Author & Illustrator Our chat with Matt. What do you love most about kids books? I love the imagination and sense of fun that exists in kids books. I also love what they represent for children: enlightenment, excitement, education, entertainment, escapism, empowerment, empathy. So many exceptional things! Did you have a favourite childhood book? I had so many favourite books as a child! I devoured anything by Roald Dahl, but was especially fond of Revolting Rhymes, which I memorised from cover to cover. Fungus the Bogeyman by Raymond Briggs was also on constant loan from the library. And I used to read the whole Chronicles of Narnia series by C.S. Lewis over and over again. Does it take long to complete a book? Every book is completely different. Sometimes an idea bubbles away, slowly taking shape over decades, while other times words pour out unexpectedly fast. Depending on the style of illustration, it can take weeks or months and months to create the images. How many books have you done? I'm currently working on my 13th book as both author and illustrator. As just the illustrator? I've lost count! It's lots!! Do you love animals? I am completely fascinated with animals and could watch nature documentaries all day long! Do you own a pet? Unfortunately, due to a combination of allergies, small house and no backyard, pets haven't really been an option... aside from goldfish! What are your favourite things to draw? My favourite things to draw are birds and animals. I love working in coloured pencil and the short strokes of the sharpened tip of a pencil are perfect for capturing the texture of feathers and fur. Are you friends with other authors? The Australian children's book scene is filled with a lot of lovely, like-minded, creative people who are passionate about books and reading, and I'm lucky enough to call many of them friends (Although I still get very star struck and turn into a blathering fanboy around other authors and illustrators quite a lot!). Have you ever read a book before, that you didn't like? I will happily read anything but sometimes I've tried to read some of those worthy, classic 'literary' books, more out of obligation than interest, and haven't really enjoyed the experience. A reminder to read what you love! What inspires you to write? I'm inspired to write purely from a love of books. I relish the idea that I'm not just entertaining, but encouraging children to read and hopefully developing that same passion for literature in them that I have. Any new up coming titles coming out soon, that we should be looking out for? I have a sweet new picture book out in April called Thanks, Mum! It's cute and hopefully funny and relatable, a celebration of just some of the endless things Mums do (just in time for Mother's Day!). The next Macca the Alpaca book, Macca's Makeover, is also done and ready for release sometime in the second half of 2019. There's lots more exciting stuff on the way (More Macca plus a bunch of different things) that I can't talk about just yet! Thanks Matt for taking the time to chat to us and answer some questions it has been great. So looking forward to the release of more Macca! You can find more about Matt Cosgrove www.mattcosgrovebooks.com Instagram @matt.cosgrove Facebook @MattCosgroveBooks You find Matt Cosgrove books at www.booktopia.com.au www.bookdepository.com www.amazon.co.uk www.amazon.com.au www.dymocks.com.au www.angusrobertson.com.au www.fishpond.com.au www.collinsbooks.com.au www.wordery.com www.thenile.com.au
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