Cliff Hanger

An interview with illustrator, Wendell Minor...

Q. What artists do you admire most and why?

A. I draw most of my inspiration from classic American illustrators such as Howard Pyle, N.C. Wyeth, and Rockwell Kent, and American painters who were formerly illustrators, such as Thomas Moran, Winslow Homer, and Edward Hopper. I admire their art, which has a very strong, simple statement that has endured over many years. I try to embody in my own work influences from all of these artists.

Q. When did you realize you wanted to be an artist?

A. By the time I was in fourth grade, I knew I would be an artist someday. I was praised for my drawing ability, and that gave me a sense of self-esteem that nurtured my desire to excel.

Q. Who inspired you the most?

A. My father taught me to be a keen observer of nature. I also had several teachers in school who inspired my interest in history and biology. I believe these are the basic elements of the work I create for a new generation of young readers.

Q. What advice would you give young aspiring artists?

A. I believe all children have inherent artistic talent. They should be encouraged to observe the world around them and to draw from those observations. All children have the potential to become creative adults if they continue to practice their craft.

Q. How do you use the computer in your work?

A. I find the computer to be a very useful tool in making my book design presentations to my editor. This technology has enabled me to visualize my book concepts much faster than ever before.

Q. What is your favorite medium?

A. Watercolor has become my medium of choice. Watercolor can be very fresh and expressive, and I enjoythe immediacy of the results. It is what I use when I paint directly from nature, and I believe that my illustrations are better because of that direct contact with nature.

Q. What were your experiences in creating Cliff Hanger?

A. I am very excited about Cliff Hanger and the three subsequent titles that will follow, all set in either Teton National Park or Yellowstone National Park. These stories have a basis in the experiences of Jean Craighead George’ s family and friends. Jean and I have a unique working relationship in that we work very closely on visualizing a picture book. Using her manuscript, I create rough thumbnail sketches as a storyboard. For this series we traveled to Wyoming and used her family and friends as models. We take great pains to confer with experts on whatever subject is at hand to create an accurate and engaging portrayal of action and events. I may shoot as many as 1,000 photos and in the process may discover better scenarios and compositions that will make for a better picture book. There is nothing more satisfying than creating a book with real characters in a real setting.

When Axel's dog, Grits, is left stranded after following two climbers up a mountain trail, danger is imminent as a lightning storm threatens. Kaboom! Can Axel, with the help of his dad, make the difficult climb up Cathedral Wall to rescue Grits before it's too late?

Wendell Minor's spectacular paintings capture the great outdoors of the Teton Mountains, while acclaimed children's book author Jean Craighead George tells the compelling story of one boy's mountain-climbing adventure.

Born in Washington, D.C. and raised in a family of naturalists, Jean George has centered her life around writing and nature. She attended Pennsylvania State University, graduating with degrees in English and science. In the 1940s she was a member of the White House press corps and a reporter for the Washington Post. Ms. George, who has written over 90 books - among them My Side of the Mountain (Dutton), a 1960 Newbery Honor Book, and its sequels On the Far Side of the Mountain and Frightful's Mountain (both Dutton) - also hikes, canoes, and makes sourdough pancakes. In 1991, Ms. George became the first winner of the School Library Media Section of the New York Library Association's Knickerbocker Award for Juvenile Literature, which was presented to her for the "consistent superior quality" of her literary works.

Her inspiration for the Newbery Medal-winning Julie of the Wolves evolved from two specific events during a summer she spent studying wolves and tundra at the Arctic Research Laboratory of Barrow, Alaska: "One was a small girl walking the vast ad lonesome tundra outside of Barrow; the other was a magnificent alpha male wolf, leader of a pack in Denali National Park ... They haunted me for a year or more, as did the words of one of the scientists at the lab: 'If there ever was any doubt in my mind that a man could live with the wolves, it is gone now. The wolves are truly gentlemen, highly social and affectionate.'"

The mother of three children, Jean George is a grandmother who has joyfully red to her grandchildren since they were born. Over the years Jean George has kept 173 pets, not including dogs and cats, in her home in Chappaqua, New York. "Most of these wild animals depart in autumn, when the sun changes their behavior and they feel the urge to migrate or go off alone. While they are with us, however, they become characters in my books, articles, and stories."