TALKING WITH ARTISTS
by Pat Cummings

1. Bibliography:
Cummings, Pat. TALKING WITH ARTISTS, ed Pat Cummings. New York: Bradbury Press. 1992. ISBN 0027242455

2. Plot Summary
TALKING WITH ARTISTS consists of interviews with fourteen well known picture book illustrators who share their thoughts and insights on their lives and abilities as illustrators.

3. Critical Analysis
Pat Cummings’s reveals valuable information as she conducts interviews of book illustrators including Victoria Chess, Leo & Diane Dillon, Richard Egielski, Lois Ehlert, Lisa Campbell Ernst, Tom Feelings, Steven Kellogg, Jerry Pinkney, Amy Schwartz, Lane Smith, Chris Van Allsburg, David Wiesner and her own personal interview.
This book is lengthy and should be used as a teaching or informative tool for students who wish to illustrate. The questions included: Where do you get your ideas from? What is a normal day like for you? Where do you work? Do you have any children? Any pets? What do you enjoy drawing the most? Do you ever put people you know in your pictures? What do you use to make your pictures? How did you get to do your first book?
The information revealed is inspiring and brings hope to those who wish to illustrate a picture book. Included in the book are photos of the illustrators as a child and as adults. The variety of illustrations and details reveal the real talents and unlimited options available in becoming an illustrator.

4. Review Excerpts

From School Library Journal
Grade 3-8-- Conversations with Victoria Chess, Leo and Diane Dillon, Richard Egielski, Lois Ehlert, Lisa Campbell Ernst, Tom Feelings, Steven Kellogg, Jerry Pinkney, Amy Schwartz, Lane Smith, Chris Van Allsburg, and David Wiesner form the content of this book. All say that ``practice, practice, practice'' is the key to success. The illustrators that Cummings interviewed and her own comments are primarily aimed at young people who love to draw. They tell about how they got started, and where they get their ideas and techniques. There are chatty bits of information about the artists themselves, examples of their childhood drawings, and beautifully reproduced samples of current work. The same questions are asked of each contributor, but the answers range from serious commentary to lighthearted humor. The cumulative result is a short course in how to succeed in the book business, and general agreement that illustration is a tremendously satisfying and enjoyable occupation. Young artists will learn a lot; teachers and other children will also love it. Well designed and well conceived, this book will be welcomed in all those classrooms in which children's literature has become central to the curriculum. --Shirley Wilton, Ocean County College, Toms River, NJ
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.


Connections: Read 1 - 2 interviews at a time to the children grades 3 -8. Display the book for further viewing and have the children illustrate a photo that is similar in style to the interview read that day. Display these on a bulletin board for viewing. Invite teachers and students to view the illustrations. Have the children interview one another on the their illustrations and the techniques they used to create their artwork.

Additional stories by Mordicai Gerstein include:
Talking With Artists, Vol. 3. March 22, 1999. ISBN 978-0395891322
My Aunt Came Back. February 28, 1998. ISBN 978-0694010592
Carousel: A Novel. April 1, 1994. ISBN 978-0027255126