I'm so thrilled to bring you this interview with brother-sister team Matthew Holm and Jennifer L. Holm, illustrator and author, respectively, of the Babymouse series of books, which I discovered earlier this year because of their latest book, Babymouse: Cupcake Tycoon. They were kind enough to answer my questions via e-mail and I recommend the Babymouse series to kids and adults alike. Cupcakes make frequent appearances!
Guess what else? You can click here for a Babymouse: Monster Mash Halloween e-card!
And you can catch them live next month:
November 20, 2010
Powell's Books at Cedar Hills Crossing
3415 SW Cedar Hills Blvd.
Beaverton, OR 97005
Matthew and Jennifer L. Holm
When and how did you start collaborating on Babymouse? How does the process work since you live in different cities?
Jenni came up with the idea in 2001 when we were both living in New York City, and Matt soon worked up some sketches for a pitch. We took that around to publishers for the next three years, with no success. (This was after Jenni had won a Newbery Honor, mind you, so even that doesn't always help you sell a new book.) Finally, in January 2004, Jenni made one last-ditch effort to pitch to publishers before she moved out of town, and the folks at Random House immediately got it and loved it. None of us had made a graphic novel for kids before, but we and our editors worked out the process we still use today, which involves several different stages: manuscript, thumbnail sketches, layouts, final sketches, and "inks" (which Matt draws using a computer, so they're not really ink at all). We've never lived in the same city while working on the books, so we've never really had a problem with that aspect. At every stage, we email and FedEx things back and forth to each other for feedback. Everything in the process is asynchronous, so even if we lived next door to each other, we wouldn't be staring over each other's shoulders telling the other one what to type or draw.
How has the series evolved since you started it?
We've tried to maintain a consistency of style throughout the series, but change is inevitable. Here are three things: First, we've fleshed out the background characters more. As each book goes by, we lock down the names, appearances, and personalities of more and more of the secondary characters (who wind up having supporting actor/actress roles in various books, rather than just being background detail in the hallways). Second, we've made the Narrator less of a traditional comic book narrator (where the text boxes just set scenes with text like "MEANWHILE, AT CITY HALL...") and more of a character unto himself. He not only talks back to Babymouse, but he also has his own quirks, he sings, and so on. And third, we've been able to work in colors besides just pink and black. Babymouse: Monster Mash (a Halloween book) is in orange and black, and next summer's Babymouse: Mad Scientist will have pink, black, and GREEN!
What age groups are the biggest Babymouse fans?
Babymouse's hard-core audience is first through fifth grade. But we see a surprising amount of crossover into younger groups (with precocious kindergarteners reading the books) and older groups (we get sporadic reports of college-age girls who still seem to identify with Babymouse's sassy attitude).
How much of yourselves, if anything, do you see in Babymouse (or other characters)?
Too much! Jenni pours a lot of our childhood traumas into the stories, and Babymouse shares a lot of character traits with her (the ability to completely tune out the world while reading, for example). Matt has some of the laid-back characteristics of Babymouse's friend Wilson, and the way Babymouse views her "annoying" little brother, Squeak, is no doubt based on Jenni's own childhood memories of certain younger brothers who will go unnamed.
Why does Babymouse like cupcakes so much? Does she have a favorite kind of cupcake?
Because they're awesome, duh! Babymouse likes cupcakes, and she likes things that are pink, so her favorite type of cupcake would be a pink one, regardless of its flavor. (Although pickle flavor might be out.)
Do you have a favorite Babymouse book?
Jenni's favorite: Babymouse: Cupcake Tycoon (because she used to work in advertising). Matt's favorite: Babymouse Burns Rubber (because there's a Star Wars fantasy at the end!).
I like that the narrator talks back to Babymouse and while the books are clearly aimed at kids, there’s some sly adult humor in there. Is that deliberate?
We grew up reading a lot of Bloom County and Calvin & Hobbes, and that sort of snarky humor just insinuated itself into our brains. Plus, it just seems to be the nature of comics that, though the artwork seems "childish," the text is often quite a few grade levels above what sorts of things the kids would be reading in a chapter book.
What’s next for Babymouse?
Well, Babymouse: Cupcake Tycoon just came out in September, but the next book, due out in May 2011, will be Babymouse: Mad Scientist! In classic comic-book crossover tradition, Mad Scientist will guest-star an amoeba named Squish, who is the lead character of our new graphic novel series, which launches at the same time! His first book is called Squish: Super Amoeba, and it's all decked out in a nice, slimy green that we think our boy readers will really dig.
And now for some personal questions…
How often do you eat cupcakes?
Is it wrong to say, "too often?" While any day that includes a cupcake is a good day (and in our line of work, people LOVE to give us cupcakes), we don't all have the metabolism of skinny little Babymouse.
What's the best thing about eating cupcakes?
Every time you eat a cupcake, you can't help but think back to your childhood, eating cupcakes at birthday parties and the like. It's a nice bit of built-in nostalgia.
What's your favorite type of cupcake?
Matt likes carrot-cake cupcakes with cream cheese frosting, while Jenni likes lemon with white frosting.
How do cupcakes compare/contrast to other baked goods for you?
The advantages of cupcakes include their wide variety and their small size (allowing you to sample a wide variety at one sitting!). The biggest disadvantage is their fragility during transport (it's easier to take a box of cookies to a party than it is to take a batch of frosted cupcakes…the cupcakes usually wind up all over the inside of the box).
Is there any innovation you'd like to see made to the cupcake that would improve it for you?
How about a single-cupcake batch? So you don't HAVE to bake enough to feed an army every time.
Do you bake your own cupcakes? Or (even better) have someone who bakes them for you?
We actually spent a good bit of our time this past summer creating our own cupcake recipes to help promote Babymouse: Cupcake Tycoon. We got to bake a lot of them, and make a lot of mistakes—some ghastly, some delicious.
What's your first cupcake-related memory?
That's tough to say. Cupcakes were just always sort of there, like our parents or the trees or the blue sky.
What's the most fun you've ever had with a cupcake?
Besides eating them? What more could you need? A cupcake fight might be fun, but would be a tragic waste of dessert.
Guess what else? You can click here for a Babymouse: Monster Mash Halloween e-card!
And you can catch them live next month:
November 20, 2010
Powell's Books at Cedar Hills Crossing
3415 SW Cedar Hills Blvd.
Beaverton, OR 97005
Matthew and Jennifer L. Holm
When and how did you start collaborating on Babymouse? How does the process work since you live in different cities?
Jenni came up with the idea in 2001 when we were both living in New York City, and Matt soon worked up some sketches for a pitch. We took that around to publishers for the next three years, with no success. (This was after Jenni had won a Newbery Honor, mind you, so even that doesn't always help you sell a new book.) Finally, in January 2004, Jenni made one last-ditch effort to pitch to publishers before she moved out of town, and the folks at Random House immediately got it and loved it. None of us had made a graphic novel for kids before, but we and our editors worked out the process we still use today, which involves several different stages: manuscript, thumbnail sketches, layouts, final sketches, and "inks" (which Matt draws using a computer, so they're not really ink at all). We've never lived in the same city while working on the books, so we've never really had a problem with that aspect. At every stage, we email and FedEx things back and forth to each other for feedback. Everything in the process is asynchronous, so even if we lived next door to each other, we wouldn't be staring over each other's shoulders telling the other one what to type or draw.
How has the series evolved since you started it?
We've tried to maintain a consistency of style throughout the series, but change is inevitable. Here are three things: First, we've fleshed out the background characters more. As each book goes by, we lock down the names, appearances, and personalities of more and more of the secondary characters (who wind up having supporting actor/actress roles in various books, rather than just being background detail in the hallways). Second, we've made the Narrator less of a traditional comic book narrator (where the text boxes just set scenes with text like "MEANWHILE, AT CITY HALL...") and more of a character unto himself. He not only talks back to Babymouse, but he also has his own quirks, he sings, and so on. And third, we've been able to work in colors besides just pink and black. Babymouse: Monster Mash (a Halloween book) is in orange and black, and next summer's Babymouse: Mad Scientist will have pink, black, and GREEN!
What age groups are the biggest Babymouse fans?
Babymouse's hard-core audience is first through fifth grade. But we see a surprising amount of crossover into younger groups (with precocious kindergarteners reading the books) and older groups (we get sporadic reports of college-age girls who still seem to identify with Babymouse's sassy attitude).
How much of yourselves, if anything, do you see in Babymouse (or other characters)?
Too much! Jenni pours a lot of our childhood traumas into the stories, and Babymouse shares a lot of character traits with her (the ability to completely tune out the world while reading, for example). Matt has some of the laid-back characteristics of Babymouse's friend Wilson, and the way Babymouse views her "annoying" little brother, Squeak, is no doubt based on Jenni's own childhood memories of certain younger brothers who will go unnamed.
Why does Babymouse like cupcakes so much? Does she have a favorite kind of cupcake?
Because they're awesome, duh! Babymouse likes cupcakes, and she likes things that are pink, so her favorite type of cupcake would be a pink one, regardless of its flavor. (Although pickle flavor might be out.)
Do you have a favorite Babymouse book?
Jenni's favorite: Babymouse: Cupcake Tycoon (because she used to work in advertising). Matt's favorite: Babymouse Burns Rubber (because there's a Star Wars fantasy at the end!).
I like that the narrator talks back to Babymouse and while the books are clearly aimed at kids, there’s some sly adult humor in there. Is that deliberate?
We grew up reading a lot of Bloom County and Calvin & Hobbes, and that sort of snarky humor just insinuated itself into our brains. Plus, it just seems to be the nature of comics that, though the artwork seems "childish," the text is often quite a few grade levels above what sorts of things the kids would be reading in a chapter book.
What’s next for Babymouse?
Well, Babymouse: Cupcake Tycoon just came out in September, but the next book, due out in May 2011, will be Babymouse: Mad Scientist! In classic comic-book crossover tradition, Mad Scientist will guest-star an amoeba named Squish, who is the lead character of our new graphic novel series, which launches at the same time! His first book is called Squish: Super Amoeba, and it's all decked out in a nice, slimy green that we think our boy readers will really dig.
And now for some personal questions…
How often do you eat cupcakes?
Is it wrong to say, "too often?" While any day that includes a cupcake is a good day (and in our line of work, people LOVE to give us cupcakes), we don't all have the metabolism of skinny little Babymouse.
What's the best thing about eating cupcakes?
Every time you eat a cupcake, you can't help but think back to your childhood, eating cupcakes at birthday parties and the like. It's a nice bit of built-in nostalgia.
What's your favorite type of cupcake?
Matt likes carrot-cake cupcakes with cream cheese frosting, while Jenni likes lemon with white frosting.
How do cupcakes compare/contrast to other baked goods for you?
The advantages of cupcakes include their wide variety and their small size (allowing you to sample a wide variety at one sitting!). The biggest disadvantage is their fragility during transport (it's easier to take a box of cookies to a party than it is to take a batch of frosted cupcakes…the cupcakes usually wind up all over the inside of the box).
Is there any innovation you'd like to see made to the cupcake that would improve it for you?
How about a single-cupcake batch? So you don't HAVE to bake enough to feed an army every time.
Do you bake your own cupcakes? Or (even better) have someone who bakes them for you?
We actually spent a good bit of our time this past summer creating our own cupcake recipes to help promote Babymouse: Cupcake Tycoon. We got to bake a lot of them, and make a lot of mistakes—some ghastly, some delicious.
What's your first cupcake-related memory?
That's tough to say. Cupcakes were just always sort of there, like our parents or the trees or the blue sky.
What's the most fun you've ever had with a cupcake?
Besides eating them? What more could you need? A cupcake fight might be fun, but would be a tragic waste of dessert.
Comments
I wanted to share a link for the cutest cupcakes EVER with you:
http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2008/11/19/double-double-boil-and-trouble-something-yummy-this-way-comes/
(It's not my blog, but I stumbled across it a few days ago. I think the Frankenstein is the cutest!)