RAR #258: How Picture Book Illustrations Tell Half the Story with Charles Santoso

Read-Aloud Revival ®

Sarah Mackenzie

Books, Homeschool, How To, Read-aloud, Kids & Family, Teaching From Rest, Reading, Education, Parenting

4.9 • 3.3K Ratings

🗓️ 23 January 2025

⏱️ 45 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Dear Duck, Please Come! is the most fun I’ve ever had writing a book.

But writing the words is only half the story for a picture book. Which is why today, I’m delighted to share my conversation with the illustrator of Dear Duck, Please Come!, Charles Santoso.

Charles was born in Indonesia, raised in Australia, and now lives in Singapore. He’s illustrated tons of books we love here at Read-Aloud Revival, and I was over the moon that he agreed to illustrate Dear Duck.

In this episode, we’re diving into the collaborative process of creating a picture book, the inspiration behind Dear Duck, Please Come!, and how illustrations tell a story.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

How Charles decides on the tone and style of his illustrations
The way the world of Dear Duck developed from first sketches to the final illustrations
Charles’s best advice for aspiring illustrators

Learn more about Sarah Mackenzie:

Find the rest of the show notes at: readaloudrevival.com/how-illustrations-tell-half-the-story

To join us for the "Reading as Refreshment" Retreat on 1/31-2/1, sign up at circlewithsarah.com!

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey Sarah here. It seems like everyone starts the new year with goals for improvement. And if you're a reader, you might be trying to improve your reading life. As moms, we can often justify reading nonfiction that makes us better at what we do, right? Better moms, better homeschoolers, better at doing whatever work we're called to. But what does reading fiction
0:22.5	do for us? And does it deserve a place in our lives? Is it possible that reading fiction is one of
0:28.5	the primary ways we can find joy in our day-to-day lives and the inspiration to live it well
0:34.3	and to love God fully. We think so.
0:38.0	You're invited to Read Aloud Revivals Circle with Sarah retreat on Zoom at the end of January.
0:44.0	The retreat is called Reading as Refreshment.
0:47.5	That's R-A-R.
0:49.4	Get it?
0:50.5	Find out how to overcome readers' block, how to get to know your own reading taste, and discover
0:56.1	how to read classics and actually enjoy them.
0:59.6	We'll also make time for the best part of all, the reading, of course.
1:03.8	To join us, go to circle with sarah.com.
1:06.6	The retreat is January 31st and February 1st on Zoom, and you don't want to miss it.
1:11.7	Circlewithcera.com.
1:14.4	I love picture books.
1:16.1	Like, I love the object.
1:17.7	I love the smell.
1:19.0	I love the people that made it.
1:20.7	Really nice people and then very, very talented.
1:23.7	Because, like, to me, as an illustrator, of course, like, the best part of it is
1:28.6	illustrating and stuff. But when it's combined with the text, oh, it's just magic. It's truly
1:34.2	magic. Like, I'm feeling this deeply because I'm like, I feel this way about picture books, too.
	...

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