- May 2005-

A

Derek Anderson

Home: Minneapolis

While working on sketches for Little Quack's Bedtime in July of 2003, a spate of terrific thunderstorms struck the Twin Cities and knocked out the power for three days. With a deadline looming for his sketches, and days spent outside cleaning up debris, Anderson had to set up as many candles as he could find on the kitchen table and work at night. The kitchen was so illuminated, a neighbor called and asked if he could run an extension cord across the street for his refrigerator. Anderson did finish his sketches on time, though several sported wax drippings from the candlelit work sessions. Anderson's first book that he both authored and illustrated, Gladys Goes Out to Lunch, is due out next month.

-Jenny Sherman

 

Their Childhood Favorites

Derek Anderson

Syd Hoff was easily my favorite author and illustrator when I was in grade school. There was one book in particular that I never owned, but had perpetually checked out from the school library: Danny and the Dinosaur. The idea of going to a museum, meeting a pet that should be extinct, and then setting out on an adventure together sparked many of my own playtimes when I was growing up. I always seemed to be most interested in the books that had animals at the center of the story, and that interest has followed me into my adult life as an author and illustrator.