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Meet An Illustrator 8 – Armin Greder

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self-portrait © Armin Greder

ACHUKA’s 8th guest in our weekly (every Saturday) Meet An Illustrator slot is Armin Greder.
All previous features in this series are being archived week by week on this page:
https://www.achuka.co.uk/blog/meet-an-illustrator/

Born in Switzerland, but living and working in Australia since 1970, Greder is an uncompromising picture book artist and illustrator. He won the Bologna Ragazzi Award for his illustrations in The Great Bear, written by  Libby Gleeson, with whom he has worked several times. The book was described by KIRKUS as “spectacular and deeply moving”.

In Australia he has won many book awards and been named as nominee for the Hans Christian Andersen Prize.

His most recent book in the UK was Diamonds, a parable showing how the thirst for riches produces inequality and corruption.

His best-known book is probably The Island (2007), a book that has gained in resonance because of the way it focuses on how refugees are treated.

He tells ACHUKA that his next book with Allen & Unwin will be entitled The Inheritance.

After reading these  responses to our informal feature prompts, let me point you to this in-depth 2016 interview with him on Playing By The Book.

As a child, what were the first illustrations you remember being pleased with? 

 The last one. Until I had done the next one.

 

Who/what inspired you when you were young?

The books on expeditions from the local library with which my mother kept me supplied

 

Who inspires you today?

Käthe Kollwitz, Daumier, Goya.

 

Did you study art or illustration? 

No.

 

What is your favourite artist tool/product?

Compressed charcoal & pastel / brush & ink (both on paper).

 

Where do you buy your art supplies?

Wherever I find them.

 

What software/apps do you use?

Photoshop, to scan and scale my drawings.

 

What was your first commission?

A poster for a fashion shop.

 

What are you working on at the moment?

Nothing.

 

Twitter or Instagram? Neither

Coffee or tea? Tea (green)

Cat or dog? Neither

Grape or grain? Grape (white, dry)

Sunrise or sunset? Sunrise

 

What do you listen to when you are working? Nothing.

 

Where can we follow you on social media? Nowhere.

Now go to this in-depth 2016 interview with him on Playing By The Book.

 

This is a regular weekend feature, publishing every Saturday.

Zeki Loves Mummy – Zeki Books 4 by Anna McQuinn ill. Ruth Hearson

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“A joyful celebration of the bond between a child and their mother. Each word and every illustration is crafted to invite the reader into special moments shared. The perfect picturebook for early readers.” CLPE

Share the delight of a day with Zeki and his mummy! From when he wakes up in the morning, Zeki and his mummy fill their days with giggling, building dens, yoga, cycling, snacking, splashy painting and reading. At the end of the day, Mummy’s hugs are the comfiest.

Alanna Max is an indpendent UK publisher of “naturally inclusive” books.

Wolfboy by Andy Harkness

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ACHUKA Book of the Day 26 Feb 2021

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“Throughout, artful, expressive typography contributes to the overall success of the picture book, guiding the reader’s voice to deliver a dynamic read-aloud that matches the visual drama of the art. A read-aloud treat for hungry audiences.” KIRKUS
“Readers will feel like they have a front-row seat to a marvelously imagined and sculpted toy theater.” PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
“Visually stunning, Harkness’s illustrations, built with clay and then photographed, immerse readers in extraordinary textured, intricate, and shadowy landscapes that beg close study.” CELEBRATE PICTURE BOOKS

Wolfboy is hungry! He’s drooly and growly and fussy! As he stomps through the forest looking for rabbits, he grows hungrier and growlier by the minute. What will happen if Wolfboy can’t find those rabbits? And what will happen if he does? With bold illustrations and energetic storytelling, Wolfboy perfectly captures the big feelings that come with being very hungry! Engaging, original and perfect for reading aloud.

Andy Harkness is an art director at Disney. This short bio is taken from his website: “I attended the Columbus College of Art and Design in Ohio from 1991-1993 and was hired at Disney Feature Animation in 1994.  I began my career as a clean-up animator on “Pocahontas”, and after three years in clean-up, moved into the layout department.  In 2004, I was hired as an Art Director at Sony Pictures Animation on “Open Season. In 2006 I moved back to Disney and worked as an Art Director and Visual Development artist on many films.  My first children’s book, BUG ZOO was published in 2016.  I currently work as a visual development artist at Sony Pictures Animation.”

Dream Big, Little Mole by Tom Percival ill. Christine Pym

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“Dream big, Little Mole, be brilliant, be YOU …” Join one little mole as she follows her dream of building the biggest hole ever, and learns along the way that everyone has something special to give the world – it just sometimes takes a little time (and a few mishaps!) to discover what that special something is.

A powerful celebration of embracing who you are and finding your own unique talent from Tom Percival, the creator of Ruby’s Worry. With charming illustrations by Christine Pym.

Murder On The Safari Star by M. G. Leonard and Sam Sedgman ill. Elisa Paganelli

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Join Hal and Uncle Nat as they plunge straight into an exciting mystery – this time while on Safari!

All-aboard for the third amazing journey in the bestselling Adventures on Trains series, Murder on the Safari Star, from M. G. Leonard and Sam Sedgman, illustrated throughout by Elisa Paganelli.

Harrison Beck and his Uncle Nat are on the journey of a lifetime aboard the Safari Star – a luxurious steam train that will take them from Pretoria to the stunning Victoria Falls. Close encounters with the amazing animals and landscape of Southern Africa are adventure enough, but things get mysterious when a passenger is found dead inside a locked compartment. Is it just a terrible accident or is something more suspicious afoot? It’s up to train detective Hal and his new friend Winston to find out.

Fantastically Great Women Scientists and Their Stories by Kate Pankhurst

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Women have been responsible for many of the world’s most groundbreaking scientific discoveries. Kate Pankhurst, descendent of Emmeline Pankhurst, tells the stories of some incredible female scientists whose hard work and persistence changed our understanding of science, and transformed people’s ideas of what women can do.
As a child Mae Jemison imagined herself reaching for the stars and that’s exactly what she did: she became the first African-American woman to go into space. When Elizabeth Blackwell was told women weren’t allowed to be doctors, she didn’t take no for an answer. Tu Youyou spent months on a remote island during the Vietnam War to try and invent a treatment for malaria – and she did it. Including comic strips, family trees, maps and more, Fantastically Great Women Scientists and Their Stories is a celebration of women who made some of the world’s most important scientific breakthroughs.
Women featured: Mae Jemison, Marie Curie, Elizabeth Blackwell, Janaki Ammal, Caroline Herschel, Katia Krafft, Tu Youyou and Rosalind Franklin.

The Girls I’ve Been by Tess Sharpe

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ACHUKA Book of the Day 25 Feb 2021

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“A captivating, explosive, and satisfyingly queer thriller.” KIRKUS

Meet Nora. Also known as Rebecca, Samantha, Haley, Katie and Ashley – the girls she’s been.

Soon to be a Netflix film starring Stranger Things‘ Millie Bobby Brown, this must-read psychological thriller, perfect for fans of One of Us Is Lying, will leave you guessing until the final page.

As an ex con artist, Nora has always got herself out of tricky situations. But the ultimate test lies in wait when she’s taken hostage in a bank heist. And this time, Nora doesn’t have an escape plan …

Nora didn’t choose a life of deception – she was born into it. As the daughter of a con artist who targeted criminal men, Nora always had to play a part. But when her mother fell for one of the men instead of conning him, Nora pulled the ultimate con herself: escape. For five years Nora’s been playing at normal – but things are far from it when she finds herself held at gunpoint in the middle of a bank heist, along with Wes (her ex-boyfriend) and Iris (her secret new girlfriend and mutual friend of Wes … awkward). Now it will take all of Nora’s con artistry skills to get them out alive. Because the gunmen have no idea who she really is – that girl has been in hiding for far too long …

Follow Tess Sharpe on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/forest_of_arden/

The Invisible by Tom Percival

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ACHUKA Book of the Day 24 Feb 2021

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“[Percival’s] own experiences of being poor are clearly etched throughout this tale about a child whose parents can’t pay the bills – from the beautifully observed frost patterns on the opening pages to the way the pictures glow when the family are together” Imogen Carter, GUARDIAN

A moving, powerful story that shines a light on those that feel invisible in our world – and shows us that we ALL belong.
The Invisible is the story of a young girl called Isabel and her family. They don’t have much, but they have what they need to get by. Until one day, there isn’t enough money to pay their rent and bills and they have to leave their home full of happy memories and move to the other side of the city.
It is the story of a girl who goes on to make one of the hardest things anyone can ever make…a difference.
And it is the story of those who are overlooked in our society – who are made to feel invisible – and why everyone has a place here. We all belong.

Moxie by Jennifer Mathieu

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When an unlikely teenager stands up to sexism in her high school she unwittingly starts a feminist revolution that shakes her whole town.

Vivian Carter is fed up. Fed up with her high school teachers who think the football team can do no wrong. Fed up with sexist dress codes, hallway harassment and gross comments from guys during class. But most of all, Viv Carter is fed up with always following the rules. Viv’s mum was a tough-as-nails, punk rock Riot Grrrl in the ’90s, and now Viv takes a page from her mother’s past and creates Moxie, a feminist zine that she distributes anonymously to her classmates. She’s just blowing off steam, but other girls respond and spread the Moxie message. As Viv forges friendships with other young women across the divides of cliques and popularity rankings, she realises that what she has started is nothing short of a girl revolution.