Early Sleepy Lines: A Cover Reveal(ish) and Q&A About Wheetle by Cindy Derby

My title today is a lie.

Or perhaps “lie” is too harsh a word. More of a stretching of the truth. Cindy Derby isn’t technically revealing her cover today since she already premiered it on Instagram and her website n’ such, but I like to think that you never really debut until you get a Q&A out of it as well.

Now you all remember Cindy Derby, I have no doubt. She first came to my own attention when she illustrated Climbing Shadows by Shannon Bramer back in 2019. She would then go on to illustrate the truly beautiful (and Caldecott Honor winning) Outside In by Deborah Underwood in 2020 as well as a host of other titles.

Today, I’ve the distinct pleasure of talking to her about her upcoming April 22nd release Wheetle. Or, as the publisher describes it:

“WALL-E meets THE RABBIT LISTENED in this tender picture book about a little wagon who learns to set his own boundaries, by Caldecott Honor-winning creator Cindy Derby.

Wheetle just wants to help. He’s a wagon after all, and that’s what he’s meant to do. So when his friends ask him to carry slimy things, fragile things, heavy things, even squiggly-wiggly things, he always says yes.

But one morning he wakes up with a wobbly wheel. Oh no! he thinks, but decides he can still help his friends. When he hears a loud POP, he suddenly finds he is the one who needs help. Will his friends come through for him, this time?”

Worth a conversation, I’d say!

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Betsy Bird: Cindy! Such a pleasure to talk to you today! And look at this beautiful little book you have going on. Now I’ve seen picture books about school buses and tractors and bikes and cars but I have never ever seen one about a wagon. And wagons, as many of us know, are for many kids a childhood staple. So where did Wheetle find his origins? What sparked the idea?

Cindy Derby: Hi Betsy! How’s it going? I love this question because the origins of Wheetle really caught me by surprise.   

A few years ago, I was going through some old boxes I stored at my parents’ house—that I was supposed to clean out five years ago (sorry, Mom!).  Back in my twenties, when I lived in Scotland, I wrote and created puppetry shows, and had a bunch of unrealized scripts and characters I created.  Inside one of the files was a sketch I did of a little wagon. Underneath, it said in tiny writing ‘wheetle…a wagon with a squeaky wheel.’  I couldn’t get it out of my head after I saw that. 

The same week, I was walking in San Francisco and came across a rusty abandoned wagon on the sidewalk.  And I thought, “Well, that’s Wheetle, right there.”

I didn’t start writing about this wagon until later, though.  It came to me during my hazy, sleep deprived days in the first few months of becoming a mom.  I kept this notebook by my bed and I’d scribble stuff down.  At the time, I was pacing back and forth carrying a crying baby, so naturally, all my sketches were of a wagon carrying a lot. And unironically, my right foot started feeling wonky…just like Wheetle’s squeaky back tire.

BB: I’ve never seen your sketchbook, but I have to imagine that visually Wheetle went through a variety of different iterations. How long did it take to find his right “look”?

Cindy: Finding Wheetle’s look took me on quite the journey. I went through a few different versions of him— at one point convincing myself he must be a perfectly realistic wagon. But the more I pushed in that direction, the less alive he felt.  After a few months of that, I went back to the very first sketches, the ones where I was just discovering who Wheetle was, learning how he moves, how he feels. There was something really honest in those early sleepy lines.  I realized I didn’t need to force anything—I just had to trust that initial spark—so to help capture that, I used cheap printer paper and un-fancy brushes. And that’s when Wheetle came to life.

BB: One thing I’ve always enjoyed about your books is the sheer prevalence of nature. The bug world in particular is on fine display here (my favorites being the ladybugs and their “chatty friend Todd”. And it was probably just me, but some of the bugs here looked like the ones Trina Schart Hyman made for Cricket Magazine. Are you an insect aficionado yourself? If so, what’s your favorite one to draw?

Cindy: Thank you, Betsy.  I grew up surrounded by woods, and spent a lot of time rummaging through leaves, climbing trees, building little homes for insects and chit-chatting with them. Now that I live in the city, I don’t see bugs as much, so I often revisit that place in my books.  I’ve never been afraid of bugs. Spiders and bees and any kind of creepy-crawly-things never scare me.  Watching them go about their intricate little lives actually calms me. 

In Wheetle, there’s a blue beetle that pops up on almost every page. They are looking out for Wheetle—and they wear a beret! So that one, by far, was my favorite to draw.

When I first started making the art, I was focused on making sure all the insects were actual insects, but then I went on a tangent making up my own bugs.  I will FOREVER give myself permission to draw insects wearing boots and high heels and top hats and scarves.

BB: As well you should. So Wheetle is one of those folks who never says no to other people, even when maybe they should be taking care of themselves. This feels like a fairly timely message in this day and age. Are you a Wheetle type yourself or do you know one that served as an inspiration for this tale?

Cindy: Ah, that’s a great question.  I see a lot of myself in Wheetle, especially when I was younger. I used to always say yes, even when I knew something didn’t feel right about it. I was so afraid of letting friends down that I would ignore my own needs, convincing myself that they weren’t as important as theirs.

Over time, though, as I became an artist, I learned to speak up—quite a lot. There was this fiery, unstoppable confidence I gained in my creative process, and it had an amazing ripple effect on other areas of my life. I’ve become much stronger at setting boundaries, and it’s been empowering. It’s something I’ve had to grow into, but it has made a huge difference in how I live and create. 

I think kids today face a lot of pressure, taking on more than they realize, sometimes without knowing how to say no.  Working on Wheetle’s story was a reminder to me (and my younger self!) that it’s okay to take a break when you feel overloaded and ask for help when you need it.

BB: I never get a chance to ask this, so I’m so glad I get to now. What’s your artistic process? Do you sketch or go straight to paints or is it something else entirely? And do you use digital art in any way?

Cindy: I could talk about process for HOURS. I love it.  But I’ll give you a somewhat shorter answer.  To start, my sketches are pretty rough. I leave details and color for later.  Art directors really have to trust me on this, because, well, sometimes it’s hard to make out what I’ve drawn.  Being un-precious about my drawings in these beginning stages is important, though, as it helps me stay open to change and discoveries.

When I do final art for a book, I might go through as many as 50 experimental paintings before one hits the feeling I am going for. I love this part. It’s an interesting balance, though, because I don’t like getting too comfortable when I paint.  I like being at the edge of my seat, not knowing if what I am making is good or bad. Watercolor helps a lot with this—it’s certainly a humbling medium with its own attitude.  

I also always have some fun tool at my desk while I work. In past books, I’ve used scraggly homemade paintbrushes I named, thread dipped in paint, a toy dinosaur with some good textured feet, or some random stick I found.  For Wheetle, I used a gel stamp slathered with layers of acrylic paint.  Every time I used it, bits of old dried flakes would come off onto the paper.  Anything to help get me out of my own way. 

As for digital art, I use Photoshop at the very end if I need to merge a character with a background. I tend to wear my editing hat when I sit at my computer, and it can mess with my flow, so I’ve been using it less and less.  I have to be careful not to erase all good ol’ smudges and bits that give a painting its energy.

I will say, my favorite paintings are often the ones that look terrible in the beginning, but I somehow manage to rescue them from the depths of my own doubt.  They have layers and layers of mistakes and have so much grit.  Sometimes they end up in the final book, and sometimes not. But I’ll cherish them as an ode to the strange journey of art-making. 

BB: Finally, what are you working on next? Can you say?

Sure! Speaking of process, I’m in the early stages of a book I’m making about…Welp, process! I can’t NOT make a book about the artist journey since I’m such a freak about it.  Talk to me in a year and remind me to finish it, though.

I also just wrapped up the illustrations for The Dark is For by Jane Kohuth, which will be out next fall. And I’m currently working on my second project with the incredible poet Shannon Bramer—a spooky book for older readers called Nightmare Jones!

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Woohoo! Another Bramer/Derby pairing! Can’t wait!

Big thanks to Cindy for taking all this time to talk to me today. As I mentioned before, Wheetle isn’t out until April 22nd, but you can pre-order it today. Check it out if you can! It’s a cutie.

Filed under: Interviews