I seem to be on a lucky streak – I’ve won quite a few books in internet giveaways recently. But my best win so far has been the most recent one – a book illustrated by Tim Warnes, one of my favourite picture book writer/illustrators. It’s called Weasel is Worried, but also goes by the name A Little Bit Worried. I follow Tim’s blog, and you can read all about this book here on his latest blog post. It was published at a timely moment, when we were all deeply worried about the Covid pandemic. But it’s still highly relevant, when so many of us get hyper anxious about events, and children need reassurance more than ever from their caregivers.
I’ve always used writing, drawing and painting (and printmaking) as a way to release tension, so it’s a big bonus when I can enjoy using those skills to communicate with others – and sometimes get paid for it. I gather that Tim also uses his creative skills to calm his own mind, and his illustrations are certainly a very soothing complement to the text of this book, written by Ciara Gavin. I love the traditional watercolour technique, which Tim excels at. I haven’t received the book yet, but I can tell from Tim’s blog post that I’m going to enjoy reading it. I have earmarked it for two grandchildren, but I know I’ll have to order another copy to send to the three grandchildren who live in Canada – and then I’ll probably want to keep the original copy for myself, so I might have to order a third copy!
I love Tim’s blog because the books he features always appeal to me. Some of them he writes and/or illustrates himself, while others are books that he admires because they embody the sorts of messages that he tries to communicate in his own work. I’ve learnt a lot from Tim about the most effective approaches to writing and illustrating for children.
And I’ve also discovered recently that there are a lot of people out there who want to write, draw and create collages in the form of handmade books, as a way of coping mentally in this increasingly digital world. The more we communicate via screens and keyboards, the more we yearn to get our hands dirty and put our thoughts down on paper with pens and pencils. So I feel even more justified and fulfilled, when I turn away from my computer and play with pens, paint and paper, especially when I can share my enjoyment with others. There are a lot of us out there!
Here is Tim’s drawing of the delightful Mole, who is far less bothered by the storm than his friend the Weasel. He enjoys the simple material pleasures in life – which include building a snowman.
Tim is giving a book away every month for the next ten months, to celebrate his 30 year career in picture books. Check out his blog posts here!
In my next post I’ll be talking about the workshops I’m giving to help people satisfy their craving for hands-on relief from the digital world.
Julia Wakefield 