With this post, I’m continuing my blog series profiling authors I know personally. Previously I profiled Jen Pitts, author of cozy mysteries, and Daniel Paliwoda, author of literary criticism who’s currently writing a memoir. This time I’m pleased to shine the spotlight on Liza Woodruff, a children’s book author and illustrator.
I met Liza when we were in nursery school together. I was three years old and she was four. We spent only that one year in school together before she moved on to attend elementary school. After that, we attended different elementary schools, middle schools, high schools, and colleges. In fact, we attended rival high schools when it came to sports…I’ll never forget the thrill of beating her school, and the agony of defeat when we lost, when I played on the basketball team! But, because we grew up in the same hometown, in the summers our families would occasionally bump into each other at one of many local events, such as the summer concert series.
With the magic of Facebook and the ability to find friends of friends, Liza and I reconnected a few years ago. At that time, I had already purchased one of the children’s books she had illustrated after hearing about it in our hometown’s local newspaper, which I’ve subscribed to over the years. I was impressed with her talent then and I’ve remained so as she has transitioned into not only illustrating but also authoring children’s books.
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Author and illustrator Liza Woodruff (Liza Woodruff
Children’s Book Author & Illustrator/Liza Woodruff) |
Liza has been listed as an illustrator in Bank Street College of Education’s Best Children’s Books of the Year 2024 (for 2023 publications) and as an author and illustrator in 2021 (for 2020 publications) for her book Once Upon a Winter Day. I’m sure her forthcoming book, Phil’s Big Day, all about Punxsutawney Phil of Groundhog’s Day fame, will be equally as lauded! You can find a list of all the books she’s illustrated and also authored and illustrated on her website.
In addition to her website, Liza maintains a Facebook page, an Instagram profile, and a LinkedIn account if you’d like to reach out and connect with her. I’m pleased to introduce you to her work! Following is an interview I conducted with Liza, which we edited collaboratively.
When did you first know you might become an illustrator? an author?
I loved art as a child. I drew and painted on my own and took classes outside of school that RISD (Rhode Island School of Design) offered to kids in the community and at a local art shop. It wasn’t until after the first year of art school that I knew I wanted to be an illustrator. I loved painting and sculpture, but the practical side of me was concerned with making money. A career in commercial art seemed much more certain than one in fine art. Luckily, I fell in love with children’s picture books in art school, which made my path clear.
I didn’t imagine I would also be able to write for children at first. About ten years ago, I took a job that I really wasn’t suited for. The story really didn’t interest me in the way that it should have, and my vision for the story was different from the publisher’s. This happens sometimes in commercial art, and as the artist, you have a choice of giving up your artistic vision and doing exactly what the client wants or staying true to yourself. As I tried to get through this project, I realized that the time had come to fully commit to my own artistic voice. In order to illustrate the characters that I was coming up with and the stories they had to tell, I needed to figure out how to write. It has been a long slow process, but it is so satisfying when I can make it work.
What or who motivates you to write or create art?
My writing is inspired by events from my childhood, experiences in my life, and my children. It has been helpful to look at life with a sense of play and wonder. The first book I both wrote and illustrated, Emerson Barks, was inspired by our dog, Emerson. When he could still hear, he barked a lot, and we spent so much time telling him to stop that I wondered what might happen if he tried to hold his barks in. His story came from that seed of an idea.
My book A Quieter Story came from the number of books that I was writing that were rejected because they were too quiet. There really wasn’t enough going on in my stories to make them marketable to editors. I decided to go against my nature and add things that would really fill the story with action and adventure. That took the main character and her cat on a journey through the story. My book that comes out in December, Phil’s Big Day, was inspired by my own and my son’s shyness and stage fright.
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Illustration of Phil in the bathtub. (Liza Woodruff
Children’s Book Author & Illustrator/Liza Woodruff) |
Where do you do most of your writing or create most of your art and why is that your chosen place?
Most of the time, I work in my studio which is located right off the kitchen in our house. I have lots of windows that look out onto our yard. I have multiple desks set up which give me lots of surface area to spread out. This is good because I cover that space with books and art materials which make a huge mess. I like working in the house also because our pets are there to keep me company. We have two old dogs and two cats who wander in and out of my studio all day long.
Whose books do you most like to read and why?
This is one of the hardest questions for me to answer. There are so many books that I enjoy–each one for a different reason. I love poetic books with beautiful language, books with lovely or interesting illustrations, funny books, books that make me think, books that teach me new things, and books that surprise me.
I do think books that capture and articulate the feelings of children while including humor are my favorites. I recently reread Creepy Carrots, by Aaron Reynolds, and it is so good. The story has a strong child perspective, is very funny, and has a surprise ending. I also like that the reader sees something in the illustrations that the main character doesn’t.
What advice do you have for aspiring authors or illustrators?
Work hard at what you love. Read lots and lots of books and then practice, practice, practice. That is the only way I have found to improve.
Anything else you'd like to share?
It is a great privilege to write and illustrate children’s books. I love knowing that children are reading my books and perhaps even finding some comfort from them. Because books really do provide a sort of refuge for many children, it’s very important for all kinds of children see themselves represented within their pages. I am happy to see diversity in current publishing. I do think these more inclusive books have had a very positive impact.
Children in years past have needlessly felt “othered” because of the homogenous nature of what was being published at the time. Books benefit children in all kinds of ways. Reading about the experiences of other people is a great way to see the world through someone else’s eyes and to develop empathy, and I think that’s amazing!