Featured Author:Cynthia Nugent

Bibliography at Orca

Fred and Pete at the Beach: Fred is a near-sighted dog who worries all the time. He worries the most about what kind of trouble Pete is going to get them into next. Unlike Fred, Pete is a happy, impulsive dog who believes something wonderful waits around every corner. Fred and Pete live with their human, Ron. When the dogs misbehave, Ron leaves them at home for the day. So the dogs decide to find their own way to the beach. Pete is sure they can get to the beach by themselves, meet up with Ron and all will be forgiven. Full of misgivings, Fred hurries after Pete, if only to try to keep him out of trouble. Follow Fred and Pete on an adventure where they hitch rides in anything with wheels, and optimism prevails.

Interview

Why do you write or illustrate, and why children's adult books? I write and do art because I need to. I heard novelist Julian Barnes interviewed on the radio say, “The less a writer writes, the less he feels right in himself.”  Writing and doing art are my happiest ways of communicating with others and finding a place for myself in the world.  It is also my way to contribute to literacy along with teachers, librarians, publishers and other authors and illustrators.  I believe literacy is the single most important factor in maintaining a free and fair society.

What kind of research do you do before you write (illustrate a book)? I do masses of research. I feel I need to know my subject intimately before I can write or depict it in art. 

I own a lot of reference books on subjects such as the human figure in motion, Commedia del Arte costumes, animals, dogs, cats, architecture and lots more. I used to bring home armloads of books from the library with photographs of all the different kinds of objects that I would have to draw:  cars, buses, bicycles, canoes, flowers, trees, animals, people, costumes and fashion, buildings, musical instruments, landscape, etc.  But now I use mostly use Google and Yahoo image searches.  I find a lot of what I need on a great site called flickr.com

Do you put your family and friends in your books? I do sometimes put real people in my books. I used photographs of the two actual dogs, Fred and Pete to do the art for Fred and Pete at the Beach.  Their human is named Ron McDougall in real life and he allowed me to photograph them and also scoured his house for more photos of the dogs.  Fred and Pete were very old when I first encountered them while walking in my neighbourhood.  See blog for more background: http://www.fredandpeteatthebeach.com/

What are the best and worst things about writing (illustrating) books? The best thing about writing and illustrating children’s books is being in touch with kids and hopefully giving them something they will enjoy.  It is also a wonderful life being part of the book world and getting to know the interesting people in publishing, libraries, education and above all, the readers.

Biography

Cynthia Nugent is a nationally recognized and award-winning children's book author and illustrator. Her first book, Mister Got To Go, is now considered a Canadian classic. All of her books have been on the Canadian Children's Book Centre's Our Choice lists. She has acted as judge for literary prizes and is a much-requested presenter at schools and libraries. Cynthia lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, with her Yorkshire terrier Emma. More information is available at www.cynthianugent.com.