Today we talk about Cherrytale, a book by Alisa Morozova published with our publishing house Europe Books.
Europe Books had the pleasure of interviewing the author, Alisa Morozova, to get to know her better, where she found the inspiration to write her children’s book Cherrytale, as well as the importance of illustrations in a children’s book.
Below you can find our interview. Take a seat and enjoy your reading!!!
- Where did you find the inspiration to write a children’s book?
The idea of this book came to me during my summer holidays, which I was spending in my hometown with my grandparents. To be honest, I am always in the process of thinking up something. That day, I was sitting in our big garden and fantasising about tiny creatures that could surround us. Suddenly, it started raining, so I went back home and drew Vichy. Her character immediately appeared in my head. I showed the drawing to my grandmother, and she found it interesting. At the end of that summer, I realised that I have enough illustrations and ideas to create something more than just another short story. Throughout the school year, I was working on this comic, becoming more inspired by people around me. Of course, it was not that easy. Sometimes I wanted to quit everything and do something else, but with the great support of my family, I managed to go till the end.
- How important do you think illustrations are in a children’s book?
It is very important, especially for young kids. A good illustration can create an unforgettable atmosphere and impression about the book. I still love most of the books I used to read as a child, like Andersen’s Fairy Tales, Moomins, and Winnie the Pooh. Of course, their plots were incredible, but what really kept my attention and allowed me to immerse myself in the story were drawings. Illustration can develop a child’s attentiveness, sense of style, concepts of color combinations, and also help them understand what they like and what they don’t. Besides that, they also can inspire kids to draw by themselves. I still remember getting excited when I saw some pretty but at the same time easy pictures. After a few minutes of looking at them, I immediately took my pencil and tried to create something similar. I have hundreds of my illustrations depicting characters from those books. Remembering my feelings at that time, I tried to portray my characters simply yet attractively, hoping my works would captivate someone as much as they captivated me.
- What would you like to hear from your young readers?
Of course, I would like them to like this book! But besides that, I hope that they will find something similar to themselves in each character! Not only positive sides like courage, a sense of adventure, and curiosity, but also naivety, inexperience, and sometimes recklessness. I want that little Vichy will help them to learn something important about family, friendship, not simple life decisions that come across the path of each of us, and also about difficulties that even real plants can face (like, for example, various pests attacking young crops). Maybe after this book, the kids will be interested to know more about the surrounding world and nature, and for some, it will give inspiration for their own creativity. And finally, I wish this book would give them some warm memories of this priceless time that will be finished so fast that no one will notice.
- What will parents understand through your stories?
Even though this book was originally created for kids, I hope that parents could also understand something from the story. First of all – to never stop dreaming even if your dream seems impossible and the situation is getting desperate, you never know when a group of ladybugs will come down the sky to save you. Second – don’t be afraid of changes even if you were behind a huge wall for hundreds of years. It shouldn’t stop you from exploring this big and unbelievable world. Perhaps my story will make eternally busy adults pay more attention to the beauty and fragility of nature around us. It is possible that the parents themselves will want to bring more plants into their lives, for example, by getting more home flowers or planting a small garden. I also hope that my comic will remind parents about careless times of their own childhood when everything was a mystery and miracles were everywhere. Maybe they will even begin to understand their children better.
- Are you working on new writing projects that you can tell us about?
Yes! But now it is something larger! I am writing a novel about a girl named Marina who is soon to attend Manchester Girls’ School. What could be worse? So thinks the main character until she suddenly notices strange creatures everywhere, pursuing her. Together with her grandmother, Marina must unravel the mysteries of this world and also confront the everyday problems familiar to every teenager. Throughout the story, the main character will get older and change her ideas about life. Marina will have quite a few dangerous adventures and, like Vichy, will encounter inexplicable creatures. Will they become her enemies or can they be helped? Not long ago, I even started to draw illustrations, but unfortunately, because of school, I don’t have much time now. Hopefully soon, we will go on holidays where I can finally devote myself to writing.
Europe Books thanks the author, Alisa Morozova, once again for taking the time and answering our questions. We are really pleased to have walked alongside her on the editorial path that led to the publication of her book Cherrytale. We wish her the best of luck for her future works.
To you, my readers, may this book be a great source of inspiration for everyone and may it bring you a great experience to enjoy. And remember that, no matter how adult you are, books for children have a lot to teach us all! Written in simple and clear concepts, illustrated children’s book have the ability to give us important life lessons or they put us back in touch with our forgotten child side which just needs to be awakened.
So, my dear reader, all I have to say is to enjoy your reading!
Your editor!