Beloved Children’s Author Chats About New Book
by Steve Stav
Children’s author/illustrator Nancy Tillman may work with a keyboard and tablet in this digital age, but her true medium is less tangible: love. From book to book, themes may range from self-esteem and reassurance to holidays and an afterlife for animals. However, the longtime Tualatin resident’s prose always conveys a parent’s unconditional love for a child.
With accompanying illustrations that frequently place fantastic child-animal interactions in often-familiar scenes – exquisite imagery seemingly culled from a thousand grown-ups’ recollections of childhood daydreams – Nancy Tillman books are re-read by as many adults as by those whom they were ostensibly purchased for.
Tillman, who grew up in Columbus, Georgia, began writing for the tender age in middle age. 2005’s On The Night You Were Born was her first of many New York Times bestsellers, and has since become a nursery staple.
I recently interviewed Tillman as her fans await the upcoming I Love You Like A River, her 17th creation. She was last featured in East Portland Blog an impossible 16 years ago, at Christmastime.
Q: What an interesting concept for this new book. Without giving away too much, what makes rivers so special to you?
A: The goal of I Love You Like a River is to show children how their parents’ love is mirrored in nature. The river is just one reflection of that…a river is constant, and it adapts, just like a parent’s love. The easiest way for me to tell you more about the book is to share some verses from it:
“A river rolls itself to sea with arms wide open, endlessly. Isn’t that a lot like me? I love you like a river.”
“Thunder claps for the sky like it couldn’t be prouder.
I love you like thunder, but I love you louder.”
“The leaves that wave goodbye, hello… the snow that tucks in spring below… the hug of the salty, summery sea… they all hold a mirror back to me.”
For the rest of their lives, I hope children remember how deeply they are loved by what they see in nature around them.
Q: You are more of a poet than a storyteller… did you write poetry as a young person?
A: I did write poetry as a child. I’ve never thought about that before! I guess it’s just always been the easiest way for me to express myself.
Q: It’s been six years since your last book – an eternity for your fans, given your prolific career. What have you been up to, and when and how did you begin to create this new book?
A: I’ve become a grandmother three times in the last six years! It was all I could think about. After the last child was born, I began I Love You Like a River. The idea had been there for awhile, but it was really encouraged by long walks in nature.
Q: Nancy Tillman dust jackets have featured polar bears, giraffes, pandas – now, a horse. You’ve entered into a daunting, well-established territory! What prompted the decision to present a horse, and how long did it take you to create a steed that satisfied you?
A: I always saw a bareback riding scene in my mind, so that’s what I navigated toward. I remember riding bareback when I was young, and I felt so connected to the horse that way, almost like I was a part of him. It was magical.
It took a lot of experimentation to create the horse. But I’m happy with him. I love his quiet strength and beauty as he gazes over the river. I hope the scene feels as magical to children as it did when I was a child, but also safe and peaceful.
Q: Horses hold such magic for children – I still have the Breyer stallion my father brought home for me as a toddler. Following a Tillman tradition of tie-ins, I imagine that a plush figure has been commissioned?
A: There is no plush commissioned as of yet… but it would be wonderful if that were to happen!
Q: What are some of your favorite places in nature to visit – in America, or in the world?
A: I am blessed to live in the countryside here in Oregon. Nature is everywhere, and I breathe it in every day! But there is nowhere for me as wonderful as Africa. It feels like a wide open, ancient world where one can travel miles and miles and see nothing but earth and God’s amazing creatures.
Q: Your fan mail volume must be extraordinary by now. Have you ever used a suggestion from a reader for a page or two?
A: Readers have asked that I show as much racial diversity as I can. I always want children to see themselves in my illustrations, so I work hard to do that. This book is no exception.
Q: Will we ever see a return of Tumford, the wayward cat? He was a bit of a thematic departure, but nonetheless delightful.
A: I love Tummy, but there is nothing planned for him at the moment! I still get emails from parents that tell me he has helped their children with manners!
Q: Your creations can have such an emotional impact on adults. Furthermore, we’re entering an era where more and more new parents will be reading their “old” books to their babies; your books are becoming heirlooms to many. To some, they are related to a cherished family member who has since passed. How do you process the personal stories sent to you by fans, and deal with the pressure to be at least as good as your last book?
A: Many write to tell me ways in which my books have impacted them. It is an honor and a privilege to reply to each and every one of them. Wherever You Are, My Love Will Find You is often read at funerals, which deeply touches me. I read it at my own father’s funeral. A woman wrote to tell me that I’d Know You Anywhere had helped create a bridge for her to connect with an estranged daughter. It is always humbling to hear these stories.
I won’t allow myself to feel pressured about comparisons from one book to another; I’m afraid it would stifle my creativity. Each of my books, I hope, gives parents a unique way to speak their hearts to their children.
Q: Which, if any, authors or illustrators have inspired your work – and what were some of your favorite books as a child?
A: I love so many illustrators, but since I build my illustrations digitally as collages, and then paint on top, I’m a bit different. Still, I love the color and compositions of Michael Sowa and Lisbeth Zwerger, and I marvel at them all the time.
Dr. Seuss has inspired me more than any other author. I adored him as a child. I still do! Other favorites were Harold and the Purple Crayon and Ferdinand.
Q: The last time that we spoke, back in 2011, you had a beloved editorial assistant – Figgy, the pug. Does he currently have a successor helping you in the office?
A: As I write, I have a French Bulldog, Eliza Jane, and a pug, Louis Charles, snoring on a bed beside me.
I Love You Like A River will be released on May 5.
