This week we interview author/illustrator Natasha Kennedy. She’s the illustrator for the Fat Cat series of books we discussed last week.
Our Guest: Natasha Kennedy
Natasha Kennedy is a freelance illustrator and homeschooling mom from Seattle, Washington. She and her husband, Lindsay, have four children and a grey kitty named Tiny.
Books Discussed in this Episode:
Transcript with Links:
Terrie:
Welcome to “Books That Spark,” a podcast for parents and caregivers, celebrating books that spark imagination, emotion, questions, and discussion, leading to teachable moments with our kids. Today we have a first on Books That Spark. We’re introducing you to Natasha Kennedy, who is an author and illustrator. Her main focus right now is illustrating the Fat Cat series of books that offer information about the catechism for our children, and I’m so excited to get to talk with her today. Thank you, Natasha, for joining us today.
Natasha:
Yeah, thank you so much for having me, Terrie. This is a real pleasure.
Terrie:
Well, we want to start by talking about the newest books you have out. And I love, love, love the illustrations. They’re so colorful and there’s so many hidden items in the pictures to look for, talk about with your kids and everything. So it’s really intriguing, it’s really engaging, I guess is the word I’m thinking of for kids. So tell us a little bit about these books.
Natasha:
Well, yeah, we call them the Fat Cat books. There is a fat cat in it, but the title kind of is referring to a very rich catechism, kind of the basics of our faith. That actually is a really exciting series to work on because I feel like I’m getting to draw pictures that are at the very foundation of building a child’s faith. When we raise our kids, we’re not just starting up humans, we’re starting the beginning of their faith and their relationship with Jesus. So it feels really special to draw pictures that I know are going to be forming a kid’s imagination for Jesus and praying and… Yeah, the foundations of their faith.
Terrie:
That’s great. So the two titles that are out currently are The King of Christmas. And, we talked with the author recently, Todd Hains, and I love this story. And he mentioned how in each picture we keep adding people as each page goes through, and that it took you a long time to get all the pictures drawn because there was so much to put in each picture. What is that like to illustrate the words of other people?
Natasha:
Oh, it’s hilarious. In the past, I really only illustrated my own stuff, so this was my first time working with authors, and editors, and a team of editors that goes over it afterwards and is like, “Why did you draw this that way? Fix that over there,” you know? So even just that was like, wow, this is a big learning curve for me. Oh yeah, with the Christmas book, it was hilarious because Todd kind of had this idea about somebody joining along each spread. I was like, “Okay, cool. Yeah.” And then as more and more characters are joining, I kept texting him like, “Todd, do you realize how many people are going to be on this page?” Like, I have to make this look good, You know? And he’s like, “Oh, it’s great,” you know? And he’s a big picture story fan, and like, books for kids just have so much detail and there’s a way of that being done well, and there’s a way where that can just become cluttered. So the challenge for me was, how can I craft this page where your eyes are drawn first to the most important thing, and then you’re kind of staging everyone like a play, you know, everyone’s location, and then you’re kind of like working on the peripheral stuff, where you know, a kid’s eyes are going to wander around, they want to look everywhere. And so there’s kind of different things I prioritize for each page. When I did the Easter one next, and it’s got a very similar formula where someone joins along every time, and by the end there’s something like 27 people on the spread. And I was like, “God, like this is taking me like 12 hours of spread. Like this is so much.” And it just turned out so good that I didn’t even care.
Terrie:
That’s awesome. I thought it was so cute too, because you talk about the oceans in the front, so you have to have a fish join the party in the Christmas, and I’m like, “Okay, how are you going to do that?” And you do,
Natasha:
Yeah, that’s kind of the fun thing about drawing for kids. You can kind of think out of the box and do something that maybe doesn’t make sense, but kind of does. And yeah, they brought a little fishbowl.
Terrie:
Yeah, I think they’ll get a kick out of it. And of course, the Fat Cat is on every page and they have to find him, and then the other one that is out is The Lord’s Prayer for All God’s Children. And tell us about that, when you have very similar characters. I mean, the style is the same for both, right? Pretty much.
Natasha:
Yeah. The first book we ever brought out in the Fat Cat series is called The Apostle’s Creed. And these are kind of riffing off of these books for adults that Lexham Press had brought out on Christian Essentials. So they had brought one on Apostle’s Creed, one on Lord’s Prayer, 10 Commandments, and so on. And so we’re kind of doing kids’ books to match. And in The Apostle’s Creed, it was very similar in that you have the main text of the Creed and then some commentary written by author who knows what they’re talking about. And so that’s putting it mildly. These guys are awesome.
Terrie:
Oh, I know. Yeah, I was looking at their credentials,
Natasha:
It’s like, “Woah.” It was really humbling to work with these guys, to be honest. But The Lord’s Prayer, yeah, it has this very similar art style. I’m trying to stick to one particular art style for all the Fat Cat books, so they all have the same Jesus in it and Fat Cat. And then if there’s repeating characters from Bible scenes, I try to keep them consistent.
Terrie:
As an artist, is that hard to do?
Natasha:
Yeah, I mean, it’s always hard drawing the same person twice and making sure they still look like themselves, even though it’s a different drawing. But I kind of have a little database of characters that I’m keeping in case we do a children’s Bible or something like that. Oh yeah. So that I can always refer back to it, but it’s not too hard.
Terrie:
Okay. How long have you been illustrating?
Natasha:
I mean, I’ve been drawing since I could hold a pencil, but I didn’t really start doing things for pay until I was in college. I didn’t actually go to school for art. I went to school for theology, but I just really liked drawing, so it ended up winning out in the end in terms of what I did as a career.
Terrie:
That’s cool. I wish I could. Okay, so you have the Easter book coming out next, and then what else is coming out next?
Natasha:
Well, I’m currently beginning the illustrations for The 10 Commandments book, which is really exciting, but might be the hardest one we’ve had to do, simply because the 10 Commandments, nothing wrong with them being in the Old Testament, but we’re illustrating them through Jesus’ life. That’s what we do with all of the main books, is we use scenes from Jesus’ life. And how do you illustrate the 10 Commandments without the focus being more about moralism and what you do and don’t do, rather than a gift? And the heart of the law being loving God and loving others and how Jesus fulfills it with who He is, rather than focusing on “don’t do this, do do that. Don’t commit adultery, children,” you know. So it’s taking us a bit longer, but I think it’s going to be really good.
Terrie:
Cool. I can’t wait to see it. Okay, and I know you’ve are also an author. Tell us a little bit about your books that you’ve written.
Natasha:
Oh, well, I do some books for adults and young adults and some books for children. So the stuff for adults tends to be mostly in the graphic novel comic book world, with a lot of symbolism and more of a theological twist. But my children’s books, I really just started making them when I started having kids because I just wanted to give them something special that was unique for our family, and I’ve always included them in helping me make them. So those books are called Where I Go when I Sleep, and each book features one of the kids and different kind of imaginative ways for them to approach bedtime and sleeping and dreaming as a positive thing and as something exciting. I’m actually working on the fourth one of those right now since I ended up having one more kid, and I figured she should get one too. a bit later, but I figured I should do it.
Terrie:
Well, you mentioned that you have some books that are kind of along the graphic novel side of things. We have a lot of listeners who have teenagers and young adult children. Can you go ahead and tell us a little bit about those books that maybe they would want to check those out?
Natasha:
Oh, well, yeah, kind of gets me nerding out a little bit, but I’m a big Tolkien and Lewis fan, so I love using narrative and fantasy to teach deep truths. And so Recklas Abandon was my first graphic novel in that it’s kind of like, done as a satire, like noir kind of murder mystery that’s kind of getting into what we do with trauma. And then my other one, Tempest, is kind of long form texts with pictures and stories, and it’s kind of more of a fantasy and more for later teens. Yeah, it’s one that I would tell parents to read first and decide if they wanted to let their kids read, not because it’s terrible or anything, but because it’s quite heavy in terms of the kind of stuff that you’re dealing with, but that one is more focused on symbolism. Yeah, it’s hard to describe.
Terrie:
No, that’s good. I have a lot of parents who say they’re not afraid for their kids to read these heavy subjects. They just like to know ahead of time so they’re ready for the questions, or the discussions.
Natasha:
Yeah, exactly. That one I’d read ahead of time.
Terrie:
Okay. Yeah, I interviewed C.S. Fritz, I don’t know if you know his work, but it’s dark. And he was abused as a child, and he brings that into his novels. And his adult novel is like really gaining a lot of renown, and they’re making a movie out of it, but it’s really terrible in spots, so you just have to be aware of these things. But he’s kind of along the lines with Derickson who helped with Dr. Strange, the producer, he wrote The Exorcism of Emily Rose, and he feels that Christians should write horror because we have the answer to the horrors of life. And so C.S. Fritz feels that way too, that believers are the ones who have the answers. And I’m like, “Okay, that’s a good point. And I agree with that, but I still don’t like to read horror.”
Natasha:
I try to…yeah. My mentality with that, I just had this great discussion about this with a friend of mine, but my mentality is that we definitely have the answers and the resources to really deal with this stuff, But I have a kind of a conviction about like, the good authors know how to talk about evil, and they know how to talk about deep things without traumatizing the reader. So it’s like, what I want to be able to do is talk to children and young adults about heavy things without actually doing the harm of the evil. I don’t want to give the evil power.
Terrie:
We talk about that in my critique group. We don’t want to trigger some sort of trauma that someone has already experienced, but yet helping them to work through it and find healing and wholeness. And it’s a tight rope of knowing how to find that perfect medium there.
Natasha:
And language is this beautiful thing where you can say a lot with a few words and you’ll get the meaning and you’ll get the richness, but you don’t have to actually make someone watch the horror works, or be horrified necessarily. That’s how I like to approach things like that.
Terrie:
I love that, I think that’s good. Well, I always like to ask my guest, what is your heart for the work that God has given you? Why are you doing what you’re doing?
Natasha:
Hmm. Well, my heart is always at the very heart of it. It’s that Jesus is such a good, true and beautiful thing that I want my life to reflect that and constantly be erupting with inspiration over his truth and how beautiful He is. And even before I was a mother, I was wanting to tell stories and draw pictures that brought that truth to people. But I feel like specifically with Fat Cat and with my books, and especially now that I’m a parent, I’m just really compelled by how much we’re changed and moved by input and by fiction and by what we see and what we read. And it’s so important for Jesus himself to be at the heart of that. I mean, in Fat Cat, for the most part, Jesus’ face is like on every page, it’s like, I want Him to be someone that I’m bringing to people, or I want to bring people to Jesus. And that’s where life is, that’s where true beauty is. So I’d say that’s probably my main thing.
Terrie:
That’s beautiful, I love that. I appreciate so much you sharing with us today, and I would love to talk with you again as you have more books coming out in the future. I love what you’re doing. You’re an amazing illustrator. You really bring the words to life, and I just love it. The kids are going to love these pictures, so thank you so much.
Natasha:
Oh, thank you, Terrie.
Terrie:
Thank you for joining us for “Books That Spark,” a podcast, celebrating books that spark imagination, emotion, questions and discussions to help our children follow Christ with their whole hearts. If you would like to get in touch with Natasha, you can find your information on her Amazon author page, and I’ll have that link in the show notes. And if you would like to get in touch with me, you can reach me at TerrieHellardBrown.com. I would love for you to like and share if you enjoyed this episode, so that other people know we’re here, it really helps to promote our podcast and to help more people find us. In addition to that, I would also love for you to join my mailing list. I have a mailing list where I send out special blog posts, emails, newsletter information just for those who are on my mailing list. You also get notified when I post a podcast or a blog.
Terrie:
And in addition to that, when you sign up, you get several free items that you can download and print out for your children or for your family that will help spark those conversations. And that will hopefully help enrich your time as you read together and share together with your kids. And remember, you’re always welcome. We encourage you to comment on the podcast show notes. There’s a place at the bottom where you can ask questions or comment. We always respond to everyone. We want you to know here at Books That Spark, we really appreciate you, and we hope that God just blesses you richly.
Your Host: Terrie Hellard-Brown
Terrie Hellard-Brown writes and speaks to help children and adults find God’s purpose and plan for their lives. She teaches workshops and writes devotional books, children’s stories, and Christian education materials.
Her podcast, Books that Spark, reviews children’s books that spark imagination, emotion, questions, and discussion leading to teachable moments with our kids. Her podcast posts each Tuesday morning.
Her blog posts discuss living as a disciple of Christ while parenting our children. She challenges us to step out of our comfort zones to walk by faith in obedience to Christ and to use the nooks and crannies of our lives to disciple our children.
Terrie uses her experiences as a mother of four (three on “the spectrum”), 37 years in ministry (15 in Taiwan), and 32 years teaching to speak to the hearts of readers.
Her motto is “Life doesn’t have to be perfect to be WONDERFUL” and keeps her childlike joy by writing children’s stories, delighting over pink dolphins, and frequently laughing till it hurts.
