Podcasts for Writers: Let's Get Busy Learning About Picture Books

I know I recently featured the Let's Get Busy podcast, but now that I've found it, this podcast is quickly becoming my new favourite. As my passion for picture books continues to grow, I am fascinated by the discussions that the host, teacher-librarian Matthew Winner, has with illustrators and picture book authors.

Let's Get Busy Podcast (#81) - Mac Barnett

This was a valuable interview for picture book writers, especially if you are a writer trying to understand how to leave space and collaborate with an (as yet to be determined) illustrator. 

Mac Barnett: "The work that the illustrator does is story work, it's real story telling."

One of the discussion points that I'd never thought about before was Mac Barnett's take on the "three levels of interaction" a book can work on:  a kid alone reading, a parent reading to a child, and a one-to-many situation where a teacher or librarian can read a book to a group. It was interesting to think about how not all picture books work on all three levels.

They also discussed the experience of reading aloud a book and how it is like a performance.

Let's Get Busy Podcast (#79)  Kelly Light

Kelly Light was delightful to listen to, because of her passion and enthusiasm for illustrating. She talked about creating her recently released picture book debut Louise Loves Art. It was so interesting to hear about some of the artistic choices she made while creating the illustrations.