Having taught in art schools since 1956 I am not impressed by the use of materials because making the marks is the easy part – thinking out what you are going to say is the difficult thing. The overall impression I got was that many books aren’t done for children at all, but to show how clever an illustrator is at using a particular medium. ‘A few, not many, as I didn’t want to be influenced by anybody else. He began, then, to look at children’s picture books. In 1978 he did the line drawings for Humblepuppy, a Bodley Head collection of short stories selected by Eileen Colwell. Children respond to the humour in the story and absorb, en route, information about animals and their habitats.įrog was not Ron Maris’ first foray into children’s books. In Frog you can find plantains, dandelions, scutch-grass, ivy, water-lilies and iris. The strong visual impact of his work is reinforced by careful composition and minutely observed and accurately recorded detail. He paints with watercolour inks, whose bright clear colours survive the printing process well. ‘Doing it I realised how clever Pat Hutchins is – so clever that you are not aware until you try to write yourself.’ For the pictures he works first in pencil using both drawn and photographic references. The original text for Frog was longer: but he cut and cut until he found the right words. Ron Maris thinks using language well is important.

All combine to make a book ideal for children learning to read. The type-face is large and open (18 point Plantin with a specially designed ‘a’ and ‘g’). A 30 word vocabulary tells the 78 word long story. Frog is looking for somewhere to live but each suitable hole he investigates is already inhabited. The storyline in Better Move On, Frog! is neat and simple. I wondered if there might be a clash of interests amongst animals choosing the same habitat as a home.’ ‘I like watching animals: there are lots of frogs in the ponds in the gardens: there are field mice and voles living in the garden wall: there are badgers up the hill: tawny owls live in the wood and often come into the garden and there are plenty of rabbits about. It’s almost the countryside and it was there in his garden he found the idea for Frog. Ron Maris, a Senior Lecturer at Huddersfield Polytechnic, lives near the top of a steep hill on the outskirts of the town. (The Hutchins and Maris families have been friends since Ron and Laurence – both ex-students of Northampton School of Art – worked together in the vacation at Northampton Rep.) The success of Better Move On, Frog! (Julia MacRae) which appeared in 1982 has proved her right. It was Pat Hutchins who recognised that Ron Maris had the right talents and qualities to create distinctive picture books for young children and encouraged him to try.

Better Move On, Frog! by Ron Maris