Sergio Ruzzier's Blog, page 4
March 22, 2016
Two Stars So Far
Reviews for are starting to appear. As usual, Publishers Weekly and Kirkus are the first ones, and they both gave my new book (my first with Chronicle) wonderful, starred reviews.
This isn’t a book about books; it’s a book about learning to read. A duckling with a pink beak picks up a fat volume and discovers, in the irritated comment of the title, that it has no pictures. “Can you read it?� asks his sidekick, a bug. “I’m not sure,� says the duckling. “Words are so difficult.� In luminous watercolors, Ruzzier (Two Mice) shows the duckling and bug crossing into a strange, many-colored world, where unfamiliar words are represented as odd machines, blobby shapes, and bizarre creatures. When the duckling stumbles on a word he knows (“bee,� “flower�), its recognizable image pops up among the mysterious ones. Duckling and bug wander through the ever-changing landscape of reading—“There are wild words� and peaceful words”—before landing cozily in bed. Ruzzier’s story offers gentle empathy for kids tackling this intimidating task. Observant readers will note that the endpapers represent learning to read, too; the initial pair retells the story as a beginner might see it, with most of the words scrambled, while the words of the final endpapers read clearly—and no pictures there, either.
A metafictive delight of a picture book.
Alice would be pleased: despite Ruzzier’s title, there are plenty of pictures and ample conversation in this picture book. The titular book within the book, however,isillustration-free. This initially causes distress for the duckling protagonist (who oddly has a bellybutton, but that’s beside the point) who finds the book in the spreads before the title page. When a bug appears and asks, “Can you read it?� the duckling gives it a try. In a brilliant feat of page layout, the recto depicts a green landscape encroaching on the verso, with a log laid across a chasm as a bridge to the white space on which the duckling and bug stand. Their walk across the log is a visual metaphor for the duckling’s successful decoding of the text in its pictureless book. Whole worlds open up to them as the duckling reads aloud. Illustrations depict these worlds evoked by “wild words� / and peaceful words,� and the duckling ultimately declares that “All these words carry you away.� The satisfying conclusion is an affirmation of the transformative power of reading. In one outstanding design touch, the front endpapers tell the not-a-picture-book text in garbled type with transposed letters that one must strain to decode, while the text is clear in its entirety on the back ones.
I can’t wait to know what the others think!
December 1, 2015
Two Mice
Two Mice
Since it came out last September,has received a lot of attention, including the inclusion in three prestigious best-books-of-the-year lists:
And here’s what people think of the book (click on the links for the full reviews):
“There’s a lot of drama for a book about counting, but that’s not the only stunner.The world Ruzzier creates with his illustrations is so singular, so extraterrestrial that the pictures give the story a sci-fi vibe.”�
“What a cute, clever way into number sense.� �
“Expressive, mildly mischievous pen-and-ink illustrations in soft colors develop details and drama that the words leave out. (�) The book’s creative focus on pattern in plot leaves plenty of room for readers� imaginations to play a strong role.� �(Starred review.)
“The simplicity of the text means that the earliest readers will soon be able to pick it up and will return to it over and over.One story. Two mice. Three cheers. Lots to love.� � (Starred review.)
“Ascintillating combination of danger and comfort.� �
“Sweetly satisfying.”�
“Two Miceis a brief master class in the picture book form.� �
“The inventively undulating narrative structure, the sherbet-like color palette, fantastic tile floors, countless tiny visual surprises–and last but not least, the comfortingly resilient mouse friendship–makeTwo Micea standout.� �
“A simple and simply lovely book. A sort-o- counting (well, one to three and back again) book and a tiny adventure story too. Absolutely charming.� �
“Ruzzier’s counting book is a gem.� �
“Using pen and ink and watercolors, Sergio Ruzzier assures a place on the Caldecott list this year (well, I think that should happen).� �
�Two Mice is a tiny treasure waiting to be found over and over by readers.� �
Read my interview with Julie Danielson at
Read my guest post on the making of the book on .
September 25, 2015
Second Star for Two Mice! (One each.)
Julie Roach writes on the :
Using only two-word phrases (“One house / Two mice / Three cookies�) and a simple repeating number pattern (one, two, three; three, two, one; one, two, three), this clever book (with an extra-small, preschooler-perfect trim size) creates a fast-paced adventure for listeners and new readers alike. Expressive, mildly mischievous pen-and-ink illustrations in soft colors develop details and drama that the words leave out. For instance, in the pictures, when the two mice “share� three cookies, the spotted mouse gets two cookies, while the plain mouse, miffed, gets only one. Before long, the mice venture out to sea (“Three boats / Two oars / One rower�), and this time it’s spotted mouse who does all the work, while plain mouse takes it easy in the boat’s stern. Soon the situation grows dire � “Three rocks/ Two holes / One shipwreck.� They nearly become a raptor’s dinner before managing “One escape.� The two work together as a team after this near- disaster, and “Three carrots / Two onions� lead to a final nourishing “One soup� that both mice are happy to share � equally. Sometimes the pattern leaves the reader with practical questions: how did “One nest / Two eggs� hatch into “Three ducklings,� for instance? But trying to fit together all the pieces is part of the fun, and the book’s creative focus on pattern in plot leaves plenty of room for readers� imaginations to play a strong role.
July 10, 2015
Quotes on Two Mice
My new picture book . It is already making quite an impression among the international intelligentsia.
Here are some early comments, and I’ll keep updating as more will come by:
�TWO MICE are better than one.“—Walter E. Disney
�Sergio Ruzzier’s TWO MICE is mousetastic.� —Beatrix Potter
�I just �how in TWO MICE Mr. Ruzzier lets the pictures tell the story.� —Randolph Caldecott
�TWO MICE is, like, wow. Just� wow.� —J.M. Barrie
�No man remains quite what he was when he reads TWO MICE.“—Thomas Mann
�Within the covers of TWO MICE are the answers for all the problems men face.�―Ronald Reagan
�1, 2, 3, 3, 2, 1� That’s insane! TWO MICE is blowing my mind!“��Leonardo Fibonacci
“There was a good book called Two Mice,
That offered this piece of advice:
When leaping o’er cracks
You should never be lax—�
Lest you wind up with less than two mice.��Edward Lear
June 8, 2015
One Star for Two Mice!
says:
The deceptively simple counting story of two mice, their adventure, and friendship. One morning in Ruzzier’s imaginative and colorful world, two mice wake to explore. The tiny window above the bed beckons: water, mountains, and sky are waiting for these two. Starting before the title and ending on the copyright page, minimal text says all that is needed: “One house / Two mice / Three cookies. / Three boats / Two oars / One rower. / One nest / Two eggs / Three ducklings.� New readers will soon notice the number pattern and slow down to see how the droll illustrations extend the story. For instance, the mouse with one cookie has an angry expression and a rather tightly curled tail, while the loose-tailed mouse looks gleeful as it chows down on two cookies. The sunny rowboat scene is not so sunny for the mouse who has to manage the two oars. By the time the two buddies return to their home, all is forgiven when the delicious soup is served. (And, in a visual nod to Sendak, it is clearly “still hot.�) The small trim size and careful attention to details give this book enormous appeal; the decorative floor tiles, ornamental feet on the kitchen table, and mismatched stools fit right in with the red hills and ever changing sky. The simplicity of the text means that the earliest readers will soon be able to pick it up and will return to it over and over. One story. Two mice. Three cheers. Lots to love.
January 5, 2015
“A Letter for Leo� in Japanese!
Here’s the jacket of the forthcoming Japanese edition of A Letter for Leo, published by Mitsumura (which already published my Amandina a few years ago). The blue band is the obi, the traditional paper strip that wraps the book jacket. Yumiko Fukumoto translated the text, as she did for Amandina and The Room of Wonders. (Click on the image to enlarge it.)
December 9, 2014
For the Fear of Failing
I wrote this piece for this year’s illustration issue of . They graciously let me post it here as well.
I don’t like to experiment.
I know it sounds pusillanimous, but I’m just being honest: I don’t like to experiment because I am afraid of failure.
But at least two times in my life � at the very beginning of my artistic life � I found enough courage and determination to take risks. I was a fearless teenager then.
Being already passionate about picture books and comic strips � in particular those of Maurice Sendak, George Herriman, Elzie C. Segar, and Charles Schulz � it was clear to me how important would be to master pen and ink, if I wanted to be in that business.
Maurice Sendak
George Herriman
Elzie C. Segar
Charles Schulz
Each of those artists had a very sophisticated and personal way of using the pen, and I wanted to find my own.
I remember going to the stationary store to buy my first two nibs, one very flexible and the other stiffer; then returning home and try them on the paper, keeping my hand from trembling; realizing I had to go from upper left to lower right to avoid; understanding how different pressures produce different lines; learning what kind of paper had the best surface for the kind of line I wanted to make.
In time, I did find my own way with pen and ink, which became my favorite and, for a few years, my only way of drawing. Most comic strips, at least the dailies, were in black and white, and I knew that even Sendak’s illustrations for Little Bear � a crucial source of inspiration for me � were colored mechanically. Because of all this, I didn’t think the lack of color in my drawings would be an obstacle in my future career as an illustrator.
Of course there was a hidden reason why I didn’t use color: the fear of failure. I had a fascination for Hieronymus Bosch, medieval frescoes and illuminations, so how could I not realize how important color can be for an artist? In fact, I had timidly attempted one or two small acrylic and a few oil pastel paintings, with very disappointing results, at least according to my overpowering superego. Those painful experiences kept me from seriously trying for years.
Once I became more conscious of the necessities of a professional illustrator, I couldn’t hide anymore, and had to face the challenging task of finding myself a method to add color to my pen drawings.
The most natural way to do that is watercolor, and so one day I went to an art store, bought a few half-pans of Schmincke watercolors, a brush or two, some Arches paper, and began testing the technique and my own resilience. For what concerned the techniques, I was set.
Maybe one day I will venture into buying a new kind of nib, or a new brand of watercolors, or even be audacious enough to try a paper with a slightly smoother surface. Who knows. For now, more than twenty-five years later, I’m still recovering from that initial double stress.
