lewis) We were in a caf in Carnaby Street. All it took was the comment, 'I could just do with a little something...' and we were off!
(Jill) Ha Ha! I thought it was a caf in Covent Garden but that says it all we've been together in a lot of cafs over the years!
Q: How much did you develop the Little Somethings' world before you started writing about it?
A: Honestly... it's sort of evolved with Ali's input. The order of the writing went as follows: title first, characters second, their world last of all. We knew it had to be fantastical because of the characters' names so we then had fun imagining caves, star gazing stones and so on. Ali took up the baton and ran with it brilliantly.
Q: For Something Different, did you decide you wanted an alien / stargazing and then worked on the story? Or was the starting point 'differences'?
A: The starting point was the title which led immediately to the alien. The invitation he offers to celebrate difference was irresistible.
Q: As teachers, is the issue of 'difference' something you approach regularly in class? How would you like teachers to use Something Different with their classes?
A: The story is a gentle backup of the marvellous work school teachers already do in this area. Hopefully it will help discussion but even if the young reader just thinks about it a bit, that's great too.
Q: How do you approach each picture book text and how does it work in terms of writing jointly? What are the mechanics of the process for you? Do you argue much?
A: Haha! We truly don't argue at all; we want the same things for the stories and we really like each other. Because we both have other jobs and families, we don't have time to be stubborn about our ideas and we work in short bursts. One of us might call the other with an idea and if it doesn't get the thumbs up, we drop it because time is precious.
Once a story is underway, most Fridays are spent together reworking it until we're happy. We Skype, we phone or we drive to each other's homes... Remember that we've known one another a long time so there's a shorthand between us too and we read the same type of things as children so our tastes are similar. Right from the beginning we've been clear that our friendship comes first and everything else second.
Q: How short do picture book texts need to be and how hard is it to keep them that way?
A: A Maximum of 600 words across 24 or 28 pages. It gets easier but our main problem is that we love detail and we have to be selective about what we keep.
Q: What do you think of Ali Pye's illustrations? Do you have a favourite Little Something?
A: We both think they are marvellous. (You should see the roughs for the next story too - there are lovely funny bits in the pictures.)
(Lewis) I have a soft spot for Twig Little. He's a cool dude and the fact that he never takes his sunglasses off shows he's his own Something.
(Jill) I love the original Little Something Miniwiggler - but if I'm allowed to like a Big Something too - I also LOVE the Greedy Guzzler Ali's illustration has been brought to life via Lewis' amazing three foot tall papiermache model.
Q: Any top tips for children in creating their own Little Something?
A: When we visit schools and libraries we talk to the children about different animals and how each Little Something is made up of bits from different creatures.
Bob's body is a bit like a guinea pig's, but he has spines like a dinosaur and black ears like a rabbit's or a cat's. Snaggles is red like a parrot but has the body of a worm and so on.
They all have different personalities: for example Miniwiggler is brave, Skidaddler is loyal, Little Hogwash is intrepid and Bob is sensible.
Image (left to right): Ali Pye, Alison Lewis and Jill Walkinton
