It’s no secret to any well-read toddler – Olivia is top piggy! Ian Falconer’s unexpected creation has caused a porcine sensation in the land of the picture book, and if you don’t know who Olivia is, you’re just not cool.
Although Ian has the face of a teenager, he was actually born in 1959. He discovered his love of art at a very young age, and when he was fourteen, his parents allowed him to go away to school at the Cambridge School of Weston in Massachusetts. This allowed him to concentrate on his art. He attended New York University for a short time, then attended Parson’s School of Design, finishing up his education at Otis Art Institute.
He worked for a time designing costumes and sets for the stages of London, Chicago, New York and Los Angeles. He has also designed fourteen covers for The New Yorker.
His career took a sharp turn when his little niece Olivia was born. Smitten from the start, he wanted to make a gift for her, and began to draw a simple story about a little pig doing all the things that rambunctious, healthy little girls like to do, up to and including driving their mothers crazy. After seeing his work on the New Yorker covers, Simon and Schuster called and asked him if he had any children’s book ideas. He presented them with “Olivia.”
Claiming Dr. Seuss as his inspiration for his use of minimal color, Falconer illustrates chiefly in black and white, throwing in an occasional splash of red. He prefers uncluttered pictures, often accented with a reproduction of a classic painting hung on the wall in Olivia’s home or being viewed at a museum. The books took off like Falconer never expected, taking up residence on the best-seller list and showing no sign of moving.
And what does the real Olivia think of this?
In an interview with Simon and Schuster, Falconer said: “I did a book signing out in Connecticut, and about half way through the book signing, Olivia came in with her parents just to say ‘hi.’” She had to have been five at the time, and she just sat down and started signing the books. She felt as if she ought to be signing as well!”
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Related Blogs:
Olivia Saves the Circus, Olivia and the Missing Toy
Parents in the Pigpen, Pigs in the Tub