A “place of isolation” where you can feel safe: It’s a Loren Long The Boy and the Island Cover Reveal and Q&A

Just yesterday I created a post about the upcoming books that you’ll want to keep an eye out for at the American Library Association Conference this weekend. It should be noted, though, that I didn’t lay all my cards on the table, as there is one book, oh my best beloveds, that you should also know about. And we are premiering its cover here today.

Many of you may remember the time, care, love, and attention that author/illustrator Loren Long poured into his picture book The Yellow Bus. It will be to the delight of many then to learn that Loren has been working on another book since that time and it rivals his previous effort in scope alone. The Boy and the Island (out January 26, 2027) is one of those stories that will both remind you of a hundred other picture books all at once, and yet stands entirely on its own. Here is the description from the publisher:

Long ago, there was a small seaside village. Just offshore, there was an island.

Wary of the island, the villagers trade stories warning of its dangers. But something about the island calls to the new boy in town . . .

One day, the boy rows his little boat to the island and finds no danger–just the whirling wind and the steady lapping of the ocean’s waves. The island seems peaceful to the boy. But also lonely, like him. So he visits again and again. And he soon discovers that he and the island are even more the same than he could have ever imagined.

The modern-day classic storytelling of Chris Van Allsburg meets Where the Wild Things Are in this beautifully- illustrated, imaginative new picture book from beloved creator Loren Long.

Today, Loren has been kind enough to answer some of my questions about the book, his process, and its creation, and then we’ll reveal its cover:

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Betsy Bird: Loren! Such a delight to get a chance to talk to you again. THE BOY AND THE ISLAND is this lush, deep dive into social anxiety, loneliness, and friendship. Can you tell us a little bit about where this book came from? What is its origin story?

Loren Long: Hi Betsy, the pleasure is mine. Thanks so much for doing this reveal!

The book came from a combination of three things; a profound song, a curious sight, and an old illustration.

The song Paul Simon’s I AM A ROCK, recorded by Simon and Garfunkel in 1966. Its powerful lyrics are metaphorical, tragic, ironic, and explore extreme social anxiety, fear, and vulnerability.

Give it a listen when you get a chance. That song was very much on my mind as I wrote THE BOY AND THE ISLAND.

The sight I spotted a large dinosaur sculpture standing in a garden in somebody’s yard  on a walk in the North Carolina mountains. It seemed to fit until you realized what it was. I would’ve loved that thing in my yard when I was a kid. The following year on that same walk, it was gone. It disappeared. So peculiar. I never saw it again. What was its story? Was it lonely? What if a child befriended it? But, was it ever even there in the first place? Did I imagine it?

The illustration Nearly twenty years ago (ugh) Tony Diterlizzi invited me to do a piece of art for his A Spiderwick All-Star Gallery in Tony and Holly Black’s, THE SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES COMPLETELY FANTASTICAL edition. I’m not a “fantasy” illustrator but Tony’s assignment gave me an opportunity to step into a different world. I did a simple transparent gouache painting of what I thought could be a “living” island.

The picture sat in my flat files all these years until I saw that dinosaur sculpture and was dreaming up a story of a lonely boy in a seaside village who wants to get away from the world, and his troubles. A place of isolation where he could feel safe.

BB: There was a Spiderwick All-Star Gallery? Boy, I missed the call on that one! But in addition to all the references you made here, I got just the slightest hint of PUFF THE MAGIC DRAGON from this tale as well. While some people see that song as sentimental and sad, I think it speaks to something essential when it comes to growing up. What would you say are some of your strongest influences, picture book and otherwise, on this tale?

Loren: I didn’t have any specific book in mind while coming up with this story but certainly beloved classic children’s fantasy stories like PUFF THE MAGIC DRAGON and Kenneth Grahame’s THE RELUCTANT DRAGON are in my reading history, and on my book shelf. That peculiar dinosaur sculpture and the questions it inspired felt a little dragon-like to me, but that old painting I did for my friend, Tony Diterlizzi, gave me what I thought was an interesting character for a story. Mostly, I loved trying to write a different kind of story than the stuff I’d written before. I know fantasy is not really “me”. But I thought, perhaps, I could put a little of  “me” into a fantasy. If that makes sense.

Also Betsy, I agree with your assessment of PUFF.

Little Jackie Paper couldn’t stay forever, and neither could the boy in THE BOY AND THE ISLAND.

BB: Well, and tone is also so key to this book. There is an abundance of words, and yet it still often felt like a silent film. When you write a book like this one, what’s your process? Do you sketch it out beforehand, write the words first or block it out in some way?

Loren: I consider myself an illustrator first, always. Yet, every time so far, I’ve written the words first before I’ve done any sketching. In this case I did have that Spiderwick island illustration in front of me while I sat at my drawing table writing the story. I like your silent film description. I think a lot about tone and mood, like I’m making a little movie. I want the images to carry much of the weight. I love wordless picture books, for this same reason.

BB: I remember that for THE YELLOW BUS you created this incredible model of the town where it took place for your own visual reference. Did you do anything similar for THE BOY AND THE ISLAND?

Loren: Yes, I constructed models for THE BOY AND THE ISLAND, although not nearly as extensive as I did for THE YELLOW BUS.

Betsy, this might be a good time for me to thank you for your deep dive and thoughtful consideration of THE YELLOW BUS. I have a fond memory of talking art with you and your sister, Kate, at the San Diego ALA Conference a couple years back. Thank you.

For THE BOY AND THE ISLAND I made a model of the torso, head, and arms of the island using cardboard, paper, floral foam, tape and a glue gun. I based it primarily on the Spiderwick island illustration. I also sculpted a figure of the boy character using floral foam, paper, and glue. The boy figure is about 12 inches tall and it became my reference for the boy in the book. Painting the models helped me make early color decisions and helped me to see details from different angles, like how to draw the stripes on the boy’s shirt from this view or that view. As in my process for THE BUS, creating the three-dimensional art was a big help when it was time for me to create the two-dimensional art that you see on the pages of the book. The coolest part is shining a light source on the models to observe how light falls onto the form and how the form casts shadows from the light. 

BB: Well, and the colors in the book are luminous. I know that the term “jewel-like” can be overused by reviewers, but doggone it, that’s what I’m seeing here. And you are, as I understand it, colorblind. Can you talk a bit about how that affects your work, and specifically this book in particular?

Loren: I’ll take “jewel-like” any day. Thank you. Yes, color has been a challenge for me throughout my career. It’s an ongoing struggle. I do see color and its beauty all around but I just don’t see it like everybody else does. And I can’t discern certain hues from one another. Some of my favorite illustrators in children’s literature are amazing colorists. I love their work but I can’t be as inventive with my palettes as they are. It’s a humbling reminder to do the best work you can do and try not to compare yourself with other artists.

For THE BOY AND THE ISLAND I painted with watercolors for the first time in my publishing work. I loved it and immediately took to the looseness and unforgiving nature and how vibrant the watercolors can be. I tried to interplay warm colors over cool colors. For example, for the island’s earthy green areas I painted the whole area in transparent cool, blue tones first. After the blues dried, I dropped and dripped in warm greens, ochres, yellows and oranges over top letting those cool hues underneath vibrate out of the warm colors on top. It was wholly satisfying to see how the rich watercolors stained the paper.

Side note… for the watercolor purists out there, please forgive me. I did use only watercolors but got opaque with them all over the place, even dry brushed areas, and of course, managed to overwork some parts of the art into oblivion. I can’t help myself.

BB: I suspect you’ll be forgiven. Now how did the first draft of this story differ from the final? What changed along the way? And was there anything you initially wanted to include but didn’t?

Loren: My first draft had much more of the island’s backstory than our final story does. It felt like it was working and necessary when I wrote the early drafts. But in my experience, sketching first passes of a sketch dummy often reveals what is working in a story and what isn’t.  In this case the backstory of the island was unnecessary, awkward and interrupted the pace of the book. But it wasn’t apparent until I started sketching the visuals. This is where the collaboration of the book making process is especially valuable. I work with two editors at Macmillan, Jen Besser and Kate Meltzer, and art director, Elizabeth Clark.  They’re all super smart and creative. The four of us have a nice back and forth dialog over every detail in words and pictures.

They’d be embarrassed by me calling them out (no worries, they’re too busy to be reading this).

Of course, a manuscript goes through many different iterations from first draft to final.

We were still tweaking words during early production of the final book seeing proofs from the printer.

Another significant change in the final that I didn’t have in my initial draft is the boy and the island’s “whale song”. That idea came from the editors and I loved it and it became a big part of the story. Another tip of the hat to the teamwork part of making a book!

BB: Beautiful. Finally, what else are you working on these days? What’s next for you?

Loren: At this moment, I’m sorry to say, I can’t be specific. But I have several picture books in the works that I will both write and illustrate and I’m playing around with the early stages of a heavily illustrated middle-grade project. Thanks, Betsy!

BB: Thank YOU, Loren! Sorry I won’t see you at ALA!

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Isn’t he just he bee’s knees? A serious class act. Big thanks to Loren for answering my questions in such depth today (and for remembering my sister’s name which, quite frankly, even I can’t do half the time). And here (for those patient amongst you who didn’t skip ahead to the end) is the cover in question:

And as a special treat, here’s the full case cover all together:

Thanks as well to Morgan Rath and the whole team at Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group. The Boy and the Island hits shelves, as I mentioned, January 26, 2027. Something to look forward to in the future!

Filed under: Cover Reveal, Interviews