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When asked, "What do you do for a living?," young adult mystery writer M. F. Shura delighted in saying, "I kill people." My
answer to the same question has none of her delicious shock value, but I love the reactions I get when I tell people I'm a children's book illustrator. "Oh, I've always wanted to illustrate a children's book!" "How did you get so lucky?" And my favorite, "It must be wonderful to make a living doing what you love to do." Yes, it is wonderful.
There is one question I'm never able to answer. "Of all the books you've illustrated, which one is your favorite?" Each book is special
in its own way. Cat Count was the first book I wrote and illustrated. I still remember the thrill of holding that little square book in my hands for the first time, reading my name on the jacket, turning the crisp pages, and listening to the creak of the tight binding with each turn. A few books down the road, Furlie Cat was an affirmation that yes, I am a children's book illustrator. Promises was special because as the illustrator, I was cross cast. I usually illustrate humorous or light-hearted stories. This story was about a little girl trying to cope with her mother's serious illness. The editor felt the subject needed a tender, but light, touch. There are the books that I write as well as illustrate which are inspired by my husband, Ted, and my travels all over the world. It would be impossible to choose one among them.
Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type may have the most interesting history. Several years ago I received a call from an editor at Cobble Hill Books. She said, "Have I got the perfect story for you! It's about cows that type." After reading it I could hardly stop laughing long enough to accept the assignment. Cows! I love cows! I love animals, period. But cows that type were really intriguing. Pictures were already forming in my mind.
I had just finished the illustrations and delivered them when I learned that the publisher had dropped Cobble Hill Books as an imprint.
My cows were returned to me. I was heart-broken, but I felt sorrier for Doreen Cronin, the author. This was her first book. I was afraid our orphan would remain homeless but my agent, Dilys Evans, said,
"Never." The books soon found a home with Simon & Schuster. Several editors later, given the changing tides in publishing, and with a boost from Daniel Pinkwater, who read the story on NPR (with a
special mention of my illustrations), Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type was launched.
By this time I had met Doreen and heard how her story came about. Her father had just died and Doreen was having a hard time accepting
it. She cried all the time and was unable to sleep. One night she got out of bed, went to her desk, began writing, and Click, Clack, Moo flowed effortlessly onto the paper. Doreen believes it was a gift from her father. He was a New York City policeman, an Irishman with a great sense of humor. I'm Irish, and I told Doreen I think her father spoke to me, too, because when I sat down to do the illustrations, they flowed effortlessly onto the paper.
The book is doing well. Comments to me range from, "You book is mooovelous," to "Your book is really making hay." I always answer, "Yes,
the book's got legs." At the Newbery/Caldecott Awards dinner, Doreen shared with me two more amazing coincidents connected with our book. The publication date was also her father's birthday, and I
received the Caldecott Honor on Fathers' Day. I'm sure all of this would make Officer Cronin very happy.
It's unusual for the author and illustrator to meet and come to know one another. Most of the time I illustrate stories of authors who
remain only printed names on the covers of the books.
Doreen and I have just finished the sequel to Click, Clack, Moo. It was great fun to be able to work together from the start,
exchanging ideas and bouncing off each other's sense of humor. I can't wait to see Giggle, Giggle, Quack when it is released in Spring 2002.
There's always a period of depression for me when a book is finished and delivered. It's the "empty nest" syndrome. But there's always
the next story waiting on the drawing board and in a few days, the anticipation of making new pictures for a new book lures me back to my studio to embark on the next adventure. This time it's a tornado.
How will Aunt Minnie and her nine adopted nieces and nephews survive it? I'll be sketching the characters and locales on a brand new tracing pad with brand new Sharpie pens, then washing the drawings
with the grays, purples, and sulphur yellows of a tornado sky. In the meantime, Ted and I have just returned from the jungles of Peru and will soon be collaborating on a book about our adventures there.
Yes, it is wonderful being a children's book illustrator. •
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About the Author:
Betsy Lewin grew up in Clearfield, Pennsylvania, a small town nestled in the Allegheny Valley, and went on to
study illustration at Pratt Institute in New York. After graduating from Pratt with a Bachelor of Fine Arts, Betsy worked as an assistant art director at a greeting card company in New York,
which led to freelance work doing artwork for other greeting card companies. She then began writing and illustrating for children's magazines, and when asked to expand one of her
short stories into a children's books, Betsy jumped at the chance. Cat Count was published soon after, and Betsy has been illustrating children's books ever since.
Betsy has written and illustrated many books for children, including Araminta's Paintbox, Snake Alley Band, and
Click, Clack, Moo, for which she won a Caldecott Honor in 2001. She lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her husband, Ted, also a children's book illustrator, and their two cats.
Betsy Lewin has illustrated such books as:
Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type written by Doreen Cronin (Simon & Schuster, 2000)
Dumpy La Rue written by Elizabeth Winthrop (Henry Holt, 2001)
Gorilla Walk by Ted and Betsy Lewin (Lothrop, Lee & Shepard, 1999)
Snake Alley Band written by Elizabeth Nygaard (Doubleday, 1998)8
Bug Girl written by Carol Sonenklar (Henry Holt, 1998)
To contact this author or illustrator, please use the information for his or her publisher provided on our list of CBC member publishers.
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