A Must-Have Book: The Listeners by Gloria Whelan

An Interview with Author Gloria Whelan

EDITOR’S PREFACE: Author Gloria Whelan has a unique eye for finding a secret key to a hidden story and deftly unlocking it. Her work enthralls and captivates, yet doesn’t sugar-coat. Her gift brings our children what I consider to be, not just a very personal story to her readers, but one that carries a moral impact which I feel makes her work a discerning imperative.

THE DEEPENING: How did you discover that slave children would be asked to listen “at the big house?” Were there stories passed down, orally or some other way, about this that you used to write this book?

Author Gloria Whelan: Thank you for the thoughtful questions and I’m grateful for the opportunity to address them.  I found the reference to children listening in HUCK’S RAFT:  A HISTORY OF AMERICAN CHILDHOOD.  It was just a sentence but the image stayed with me.  During slavery even children’s few moments of play were put to use.  I thought young readers could find their way into what slavery meant by letting them imagine how it impacted three children.

THE DEEPENING: When I read this book to a group of five children ages six through twelve, the first thing that the older kid asked was, “Is it true? Did they make kids go listen in the bushes at the Master’s house?”

“What happened if they got caught?” the eight-year-old asked.

“I’d be scared,” said a six-year-old, hugging his arms around himself.

Can you address those questions and fears?

Author Gloria Whelan: Your group of children expressed their fear for the children and the risks they were taking, but survival came first.  The slaves had no way of knowing what might become of them:  who would be sold and what was happening in the rest of the country that might impact their lives.  The children did what they had to.  At the same time there were happy moments in their lives:  the dancing on the cotton bales, their own church services, their friendship and the way the families supported one another.

THE DEEPENING: The Listeners delicately touches on some of the realities of slavery, subtly exposing a few of the troubling aspects of the institution–families separated, that educating slaves was illegal, that slaves were of less value than horses, that food, clothing, and shoes were scarce and not an entitlement. The skilled manner in which you present these facts as simple realities underscores their impact. Was presenting them in this way, as an accepted fact of life, intentional? If so, will the teaching materials discuss these aspects in greater depth and did this treatment have an effect to lower expectations and even create an acceptance of a lack of entitlement upon the African-American culture?

Author Gloria Whelan: In presenting the material the depiction of the lives of the slaves should be realistic, but I would hope “an acceptance of a lack of entitement upon the African-American culture” fades as the children identify with the three children.  That is the glory of fiction.

THE DEEPENING: Finally, when you wrote The Listeners, what did you personally want to share with your readers–what understandings? What message or messages do you want your readers to hear?

Author Gloria Whelan: At the end of a story the characters have become friends of the reader and more than friends, they have become a part of the reader’s life:  what has happens to them happens to the reader, what is unjust for them is unjust for the reader.

An Interview with Artist/Illustrator Mike Benny

Editor’s Preface: I sent a list of questions to Mike Benny, a man who just has to have a hugely busy schedule. Yet, not even half a day passed before he responded.  And, oh, how he responded!  You have to applaud an artist/illustrator, who, hit with a list of questions out-of-the-blue from yours truly, not only answers candidly, but with dash and aplomb.  Bravo, Mr. Mike Benny, a true professional, and fun, too, never mind an absolutely fabulous artist. (See the snips of artwork posted at the last of this feature and just look at the intimate, classic, evocative illustrative touch of this wonderful man’s work!)

THE DEEPENING: How did you get selected to be the artist for The Listeners?

Artist Mike Benny: I am not sure how Sleeping Bear chooses their artists for their  books. I had illustrated one prior book for them titled “America’s White Table.” After I completed my first book with Sleeping Bear I  kept in touch with Jennifer Bacheller, the art director at Sleeping Bear, and showed her some samples of another book I was working on.

THE DEEPENING: Were you already familiar with the author’s work? Have you illustrated other works for either Sleeping Bear Press and/or Gloria Whelan?

Artist Mike Benny: I was familiar with Gloria from a couple of books she had written for Sleeping Bear. “Yatandou” and “Yuki and the One Thousand Carriers.”  Both were wonderful books with beautiful illustrations.

THE DEEPENING: When you accepted the project, did you and the author sit down to determine which scenes would be portrayed or did you have a free hand to illustrate at will? Either way, how were the decisions made? What criteria were involved in determining which scenes to illustrate and how?

Artist Mike Benny: After I received the manuscript, I was pretty much left alone to come up with my vision from Gloria’s words. I believe it is fairly typical that the author and illustrator do not get together at this point. After I have read the manuscript  I create many sketches for each page of the book. I will often have very different ideas for what I could illustrate on a certain page.  I ultimately narrow down my sketch to the idea that  can generate the best illustration that also compliments the story. Illustrating a picture book is a long haul and it is important to make images that you can get excited about.

After I finished my sketches I created a dummy book with black and white sketches and sent it over to the team at Sleeping Bear. After the Author, Editors, Art Directors and Designers have had a look we all go over any concerns or questions they have.

THE DEEPENING: Did you use models or work strictly from inspiration?

I did not use any models for this book but I used a lot of reference material. I did a lot of research on plantation homes, slave quarters, slave clothing, cotton mills,etc. The location of this plantation was never given in the story, so I had to decide what specific region it takes place in.  The style of the plantation home, the slave quarters and even the cotton were different depending on where they were located so this was helpful to me for finding the correct  and consistent reference.

THE DEEPENING: Your artwork is unique, bringing the reader a very intimate connection with the story and the point-of-view character. Is this characteristic signatory to your artwork, or did you purposely strive to achieve that for the reader in The Listeners?

I did feel it was important to connect to the characters in the story. I think the intimacy from my pictures was due to the beautiful words of Mrs. Whelan.  Each page of the story elicited a certain emotion and I tried to capture it with my art.

THE DEEPENING: Which illustration was the most difficult for you and why?

The most difficult illustration was the family scene inside the cabin at the end of the book. I am intimidated a bit by illustrations with more than five people and this was such a  climatic scene to the story.

THE DEEPENING: Which illustration is your own personal favorite?

My favorite illustration is the scene when the children are running home after hearing the news that Abraham Lincoln has been elected  President. It had a lot of emotion and it also allowed me to show the course the children took from the slave quarters to the plantation home.

THE DEEPENING: What was the most rewarding thing for you in being chosen to illustrate The Listeners?

The aspect that I liked best about this book, is the way the book allowed the reader to feel the plight of the slaves in an interesting and new way.  We were allowed to see the real emotions they carried, the fear and terror as well as  the happiness and jubilation as the end of slavery neared.