This is a sponsored supplement to our free monthly e-newsletter, Notes from the Horn Book. To receive Notes, sign up here.

Sponsored by

Tundra Books

We Are Definitely Human (Tundra, 4–8 years) say the three strangers who appear at Mr. and Mrs. Li's house one night. In her latest picture book, X. Fang spotlights human kindness and acceptance, even when the alien-looking visitors don't seem like "they're from Europe" and their "car" looks an awful lot like a spaceship.

1. Your illustration medium for We Are Definitely Human and Dim Sum Palace were both the same (graphite on paper and colored digitally), and yet the artistic styles are different. Was that intentional?

Photo: Peter Brown

X. Fang: Yes, that was very intentional. I like starting from scratch with each book. The medium is the same but the approach and character designs change to meet the need of the story.

2. Your books have both been quite funny. Which illustrators past and/or present provide the biggest inspiration to you?

XF: I LOVE the work of Saul Steinberg. His work is so witty and unexpected. I also think about the book The Stupids Die by Harry Allard, illustrated by James Marshall, all the time. It’s so funny, and I wish I had written and illustrated it.

3. You were born in Taiwan and moved to Atlanta when you were four. How has your path shaped your artistry and storytelling?

XF: I went from Taiwanese customs and traditions to customs and traditions of the American South, and while both are loud and lovely, I realized at a young age that social mores can be very complicated and overly confusing. So I always gravitated towards simplicity and directness in life and in my books.

4. What advice would you give to aspiring visual artists and writers who want to break into the world of children’s literature as you recently have?

XF: Make picture book dummies! Lots of them! When I decided to take a stab at picture books, I spent two years making four picture book dummies. I hold picture book makers in such high esteem that it was important for me to spend time working on the craft before trying to get published. I learned so much making the four dummies. I learned about the technical aspects of designing a book, from the page count to thinking about endpaper and case cover design. I learned a lot about how words and pictures complement each other, how you “show, don’t tell,” story pacing, and so much more. It was a worthwhile exercise, and three of those four dummies were good enough to become books (including Dim Sum Palace and We Are Definitely Human).

5. Like the characters in your book, you live in the country with your husband, your son, and your dog. Have you had any close encounters of the third kind? Or is there any truth to this fictional story?

XF: We have not had any encounters with any unique visitors of the European variety, but we have two aggressive geese at the end of our road and a menacing gaggle of wild turkeys that roam the woods surrounding our house. I wrote We Are Definitely Human when I was still living in Philadelphia, and I based the characters on the people I knew growing up in the South. In my mind this book is about Southern hospitality at its finest, but when we moved to rural Maine, we were blown away by the kindness of strangers and their willingness to help two clueless city transplants. So I’m thrilled to say that there is truth to this fictional tale — most humans are kind humans.

Sponsored by

Tundra Books