The Picture Book Buzz - Interview w/ Candace Savage and Rachel Hudson
Candace Savage was born in the Peace River Country of northern Alberta and educated at the University of Alberta.
She is the award-winning author of more than two dozen books including A Geography of Blood, which won the Hilary Weston Writers’ Trust Prize for Nonfiction, and Prairie: a Natural History, winner of the Saskatchewan Book of the Year Award. A Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and the Royal Canadian Geographical Society, she was inducted into the Honor Roll of the Rachel Carson Institute, Chatham College, in Pittsburgh in 1994. In 2022, she received both the Cheryl and Henry Kloppenburg Award for Literary Excellence and the Matt Cohen Award in Celebration of a Writing Life.
In addition to her work as a writer, she plays accordion in the Saskatoon Fiddle Orchestra and serves as chair of Wild about Saskatoon and co-chair of the Northeast Swale Watchers. She also edits an online anthology entitled This Singing Land kanikamot askiy. She shares her time between Saskatoon and Eastend, Saskatchewan.
Candace’s books include Always Beginning: The Big Bang, the Universe, and You, illustrated by Rachel Wada (2024), Hello, Crow, illustrated by Chelsea O'Byrne (2019), Crows: Encounters with the Wise Guys of the Avian World (2015), A Geography of Blood: Unearthing Memory from a Prairie Landscape (2012), and Bird Brains: The Intelligence of Crows, Ravens, Magpies, and Jays (1995/2018).
Rachel Hudson creates illustrations that connect people with the natural world. She works from her home studio in Hampshire, England.
Rachel specialises in publishing, editorial and information illustration, often partnering with leading conservation organisations. Her style is characterised by clean shapes and dynamic compositions, incorporating hand drawn and printed textures, finished digitally. Rachel has been described as possessing “a special talent for capturing the essence of a species, and she portrays them with a twinkle in her eye”.
Rachel is the illustrator of Traffication: How Cars Destroy Nature and What We Can Do About It by Paul Donald (2024), Reflections: What Wildlife Needs and How To Provide It by Mark Avery (2023), and Cornerstones: Wild Forces That Can Change Our World by Benedict Macdonald (2022).
Their newest picture book, How to Know A Crow: The Biography of a Brainy Bird, releases on October 15th.
Welcome Candace and Rachel,
Tell us a little about yourselves. (Where/when do you write or illustrate? How long have you been writing or illustrating? What is your favorite type of book to write or illustrate?
CANDACE – I live with my husband, three dogs, two budgies, and one cat in a little old house on a tree-lined street in the city of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, a few minute's walk from the South Saskatchewan River. My office is a bright, book-lined (regrettably untidy) room that might once have been intended as a bedroom but -- with one doorway that leads to the front door and another that opens into the rest of the house -- it serves my purposes well, offering both privacy and connection to the life going on around me. This has been my world for more than thirty years.
RACHEL - I work full-time in my home studio, in an old cottage that was once the village store. It’s located on the edge of the South Downs National Park in Hampshire, England. I share the studio space with my labradoodle, Rosie. I’ve been illustrating here for over ten years.
My favorite book to illustrate is an animal monograph. This gives me the opportunity to take a deep dive into the life of a particular species.
Both your office and studio sound wonderful! What is one of the most fun or unusual places where you’ve written or illustrated a manuscript?
CANDACE - The fun of creating How to Know a Crow was literally in my own back yard. I’d always wanted to strike up a relationship with the crows in my neighborhood, but they were wary and standoffish. That changed a couple of years ago during nesting season, when I started setting out pieces of hard-boiled egg. I can’t tell you how happy it made me when the resident breeders started shouting at us for more or when they brought their big shiny babies to share the buffet.
RACHEL - It’s at the research stage that I’m usually my most adventurous. For How to Know a Crow, I climbed 80 feet up a Scot’s pine tree to visit an abandoned crow’s nest, with the help of a friendly tree surgeon. I can’t say I managed to get my sketchbook out up there, but I did see my neighborhood from a crow’s point of view and I built that ambient knowledge into my illustrations.
Wow! Candace, I know they like to steal "woodpecker" suet and adore freeze-dried mealy worms. I wouldn't have thought about hard-boiled eggs. Rachel! I am so impressed. What an amazing opportunity to get to examine a crow's nest! Candace, you’ve written two adult books on crows, what was your inspiration or spark of interest for creating the picture book How to Know A Crow: The Biography of a Brainy Bird?
CANDACE - How to Know a Crow was inspired by the findings of a small but mighty community of researchers -- notably Anne B. Clarke and Carolee Caffrey – who marked dozens of American crows on study sites in different parts of the United States and documented the birds’ life stories through numerous generations. Their fine-grained observations of crow behavior are the basis of all the storytelling in How to Know a Crow. Every time I sat down to start a new chapter, I’d put my questions to Anne who was invariably generous with detailed information and startling observations. All the amazing things that happen to the hero, Oki, in the book were documented by researchers in these studies.
That is so awesome! I appreciated the explanation that this is based on studies of real crows, with the dash of an imaginary main character, in your author's note. Rachel, what about the How to Know A Crow manuscript that appealed to you as an illustrator?
RACHEL - Candace really knows and loves her subject – the text was informative and entertaining. I also really enjoy illustrating birds!
Sounds like the perfect team for this book! What was the hardest or most challenging thing for each of you about writing or illustrating How to Know A Crow? What was the most fun?
CANDACE – Really, I just loved this project from beginning to end. I did take special care in discussing the perils that crows are dealing with. West Nile virus, for example, is a lethal threat to them so I knew it had to feature in Oki’s story. I was careful to manage the tone and the storyline to respect both the reality and the feelings of my young readers.
RACHEL - The trickiest part for me was creating two illustrative styles to distinguish the main narrative from the informational asides in ‘Crow Lab’. The most fun I had was illustrating the mischief Oki and her siblings got up to.
You both did a great job in relaying both the science and the quirkiness of crows. How many revisions did How to Know A Crow take for the text or illustrations - from first draft to publication?
CANDACE – This was a pretty easy ride. The editor fell in love with Oki from the beginning and we did not make many changes.
RACHEL - There were surprisingly few revisions to the illustrations. The manuscript was marked up with lots of great ideas to help me approach each topic in the right way from the start.
Candace, I bet your earlier books and affection for crows helped make it so easy. Rachel that is interesting! I imagine there were more notes because it is a nonfiction book. Candace, when you first saw Rachel’s illustrations in How to Know A Crow, did anything surprise, amaze, or delight you? Which is your favorite spread?
Text © Candace Savage, 2024. Image © Rachel Hudson, 2024.
CANDACE – A favourite? That would be hard. I think they are all astonishing. Rachel can do anything, from creating a crisp graphic of a crow’s brain, to a hilarious cartoon feature like “Game of Crows,” to a sensitive treatment of Oki’s losses to West Nile virus. Her management of color palettes through the seasons of the book is also lovely. I will never be finished looking at her illustrations for this book. She has given me so much joy.
They are pretty phenomenal. I really liked this graphic representation of crows in the world. Rachel, is there a spread that you were especially excited about or proud of? Or perhaps one which is your favorite spread?
Text © Candace Savage, 2024. Image © Rachel Hudson, 2024.
RACHEL - It’s probably the full-page chapter opener illustration called Family Matters. Here four adult crows perch on the rim of a nest gazing down at five hatchlings. It brings the reader into the secret and surprisingly tender world of the crow. It also hints at one of their amazing behaviors – cooperative breeding, where the parents are helped by other adult crows to raise their young.
It is a wonderful illustration and cool fact. Candace, you’ve written both adult nonfiction and picture books, two wildly different genres, which do find harder? Why?
CANDACE - In my experience, writing for children or for adults is not fundamentally different. The first challenge is always to consider your readers. What do they already know? What matters to them? What do you want to tell them or help them understand? Because books for adults are often longer and more complex than those for children, they generally take longer to write, but apart from that, I think the process is basically the same.
That said, one of the special pleasures of creating illustrated books is that you get to work with a brilliant artist like Rachel who brings her own vision and talents to the project.
That is a wonderful opportunity. Rachel, many illustrators leave treasures or weave their own story (or elements) throughout the illustrations. Did you do this in How to Know A Crow? If so, could you share one or more with us?
RACHEL - For the aerial views of the neighborhood, I drew on my memories of living in New England, in Waltham near Boston where I shared a saltbox house with my now husband and other students from Brandeis University. At the time, I was an intern at Cambridge Arts Council and completing my Masters in the History of Art.
The boy looking up at the crow’s nest on p21 is based on my youngest son, Fred. He spends a lot of time with trees and has hopes of becoming a tree surgeon.
Thank you for sharing these special treasures with us. What's something you want your readers to know about How to Know A Crow?
CANDACE -Throwing caution to the winds -- I think this is a stunning little book, and I am very proud of it. The story is grounded in lifetimes of careful observation by researchers, retold here with humor and love and brought to life by Rachel’s beautiful illustration. It is a pleasure to send it out into the world. I hope readers will enjoy it.
RACHEL - The ordinary crow is an extraordinary bird! – smart, full of character and leading a socially complex life. Crows also have great memories – so be nice! With a little patience and a lot of curiosity, readers can really get to know their own local patch and its resident wildlife which is both exciting and rewarding, bringing with it a sense of connection in the world.
I think you are going to inspire a bunch of budding bird watchers, naturalists, and scientists with this book. Are there any new projects (or upcoming books) you are working on now that you can share a tidbit with us?
CANDACE –This year, 2024, I had two new books published, Always Beginning: the Big Bang, the Universe and You, for ages 3 and up (with illustrator Rachel Wada), and now How to Know a Crow, for the “middle reader” age group, 9-12 or so. Now, I am trying my hand at a book for the “young adult” audience, ages 12 and up. Wish me luck!
© 2024 National Marine Aquarium
RACHEL - One of the projects I’m illustrating at the moment, is a younger children’s picture book about the life and struggles of the green turtle. As part of my research, I visited and sketched Friday the green turtle at the National Marine Aquarium, as well as a protected nesting site while on holiday in the Greek islands.
Good luck Candace. If you are interested in seeing Friday's latest adventure check out this video. Last question, what is your favorite National Park or Forest, regional park, or city park (anywhere in the world)? Or the one you’re longing to visit. Why?
CANDACE – In addition to working as a writer, I am also an advocate for nature in and around my home city. I’ve just heard about a movement to designate Chattanooga, Tennessee as a National Park City, and I would love to go for a visit and meet the people who are promoting this exciting vision. https://www.chattanooganationalparkcity.org/
© Scotland Now.
RACHEL - It’s not a National Park, but my favorite nature escape is to the Hebrides, off the wild West coast of Scotland. It’s a collection of the most beautiful, rugged islands, rich in wildlife, from otters to eagles. Here I hike and kayak with my family. It’s a place I often illustrate and think about.
I hadn't known about "National Park City" designations. That was fun to learn about. Thank you, Candace! And Rachel these islands look stunning and intriguing.
Thank you Candace & Rachel for sharing with us a bit about yourselves and your new picture book.
Be sure to come back on Friday for the Perfect Picture Book #PPBF review of How to Know A Crow: The Biography of a Brainy Bird.
To find out more about Candace Savage, or to contact her:
Website: https://candacesavage.ca/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/candace.savage/
To find out more about Rachel Hudson, or to contact her:
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