The Odd Couple: An Interview with Author-Illustrator Jerry Pinkney

You’ve won five Caldecott Honors and five Coretta Scott King Awards. But a lot of folks are saying this is your best book yet.

You often hear authors and artists say, “I respond to and I’m inspired by the child within me.” And a lot of my career was about that. I was reaching down to find that part of me that spoke not only about my childhood but what I thought about childhood. It’s different now. I am really pointing my new work toward children. It’s less about me, more about children, and more about bookmaking. And I thought I was always there.

Other than a few words that represent animal sounds, The Lion & the Mouse is wordless. Was that your original plan?

When I first started, it was not going to be wordless or somewhat wordless. But once I got to a certain point, I didn’t feel text was necessary. We have a great granddaughter—she’s two. And one of the things that we do in terms of animals is sounds. I mean, all parents and grandparents do that. Sounds are very important to young children. They love them. So I introduced sounds into the text. I was also going to introduce action words, but we decided not to do that.

Photograph by Gabe Palacio/Getty Images for SLJ.

I did. Sometimes I’ll stand in front of a mirror and go through a series of expressions or body movements. Then I’ll take that back to the drawing table and try to incorporate that mood or feeling. Oftentimes, I’m asked about what makes my personification of animals different from other artists’. I’ve tried to make sure the anatomy is close to what a lion or a mouse looks like, but I want their expressions and sometimes their posture to almost mimic human posture.

Last year, you moved your studio. Now it’s above a neighbor’s garage. Has your artwork changed?

Yes. It’s interesting because I did three projects in the new studio: The Lion & the Mouse, a project for the National Park Service on the African Burial Ground in Manhattan, and a fall book, Sweethearts of Rhythm. All of the projects show… I’m trying to think of the word. Are they more pointed? More focused? There’s a little bit more risk taking.

What’s special about the new space?

There’s no phone. No computer. No television. There is music. It’s on the second level, and I look out and just see trees. I have a clock, but I have to hunt for it. So there are periods now where my concern is solely on picture making. It’s uninterrupted, and I think there is something to that. Now, creative energy is interesting, because you never know exactly where it’s coming from. Did I need this change?

The space is wonderful. It’s 900 square feet. I probably had 300 square feet in my old home studio. I also had these huge worktables built. So for the first time, I can lay out almost an entire book and view it that way. I’ve never been able to do that before. The time over there has been a more joyful experience.

Career-wise, what’s given you the most satisfaction?

The fact that I can get up in the morning and have the same level of excitement and discovery and possibility is perhaps the most rewarding thing for me. I end my presentations to elementary school kids by asking, “Do you think I’m just as excited today as I was, say, 45 years ago?” And, of course, there’s a resounding “Yes!” And it’s really true. And there’s also the same nervous energy.

What’s that about?

Well, it’s about, whether, in fact, did I commit a little over my head this time? [He laughs.] And the thing is, you kind of don’t want that to go away.