Q&A: Edward van de Vendel & Marije Tolman
What Does The Fox Say? The author and illustrator of Little Fox, Edward van de Vendel and Marije Tolman traded emails with LQ about their collaboration, their process, and meeting for the first time.
Q: How did you meet?
Edward: Marije is quite well known, so I have been admiring her work since her first books. It was not before I wrote a picture book story about the power of dreaming that I met her, since my publishing company brought us together. Marije is not only an artist to admire, she is also someone who is very accessible, very sincere, and we agree on what we want to make: high quality books that are still for a larger audience.
Marije: The Netherlands is small, concerning children’s literature and publishers, so naturally we saw each other at presentations and literature parties, but never got the chance to have a good conversation. I admired Edwards books, I was curious about the writer behind the books, so we made an appointment to have a coffee together. Edward came by in my studio in The Hague, and I felt a warm click right away. He kept on asking me so many questions, it was almost like an interview. He stole my hart by being so curious and driven.
Q. How is this collaboration different from your other books together?
Marije: In a way it was totally different, in a way it was exact the same vibe, the same trust, faith and positive energy. I illustrated our first book, ‘Doei!’ the story of Edward, with extra visual layers. This process went pretty natural with a very motivating collaboration. After our first book we knew how to rely on each other. That’s why the spacious way of working together was even more open minded and inspiring during the process of our second book. I was really happy with the result of using a new technique in our first book. This made me ambitious to search for another unique technique, specially invented for our little fox. Edwards story triggered me for a new experimental creative journey.
Marije: The whole process of little fox was a pretty positive struggle. It was a challenge to stay in one ‘theater’, using different techniques on different story lines and timelines. Thankfully our never-ending curiosity was stronger than the difficulties during the process. I totally love to bite fully into a mission impossible, so I kept on surging for the right visual language, inspired by Edward’s words. Thanks to his confidence and the support of Querido, we found the right way to combine the text and illustrations fluently.
Q. How did your teaching background shape this story?
Edward: Good question! I really hope Little Fox doesn’t show any educational intentions in the strictest sense of the word; I mean there shouldn’t be a moralistic lesson shining through the story. Having said that, I must say that I’ve always enjoyed the liveliness of young children, the urge to take on every possible adventure. This ‘fire’ is what Little Fox is about. It’s about enthusiasm, about putting yourself out in the world, and about our friends and families accompanying us in the background.
Q. What do you hope American children will take from this story?
Edward: Apart from the stunning images and the core of the story —how to engage in life’s challenges—there is also a bit of non-fiction. In Little Fox children really get to know how the first months of a baby fox could be. I love combining fiction and non-fiction. Do you think that might be my background as a teacher? If so, this would be the alternative answer to your previous question!
Marije: Do not ever lose the lust for life. Stay curious!
