My first encounter with Lane Smith’s illustrations was because of my kids. Through their book club at school, they bought The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs as told to Jon Scieszka. And then they made me sit still and look at the illustrations.
Those darn kids.
When they thought themselves too old too keep the book, they gave it to me. It was the paperback version, and is well worn. I just received the hardback from Amazon two days ago, and I’m oogling all over again.
Of course, Smith and his wife, graphic designer Molly Leach (unfortunately, no “official” Web site for her work), broke the mold of how a kid’s book was allowed to be told in The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales. It’s hard to mention Smith’s work without a nod to Ms. Leach. Both are fantastic. Both are inspirational. And both make me oogle.
Barnes and Noble made a video of the couple’s process and posted it on their site. I’ve embedded it here for convenience.