The Picture Book Buzz - Interview w/ Anna Desnitskaya and Review of A Star Shines Through

Anna Desnitskaya graduated from the Moscow State University of Printing Arts and has been working as a children’s book illustrator, with a predilection for non-fiction, ever since.

Anna is inspired by daily life itself, with all its complexity and diversity, which she conveys in the books she illustrates. She combines manual and digital techniques which help her to create large, detailed compositions. Her works have received awards and recognition including The Original Art 2023, The Society of Illustrators; the 2022 and 2019 AOI World Illustration Award; the 2019 Bologna Children’s Book Fair Illustrators Exhibition; the 2017 Bratislava Biennale. In 2018, she was Russia’s nominee for the 2018 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, the world's largest award for children's literature. Amid the turmoil in Russia in 2022, Anna and her family made the decision to leave their longtime home of Moscow. After several months in Israel, they now live in Montenegro.

She’s the author/illustrator of On the Edge of the World, translated by Lena Traer (2023). And the illustrator of Around the World in 24 Farmers’ Markets by Maria Bakhareva (2021), translated by Alexandra Litvina (2020), Gina From Siberia by Jane Bernstein and Charlotte Glynn (2018), The Apartment: A Century of Russian History by Alexandra Litvina, translated by Antonina W. Bouis (2016), and The History of Transport by Alexandra Litvina (2015).

For more information on Anna, see our earlier interview (here).

Her newest author/illustrator picture book, A Star Shines Through, released on August 20th.

Welcome back Anna, thank you so much for stopping by to talk about your newest picture book and your writing.

What is one of the most fun or unusual places where you’ve written or illustrated a manuscript?

I wrote the text of the book A Star Shines Through in the notes app on my phone during a Hebrew class! And recently, I was drawing an illustration for my new book on a tablet while getting a pedicure. :)

Ha! We truly do get to work anywhere! What was the inspiration or your spark of interest for A Star Shines Through?

It was my own story. On February 17, 2022, my family and I went on a long-awaited vacation to Cyprus. We were supposed to fly back home to Moscow on February 24, but when I saw that the war had started that morning, I realized we wouldn’t be going back home. We went to Israel and lived there for a year. Initially, it was very difficult for us to adapt to the country; everything around us seemed very foreign. But when we bought a star from IKEA, just like the one we had in Moscow, and placed it in the window, everything around us felt a little less foreign. I realized that this could become a book.

I am sorry you and your family had to go through this. How did the writing and/or illustration of A Star Shines Through compare to creating On the Edge of the World? What was the most interesting part about creating A Star Shines Through?

Working on the book On the Edge of the World was much easier. It was pure joy and pleasure. When I was illustrating A Star Shines Through, it was quite challenging, and I constantly had to overcome internal resistance. It's a heavy and painful topic for me, so when the book was finished, I breathed a sigh of relief.

It is very poignant and touching. How many drafts, or revisions did A Star Shines Through take from idea spark to publication? Which was harder, the writing or the illustrations?

This is the fastest of my books — it probably took about seven months from idea to publication. Writing the text itself was not difficult, but working on the illustrations was challenging.

WOW, that is super speedy. It was a book you needed to write. Many illustrators leave treasures or weave their own story (or elements) throughout the illustrations. Did you do this in A Star Shines Through? Could you share one or more with us?

Of course! When I drew the girl sitting on the windowsill, I was actually drawing my daughter sitting at our window in Moscow. The house where the main character lives is a house I used to pass by when taking my kids to kindergarten, and the heroine’s mother is wearing my sneakers. It was funny with the first illustration, which depicts a large city. I intentionally didn’t draw any specific city; it’s a composite image. But of course, for me, it’s primarily Moscow. And when my friends from Moscow, who had been scattered all over the world after the war started, saw this illustration, each of them said: I know this place! This is the view from my window! This is Khamovniki — no, it's Zamoskvorechye — no, it’s Shabolovskaya, I recognize it perfectly (these are all different districts of Moscow). That’s when I realized I had successfully created a composite image of the city!

Wow, that's amazing! Congrats. And thank you for sharing these special pieces of the book with us. Which is your favorite spread or one you are especially proud of? 

Text & Image © Anna Desnitskaya, 2024.

My favorite spread is the first one, where the "paradise" Moscow is depicted. And I’m most proud of the spread “we went to another country.” It took me a long time to get it right, and I’m very proud that it finally came together!

This is a gorgeous spread. And the other spread is so powerful and thought=provoking. Are there any projects you are working on now that you can share a tidbit with us?

I am currently working on a book about bread around the world; it’s a spin-off of the book Farmers' Markets around the World. It’s very pleasant to draw!

Good luck with it and we'll have to keep an eye out for it. Last question, what is the best advice you’ve ever gotten - whether it’s regarding writing/ illustrating or not?

Once, in my third year, we were showing our illustrations to the teacher. I brought my drawings, and he praised me. Then my classmate showed her works. The teacher told her: Katya, what are you doing! Look at Anya — she also can’t draw academically, but she manages somehow! At that moment, I felt hurt, but later I understood what he meant. I couldn’t and still can’t draw academically, but I can come up with stories, find beauty in everyday life, and approach a book systematically. Instead of trying to improve skills that don’t come naturally to you, it’s better to find your superpower!

Oh my gosh. I am glad that moment wasn't crushing but instead provided you with a glimpse into your superpower. Great bit of advice! Thank you, Anna for stopping back by and sharing with us. It was wonderful to chat with you.

To find out more about Anna Desnitskaya, or contact her:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/anya.desnitskaya/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anyadesnitskaya/?hl=en 

Review of A Star Shines Through

In a touching book, based on the author's true experience, a young girl guides the reader through her struggles and emotions associated with an urgent need to flee her home. This stunning book offers a glimmer of hope for those adjusting to change and perhaps a dose of empathy for others.

A Star Shines Through

Author/Illustrator: Anna Desnitskaya

Publisher: Eerdman's Books for Young Readers (2024)

Ages: 5-9

Fiction

Themes:

Emigration, war, relocation, family, adjusting, and hope.

Synopsis:

A poignant story about a displaced family making a home in the aftermath of war.​

We used to live in a big city. In our apartment window was a star-shaped lamp, shining through the cold. I could recognize home from far away. But then the war began, and we left for another country. Everything is different here—the food, the language, even Mom and me. Today Mom bought us a package of scissors, glue, and cardboard. Can we make this place feel a little more like home?

Narrated by a young refugee, A Star Shines Through is based on the experiences of the author-illustrator, who left Russia with her family after the start of the Ukraine War. With an evocative palette of blues and yellows, Anna Desnitskaya shows how making art can create a sense of hope, even amidst emigration and resettling.

Opening Lines:

We used to live in a big city.

There was a star-shaped cardboard lamp in our apartment's

kitchen. When I returned home from music lessons

in the evening, I could recognize our window from afar:

a star shone through the cold November darkness.

What I LOVED about this book:

This initial opening image is the impressive double spread of the Moscow city skyline mentioned in Anna's interview (above). Which narrows down to a young girl through the snow back to her home after her music lesson. I really like the way Anna Desnitskaya has introduced the main character, and a full snippet of her life. Everything is calm, snowy, and peaceful. Everything seems beautiful and perfect.

Text & Image © Anna Desnitskaya, 2024.

Until you turn the page. . . "And then the war began."

Text & Image © Anna Desnitskaya, 2024.

This change is so poignant, startling, and attention grabbing. There is the trailing, gathering, deepening darkness creeping after the girl, but there is also some solace that she is with her mother and still has her instrument. It could be concerning for a child, but maybe not super frightening. Definitely makes you want to hurry them along to the next page.

And they are in a different country, standing isolated in the illumination of a streetlight in a gray, rainy big city with "a different language. A different apartment." I love how Anna Desnitskaya represents this with jumbled up wording on signs, squiggles in the residents' speech bubbles, and a barren, gray-toned apartment. As the girl and her mom try to settle in, she can't help but compare her current house to her former one. It is so effective and stunning to have the memory image smaller and in warm, vibrant color juxtaposed against the imposing, gray, sparse, oppressive sadness of their new life. Though he's never mentioned, the appearance of her father in the memory could raise some interesting questions for kids. Everything is different - including themselves.

Text & Image © Anna Desnitskaya, 2024.

When the mother brings home cardboard and supplies, together they make a star - like the one in their former home. The gleaming yellow star is the start of a transformation in the apartment, themselves, and their acceptance of, and by, their new community. There's a great replication of the scene from their initial arrival, now as a friendlier city under starlit blue-sky night. It's a lot of fun to flip between the two images and spot the changes.

The ending doesn't fix or suggest that everything can or will be fixed. But it does have a wonderful mirror of the beginning that creates a feeling that things are okay - thanks to the special star shining through the window. This poignant, honest picture book immerses the reader into the first-person account of a child struggling through the realities of a sudden immigration. A wonderful author's note explains the real-life circumstances which gave rise to this book. It is a powerful, immersive, and thought-provoking picture book exploring immigration and what helps makes some place feel like home.

Resources:

• make your own paper stars, paper bag star, or an origami star.

• how did making the star help the girl and her mom feel better in their new home? Why?

• if you had to move, what would help you make the new house feel like home?

• pair this with Wishes by Mượn Thị Văn, illustrated by Victo Ngai, Story Boat by Kyo Maclear, illustrated by Rashin Kheiriyeh, Ánh's New Word by Hanh Bui, illustrated by Bao Luu, and From the Tops of the Trees by Kao Kalia Yang, illustrated by Rachel Wada.