Today I'm celebrating a fabulous new picture book by Constance Lombardo: EVERYBODY SAYS MEOW, hitting bookstore shelves on November 5!
And what a treat that Constance stopped by to answer some questions!
How does it feel to have your debut
picture book coming out soon?
It feels as wonderful as being in a room full of
puppies! And kittens, of course. And they’re not even fighting, it’s just one
big love-fest.
Describe the story of Everybody Says Meow in ten words or
less.
A kitten learns that
everybody really does say ‘Meow’ – not!
Another book about cats,
huh? Tell me about some of the cats in your life, past and present.
1.
Childhood cat: a tuxedo named Max,
who once bit my mother’s toe because she wasn’t feeding him fast enough.
2.
A kitten found in a garden who was so
small we had to feed him milk with a Q-tip. We named him Phantom.
3.
A roommate’s gorgeous long-haired
barley-colored cat named… Barley. Would sit on the kitchen counter
surveying his domain.
4.
A yoga studio cat named Peanut who would
meow along with our Ohm.
5.
Myrtle,
the sweetest cat ever. Very vocal, especially when I was about to feed her.
6.
Gandalf the Grey, aka, G. G., the
mischievous grey tabby. As a kitten, he never said a peep. When I fed them, and
Myrtle would MEOW like crazy, I’d say, “See, G.G., everybody says meow!” That
was the seed of this book.
 |
| Myrtle |
 |
| Gandolf the Grey, aka G.G. |
The illustrations for Everybody Says Meow were called “…simple but zestily cartoonish…”
by The Bulletin for the Center for Children’s Books. Did you use traditional media or digital?
First of all…yay!! I wanted the art to be playful,
above all. I used a technical pen and watercolor washes – totally traditional
media. But I’ve recently been learning Procreate, a digital art-making app. I
love working in watercolor, pens, colored pencils, and markers. But I must
admit that Procreate is super fun!
What are some of your favorite picture
books?
Classic favorites include The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf with amazing black & white
art by Robert Lawson, Shrek by
William Steig, and A Fierce Bad Rabbit
by Beatrix Potter. Some contemporary books I adore are Interrupting Chicken and the Elephant of Surprise by David Ezra
Stein, I am a Cat by Galia
Bernstein, and Fox and Chick by
Sergio Ruzzier.
There
are some non-felines in Everybody Says Meow. Which animal was the most challenging
to draw?
I found it surprisingly difficult to draw the duck.
But once I put him in a purple top hat, it all made sense.
What about dogs? Do you even like dogs?
I LOVE dogs!!! My big news is I adopted a dog last
year. He’s a 10 year old beagle named Louie. We love roaming around the
neighborhood, while Louie smells all the things, and eats whatever he finds,
even if it’s not exactly edible. I even did a cartoon about it using Procreate!
Thanks for stopping by, Constance!
Thanks for hosting me on your blog, Barbara O’Connor!
Constance Lombardo is the author/illustrator of the middle
grade Mr. Puffball series
(HarperCollins.) Her first picture book, Everybody Says Meow,
publishes on November 5. She loves visiting classrooms and talking to
kids about writing and drawing.
