Community TheReview Wednesday, August 28,1991 — A14

Children’s book spurs backyard treasure hunis

by Valorie Lennox
The Review

She has done commission and
. freelance art for years and now
hopes to develop a career as an
illustrator.

“People who buy picture books
are drawn by the illustrations. It’s
“crucial the illustrations say enough
to draw the person in to the text,”
Rackham said.

Neudecker was so impressed by
Rackham’s work, she rewrote
some of the text to highlight some
of the details in Rackham’s draw-
ings.

Max and Katy is Neudecker’s
second book. Her first book,
Adrift, was co-authored with Col-
leen Politano and illustrated by
hris Buffett.

That children’s boating adven-
ture attempts to teach children

“One early summer morning
when the drew still beaded the ,
Spider's web and sat in juicy
droplets on the blackberries, Max*
and Katy decided to go on a
treasure hunt.”

So author Joan Neudecker starts
the story of Max and Katy,
describing a hunt among the trea
sures of the west coast: fuschias, ©
salmon berries, seashells, starfish,
wild roses and daisies, all charm-
ingly illustrated by Judith Rack-
ham.

Both author and illustrator are _
familiar with the area. North Saa *-
nich resident Neudecker has livecg:
in the area since 1967 and Rack- ..
ham has lived on the island since’
1970 and in Saanichton for the

in & : : basic boating and survival skills. It
ee use ae : ay cok a Fey 7/4 was published in 1986.
_ The picture book, recently pub- #73 ¢ : oe, thE ai Neudecker plans to continue
lished by Victoria-based Beach _. ys Cee oe eae writing and has several children’s
a

. . 5 . S = + oe, Z Fe 4
Le ke ae = : a8 . * books — including one written for

make their own discoveries. _ fer son 1) yeas ago — wialen she

Ul needs to edit and submit to pub-

Neudecker hopes the descrip-~

tion of the West Coast treasure
hunt undertaken by Katy, accom-
panied by her kitten, Max, will
lead other children to explore
their surroundings.

IlJustrator Rackham spent 50 to
60 hours on each detailed draw-
ing. Listed with each illustration
are the flowers and creatures
shown on the page.

“Red Admiral butterfly, black-
berries, foxgloves, ivy, canterberry
bells, sword fern.”

“T wanted to include lots of
detail so children could look at the
illustrations and discover things,”
Rackham explained.

The combined story and illustra-
tions make the book more than a

‘l try not to write down
to children any more
than I ever taught
down to children’

charming story: it could easily
inspire children to search their
own backyards or local beaches
and help them identify their finds.

“The story is just the start,”
Neudecker said.

Neudecker deliberately chose
not to simplify her writing for
children. The text includes such
words as iridescent, overhanging
and kelp.

“J try not to write down to
children any more than I ever
taught down to children,’ Neudec-

ker explained.

A teacher for 25 years, she feels
children’s books have improved in
the past decade. The trend is to
more sophisticated writing and
illustrations, which both entertain
and educate children.

Better writing takes more effort,
she notes. The text of Max and
Katy is so rhythmic as to be almost
poetic, clearly intended to be read
aloud.

“When you're writing a book
you read it over and over to get the
right words for the nght rhythm,”
Neudecker said.

Rackham discovered producing
the high quality of art she thought
should be in the book meant
working on the book for five to six
hours daily.

“Tt was very demanding work.”

Rackham started work on the
book two years ago. She and
Neudecker met after Neudecker
bought one of Rackham’s paint-
ings.

Rackham then read the text of
Max and Katy and drafted the first
detailed illustrations. To draw
Katy, she used her seven-year-old

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daughter and eight-year-old niece
as models.

Rackham children have served
as models for children’s book
illustrations in the past. British
illustrator Arthur Rackham’s
‘Alice’ for Lewis Carroll’s Alice
in Wonderland bears a striking
resemblance to children in the
family, Judith Rackham said.

Arthur Rackham, a cousin of
Judith Rackham’s grandfather,
became a well-known illustrator
through his drawings for Alice’s
Adventures in Wonderland, Wind
in the Willows and other classic
children’s books.

“Tm the next person in the
family to pick it up and carry it
on,’ Rackham explained. She
received a diploma in fine arts and
worked doing china pattern design
for Wedgewood in England before
coming to Canada.

lishers.

She is also completing a history

"of Sidney for Porthole Publishing.

For Neudecker, the best mark of

‘the picture book’s success would

be acceptance by a reader.

“I’m waiting to hear from a
child who comes up to me and
says, I like that book.”

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