Un-Believable
Local Author Shares Imaginative Book With Children

BY JOSEPH LAW

Imagine what fun you could have if you had a special umbrella that controlled the weather directly underneath it and you could make a snowman in the summer or an oasis in the winter.

A large group of children got their chance to find out during a special story time session Thursday at Madison County Library.

Scott Franson, who teaches design and illustration in the art department at Brigham Young University-Idaho, introduced his first published book, "Un-Brella," to the children with a PowerPoint presentation that projected the pictures of his new book while he held it for those who were closer to the front.

"It's a wordless book," Franson said. "It's a chance for the children to make up their own story."

The colors are vibrant and the pictures appear three-dimensional.

He said he hopes books like his are used to introduce children to books.

The main character of the story is a little girl who never seems to be upset by the weather because she has a special umbrella that allows her to create her own microclimate wherever she goes.

So how do you "read" a book that has no words to a group of children? "I've put additional characters in the book and I'll ask, "What do you think they're thinking?" Franson said.

One of those characters is the little girl's cat. By its facial expressions we can tell that the cat is not always happy with the weather changes caused by the girl's "un-brella."

When he showed a picture of the girl adding a pathway full of snow and ice to her summery yard, he asked, "What do you think the cat is thinking?"

This prompted a discussion among the children in which they eagerly contributed their philosophies about the differences between dogs and cats.

Depending on the weather she chooses with her special umbrella, the young girl makes friends with animals that are attracted to that season: penguins for winter and robins for spring and even a snake.

Big trouble approached, however, when she took her own private snowstorm and headed for the house.

"Can anyone see a problem? What would your mom think if you built a snowman in the house?" Franson said.

"She wouldn't be happy," said a boy.

Franson said he first got into working on children's books as a way to help him teach his university students who are interested in the field of writing and illustrating.

He modeled the artwork for the book on techniques that use brightly colored paper cutouts and overlays, although all the pictures are actually generated on a computer.

He also got ideas and contributions from his own three girls and one boy.

Franson has been submitting books for 10 years, but this is his first success in getting one published.

He said he finished the artwork in April, about a year after he had the idea for the book.

"Part of the reason I did this in the first place is that a lot of students want to do it," he said.

He said actually going through the process of doing the artwork and working to get it published is the best way to learn to teach how to teach it to students.

Franson said he attended a class taught by author Eric Rohmann in June at a conference on writing and illustrating held at BYU in Provo, Utah. Rohmann won the 2003 Caldecott Medal for his book "My Friend Rabbit.

Franson said he showed his book "Un-Brella" to Rohmann, who said, "I need to show this to my publisher.

"He just took it and about a month and a half later I had a contract," Franson said.

The initial printing will be 7,500 copies.

He said it's hard to have a bestseller, because there are just a handful of those books.

However, it was obvious from watching the author interact with the children at the library that there are also some other rewards.

"It's just nice when children respond to the book," he said.

The work will be published beginning April 3 by Roaring Brook Press and will be available in bookstores on-line. For more information about the book and the author go to www.scottefranson.com.

Franson said if you're a writer or illustrator interested in getting published you should check out the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators and look for conferences to attend. Their Web site is www.scbwi.org.

He said another good source of information can be found at the Children's Book Council at www.cbcbooks.org.

He said information about what publishers expect helps authors avoid rejections.

Franson said the business of children's book publishing is really a bunny-eat-bunny world.