Dreamy & Magical
Celebrating the books of Emily Winfield Martin
Last year, in my second article for WiistLore, I promised to discuss Emily Winfield Martin and her book Snow & Rose a bit more. Well, here we are.
To be honest, I'd nearly forgotten about it until I came across a boxed set of three picture books she wrote and illustrated, reduced from $54.99 to $7.99 at Ollie's. I couldn't buy it fast enough! The set is entitled Dreamy & Magical and contains The Wonderful Things You Will Be, Day Dreamers, and Dream Animals.
My favorite of these picture books is The Wonderful Things You Will Be. It reminded me of when I brought my newborn son home from the hospital and introduced him to everything for the very first time. Ordinary things, such as our front lawn, were magical when seen through his eyes. "Look! Grass! You've never seen this before!" Seeing what fascinated him made me ponder what he might be when he grew up. So naturally, this line in particular resonated with me:
This is the first time
There's ever been you,
So I wonder what wonderful things
You will do.
What I admire about this book are its optimism, its celebration of our uniqueness, and its message that a world of possibility awaits each of us. Little wonder it was a #1 New York Times bestseller. By itself it is worth the $7.99 I paid for the set, but the other two books are like the cherries on top. I especially enjoyed Dream Animals' art and design, combining lush line work with fully painted pieces. Once again, Emily hit me square in the feels with this two-page spread of a girl holding tightly to a fox. My first and most treasured stuffed animal was a red fox.
As I wrote in my prior column, the beautifully designed and illustrated cover of Snow & Rose instantly captured my attention.
What I haven’t told you, though, is that as much as I'm an art lover, I'm also a sucker for any story about Snow White and her sister Rose Red. Their relationship fascinates me. Any retelling, new insight, or angle is welcomed. Of the stories I've read, this is the best. It hews closely to the original tale while adding some welcome elements that help the characterizations, motivations, and plot. A couple of favorite additions are The Mushroom Boy and A Curious Library. They help make a somewhat bizarre story more relatable and fun. Martin’s writing is as poetic and beautiful as her illustrations.
As a kind of creative jack-of-all-trades, creators like Emily inspire me. She says she grew up reading comics, which at least partially explains her passion for both writing and illustrating. Comic book writers/artists such as John Byrne (Fantastic Four), Frank Miller (Daredevil), and Walt Simonson (Thor) motivated me as a kid to illustrate my own stories. One of her early influences was multi-talented Ghost World creator Dan Clowes.
It's taken me years and years to be halfway proficient, so I'm always amazed to find someone who appears right out of the gate to be so good at everything. Of course, it always seems like magic when you're looking at it from the outside. I'm sure it feels differently for her.
You can hear Emily tell her origin story in this 2012 video. She describes herself as both a dreamer and a practical realist, aka a misfit. She says the realist in her never believed she'd have the success she's had. As creators, we often have opposing voices in our heads. Dealing with them can be a challenge. Listening to other creators open up about the difficulties they face and their own doubts helps me face my own. Whether we're dreamers, realists, or some combination of the two, we are all, in our own way, misfits. And that’s not a bad thing. It just means we need each other.
Until next time, Always Be Creating!
—Bill