The Picture Book Buzz - Interview with Victor D.O. Santos
Victor D.O. Santos is a children’s picture book author and enthusiast, a professional linguist, and a proud father and husband in a multicultural household. Born in Brazil, after living in Germany and in The Netherlands for a couple of years, he moved to Iowa (USA) for a Ph.D. in Linguistics and decided to settle there. He loves the Midwest and all the quiet secrets it has to offer.
He absolutely loves writing, reading, and studying picture books and believes they can change the world. Victor likes to write on topics he deeply cares about and that sheds some light on what makes us tick.
Victor is also the author of My Dad, My Rock, also illustrated by Anna Forlati. The book received a starred review from Kirkus and was selected as a Best Book of 2022 by Kirkus. My Dad, My Rock is being republished now on March 26, 2024, from Scribble Kids Books.
His newest picture book, What Makes Us Human, releases in the U.S. on March 5th from Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, in partnership with UNESCO.
Welcome Victor, thank you so much for stopping by to talk about your writing.
Thanks for having me, Maria. The pleasure is all mine.
Tell us a little about yourself. (Where/when do you write? How long have you been writing? What is your favorite type of book to write?)
I have been writing and studying picture books for five years now. I read a lot of good picture books every week and I also read books on the art of picture booking. These two things have been essential to help me hone my craft. I have discovered that the longer it takes me to read a picture book, the more I like it since that means I am savoring every word, every inch of illustration. Those are the types of books I aspire to write as well.
I like writing books on social or more philosophical topics. I think that’s where I can add some value to the already huge amount of picture books out there. It’s in these topics that I find my voice as an author. I also quite like writing in a more lyrical style, although sometimes I do deviate from this as well.
I really like your discovery on the relationship between the length of time to read a picture book and fondness for it. What is one of the most fun or unusual places where you’ve written a manuscript?
I am not the type of person who has the discipline to sit down for an hour every morning to write 500 words or something like that. I only write when I have something to write about. Therefore, I tend to mull ideas over in my head until I feel I have a complete or close to complete vision for a story. When I sit down to write, at least 80% of the idea is already formed in my head, and then things flow more smoothly in terms of turning it into a story.
Believe it or not, the place where I get most inspired for my stories is a swimming pool. There is something about swimming for me that just makes for the perfect environment to think about and dream picture book dreams.
I can understand that. What was the inspiration or spark of interest for What Makes Us Human?
As a picture book author and a professional linguist who has lived in several countries and studied several languages, I thought I was in a very lucky situation to write a picture book on a topic I understand well and that is also very close to my heart. The initial spark was my wanting to write a book that made my children proud of speaking more than one language and having more than one culture. I wanted them to understand that every language is beautiful and unique and that speaking a language gives its speakers access to a secret door into an entirely unique culture and view of the world.
I also wanted to write a book that informed readers of the fact that humanity is quickly losing many of these languages and the fact that the secrets and values these languages hold could be lost forever. In fact, at least half of the world’s 7,164 or so living languages (Ethnologue, 2024) are expected to disappear by the end of 2100 unless urgent actions are taken to help protect them. Having UNESCO select What Makes Us Human as an official children’s book for the United Nations International Decade of Indigenous Languages was a huge honor and I am glad the book, already translated into 20 languages and selected for the White Ravens 2023 catalog by the International Youth Library in Germany, has been able to contribute towards spreading the message of the Decade.
I imagine many people don't know this. And I, for one, am grateful for your highlighting this issue and making us think about language. Victor, what was the toughest aspect of writing What Makes Us Human? How many revisions did you end up doing?
The hardest part is that the book is structured as a riddle, in which the theme of the book (“language”) is not revealed until the very last page. Each page in the book provides textual and visual clues about the theme using descriptions, metaphors, etc. Therefore, it was crucial that readers could not guess the topic of the book early on, since that would hurt the reading experience.
I tried out different versions of the manuscript with different people and sometimes had to surgically make a change to a description or metaphor to lead readers’ minds into a certain direction. It was a very satisfying exercise. I don’t remember how many revisions I did, but the manuscript took about four months from inception to its final form.
Interesting. Sounds like it was a fun puzzle to solve. When you first saw Anna Forlati’s illustrations in What Makes Us Human, did anything surprise, amaze, or delight you? Which is your favorite spread?
Anna and I communicated very frequently during the illustration process of What Makes Us Human since we had already established this kind of creative relationship with My Dad, My Rock, our first book together. I am a huge fan of Anna’s artistic talent and there is no shortage of moments when she amazes me with a visual idea and interpretation I never saw coming.
Text © Victor D.O. Santos, 2024. Image © Anna Forlati, 2024.
A good example of that is what happens to be my favorite spread in What Makes Us Human, namely the one in which we see the same person (a man), from a toddler stage to an elderly stage holding a woolen yarn, which is initially used to knit his shirt and which then, in old age, starts fraying away. The poetry and references to language development as we grow up, and then possible language and memory loss in old age, are just so beautiful. Anna hit a home run with that illustration, in my opinion.
It is stunning and very poignant. Is there something you want your readers to know about What Makes Us Human?
Part of the royalties I receive from sales of the book are donated to programs around the world that are trying to help with the preservation of languages, especially Indigenous languages, which are at an even higher risk of disappearing. I also would like readers to come away with a new perception about the importance of language to our lives, our character, and who we are. Finally, as a result of this realization by readers, I would like them to also understand that it is important that every single language be respected and deserves to be preserved, given how essential they are to their speakers (or signers) and to humanity’s cultural and linguistic treasure.
Last, I would like to ask readers of this blog to kindly consider requesting that their local library hold a copy of the book in their collection so that patrons who speak different languages can also feel valued and so that the message about the Decade can spread to as many people as possible.
That's a great request [I checked, my library has 10 on order and 1 ebook already with holds on it]. Are there any projects you are working on now that you can share a tidbit with us?
Yes, I have three new books in the works. One is my third book with Anna Forlati called Before I Forget, which we are less than a week from completing. This one might be our most emotional work together so far —it’s on a delicate topic. In April, Danish illustrator Anna Margrethe Kjærgaard (illustrator of the beautiful Batchelder Honor book Coffee, Rabbit, Snowdrop, Lost) will start illustrating another text of mine. Then, around July 2024, I will start working on a more fun and funnier book with Catarina Sobral, a talented Portuguese illustrator currently nominated for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award.
Exciting. We'll have to keep our eyes open for these books. 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?
Jostedals Glacier, Norway
To be honest, I am not the most outdoorsy person in the world. I tend to really enjoy staying at home since that’s where I get to be the most creative and at peace. However, I have always wanted to visit Scandinavia, so I would be glad to visit any major national park they have there, especially one that would take my breath away. Hopefully, I get to visit Denmark one of these days to promote a Danish edition of one of my books.
I hope I found one that will take your breath away - though there are many, many parks throughout Scandinavia. I hope you get to enjoy some of them.
Thank you, Victor, for stopping by and sharing with us. It was wonderful to chat with you.
To find out more about Victor D.O. Santos, or contact him:
Website: https://www.authorvictorsantos.com/
If you're in the area, check out Victor's book launch event:
Book Launch
BEAVERDALE BOOKS March 30, 2024 at 11 am
2629 Beaver Avenue
Des Moines, IA 50310
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