Good Reading for Kids caught up with MEM FOX and JUDY HORACEK to discuss Meerkat Mayhem, their hilarious new picture book.
MEET MEM FOX
What sparked the idea for Meerkat Mayhem?
I re-read an old folktale that I love, called The Great Big Enormous Turnip. I decided to make it more up to date, with different, more interesting characters. I also tried to make it funnier. I love meerkats – who doesn’t? So I chose a meerkat as my main character.
What can you tell us about the Meerkat in your story?
Oh, he’s hilarious! He’s quite a cool guy, but his downfall is that he eats too much, too often. One day he gets stuck as he’s leaving his burrow and … you need to read the rest!
Where do you get your love of storytelling?
I’ve always loved story telling. My mother thought I was good at it, so she encouraged me a lot, from an early age.
What was your favourite part of creating this book?
I really loved thinking up the various comments that Meerkat came up with, every time he knew he was still stuck in his burrow.
Describe this book in three words.
Funny, classic, crazy.
MEET JUDY HORACEK
What sparked the idea for Meerkat Mayhem?
Mem sent me the words of Meerkat Mayhem and asked if I wanted to draw pictures for the story. She had seen lots of cartoons of mine that had African animals – giraffes, zebras, elephants, so she knew I loved drawing those animals.
You’ve collaborated with Mem Fox several times. Can you share what the creative process is like? Do words or images come first?
This is our sixth book together. Our most common way of working is that her agent (who is also my agent) sends me the text to see if I would be interested. When I read the story, I get pictures in my head of what the pages in the final book could look like. I then do rough drawings, working out what words go on which page and what I will draw on each page. I spend a lot of time on this stage, moving things around, coming up with other things to add in. This is my favourite part of the process. Sometimes I ask Mem if she would mind changing some of the words or changing the order of some things so that I can tell the story better in my style, and she usually agrees.
The only book we’ve done differently is our first one, Where is the Green Sheep? which all started with a picture, not words. Mem saw an etching on my website that I had done of a green sheep (who was awake); she fell in love with it, and we went from there. We both came up with different sheep, until we found the perfect ones for the book.
How did you approach the illustration style for Meerkat Mayhem?
Meerkat Mayhem is done the same way I’ve done nearly all my picture books. First, I do the drawings of the outlines in black pen and ink, then I add the colour with watercolour paints. I use brushes to get the paint on the paper – a big brush for big areas like elephants, and a much smaller brush for meerkats. I often do three or four layers of watercolour on each bit, waiting for each one to dry in between, that helps me get really bright and interesting colours.
Do you have a favourite scene in Meerkat Mayhem?
I love the double page spread of the Monkey in the tree, looking at Meerkat, Elephant and Zebra far away in the distance. You see Monkey from behind, sitting on a branch watching the group in the distance. Bird is also in the tree, you might not even notice her on first reading, but she is there, and after you’ve read the book once, you’ll know how important she is to how it all ends.
Describe this book in three words.
Will Meerkat escape?
Or
Funny, bright, animalfull. (I know animalfull isn’t a word, but I think it should be)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mem Fox has written more than 40 books for children, including the bestselling and much-loved picture books Possum Magic and Where is the Green Sheep?. Other books by Mem include Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes, Hunwick’s Egg, Hello Baby!, A Giraffe in the Bath, Koala Lou, Baby Bedtime and Roly Poly. In 2019, The Tiny Star was released to great critical acclaim from the Australian Book Industry, and 2021 saw the release of two new picture books, Early One Morning and Cat Dog, followed by Our Dragon in 2023. Mem’s newest picture book, Meerkat Mayhem, to be published in late 2024, is another exciting collaboration from the talented and bestselling Where is the Green Sheep? team.
Mem has been presented with an array of book awards and was awarded an AM for services to the cultural life of Australia in 1993. Mem lives in Adelaide and is a retired Associate Professor of Literacy Studies from Flinders University, South Australia.
ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATOR
Judy Horacek is an Australian cartoonist, writer and illustrator. She has been drawing cartoons for many years and they have been published widely both in Australia and overseas, in books, newspapers, magazines and on merchandise.
Her work is often concerned with feminism, the environment and social justice issues. Ten collections of her cartoons have been published, including Woman with Altitude, Life on the Edge, I am woman hear me draw, and her most recent, Now or Never. Major retrospectives of her cartoons have been held at the National Gallery of Victoria, the National Museum of Australia in Canberra, and she regularly exhibits her watercolour paintings and limited edition prints.
Her first ever picture book was the highly acclaimed and bestselling Where is the Green Sheep?, created with Mem Fox. She has since published four picture books on her own, including The Story of Growl, and four others with Mem Fox. Their newest book together, Meerkat Mayhem, will be published in late 2024.
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