Honey Cake

About the Author:
Joan Betty Stuchner writes:

I was born in England but moved to Canada when I was 18 - alone! Eventually I got a BA in English Literature. and also a teaching diploma from UBC, and I\'ve worked at UBC Library and taught at Temple Sholom School for years and years.

Being around books and kids has given me lots of inspiration, although most of my inspiration comes from either my experiences and memories, or ideas that just seem to pop into my head at any given moment. Not all those brilliant ideas become published books, alas, but some do.

My advice? Whatever ideas knock on your door, open up and let them in. Everything and everyone is a possible story, scene for a story or image in a story.

Always, but always carry three things in your bag or pocket. A book to read, a notebook in which to jot down ideas, and a pen or pencil with which to do the jotting.

Other Books by Joan Betty Stuchner:
Josephine’s Dream

Contact Joan Betty Stuchner at:
hayabat@shaw.ca

About the Illustrator:
Cynthia Nugent is a well-known creator of children’s books. She is the author of the juvenile novel Francesca and the Magic Bike and has illustrated nine picture books, including the Mister Got to Go series. She has a B.A. (cum laude) in English literature with graduate studies in Comparative Literature.

Cynthia writes:

Drawing the forty pencil illustrations for Honey Cake was an adventure. The book is set in 1940-43 Copenhagen and tells the story of a ten-year-old boy and how he helped in the fight against the Nazi invasion. When you’re an illustrator you need to be able to draw everything in the story. Imagine you are a movie director wanting to make a film of Honey Cake. You would need to film on location, going to Copenhagen or another European city that hasn’t changed since the war. This would be tough to find as much of Europe was destroyed by bombs and rebuilt in a modern style. You would need to find and rent 1940s cars and bicycles, and Nazi planes. You would also need to get costumes for ordinary people, soldiers and officers, and the king. You’d have to get a horse for the king to ride and many, many more authentic props.

Like a film director, an illustrator needs to find the actual props or clear pictures of them, such as a 1940s classroom, in order to draw them correctly. To do that, I found library books, googled images, and finally, flew to Copenhagen. There I rented a bicycle to ride around the city to visit places important to the story, such as the synagogue and Tivoli Gardens. I also visited the city’s excellent museums, included the Resistance Museum, The School Museum, and the Jewish Museum, taking my sketchbook to draw the exhibits. I also bought books, pamphlets and DVDs from the gift shops.

As part of my research, I went to Berlin where I spent a week with two teachers who took me to museums and historic sites that told the horrific story of the Nazi era.

I learned an enormous amount from illustrating Joan Stuchner’s wonderful and important book.

Other Books of Interest:
Cynthia as author:
Francesca and the Magic Bike
Cynthia as illustrator:
The Emerald Curse, by Simon Rose
Invisible Ink by Terry Griggs
The Silver Door by Terry Griggs

Contact Cynthia Nugent at:
Email:Jump8999@yahoo.ca
Website:http://www.cynthianugent.com/