The Night Before Mother’s Day

‘Twas the night before Mother’s Day,
Scary, but true.
And if you’re a mother,
This book is for you.
Neither Doug MacLeod nor I are actually mothers, but that didn’t stop us making a great book about Mother’s Day. Or rather the night before. Doug wrote the hilarious poem, and I added the wonderful drawings, and Allen and Unwin turned it into an elegant and hilarious little hardcover book. There’s even varnish on the cover, so it’s fun to stroke too.
From the first time I read the poem, I wanted to do the pictures in retro-kind of look, channelling my inner Edward Gorey, but without the sinister overtones. So it looks a bit different to my usual work – I rediscovered cross-hatching, which I haven’t done virtually since Year 12 (which is a while ago now). It was great fun.
It’s the perfect present for Mother’s Day – the small size and tiny price means it’s a brilliant alternative to the usual wussy card, and way funnier.

• Year of Publication: 2012
• Genre: Illustrated
• Audience: Children