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Why do you think picture books are important?
I think it's because picture books were my first encounter, as a young child, with the world of reading, literature, and imagination. It's easier to start feeling comfortable with the concept of wonder, imagination, and storytelling when you do it through picture books; it's not as intimidating.
Because a lot of picture books are meant for children, I also find that they bring the best qualities of human beings. As an adult, I find picture books are my refuge when I need to be reminded that at the core of life, we have good qualities. The innocence, curiosity, and childlike perspective I get from reading picture books helps me to find new stories in life.
What did you enjoy about working on the book and what did you find difficult?
The writing and colouring process are my favourite parts because it's all about exploration and finding new things. I enjoy writing because that's where I usually start things from, and it's usually very raw without having any boundaries to tell my story. It's very fun. I enjoy colouring because it's very soothing and therapeutic. I mostly do water-colouring, so there's a phase where I have to leave the artwork to let the colour dry and set; and that's like a letting go process to let the colours interact with the paper and be whatever they need to be.The most difficult part is finding the balance of text and illustration. I don't want them to be the same. I like the illustrations to show the things the text doesn't reveal. I like the illustrations to be connected to the text, but not exactly it. It can be very trivial and mundane, but it's about a world that the story is living in. I want to leave room for readers to create new stories from the illustrations.
It's a little bit of both, but usually, I would have a sentence that summarizes the story. For When It Rains, I always wanted to do 'a story of rainy days, because there's so many things going on when it rains.' And then immediately I would have an idea of a scene that I want to draw. This scene can be part of the opening, middle, or ending; so depending on that I build the story from this particular scene, or find a way to get my story to this scene.
We currently have a call for picture book manuscripts, closing on 20th April. What advice would you give to anyone writing a picture book?
Start with a simple story, but imagine a bigger world at the back of it. Even when you can't put it into your text, you can build the world with the pictures, and even if you can't fit in the whole world in the picture, you're allowing your readers to find and create it themselves, and they can be more engaged to your book.
What has been the best response to your book (original or translation)?
Two of my favourite responses came from kids who told me the story of the book and introduced me to the characters of the book as if they were their friends, and parents who come to say how their children love the book and it has been their favourite bedtime story. To know that my story has been a part of their world and intimate moments means a lot to me.
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MORE ABOUT RASSI:
Rassi Narika has been writing since she was a child. She worked as a creative writer for Tulisan in 2011, where she fell in love with the combination of writing and illustration. While studying at Goldsmiths, University of London, she started to explore this combination, and she wrote and illustrated her first picture book when she co-founded Seumpama. When It Rains is her second picture book.Rassi now lives in Jakarta, in a little house which feels very cosy even when it’s raining outside.
Order your copy of When It Rains in our webshop for £10.00.
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