Ever wonder what it’s like to illustrate a children’s book? We spoke to the illustrator of Today, Ruby Wright, about the process and how being a parent herself informs her work.
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When Lilly sent me the text for Today, I was immediately transported back to the earliest days of motherhood: the moment I first clapped eyes on my newborn and discovered he was a boy, studying his features intently for clues about where he came from and who he might be. There’s something wild about a newborn, they have an air of wisdom whilst at the same time knowing nothing other than their mother’s heartbeat. Our day of birth is simultaneously the most important day of our lives and just the first page of the story.
And actually it’s the story that is the most fun to illustrate. I drew heavily on my own children for this, in particular, my daughter, who is my second child and one of the funniest and most wilful people I know. She has natural comic timing and would often enter the room with some brilliant costume on, or singing a song she’d made up, or expecting me to understand the imaginary world she’d created. I wanted the character in Today to be like that. She needs a lot of attention but she’s enormously entertaining.
To start with I ignored the parent in this story, I needed to get to know the main character first. The text is all about observing the child so I even considered not including the parent at all. But once I felt I knew the child I was able to bring in the mother.
In my mind she has a creative job and she is trying to get tiny snippets of work done in the moments where the child is occupied. In my own experience of trying to work with tiny children around this was always terribly frustrating and I think the mother in this story is smarter than I was and gets her work out when the little one has finally conked out for the day. In the last spread where the mother is closing the bedroom door I like to imagine her going into the spare room to write her children’s book…
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Today
by Mark Wordsworth and Ruby Wright
From baby to toddler, Today tenderly celebrates the daily joys and milestones a parent or guardian observes in their growing child.
With its universal themes, this charming picture book stylishly captures the warmth, wonder and delightful moments of watching a young one navigate their world with curiosity and love.
