Jonathan London is the author of several Chronicle Books for Children. His titles include: Hip Cat, LipLap's Wish, Condor's Egg, The Eyes of Gray Wolf, Honey Paw and Lightfoot, and Fire Race.

Jonathan London "I write all kinds of books from all parts of me. Sometimes I'm a goof, sometimes a recluse mumbling in my beard, sometimes a hip cat tapping my toes and snapping my figers to some crazy jazz. Always I'm a writer, a writer for children."

"I like to write from what moves me to the quick. When I see a wild animal in its natural habitat--even just a glimpse, the tip of tall grass--my heart races just as the rest of me stops. I stop. I sit or stand as still as a stone. I try to blend into the environment. I watch, all eyes, all ears. If I'm downwind, I try to follow. I creep along. I stop when the fox--or bear or tule elk or bobcat--stops. I wait. When it moves I move. I don't get too close--though I have been known to once or twice."

"But it's these moments--encounters with wild animals in wild settings, with wild jazz on wild nights--which speak through me and onto the page. Tender, quiet moments, too. The silence of snow falling, the memories of a loved one, an old story passed down generation to generation and heard for the first time in a circle around a fire, or on a stump beneath a tree."

"Why kids? For 20 years I wrote for adults--poems and stories. It was in the telling of stories to my own kids that I discovered the gratification of a child upon hearing a story told. It is a wonderful thing. To see their eyes light up, their ears sharpen. Watch a child hearing a story, or reading a book they love, and it is how I must look when I come upon a fox, the prints of a wolf in the sand, or hear a bear not ten feet from where I lie, in my sleeping bag, in a tent, in the dripping forest of the north. The great north of the heart."

Dear Mr. London,
My question is about the process. In the past there was very little interaction between the author and the illustrator of a book and I wonder if this is your current experience or not. If you have interacted with illustrators of your books, could you mention in what ways the contact has unfolded? I teach the writing and illustrating of children's books in the continuing education division of the University of New Hampshire and will pass your comments along to students.
Warm regards,
Joyce Audy Zarins

Dear Ms. Zarins,

You're right. It's rare for an author to collaborate with an illustrator.

In the case of Hip Cat, Fire Race, and some other books, I requested the illustrators and the editors agreed. I knew their work and knew it would be right for my work. In the case of Fire Race, I did get to participate, despite my editor's misgivings. I sent the illustrator, Sylvia Long, books, photos, and lots of information on the Karuk Indians of Northern California because I insisted on cultural accuracy for the book, which is a retelling of a Karuk story about how fire came to the people. We also got the input of Julian Land, a Karuk tribal scholar.

Most editors feel that authors have no business telling artists how to do their work, any more than illustrators should tell the authors how to write their stories. It's logical, but it misses the point that the story generates from the author, who has a specific vision, and that picture books, ultimately, are a collaborative effort.

I hope this is of help.

--Jonathan London

Jonathan London's books include:
Fire Race
Condor's Egg
The Eyes of Gray Wolf
Honey Paw and Lightfoot
Hip Cat
LipLaps' Wish