Cover Reveal Q&A: SOME OF THESE ARE SNAILS by Carter Higgins

Travis Jonker: What was the initial inspiration for this book?

Carter Higgins: Somehow you can make one 52-page concept book and not run out of things to explore, so how about a second? This one is all about sorting and size relationships, and absolutely has been knocking around my brain since I saw this short on Sesame Street way back in the day.

I scribbled down these initial ideas, and here we (almost) are.

TJ: Some of These Are Snails is definitely in the same world as Circle Under Berry (dare I say companion?) – What was different about making Snails compared to Berry?

CH: You’re right about Some of These Are Snails being a companion to Circle Under Berry. Since the text structure and visual world-building was already established, we had the framework for the book in place. It was still tricky, of course, but having those limits set really helped. The cover is a great example of what I mean—on both books, the title is one way to describe the picture on the cover, but is it the only way?

TJ: Can you explain a bit about your illustration process?

CH: A background in post-production has come in handy for me here, because I’m ultimately planning a graphic design project. Once my sketch dummy is approved, my final illustration process starts with a very satisfying inventory—what assets I’m making, which colors I’ll need, and how can I schedule the work to deliver on time?

Once I’ve got that, it’s a handful of accessible supplies: plain newsprint, cheap acrylic paint, and a piece of junk mail to scrape the paint. In this case, it was a coupon mailer for a local pizza parlor. I’m not a paint expert, but I think there’s something about the inexpensive paint that makes it a bit jumpy under the scraping pressure. The textures are just way too good. 

Because the shape language of each picture stays consistent, I created stencils for all of the pieces that make up any one thing. These range from a hand-drawn heart to the lid of a glue stick to the perfect square a Post-it pad makes. I used spare paper to work out what shapes I’d need to design each piece first, and particularly like the tiger and worm mock-ups here. 

Then: cut and paste from the pile of painted paper! I assemble each piece separately, scan them, and composite the page layouts and add small details in Photoshop. Despite repeated imagery, each picture in the book is entirely different—there are twenty-one ladybugs, seven bees, and twelve purple circles, for example. And then I decide which goes on which page. It looks simple, but it’s definitely a design puzzle. (Not to mention varying the traits here: the spots, the stripes, anything that could be a conversation starter for some, none, or all.)

TJ: What’s your favorite piece of art you made for the book?

CH: I really love the worms. Wiggly, wonky, pink, and perfect. 

TJ: Thank you, Carter!

And now, It’s my pleasure to reveal the cover for Some of These Are Snails by Carter Higgins, publishing May 2nd, 2023 from Chronicle Books:

From the publisher:

Press Here meets Eric Carle in a concept book that makes familiar ideas exciting and surprising.

From the creative mind behind Circle Under Berry comes this deceptively simple concept book that explores sorting, classification, and patterns as it teases the brain in unusual ways. With an elegant and simple approach, this thought-provoking book shows young readers that even the most familiar things can be seen from infinite perspectives. As with the best classic children’s books, you read it once, read it ten times—and see something new every time.

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