Bianca with David Litchfield on Cress Watercress

In this episode, Bianca talks with multi-award-winning
illustrator and author David Litchfield about his artwork in
Cress Watercress, a novel written by Gregory Maguire, the author
of the incredibly popular books in the Wicked Years series,
including Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the
West, which inspired the musical.


David Litchfield started to draw when he was very young, creating
comics for his older brother and sister. Since then his work has
appeared in magazines, newspapers, and books and on T-shirts. His
first picture book, The Bear and the Piano won the Waterstones
Children's Book Prize. He is also the illustrator of Rain Before
Rainbows by Smriti Prasadam-Halls and War Is Over by David
Almond. David lives with his family in Bedford, England.


Order a copy of Cress Watercress on Bookshop.org, Amazon, or
Audible.


Transcription:


You can read the transcription on The Children's Book Review.


Resources:


https://www.davidlitchfieldillustration.com/


https://gregorymaguire.com/


When the Sky Glows


Orphan Island by Laurel Snyder


Cosgrove Hall


The Bright Agency


Camberwell College of Art


Easy Riders, Raging Bull by Peter Biskind


Discussion Topics:


About David Litchfield

About Cress Watercress

The influence of classic books, such as Wind in the WIllows

The significance of using both dark and light artwork

David Litchfield's creative process and character development

The characters of Cress Watercress

Staying motivated creating books for children

Advice on becoming a children's book illustrator

The art teacher and life moments that have inspired David
Litchfield

Writing for the middle middle-grade audience

Identifying as a reader

David Litchfield's hopes for Cress Watercress