Page 30 - Star Wars Insider #182

INTERVIEW: ADAM REX

featuring a painting of Vader, Luke,
and Leia on the cover. I was too
young to read it, but I saw it at the Other Rex Reads How This Book Was Made
Disney Press, written by Mac Barnett (2017)
library and bragged to everyone Adam Rex lists five favorites A rollicking and occasionally true account of
who’d listen that I knew the title from the many books that how picture books are made.
of the next Star Wars movie. What he’s created:
still sticks in my mind about that Chu’s Day
Harper Festival, written by Neil Gaiman (2014)
one, almost 40 years later, was The Dirty Cowboy
Farrar Straus Giroux, written by Amy Timberlake (2003) The fi rst of the Chu books, about a little
my humiliated confusion when My fi rst book, about a cowboy who only takes panda who’s always sneezing… and the big
details about The Empire Strikes one bath a year, and the dog who won’t let things that happen when he sneezes.
Back started coming out and I had him have his clothes back without a fi ght. The Cold Cereal Saga
to eat crow.
School’s First Day of School Balzer+Bray/Harperteen (2013)
Illustrated by Christian Robinson (2016) All those breakfast cereal mascots—the
Did any of them infl uence you Roaring Brook Press, leprechauns and rabbit-people and such—
when you came to create Are You It’s the fi rst day of school at Frederick are real; and the Goodco cereal company has
Douglass Elementary and everyone’s just a been stealing their magic in a plot to seize
Scared, Darth Vader?
little bit nervous, especially the school itself. control of the world.
I didn’t think so, but looking at
the cover of Splinter of the Mind’s
Eye just now makes me wonder.
What makes Star Wars unique in story beats of the hero’s journey
inspiring kids to pick up books are familiar enough to adults, but
and read? kids have to learn somewhere that
I wish I knew. It’s easy to look back heroes can be made of whiny farm
and say, “Of course it bowled me boys and self-interested scoundrels;
over when I was a boy. What else that people can be tempted into
did an adventurous kid in 1977 villainy but be redeemed. The Star
have to choose from?” Kids today Wars films do something that’s very

have so many choices, and yet I hard to pull off—they present a
recently introduced the original proto-adult universe that’s totally

trilogy to my five-year-old son and accessible to kids, the appeal of
now he’s obsessed. Not only is which doesn’t seem to fade much 04
he designing his own four-brick 03 Darth Vader as we age. In 1977 I could watch
is a figure of
LEGO TIE fighters, he’s drawing fun to some Sesame Street, or I could try to

touching Darth Vader death younglings! follow what was going on in Do you have a piece of advice you
scenes. primetime on M*A*S*H or whatever, could offer to artistic youngsters
04 Rex’s picture
I guess that Star Wars in some book tries to b ut Star Wars provided something thinking “Maybe I could draw for
way provides an introduction figure out that was very appealingly in- a living when I grow up?”
what the
to a more complex morality between. Try to draw from real life as much
Dark Lord
than young kids are used to. The most fears. as possible. That might sound like
What can kids’ books bring to the strange advice from a guy who’s
greater world of Star Wars? publishing a book about made
03
Well, I think what my book does up monsters and nonsense, but
for a kid is let them manage fear a drawing from imagination is not
little. There are aspects to my picture the way to get better. If you want

book that some kids might fi nd a to draw dragons, first draw some
little scary, but they understand trees. Draw your mom while she’s
right away that all those frights are watching TV. Look at pictures of
directed at Vader—the book is trying lions and bats and lizards and
to scare him, not them. They’re safe draw those. Then take what you
to spectate. And later in the book learned from all of that and go
the child is given the opportunity to draw a dragon that has the depth
manage Vader himself. and solidity of a tree or a person,
and the poise and anatomy of
Is there anything you can do in a a real animal. And give yourself
Star Wars kids book that you can’t permission to fail. No one ever
in adult Star Wars literature? finds out what they’re capable of

Apparently, you can put a vampire without first failing at something
in there. Or a wolfman. they’re not.

30 / STAR WARS INSIDER

13/06/2018 12:04
SWI182_028-030_FEAT_AdamRexVaderBook_V3CC-LFLamends.indd 30
SWI182_028-030_FEAT_AdamRexVaderBook_V3CC-LFLamends.indd 30 13/06/2018 12:04