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Will Hillenbrand
What is your connection to Ohio?
I have lived almost all my life in Cincinnati, Ohio, where I grew up surrounded by stories in my neighborhood. My parents owned a barber shop where I listenened to conversations that seemed to me stories about adult life. When I wasn't at the shop, I spent hours at baseball games, sharing the stories about the teams and players that make up the mythology of baseball. My grandmother lived nearby and my three brothers and I would keep her company during thunderstorms while she told us stories about her earlier life on a farm. Although I regularly visited the nearby library, there weren't many books at our house.
What inspired you to become an author or illustrator?
I became interested in listening stories first. Having books read aloud to me is the most important reason I do what I do today. When my father read aloud The Night Before Christmas each year and I remember the sound of his voice giving life to the words as I conjured pictures in my mind.
What advice would you give to young author or illustrator?
It is simple, devour books! Read often, read widely, and have stories read to you (recorded books). Look at all kinds of art including picture books, draw and make art. Love art, love stories, and enjoy/love making your own.
What do you do for fun?
I love going to bookstores and libraries and browsing in books. I love to examine art supplies at the art storeroom. I love and look forward to the hours I spend with my family. I love the fun of sunny days and cloudy rainy days and all the days in between.
Some of your most popular books are:
- Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush ( 2003)
- Fiddle-I-Fee (2002)
- Kiss the Cow (2002)
- Down by the Station (2002)
- School Trouble for Andy Russell (2002)
- Twas' the Fright Before Christmas (2002)
- Parachuting Hamsters and Andy Russell (2001)
- Look Out Jack! the Giant is Back (2001)
- Counting Crocodiles (2001)
- Preschool to the Rescue (2001)
Links:
Will Hillenbrand
