Saturday, September 11, 2010
Olivia -- the piglet (Ian Falconer)
In an interview with Katie Couric on the Today Show (Friday October 26, 2001) Falconer recounted how he came to write about Olivia. The books began as a Christmas present to his niece, Olivia, then 3-years old. When he was courted by a publishing house to write and illustrate a picture book he has them all ready. his books use only three colors: red, white, and black. Falconer stated that since he uses only three basic colors children are able to focus more on what is in the picture and pay attention to expressions and details.
In fact he often puts details in his books that are intended to build an attentive reader's curiosity and inquisitiveness. In Olivia Saves the Circus, he slips in a Degas painting, and a picture of Eleanor Roosevelt hanging over Olivia's bed. He hopes that parents/adults will discuss those images with young readers and that those bits of discussion will help readers connect to even more information as they become older students. But perhaps my favorite title is Olivia Helps with Christmas. Perhaps that would be a great pre-Christmas book for that primary aged reader. Check out more about the Olivia books at www.oliviathepiglet.com