SUBSCRIBE
SUBSCRIBE
SLJ Blog Network +
  • 100 Scope Notes
  • A Fuse #8 Production
  • Good Comics for Kids
  • Heavy Medal: A Mock Newbery Blog
  • Teen Librarian Toolbox
  • The Classroom Bookshelf
  • The Yarn
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • About/Contact
  • *Best New Books*
    • Annual Best Lists
  • Reviews
    • One Star Review
    • Nonfiction
    • Toon Reviews
  • Articles
    • Authors
    • Link Du Jour
  • Covers
    • Covering the Newbery
    • Cover Curiosity
    • Unfortunate Covers
  • News
    • Books on Film
    • Morning Notes
  • Newsletter

September 19, 2019 by Travis Jonker

Finding FAUSTO, an Interview with Oliver Jeffers

September 19, 2019 by Travis Jonker   Leave a Comment

Oliver Jeffers has a new book out this week. It’s called The Fate of Fausto and it manages to be both timeless and timely, as the main character seeks dominion over the natural world.

SCROLL TO KEEP READING THIS POST

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

I emailed with Oliver about the book.

Travis: Thanks for taking my questions, Oliver. So The Fate of Fausto – is it fair to call the book a cautionary tale?

Oliver: I suppose if you had to. I wouldn’t go out of my way to say it is a cautionary tale as I think there is a degree of more subtlety than that. I think The Fate of Fausto underlines the current ignorance and arrogance that is part of the existence of modern humanity. The reality is that it isn’t a cautionary tale as it doesn’t actually warn against anything.

Travis: What was the writing process like?

Oliver: The process was immediate and came out in one go. I found the first sketch book and very little had changed from the first sketched until now.

The idea for The Fate of Fausto came about while I was thinking about something else. I was in a car on the northern coast of Antrim in Northern Ireland and everything I wrote was what I saw around me, so there was a sense of immediacy in that way.

Travis: The book immediately stands out to me for its spareness. How did that come about?

Oliver: The book was made using traditional lithographic techniques and I did that because it felt like an old story and I wanted to honour traditional book making techniques and the sparseness comes from using lithography as a medium. Also I didn’t know what I was doing!

Travis: Now for the big question: What snack puts you in peak creativity mode? Or was there a particular snack that powered this book?

Oliver: Crepes! The book was made at IDEM studios in Paris, which happens to be on the street that is the crepe capital of Paris! It is right by the train station in the northern part of the city.

Travis: Thank you Oliver! And thank you Lizzie Goodell for making this interview happen.

Filed under: Authors

SHARE:

Read or Leave Comments

About Travis Jonker

Travis Jonker is an elementary school librarian in Michigan. He writes reviews (and the occasional article or two) for School Library Journal and is a member of the 2014 Caldecott committee. You can email Travis at scopenotes@gmail.com, or follow him on Twitter: @100scopenotes.

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Posts

April 2022

THIS BOOK IS NOT FOR YOU! An Interview with Shannon Hale

by Travis Jonker

March 2022

Now on The Yarn: Gordon Korman

by Travis Jonker

February 2022

Sydney Taylor Award Blog Tour: Gordon Korman

by Travis Jonker

December 2021

Books on Film: Jason Reynolds on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

by Travis Jonker

November 2021

For Your Listening Pleasure: Amy Timberlake on The Yarn Podcast

by Travis Jonker

ADVERTISEMENT

SLJ Blog Network

100 Scope Notes

One Star Review, Guess Who (#167)

by Travis Jonker

A Fuse #8 Production

Review of the Day: The Last Mapmaker by Christine Soontornvat

by Betsy Bird

Good Comics for Kids

Tails of the Super-Pets | Review

by J. Caleb Mozzocco

Heavy Medal

Many May Suggestions: First Quarter Mock Newbery Possibilities

by Emily Mroczek-Bayci

Teen Librarian Toolbox

How I WILL PROTECT YOU Fills a Gap in Holocaust Education, a guest post by Danica Davidson

by Amanda MacGregor

The Classroom Bookshelf

Farewell From The Classroom Bookshelf

by Erika Thulin Dawes

The Yarn

Grant Snider Visits The Yarn!

by Travis Jonker

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Articles on SLJ

45 Superb Works by Rachel Isadora, Christina Soontornvat, & Candace Fleming | Starred Reviews, May 2022

9 High Stakes Survival Stories for Readers of 'Hatchet'

29 Books that Celebrate All Aspects of Jewish Life | Jewish American Heritage Month

11 Nonfiction Titles for Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month

Time to Refresh the Canon: Here Are Our Picks

Commenting for all posts is disabled after 30 days.

ADVERTISEMENT

Archives

  • Author/Illustrator Blogs

    • Erin Stead Illustration
    • Hey, Rabbit!
    • James Preller's Blog
    • MATTHEWCORDELLBLOGS
    • Mo Willems Doodles
    • The Scop
  • Book Blogs I Like

    • A Book and a Hug
    • A Fuse #8 Production
    • A Kids Book a Day
    • A Year of Reading
    • Abby (the) Librarian
    • Awful Library Books
    • Becky’s Book Reviews
    • Better Book Titles
    • Book-A-Day Almanac
    • Bookends
    • books4yourkids.com
    • bookshelves of doom
    • Bottom Shelf Books
    • Calling Caldecott
    • Caustic Cover Critic
    • Chad C. Beckerman
    • Charlotte’s Library
    • Cheryl Rainfield
    • Chicken Spaghetti
    • CHILDREN’S ILLUSTRATION
    • Collecting Children’s Books
    • Cybils
    • EarlyWord
    • educating alice
    • Finding Wonderland
    • For Those About to Mock
    • Good Comics for Kids
    • Good Show Sir
    • GottaBook
    • Great Kid Books
    • Heavy Medal: A Mock Newbery Blog
    • Hi Miss Julie!
    • Jen Robinson’s Book Page
    • Kidsmomo
    • Maria T. Middleton Design
    • Nerdy Book Club
    • Neverending Search
    • Nine Kinds of Pie
    • One Book, Two Books, Old Books, New Books
    • Out of the Box
    • Oz and Ends
    • PlanetEsme
    • Read Roger
    • Reading Rants!
    • Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast
    • sharpread
    • ShelfTalker
    • so tomorrow
    • The Children's Book Review
    • The Miss Rumphius Effect
    • Uncovered Cover Art
    • Waking Brain Cells
    • Watch. Connect. Read.
  • Library Blogs

    • ALSC Blog
    • Blue Skunk Blog
    • librarian.net
    • LISNews
    • Stephen's Lighthouse
    • Tame The Web: Libraries and Technology
    • Tame The Web: Libraries and Technology
    • Unshelved
  • Follow This Blog

    Enter your email address below to receive notifications of new blog posts by email.

    This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

    This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

    Primary Sidebar

    • News & Features
    • Reviews+
    • Technology
    • School Libraries
    • Public Libraries
    • Age Level
    • Ideas
    • Blogs
    • Classroom
    • Diversity
    • People
    • Job Zone

    Reviews+

    • Book Lists
    • Best Books
    • Media
    • Reference
    • Series Made Simple
    • Tech
    • Review for SLJ
    • Review Submissions

    SLJ Blog Network

    • 100 Scope Notes
    • A Fuse #8 Production
    • Good Comics for Kids
    • Heavy Medal
    • Neverending Search
    • Teen Librarian Toolbox
    • The Classroom Bookshelf
    • The Yarn

    Resources

    • 2022 Youth Media Awards
    • The Newbery at 100: SLJ Celebrates the 100th Anniversary of the Award
    • Special Report | School Libraries 2021
    • Summer Reading 2021
    • Series Made Simple Spring 2021
    • SLJ Diverse Books Survey
    • Summer Programming Survey
    • Research
    • White Papers / Case Studies
    • School Librarian of the Year
    • Mathical Book Prize Collection Development Awards
    • Librarian/Teacher Collaboration Award

    Events & PD

    • In-Person Events
    • Online Courses
    • Virtual Events
    • Webcasts
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Subscribe
    • Media Inquiries
    • Newsletter Sign Up
    • Content Submissions
    • Data Privacy
    • Terms of Use
    • Terms of Sale
    • FAQs
    • Diversity Policy
    • Careers at MSI


    COPYRIGHT © 2022


    COPYRIGHT © 2022