Phoebe's Review
I really enjoying writing book reviews as I love reading. Rory's Room of Rectangles is all about a boy who misses his dad. His parents have split up and divorced, and his mum has a new partner. When his teacher tells them they're going to be making Father's Day cards, he really looks like he doesn't want to be there. He makes one and then tears it up in a bad mood. When he gets home, he feels left out and starts to worry if his dad is lonely. He goes to an art gallery with his step-dad. All of the different patterns and pictures in the gallery make Rory feel all different mixed emotions: confusion, joy, fear and happiness, as well as many others. But Rory has a surprise to come that makes him think that Father's Day might not be so bad.Most people would enjoy this book but especially people who have gone through what Rory has. They can relate to it and understand how he feels at different times. I thought the way the pictures are set out and how colourful they are matches really well with the writing. When he draws his Father's Day card when he's really upset, it shows how much anger and emotion he's feeling in the pictures too. In the art gallery, there are lots of different emotions in the different paintings. I thought that was really clever.
I can empathise with how Rory feels because it has been a while since I've seen my dad and I don't see him very much anymore. Although the story sort of has a happy ending, I would say to Rory that he should always stay positive because better things are always coming his way. I really did enjoy it. It shows that even though people don't always have the family they thought they would, everyone is different and they should enjoy the family they have because that's their family. It really doesn't matter who the people in the family are as long as they love each other.
I would give this book 10/10 and when I am a school librarian next year, I will definitely read it to younger children.
Interview with Ian Eagleton
Hi, Ian. I hope you're well. Can you tell us a bit about your new book, Rory's Room of Rectangles?
Rory’s Room of Rectangles is a real celebration of blended families. It’s Father’s Day and Rory is feeling all kinds of BIG feelings. Who should he give his Father’s Day card to? He loves his Dad but Mum also has a new boyfriend called Tony, who’s really special to Rory. Who should he spend the day with? Will Dad be lonely and sad if Rory spends the day with Tony? A trip to a beautiful art gallery helps Rory understand his confusing and conflicting emotions.
Where did you get the inspiration from for this story?
Making cards for Father’s Day was always something I had to navigate carefully and gently as a teacher. There are so many families now that look different to the ‘mum and dad’ set up and it’s something children can become really aware of when they’re making any kind of card in the classroom for their family. I wanted to explore those difficult feelings.
My husband and I had also just adopted our little baby boy and agreed to meet our son’s birth father. It was a really lovely, positive meeting which was also very emotional and difficult. It got me thinking about different families and the different people who might be involved in our son’s life.
I also had a life-changing trip to an art gallery as a teenager – my parents took me – and I remember feeling overwhelmed, excited, and empowered.
Sam at Owlet Press was also another important driving factor in shaping the story. We had originally begun to explore adoption and same-sex family structures in the story but both felt that including a step-dad and step-family would be really important to lots of children.
Having written and published a middle grade novel earlier this year, how did it feel to come back to a picture book text?
Writing Glitter Boy was a fantastic experience. However, it was also physically and emotionally draining and took up the best part of two years. It’s a story about homophobic bullying, which is very close to my heart, and I was EXHAUSTED by the end of the process. In a way, it was lovely to return to writing a picture book – this is where I’m most confident and comfortable. However, picture books provide their own challenges. You have to write in a very concise way and make sure you leave room for the artwork and room for interpretation. You have to get your page-turns right to create a sense of rhythm and readability. However, I always particularly enjoy working on picture books with the team at Owlet Press, so in a way it was like coming home again!
The use of imagery, shape and colour to convey emotions is a really powerful tool. How did you feel when you first saw the illustrations for the book? Did you and Jessica Knight (the illustrator) have similar ideas on what the illustrations would look like?
I never actually spoke to Jessica about her artwork during the process! I learned very early on in my career that I am not an expert when it comes to illustration and it’s best for me to get out of the way and let these amazing professionals work their magic! Sam at Owlet Press and myself did have lots of conversations about what I was imagining in my head when I was writing though and I know Sam fed back all of our ideas to Jessica.
I was pretty blown away to be honest when I saw Jessica’s illustrations. They really are stunning – so warm and full of life! Both Jessica and I are both passionate about seeing different types of bodies in picture books and it was lovely to see so many different characters with different body shapes in the book.
Do you have any favourite artists? Do you like visiting art galleries?
I’m going to answer this with my ‘teacher hat’ on! I’ve done some amazing art projects with children based on the Brazilian artists Romero Britto. His work is full of colour and fun. With one Year 4 class, we once made a huge replica of Tiger in a Tropical Storm by Henri Rousseau, using mixed media. We took over a whole corridor with this jungle-themed display and it was beautiful. As a child, I LOVED all the artwork in the Ladybird books. There were a series of fairy tales and traditional tales and the illustrations were so ornate and atmospheric. I also loved the illustrations by Vilhelm Pedersen in the original version of The Little Mermaid.
I’m also going to include some children’s illustrators I love, because let’s not forget that they are artists too! I love Dapo Adeola’s sleek and modern style, Harry Woodgate’s warm and gentle pictures, Garry Parsons’ humour, Clara Anganuzzi’s use of colour, and Clara Vulliamy’s wit and verve.
In terms of art galleries, when we go away we always try and visit an art gallery. We had a honeymoon in Canada and I thoroughly enjoyed exploring the art galleries there. when I was studying art at GCSE and A-Level, my parents took me to the Tate Modern which was an amazing experience, too.
Tell us five surprising / fun things about yourself.
I’m actually a qualified personal trainer, spin instructor, and yoga teacher too!
I LOVE Mariah Carey – my book Glitter Boy is about a young lad who loves her too. I think everyone knows this about me though!
I used to want to be a merman.
I have a dog called Oscar who is full of life and very mischievous.
My comfort show on TV is Poirot and Marple!
Rory’s Room of Rectangles by Ian Eagleton, illustrated by Jessica Knight, is out now, published by Owlet Press. www.owletpress.com
