Kate Greenaway shortlist 2020: Q&A with Chris Naylor-Ballesteros

March 19th 2020

We catch up with writer and illustrator Chris Naylor-Ballesteros, whose book The Suitcase has been shortlisted for the 2020 Kate Greenaway Medal.

Q: Congratulations on your shortlisting for the Kate Greenaway Medal for The Suitcase. What does it mean to you to be shortlisted?

Thank you. It's quite incredible - it's a really huge and unexpected honour. The other longlisters, shortlisters and previous recipients are beautiful books illustrated by people I admire and have been inspired by. If I'm really honest it's quite odd to see my name amongst them, I still feel like a newcomer.


Q: Why do you think children’s book awards are so important, and particularly awards for illustration?

I think children's books shape minds at an age when they are very impressionable and open to influence, both positive and negative so it's good to acknowledge the people that write and illustrate them and who hopefully change for the better how we see and feel about the world at a very young age.
Illustrators are sometimes perceived as the lesser partner in terms of who creates a book - the writer and the story often take precedence. But I think it's the pictures that give us a sense of atmosphere and emotion that stick in the subconscious longer.

Also the Shadowing scheme of the CILIP and Kate Greenaway Medal is a brilliant idea. Anything that illuminates to children the process of making picture books is a good thing, and that they're not something to be forgotten and ignored once we get older and move onto longer texts and less pictures. Just in terms of art and graphic design, picture books are a source of inspiration for all ages. And the stories are often as relevant to adults as much as they are to children.


Q: The Suitcase tells the story of a group of animal friends who discover the contents of a stranger’s suitcase, and then set about trying to make him feel welcome in his new home. It’s an excellent book for starting a discussion on empathy and tolerance with young children, and talking about the experience of refugees. Is there a key message you’d like readers to take away from the story?

I hope the key message is about trust and not assuming the worst of someone, even if we're led to believe their story is implausible. I thought it was important too that there wasn't a hero who solved everything. Some characters seem more empathetic and 'nicer' than others but no one really pops up and saves the day. They collectively realise they've made a mistake and decide to make amends. I think that's what life is like - untidy and confusing at times, but we have to think and hope for the best of each other and muddle through.


Q: You wrote and illustrated The Suitcase – can you tell us a bit more about your creative process and how the book came together? What was your inspiration for writing the book?

I was trying to develop a story about a wall that divided two populations and the misconceptions about life on the other side - this was around the time of the US presidential elections and the Brexit referendum. But the story wasn't really working. I was doodling, trying to spark something that would make it work, and I drew a confused-looking animal character with a rucksack stood at the bottom of this wall looking up at it. They immediately seemed more interesting to me than the wall, so I ended up thinking about that instead - where they came from and where they might be going and, of course, what might be in their baggage. The rucksack turned into a suitcase and the wall disappeared (just like that!) and then the story became about the reception this stranger gets when it arrives somewhere new.


Q: Who are your favourite authors and illustrators, and are there others who have influenced your work?

I'm really no expert on children's authors and illustrators. There are a few books I knew as a child then a twenty-five year gap and then the books I bought for my children. That's when realised I loved the medium and the possibilities. So I'm still discovering brilliant new things that are in fact quite old.
I certainly always loved Quentin Blake. I think of him a bit like the illustrators' Beatles - you can't help but be influenced to some extent, he's in the picture book air that we breath - certainly mine. Some that inspired me to start making my first book as I read them to my children were Jon Klassen's Hat books, David Roberts' illustrations (especially for Julia Donaldson's Tyrannosaurus Drip), Axel Scheffler, Oliver Jeffers and Carter Goodrich. I'm still discovering new and old ones alike - it's a very big and colourful world to discover.

The Suitcase is available to order now.