Book Reviews
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Read our review of Foxly's Feast and our Interview with the author, Owen Davey
Owen Davey is 23 and in 2009 he graduated from University College Falmouth with a First in BA (Hons) Illustration.
Owen has done illustrations for The Guardian Weekend, New York Times, The Times, Orange Together Magazine, BBC History, DDB, Anorak Magazine, Jamie Oliver Magazine, The Gro Company & End Of The Road. He's received a Macmillan Book Prize Award for his Picture Book Foxly's Feast and has gained three Awards from 3x3 Magazine for both Children's & Adult Illustrations. His first children's picture book ‘Foxly's Feast' is published in September 2010 by Templar Publishing...
You can find out more about Owen at www.owendavey.com. (Please note this link will take you to a third party's website.)
How old were you when you first started drawing?
I have absolutely no idea when I first picked up a pencil, but I know that as a kid I would prefer drawing castles in the sand with a stick instead of building them.
Do you write down your ideas or draw them?
It begins with words. Words become images. Images take over.
Tell us more about your debut children's book ‘Foxly's Feast' …
Foxly's Feast is about a hungry fox who sets off in search of food. He visits the farmyard, the fish pond and the rabbit's burrow, in search for the perfect feast.
Where did the inspiration for ‘Foxly's Feast' come from?
I was speaking to my dad the other day and he mentioned that whilst shuffling through some old papers, he'd found a little story that I'd written when I was a child. Reading through it, he realised that it was pretty much the outline for Foxly's Feast, so apparently I've had this idea meandering around my brain for quite some time. However, Foxly himself popped into existence about two years ago when I was on holiday.
I wanted to do a wordless narrative that allowed for ambiguous translations of the images and ensured that parents and kids had to think for themselves. You have to discuss the book, instead of reading it. They see the fox. They see he is hungry. They see that he's looking at other animals. Given the knowledge that foxes tend to eat the other creatures in the book, people assume the worst about Foxly, only to be proven wrong at the end. It was important to me that Foxly wasn't misjudged by another character in the book, but rather by the readers themselves. It forces children (and adults alike) to question their own preconceptions.
The illustration style for ‘Foxly's Feast' is quite different from other picture books – how would you describe your drawing style?
It's a style that comes from a love of retro colours and techniques, mixed with contemporary stylisation and modern technology. A mix of old and new.
What do you enjoy drawing the most?
Everything. That's what I love about my job. I like drawing animals, trees, arrows, typography, the sea, skeletons, old things, new things, patterns, people, inanimate objects; even the stuff that I find really hard to draw, I enjoy the challenge. Is that a cop-out though? For argument's sake … lets just say …trees. ‘Cause they all look different and there are so many ways to draw a tree with it still being recognisable as a tree.As you're a short film-maker too, will ‘Foxly's Feast' be heading into animation in the future?
Well I never say never … actually that's not true …I do …but not in this case. I think I'd love to tackle him in that context one day. I'm a great fan of animation; particularly stop-motion. Who knows. Hopefully.
Do you have more children's books planned for the future?
Oh hundreds. I'm working on about five stories all at once at the moment. I have so many ways I want to try approaching the medium. I just love the way text and image interacts with each other so uniquely in children's books. It's one of the only times that image and text are of equal importance. It's brilliant.
What advice can you offer budding young artists?
Draw. Lots. And think. Draw and think. There's nothing like working hard and persistence.
Do you have any projects in the pipeline you'd like to share with us?
Yes. Many. But you'll have to be patient!
Can you sum up ‘Foxly's Feast' in 3 words?
Fox. Food. Friends.
Published by Templar Publishing
Published September 2010
RRP £10.99 (large hardback)
ISBN 978-1848771253
Foxly's Feast is a wordless story of a vegetarian fox, which shows you shouldn't judge by appearance.
(The book review is by Lilly, aged 2 along with her mum)
Lilly really liked the pictures, especially the scenes with a lot going on in them. She had fun naming all the animals and food and she understood that the fox and owl were hungry and the start and full up after their picnic. Lilly loved the fox so much she kissed him!
We found this to be an engaging book and no words meant we discussed the pictures and talked about what could happen, for example, would Foxly eat an animal? Why had he got a backpack? Lilly enjoyed the book and although it's a large book it's not bulky so it was ideal for her to hold on her lap and ‘read'. The fact that Foxly's adventure was one a human could have made it much easier for Lilly to relate to the story, and having a vegetarian in the family also helped! I recommend this book as a great family read, you can let your imaginations create alternative story lines for Foxly meaning Foxly's Feast won't grow old.
Recommended for pre-school readers
