The cover of The Most Beautiful Winter really draws you in, so it's no surprise that I found myself having to askVenezuelan author-illustrator Cristina Sitja Rubio about her process for the whole book. Please enjoy this most beautiful peek at the process for creating a most beautiful book!
About the book:
When snow begins to blanket the trees, naptime is here for the animals of the forest--everyone, it seems, except for Badger! He doesn't feel like sleeping, and he's got some big plans for the cold months ahead. But Mr. Bear has posted a "DO NOT DISTURB" sign. Marmot won't answer the door. Even the nighthawk is sound asleep. Badger draws, knits, and reads for hours, but he doesn't want to spend all this time alone. Can he find anyone to join his winter fun?
Check out the endpapers:
Let's talk Cristina Sitja Rubio!
LTPB: Where did the idea for The Most Beautiful Winter come from?
CSR: It came out of a curiosity to know how many animals hibernate. I found out that there aren’t many and then thought about what would happen if you are all alone in winter and your plans to meet friends are postponed.
LTPB: Can you talk a little bit about the visual evolution of the book? As you got to know Badger and friends, how did your illustrations evolve?
CSR: I started with the idea of using an animal that looked like a bear, then decided on a badger since it does not sleep all winter long.
CSR: It came out of a curiosity to know how many animals hibernate. I found out that there aren’t many and then thought about what would happen if you are all alone in winter and your plans to meet friends are postponed.
CSR: I started with the idea of using an animal that looked like a bear, then decided on a badger since it does not sleep all winter long.
Next, I listed all the animals that hibernate and picked a few (since I could not go over a certain amount of pages). Then I made small and quick illustrations with ink to understand the flow of the story. I tried to change perspectives on the pages where Badger is looking for his friends.
After all the inner pages were done, I made the cover, and since there is a very long scarf that Badger knits, I thought it would be lovely to put it on the cover. Last, I drew the endpages and thought it would be interesting to draw the hibernating animals that appear in the book on the front endpages and the non-hibernating animals Badger meets on the final endpages.
LTPB: What did you find most difficult in creating this book? What did you find most rewarding?
CSR: The only difficult part was the text. I tend to write too much text, so I asked my friend Cristóbal León to help me shorten it. Later, my editor at the time (Paola Notari from Editions Notari) translated the text I had written in Spanish to French, and some small changes were made to suit the language.
The most rewarding? The creation of the cover. Someone I know told me his small child went straight to this book in a bookshop due to the cover. I guess creating books and seeing how they evolve is always rewarding.
After all the inner pages were done, I made the cover, and since there is a very long scarf that Badger knits, I thought it would be lovely to put it on the cover. Last, I drew the endpages and thought it would be interesting to draw the hibernating animals that appear in the book on the front endpages and the non-hibernating animals Badger meets on the final endpages.
CSR: The only difficult part was the text. I tend to write too much text, so I asked my friend Cristóbal León to help me shorten it. Later, my editor at the time (Paola Notari from Editions Notari) translated the text I had written in Spanish to French, and some small changes were made to suit the language.
LTPB: What did you use to create the illustrations in this book? Is this your preferred medium? How does your process change from book to book?
CSR: I used gouache, ink, and color pencils. I usually start with a gouache wash to stain the white watercolor paper. I use the back of the paper since it has very little texture.
I usually have the same process. First, I make small drawings to tell the story, then I go straight to paint the original illustrations in order. Then I work on the text. I work in order from the first page to the last, which sometimes results in changing an image if a new idea appears.
The last illustration I make is the cover image since I’ve spent time with all of the illustrations and better understand what would work best on the front.
LTPB: What are you working on now? Anything you can show us?
CSR: In the past two years, I have created nine books and only two have been published (so far). So I am taking a break and hope that some of those books are published.
CSR: I used gouache, ink, and color pencils. I usually start with a gouache wash to stain the white watercolor paper. I use the back of the paper since it has very little texture.
The last illustration I make is the cover image since I’ve spent time with all of the illustrations and better understand what would work best on the front.
CSR: In the past two years, I have created nine books and only two have been published (so far). So I am taking a break and hope that some of those books are published.
If a new idea pops up in my head, I will probably make that book, but for now, I am mostly making pottery. I am also finishing a short film I made using stop motion. I hope I can show it next year.
The last book I made is very special, because I used a different technique that I learned in a workshop with Spanish illustrator Elena Odriozola in Barcelona. It is about Nico, a coati who is a potter, and his friend Tita who is a snail.
LTPB: If you got the chance to write your own picture book autobiography, who (dead or alive!) would you want to illustrate it, and why?
CSR: I admire the work of Kitty Crowther, so she would be my first choice. But also Nina Wehrle or Carson Ellis. I love the work of many illustrators. Such a difficult choice!
Photo caption: The Land of Clouds. Orfeu Negro 2024.
Photo caption: Where To? 2022. Unpublished.
Photo caption: Nico and Tita. 2024. Unpublished.
CSR: I admire the work of Kitty Crowther, so she would be my first choice. But also Nina Wehrle or Carson Ellis. I love the work of many illustrators. Such a difficult choice!
Photo caption: Kitty Crowther - Far West 2018
Photo caption: "I Want a Dog-Any Dog" 2021
Photo caption: It's Raining Elephants (Nina Wehrleand Evelyne Laube). Martha and Me. 2017
A big thank you to Cristina for answering my questions about her most beautiful book! The Most Beautiful Winter publishes TODAY from Eerdmans Books for Young Readers!
Special thanks to Cristina and Eerdmans for use of these images!
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