Gymnastica Fantastica! by Briony Stewart
(Lothian Children’s Books, Hachette Australia)
Gymnastica Fantastica! by Briony Stewart is the popular WINNER of the CBCA 2024 Book of the Year: Early Childhood category.
“See, I’m okay! It’s my own special way,
That’s how I do it – I do it all day!” (Gymnastica Fantastica!)
Author/Illustrator Interview: Briony Stewart
Congratulations on Gymnastica Fantastica! being announced as the very deserving winner of the 2024 CBCA Book of the Year: Early Childhood, Briony.
Thank you for speaking to Joy in Books at PaperbarkWords blog.
How were you notified that Gymnastica Fantastica! had won Book of the Year: Early Childhood and what was your reaction? How did you respond like Gymnastica Fantastica?
I received a call from my publisher, Jean-Marie from Hachette. I was excited but I only half believed it at first. I didn’t try to do cartwheels like Gymnastica (well, maybe on the inside) but I did go to the hairdressers and asked them to put a gymnastics-ribbon-like rainbow streak in my hair!
https://www.facebook.com/reel/1960740657776067
(Briony’s Winner animation)
Please introduce your character, Gymnastica Fantastica. What are their 3 most positive attributes?
Just 3? Gymnastica is pure positivity! But I’d have to say, apart from general joy-de vive, Gymnastica has an unashamed and total belief in themself, a have-a-go attitude and they celebrate imperfection whilst still being committed to the pursuit of excellence!
Honestly, I am working towards being more like Gymnastica.
How have you pitched this picture book so perfectly for young children?
The idea for this book came from the playground of my daughters pre primary class. The amount of shouts from 5-year-olds of ‘Mummy look at me!’ As they attempted to climb towers, swing from monkeybars and leap through hoops. These performances continued at home, where the bravado and showmanship increased and pop-up theaters were devised from lounge room curtains with ottoman stages and tiny ripped bits of paper “tickets” littered the house. The shows were always never ending performances of mixed martial arts, contemporary dance, ribbon dances and spoon playing. Our dog more often than not was stepped on.
So all that to say, I didn’t pitch this book at all, it came directly from the age group it is intended for!
What are your favourite made-up words in the book?
Razzley-dazzley. I never want the term razzle-dazzle to become obsolete. It’s too fun. It needs to passed on to future generations.
What is your favourite rhyme in the book?
“Teapot to ninja-squat, toes to my nose.” I think it neatly captures the eccentric breadth of those performances our children do for us. It’s always nice when rhymes have unexpected pairings!
How have you created such an atmosphere of energy, exuberance and fun? Did your own children help you? If so, how?
Yes! They did! Once I had the text, I asked them to perform it all for me. We pulled out the ikea gym mats and they did all the things Gymnastica does in the book. I filmed them performing and used that to devise the illustrations. I also tried to capture the spirit of this in the illustrations, the colourful, buzzy energy is captured by the illustrations being imperfect. The white space isn’t totally white, the lines aren’t fully closed, the ribbons have rough edges. I also had my children help me create some of the colourful squiggles you see in the under-layer of the illustrations.
What technique/s have you used to show movement and play here? How does this tie in with your facility with animation?
Filming was a technique that my friend and fabulous illustrator Karen Blair taught me. Moving references help capture movement more than still or posed references. I’ve always had a love of animation. I am not in anyway shape of form an expert, but I dabble a little in basic stop motion. I think as an illustrator you are like a cinematographer, you imagine a scene playing out and you have to decide what still frame to capture that perfectly shows the moment of the story that you need to show.
How does your colour palette enhance the lively tone of the story?
The rainbow scribbles underneath really show that magical, chaotic energy of small people. The rest of the illustration is an attempt to contain that (white over the top, limited colour pallet for characters and surrounding objects.) In a way I guess that matches with the way kids are also trying hard to contain, control and direct that chaotic energy when they are trying to learn and master specific physical tasks.
You say that you have ‘about a bazillion art influences’. What art style has influenced Gymnastica Fantastica!
I’m not too sure! I certainly used a lot of what I learned from making the Magoo books in this book, but as soon as I had the idea knew I really wanted to incorporate that scratched through to rainbow look. Actually, it probably came from the scratch art activity books my kids were doing a lot of at the time!
You have an incredibly strong backlist of books of which you deserve to be very proud. With Sherryl Clarke, you won the Children’s Literature category of the 2022 Prime Minister’s Literary Award for the verse novel, Mina and the Whole Wide World; your picture book We Love You, Magoo! was a CBCA Early Childhood Honour Book; I was chair of the Queensland Literary Awards judging panel when Kumiko and the Shadow Catchers won the Children’s Book category in 2012; The Red Wheelbarrow was shortlisted for a couple of awards; and more …
How has your illustrative style changed over time?
Oh, thank you! I think I am learning something new with every book I make, and I am using each book to experiment with something different. It keeps it exciting. I think I am better at being loose (but also more in control of looseness if that makes any sense) than I used to be. I guess I am getting a little more confident with age and experience, I trust myself and the process more. I still have a lot I’d like to learn and be better at, but that’s always the artists journey right? I hope I am still making and learning at 80.
I think I will probably always be pretty diverse in the way I illustrate, some of the styles I choose are wildly different from each other, but it allows me to take on really different projects and that is something I love.
What are you writing or working on now or next?
I have just released a book all about tooth fairies which was a total joy to write and illustrate. I am just starting to illustrate a book by another writer that made me cry, it’s about diverse experiences of Christmas. Aside from that I am tinkering with a bunch of ideas that have been sitting in folders for a long time. I aim to get back into writing junior fiction!
What have you been reading that you would like to recommend?
Oh, you know they aren’t new titles, but I was just re-reading the Lemonade Jones books with my 6yo the other day and they really are just so perfect and funny. Karen Blair and Davina are such a good team. I wish there were more of them! I really hope they will keep teaming up.
‘Whizzy dizzy’ congratulations to you and your team at Lothian Books/Hachette, Briony. You should all be very proud of your spectacular twirling, swirling, razzley, dazzley creation.
Joy Lawn, in association with Dmcprmedia
Gymnastica Fantastica! at Hachette
Briony Stewart talks about Gymnastica Fantastica! for Hachette Kids Australia
My interview with Briony Stewart about We Love You, Magoo! at Paperbark Words blog
The Garden at the End of the World by Cassy Polimeni and Briony Stewart at Paperbark Words blog
Inside the 2024 CBCA Shortlist
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