In The Tall, Tall Grass (1991)

      In The Tall, Tall Grass by Denise Fleming (1991) appears at first glance to be a simplistic book of rhyme intended for the toddler. Brightly colored creatures leap, dance, fly, and slither across two-page spreads of grass. Just a few words precisely describe their actions. Dilys Evans' book Show & Tell: Exploring the Fine Art of Children's Book Illustration explains how these images are extraordinary. On page 125 is a sequence of six photographs that show the complex process by which Fleming produces pictures. "Fleming's first step is to make the paper itself. . . the paper is the medium from which the artwork is created." If I understand correctly, colored paper pulp is layered to create her artwork. The results are amazing. Wouldn't it be fun if every picture book had backmatter that celebrated the illustrator's process!

      Yulia Kotets has Visualizing - In the Tall, Tall Grass.