Author-Illustrator Spotlight: Aidan Cassie

© Cassie Aidan

Oct. 18, 2019

Today we are pleased to feature author-illustrator Aidan Cassie, and her latest picture book, LITTLE JUNIPER MAKES IT BIG (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, July 2019). Enter to win a copy!

Tell us about your background and how you came to write and illustrate for children.

I’ve always collected picture books, but before I began making them I was telling my stories with animation. I loved making my characters come alive, with their sketchy lines and grand gestures and subtle sounds. But it takes 5360 more drawings to make a six-minute film than a picture book. Book making allows me to pour much more into the art. I also love that instead of moving forward by frames-per-second, page-turns set the pace; instead of showing the entire action, children imagine the story that happens between the pages. For me, picture books are the perfect way to explore all the other worlds I wanted to visit as a kid, each one dreamily inhabited by my imaginary friends, inventive wildlife and adoring pets.

© Cassie Aidan

Congrats on your newest book, LITTLE JUNIPER MAKES IT BIG. Tell us about it and what inspired you.

© Aidan Cassie

Now don’t laugh, but when I was really small I thought the world was half kids and half adults. Obviously it seemed unfair that those grown-ups in power went and built everything to their own, huge scale. My childhood frustration created the emotional foundation of the story. Later, as I was drawing narrative sequences for my portfolio, this funny, determined raccoon character emerged. Juniper – who uses plungers, catapults and stilts in an effort to get out-of-reach cookies – took hold of my imagination. As I was writing her story I remembered that when I eventually got bigger I wished I was still small enough to swim in the tub and ride on my dad’s shoulders. Juniper finds a similar perspective with the help of an even littler friend.

© Cassie Aidan

As an author-illustrator, what comes first, the words or images?

That’s a great question; for me it’s a constant back and forth. Usually a broad story idea leads to casting my characters (I let different species and personalities audition), and then I sketch out the best options, so I know who to visualize. Then I’ll write out a general synopsis and start doing thumbnails for the ‘shots’ I see. With scenes playing out like a little film in my mind, I ‘rewind and edit’, jotting things down when they’re right. With a first draft of the manuscript barely hanging together, I’ll put scans of my rough drawings into my layout program – that way I can finesse the words in context, and leave out everything I can show better with the art. That all sounds pretty messy, but somehow, it works!

© Cassie Aidan

Was your road to publication long and winding, short and sweet, or something in between?

All of the above. After a degree in animation, seven years as a giftware designer and product illustrator, a bunch of years reading picture books to my daughter, and two years building up a portfolio and writing dummy books, I can honestly say I was an ‘overnight success’ when I submitted my debut book, STERLING, BEST DOG EVER I sent my dummy out only once, to my favorite children’s book agency, Greenburger Associates. After two weeks they called with an offer to represent me and within a couple months it had been sold to FSG-Macmillan. So, ignoring that first decade, it was a total Cinderella story!

© Cassie Aidan

What projects are you working on now?

I’m just finishing up the cover artwork on my third book, THE WORD FOR FRIEND (FSG-Macmillan), coming out in 2020. It was inspired by experiences living in a country, France, where I could barely speak the language. At its heart the story is about making new friends in new place, with gentle themes of immigration and English-as-a-second-language. At the same time, I’m writing two new stories. I love this beginning stage where I’m drawing characters and puzzling out the tales.

What advice would you give to aspiring author-illustrators?

Find an agent that loves your work so you can focus on making the books. I’ve found agencies seem keen to get submissions from author-illustrators. Unlike getting a text-only manuscript from an author, you are in the unique position to show them how you see your story with a rough book dummy, and some sample spreads. 

Also, have a second book in the ready for when they say “So what else have you got?” 

What is one thing most people don't know about you?

I have little robots attached to me. Well, I guess they’re just smart machines, really. One leg has an insulin pump attached, and on the other I have a super fantastic sensor that gives me a real-time graph of my blood sugar levels. Diabetes is a tough balancing act, but I know it’s also inspired some of the self-acceptance themes that got me where I am professionally. Another upside: ‘medicinal’ chocolate!

Where can people find you online?

I live on a small island so I do a lot of my connecting remotely – you can find me here:

Website: aidancassie.com

Instagram: @aidan_drawin

Twitter: @aidan_drawin

Facebook: @AidanCassieBooks

Aidan Cassie is the author and illustrator of STERLING, BEST DOG EVER (2018) and LITTLE JUNIPER MAKES IT BIG (2019) as well as her forthcoming book, THE WORD FOR FRIEND (2020). She attended the Emily Carr University of Art and Design and Edinburgh College of Art, where she studied animation and earned a Media Arts degree. She lives with her very tiny family and very large dog on an artist-covered island in the Salish Sea of BC, Canada.

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