Discovering The Hidden Gems | Jon Klassen on Publishing Picture Books for Kids

We all have them: Those kids’ books we were gifted or we picked up on a whim because the title was intriguing or the characters were familiar. But then we crack them open, and BAM— total schlock. With the sheer amount of content for children out there, it's increasingly difficult to find the good stuff; the content that inspires wonder. The types of shows, movies, and books we remember loving as kids. Jon Klassen, father of two and celebrated author and illustrator of I Want My Hat Back, joins us to talk about his thoughts on creating books that kids and parents love. Stick around for the end, where Marc, Adam, and their kids fire off some personal book endorsements and condemnations.

The guys open the episode with a conversation about television shows and movies that are made for kids. In an age where the amount of content seems to grow exponentially, it becomes equally difficult to parse through it all to find the really good stuff. The hidden gems seem to be few and far between. Sometimes it’s the tried and true movies or books that stand the test of time and still fill our kids with excitement and wonder, but frequently the best recommendations come to us through people we trust. The guys philosophize a bit as they discuss a couple of their kids’ current favorites, before they introduce Jon Klassen into the conversation. Jon is a father of two sons, and an artist and author who gained worldwide notoriety in 2011 with his picture book “I Want My Hat Back,” the success of which spawned two more books in what would become the “Hat Trilogy.” Jon continues to write and illustrate children’s books in addition to frequent collaborations with authors such as Mac Barnett, Sara Pennypacker, and Lemony Snicket. The guys discuss Jon’s inspirations, his thought process and artistic process for creating books that can be enjoyed by kids of any age, and how his approach to his work has changed since he became a father. Other conversation topics include:


•  Creating work that sticks out in the age of self-publishing
•  How his work in animation influences his art
•  Finding your inner third-grader
•   The value of simplicity and minimalism
•   Reading alone vs. being read to
•   “Quintessential” children’s books
•   The importance of independent bookstores


Before closing out the episode, Adam and Marc take turns swapping some rapid-fire book recommendations and… unrecommendations?

[Episode Transcript]
 

LINKS
Jon Klassen Twitter
Jon Klassen Instagram
Mac Barnett
Go! Go! Cory Carson
Bluey
Chrri & Chirra
Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by William Steig
Frog and Toad
Here We Are: Notes for Living on Planet Earth, by Oliver Jeffers
One Morning in Maine by Robert McCloskey
Toot by Leslie Patricelli
A Sick Day for Amos McGee by Philip and Erin Stead
Bob the Artist by Marion Deuchars
Katy Hudson, Too Many Carrots
Powell's Books, Portland, OR
RiverRun Books, Portsmouth, NH
Water Street Books, Exeter, NH
Longfellow Books, Portland, ME
26 Independent Bookstores
Red Vault Audio
Spencer Albee
Caspar Babypants

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