Where Are You, Brontë? A Conversation with Barbara McClintock About Tomie dePaola, Dogs, Quilts and More!

Posthumous picture books are all over the news lately. For example, I’m sure you all saw the articles about the fact that there will be a Stephen King/Maurice Sendak collaboration soon. Such announcements always remind me of that CollegeHumor piece They’re Running Out of Shel Silverstein Manuscripts. Still, once in a while you get a posthumous piece that works. Not because it’s another random Dr. Seuss doodle from a drawer that someone turned into an easy book, or any of that nonsense. Rather, because it’s doing something heartfelt and true with the material.

Where Are You, Brontë? is by Tomie dePaola and will be coming out May 6th. What makes it so interesting, though, is that it isn’t illustrated by him. Rather, it’s illustrated by Barbara McClintock, but in a style that is strongly reminiscent of dePaola’s own. Having already garnered a Kirkus star, the book is about loss, but not the loss of Tomie himself, per se. The publisher describes it best by saying, “Children’s book legend Tomie dePaola tells the emotional and deeply personal story about overcoming his grief after the loss of his beloved dog, Brönte.”

It seemed to me that there might be more to the story. And Barbara? She was more than willing to clear everything up for me. And now, by extension, for you too:

---

Betsy Bird: Barbara! Thank you for answering my questions today. So let’s kick this off with the obvious question. How did you come to the manuscript, Where Are You, Brontë? Who connected you to it? And what did you think when you saw it?

Barbara McClintock: Hi Betsy! Thanks so much for having me as your guest on Fuse #8! The manuscript intro came in June 2022 via a phone call from Simon and Schuster Art Director Designer for children’s and teen books, Laurent Linn, that I got just before I was to give a presentation at the Highlights Foundation. Laurent asked if I’d be interested in illustrating ‘Where Are You, Brontë?’, the last complete manuscript Tomie dePaola wrote before he crossed over the rainbow bridge. Laurent told me the manuscript was about Tomie’s relationship with his beloved Airedale, Brontë, and how he coped when Brontë died. Both Laurent and I had beloved cats that had passed away weeks before our conversation, so the idea of how to find a way forward in grief for a deeply loved pet who left this mortal coil was on our minds and in our hearts. We cried. We laughed. And we both sensed that I would be a good fit for the text.

When I read the manuscript, it knocked my socks off! I’ve read and loved many of Tomie’s books, but always as picture books with combined text and illustrations. It was a totally different experience reading just the typewritten text of a story by him. His writing stood alone, brilliant and wise, kind and so immediate. The story breaks down into little ‘chapters’ starting from Brontë as a puppy to his old age when, as Tomie says, ‘The day you left me, I knew I would miss you.’ The grief and realization of continuing love at the end is powerful and beautiful. I cried when I first read it, and I cried every time I read it afterwards. In fact, I cried while illustrating certain scenes, which made drawing and painting a bit challenging!

BB: Oo. Yes, that would be a challenge. This may have been answered in the first question, but what state was the book in when you saw it? Had Tomie made any art for it himself?

Barbara: Tomie was just beginning sketches for the manuscript when he suddenly passed away. Laurent didn’t want me to see them; he was very clear that he wanted me to have my own take on how to illustrate the manuscript.

I still haven’t seen the sketches Tomie made for the book! Maybe someday I will.

BB: I’d love to see a side-by-side comparison. Of course, part of what is so impressive about Where Are You, Brontë? is that it manages to serve as both a tribute to Tomie’s dog as well as Tomie himself. Was that the direction you meant to take it right from the start?

Barbara: Absolutely! I almost wonder if Tomie sensed his own passing when he wrote the manuscript? It’s so deeply personal and touching. It’s as if he was making peace with himself and what was to come. And working on the illustrations was cathartic to me to help register his loss and how to get beyond it.

BB: The first time I saw the cover of this book I naturally assumed it was a posthumous Tomie title en seul. Reading it, I realized that (much like Jerold Connors tribute to Jim Marshall in JIM! this year) you have managed to meld your style to Tomie’s. It’s not all him and it’s not all you. Can you give us a little insight into the process of replicating a Tomie dePaola illustration?

Barbara: I’ve always been bowled over by the work of Alice and Martin Provensen and Diane and Leo Dillon. They adapted their illustration styles to fit the manuscripts they were working with, and it’s crazy how they could move from rendered realism to very simplistic line and soft watercolor wash styles and everything in between to complement the sensibly and time period of the stories and texts they were illustrating. I wanted to bring that sensibility to Tomie’s manuscript.

Interestingly, my previous book was ‘TOMFOOLERY!’ written by Michelle Markel, a biography about the 19th century illustrator Randolph Caldecott which I illustrated in a style very similar to his. That was like falling off a log, as RC has been a mentor of mine since I started illustrating. I have a collection of early editions of books he illustrated, and it wasn’t a far stretch to complement his style with mine. I wanted to respect Tomie in the same way, by channeling his style and blending it with my own. More about this in the answer to the question below!

BB: In illustrating this book, what was the most difficult part of the process? And was there anything about working on it that surprised you?

Barbara: On the surface, Tomie’s style seems so simple, but it’s really not! I had mountains of drawings piled up on my drawing board, on my work table, on the floor, trying to catch his line with colored pencil, brush, markers – and he kept eluding me! I looked at his books over and over again. I referred to Barbara Elleman’s book “The Worlds of Tomie dePaola: The Art and Stories of the Legendary Artist and Author” throughout the whole sketch and finished art process. And finally, I realized in looking at ALL his work – not just his book illustrations – that the guy was actually as much a painter as he was an illustrator. And once I got that, I realized I had to start with the color first, and the line work second, which is totally antithetical to how I work. I looked at folk art, at pop art, at abstract expressionism to try to teach myself to paint.

The art for this book truly stretched my artistic style and abilities in a way I’ve never done before. It’s pretty interesting to illustrate biographies about other illustrators. You always want to be yourself, but you also want to tell their story by honoring their illustration style.

BB: One thing I love is how you work in references to other Tomie books in the art. There’s a particular scene where a Strega Nona-looking woman is dining with a Big Anthony-looking guy serving. Are there other moments of that in the book or is that the only one?

Barbara: In the scene you mention, all the characters in the picture are either from Tomie’s books or personal life. The woman sitting across the table from Strega Nona is Tomie’s beloved elementary school art teacher Mrs. Beulah Bowers. Next to her is a character from ANDY. And next to him is Oliver Button. Seated next to Oliver are my editor Celia Lee, and my art director and dear friend of Tomie’s, Laurent Linn. Surrounding Brontë is the girl from QUIET, and Sandy and Andy. And that’s big Anthony serving everyone spaghetti. They’re all celebrating Tomie!

Scattered throughout the book are paintings based on ones created by Tomie. And in the spread where Brontë brings a toy to Tomie while he’s at his drawing board are three carved wooden Mexican folk art cats (Tomie LOVED Mexican folk art! ) Those three kitties are based on my cats Viola, Pia and Nick. They sneak into everything I do!

BB: Incredible. Now one thing I absolutely love about the book is both its simplicity in the art and its specificity. Particularly, Tomie’s bed and home. Have you seen either of these personally? Did you use photos for reference? How did you bring THAT particular element to life?

Barbara: I’ve never been in Tomie’s home or studio. I used photo references for the rooms and objects he collected. Laurent Linn had visited Tomie at his home many times. He shared photos he took for Barbara Elleman’s book about Tomie and other publications. Tomie loved folk art, and that quilt is something I feel certain he would have loved. Did he have one just like it? He does now in my art!

BB: Did you happen to meet or know Tomie at all while he was alive? For that matter, did you ever know Brontë?

Barbara: I met Tomie on several occasions at SCBWI events. He was always so supportive and friendly to me. When he smiled, his whole face lit up. I never met Brontë, but Laurent Linn knew him, and was well aware of how much Tomie loved that dog. Tomie had several Airedale Terriers, but I gather Brontë was his favorite.

BB: Well, this is SUCH a dog book too. Are you a dog person yourself?

Barbara: I love dogs, especially my friend Michael Arndt’s dog, Clooney. But I’ve never owned a dog; that may be in my future? I’d have to discuss it with my three cats first!

BB: Finally, what else do you have coming out these days? What’s next for you?

Barbara: I’m working on illustrations for a new picture book, ‘The Ratsle and the Catsle’ by Gideon Sterer for Little Brown Books for Young Readers, about a kingdom of rats and a kingdom of cats who are ancient enemies and the two brave royal heirs who stand up to advisors pushing them to war. And I’m illustrating a graphic novel, ‘The Light of Resistance’, written by Kirsten Larson for Roaring Brook, about Rose Valland, curator of the Jeu de Paume Museum in Paris during WW2 which was used as a clearing house for artwork the Nazis were stealing and sending to Germany and Austria for Hitler, Goehring and other members of the Third Reich’s private collections and Hitler’s proposed art museum.

And – an outlier! I just finished a commission to create a set of playing cards for Magic the Gathering, due out next January. As my son said, ‘Mom, I never thought your world would intersect with that one!’ But it did, and it was a blast to work on!

---

While I get over the fact that Barbara’s working on Magic the Gathering right now (something other illustrators like Adam Rex have done in the past), you need to be sure to go on out and find a copy of Where Are You, Brontë? As I mentioned it’s out May 6th. A million thanks then to Barbara for so patiently answering all of my questions today. It’s a remarkable tribute to dog and man alike.

Filed under: Best Books, Best Books of 2025, Interviews