Emma Dodd: 10 years of Amazing Baby
Author and illustrator Emma Dodd joins us to talk about the 10th anniversary of the award-winning Amazing Baby series - and her passion for sharing stories with her family
Tell us about how you came up with the idea for the Amazing Baby series. Do you write them as well?
I don't write the Amazing Baby Series, though I have sometimes been involved in developing the concept of a particular book. When the original idea for Amazing Baby was conceived, I worked closely with Mike Jolly, Art Director at Templar, to develop the simple, iconic style of the illustrations. The baby itself is very closely based on my own son, Conrad, who celebrates his 10th birthday this year as well!
Can you believe the series is 10 years old?! Has the series changed at all over the years? Did you ever expect it to be so popular?
No, I really can't believe that the series is ten years old! It seems like only yesterday that we were discussing the very first ideas for the books and I was developing the illustration style. As for its popularity, I am not at all surprised by that. The books look as fresh today as they did when they first came out. Ten years ago, the look and concept of Amazing Baby were incredibly original, and I think that it is still the most stylish and striking baby series on the market.
Tell us a bit about your illustration technique.
To create the illustrations for Amazing Baby, I work with a bottle of Indian ink and a stick. The bold, simple line that this creates is central to the look of the books. When the ink is dry, I scan the illustrations into my computer and refine them a little in Photoshop. The flat colours are added digitally.
Who are you favourite illustrators/biggest influencers?
My parents are both artists, and my style of drawing is very like that of my father. I love the illustrations of Peter Firmin, Gerald Rose, Quentin Blake, Raymond Briggs and so many others. I think I am also influenced by the ancient illustrations on illuminated manuscripts, and other historical illustrations, for example, the Bayeux Tapestry.
You are one of the supporters of Bookstart 20 - our campaign to celebrate 20 years of Bookstart. Tell us about how you have supported the programme over the years. What does Bookstart mean to you?
I love Bookstart! Over the years I have been privileged to have several of my books included in the Bookstart packs. I am a passionate believer in developing a love of books early in a child's life.
As I child, I was lucky enough to be surrounded by beautiful books. Some children are not so fortunate, and the gift of books is priceless. Even for children who are bought books or have them borrowed from a library, the Bookstart packs are still a wonderful gift. An early love of books and reading and the sharing of books gives any child a fantastic start in life and will lead to a lifetime of enjoyment and enormous educational benefits as well.
Tell us about how you and your family share books
My son is now 10 and my daughter is 7. I still read to both of them every night at bedtime. Imogen now reads picture books to me as well, which I really enjoy. There is nothing like being read aloud to. At the moment we are reading The Roman Mysteries series by Caroline Lawrence. My children share my love of stories and I will continue to read aloud to them for as long as they allow me!
Emma Dodd
Emma Dodd was brought up in Guildford, Surrey, in a family of artists. As a child she loved the work of Peter Firmin, John Burningham and Gerald Rose and from as far back as she can remember she wanted to be an illustrator.
Emma studied graphic design and Illustration at Central Saint Martin's School of Art and has worked in advertising, editorial and book illustration. She has illustrated bestselling Noisy Noisy series for Ladybird Books and, with author Giles Andreae, won a Booktrust Early Years Award in 2010 for I Love My Mummy.
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