Rebecca Harrison Reed is a local children’s book illustrator living in Fairfax County. I had the pleasure of meeting her at a book signing at Frying Pan Farm Park back in November. Check out this interview with Rebecca highlighting her new book, Only Cows Allowed.
What first inspired you to devote your talents to children’s book illustration?
I think I’ve always known that I wanted to illustrate children’s books. I began taking art lessons at age seven, and throughout my childhood, my parents, who are college professors, instilled in me a love of reading and books. My mother used to take me to the library, where I would gather as many books as I could hold. I’d sit and read them, dreaming about the stories, while relishing the illustrations. I loved the smell of the books, and the feel of the different bindings in my hands. I studied the details of the illustrations, and created stories of my own about the mysterious areas of the images that weren’t quite defined. These beloved books of my childhood inspired me to create children’s books, and I now try to produce stories and illustrations with the same sort of magical detail that captured my imagination as a child.
What is your creative process when illustrating a children’s book?
When I first receive a manuscript from a publisher, I read it several times, making thumbnail sketches for ideas in the margins. This first visualization of the story is where much of my final imagery is formed. I then create a thumbnail “book dummy,” or mock book, to help determine the pacing of the story. At this point, I create thumbnail storyboards in order to help create a strong flow of imagery from page to page. Early in the process, I also try to research the subject as much as possible. For The Train to Maine, I traveled to Maine and rode the Downeaster train, making sketches and photographing the cities in the book. And for Only Cows Allowed, I spent a great deal of time researching references at Frying Pan Farm Park.
Once my publisher approves the storyboard, I create final sketches for the images. For each image, I compile a music list, which helps me to capture the mood in the scene. (In this case, I even gave each cow her own theme song.) Trying to capture an emotion or mood is another one of my favorite aspects of illustrating. I create a world that is real to me, as well as individual characters that I grow to love and can escape with into this imaginary world. Each book is an adventure to me, and I’m always a little sad when I complete it, as I know I’ll never enter it in the same way again.
Tell us a little about your newest book, Only Cows Allowed.
Only Cows Allowed is a humorous story with a twist about four “cows with attitude” that try to keep their new barn all to themselves. It was written by Lynn Plourde and published by Down East Books in August 2011. I’ve always dreamed of illustrating a humorous story about animals, so I felt especially fortunate to have the opportunity to illustrate one by such a prolific author that also lent itself to be partially told through the illustrations.
What is this book’s special relationship with Frying Pan Farm Park?
I decided to use Frying Pan Farm Park as a reference for the illustrations, as it has a working farm that includes all of the animals that appear in Only Cows Allowed. I also studied photos of New England farms, as the book takes place in New England, and combined scenery from the two sources. While illustrating Only Cows Allowed, I visited Frying Pan Farm Park frequently, where I took hundreds of photos and did several sketches of their animals and their barn. I was very grateful that the park allowed me special access to some of their animals, which really helped me to depict the anatomy and personality of the animals in the book. Nicole Falceto, the park’s Program Coordinator, was especially helpful. She sent me photos of Frying Pan’s animals from her own collection, and also spent an afternoon helping me photograph their Jersey cow, Dandy. Dandy has a funny and expressive personality. As a result, most of the cows in the book are based on Dandy. In addition, the barn in the book is a scaled down version of the large Kidwell Farm barn at Frying Pan Park. The park has been very supportive throughout the illustration process and still hosts Only Cows Allowed book signings today. I will always be grateful for all of the help Nicole Falceto, Tawny Hammond (the park’s manager), and the staff at Frying Pan Farm Park provided.
Do you have any funny farm stories or adventures that occurred while working on the 
book?
Yes. One afternoon, Nicole Falceto helped me photograph Dandy for the book jacket at Frying Pan Park, and it was an exciting experience for me. I hadn’t spent much time around cows before illustrating this book, so I was a little nervous about standing so close to the pregnant 800lb+ Dandy for the photos. Dandy seemed to sense my nervousness, so the initial photos were pretty funny, and I soon learned how powerful a simple turn of her head could be and not to let her step on my foot a second time! But after a while, Dandy and I relaxed, and Nicole even taught me how to take Dandy for a walk! Afterwards, Nicole let me have a sneak peek at the park’s tiny piglets that had just been born. This experience inspired the illustrations of the piglets sleeping on the hay bales in one of the scenes in the book.
Do you have a favorite farm animal?
I really love all animals, but if I had to pick, cows and pigs are probably my favorite farm animals. I love that cows are so sweet and gentle, and yet they still have funny and unique personalities. I love that pigs are so intelligent and often seem to be up to something. And I enjoy the humor of painting their fleshy, round bodies. I am currently writing and illustrating a story about a pig.
What children’s books influenced you when you were younger?
When I was young, I loved humorous books and books with magical storylines and illustrations. Some of my favorites were:
*Where the Wild Things Are, by Maurice Sendak – The mystery in his story and illustrations inspired me as a child and still does today, as he is one of my primary influences.
*Bedtime for Frances by Russell Hoban, illustrated by Garth Williams – This is an excellent example of a book with illustrations in which not all of the image area is defined. I used to stare at the crack in the ceiling and the “monster coat,” and create additional stories about them in my mind.
*Tasha Tudor : A Time to Keep – The magical detail and glowing light in her illustrations captivated me as a child and still inspire my work today.
*The Monster at the End of this Book by John Stone, illustrated by Michael Smollin – I loved the interactive humor in this book (and I was a big fan of Sesame Street’s Grover as a child…actually still am).
*The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams, illustrated by William Nicholson – I’ve always loved animals, and as a child, I desperately wanted my stuffed animals to come to life so that I could have an animal of my own.
*A Woggle of Witches by Adrienne Adams – This book inspired my darker illustrations then and now.
Please share with our readers some of your most treasured places to visit in Northern VA.
* Frying Pan Farm Park– As an animal lover and history buff, this park, which also connects to nature trails, is one of my favorite places to visit. I think it’s wonderful that the park has preserved a part of the local history and that they maintain a working farm and farm animals for children to visit who may never otherwise have an opportunity to see this.
*Lorton Workhouse Arts Center— This is a great place to see artists creating work in their studios and is an inspiring transformation of a formerly negative prison space into a bright, positive art space. The Torpedo Factory in Alexandria is a similar studio environment.
*Fountainhead Park and Hemlock Overlook Park — As a nature enthusiast, I spend a great deal of my free time visiting local parks. These parks are rarely crowded, so it’s easy to commune with nature and view wildlife. Mason Neck Park is also a personal favorite, as its abundant population of nesting Bald Eagles provides excellent viewing opportunities.
*As the daughter of a history professor, I grew up with an appreciation and love of history. I enjoy visiting history museums and historical homes such as Mt. Vernon, Woodlawn Plantation, Sully Historic Site, Fairfax Museum, Gunston Hall, and Fairfax Station Railroad Museum.
*Hooray for Books! – I love this independent children’s bookstore with a friendly atmosphere in Old Town Alexandria.
*George Mason University’s Center for the Performing Arts – I’m a big fan of classical music and theatre (my new book is about theatre), so I feel very fortunate to live near this wonderful arts center.
*Meadowlark Botanical Gardens — I find this beautiful, quiet garden in the heart of Vienna to be particularly inspiring.
