Ottawa-based children’s author Natasha Ferrill is the creator of The Lemonman picture book series. Told in rhyme, the series tells the story of Mr. Lemonman, a lovable (albeit at times innocent) lemon who lives in the town of Applenook. Located in the backyard garden of Mr. and Mrs. Applebrooke, Applenook is filled with numerous characters, such as the traveling salesman Cunningham C. Toad, and the friendly members of the Worm Community who, although kind, can sometimes be a nuisance.
Having finished two books in the series, which comprise Ferrill’s first published work, Apartment613 caught up with the local author to talk about the series. Below is a transcript of an email interview with Ferrill, which has been slightly edited for length.
Apartment613: What inspired you to write a children’s book about a lemon?
Natasha Ferrill
Natasha Ferrill: The urge to write books for children has been in me since I was a kid myself, so the decision to write children’s books was a very simple one. I always admired the great children’s book authors and felt a sense of magic whenever I would read a classic book, or delve into a brand new one that I had never seen before. That magical feeling has stuck with me my entire life, and I knew that I wanted to continue to experience that through the process of my own writing.
The idea of The Lemonman was inspired from a dream I had when I was only three years old. He was sitting at a dining room table, having Christmas dinner with a worm who was wearing a top hat, and the idea has been stuck in my head ever since!
The day after that dream I took a scrap piece of paper and some markers, and I drew the first illustration of The Lemonman, that was back in 1983! At the time, for whatever reason, he was only a lemon wedge – he has since evolved into a full lemon.
I worked on creating the idea and writing The Lemonman stories from the time I was a little girl, and through the years the stories evolved and the characters developed. It wasn’t until I was in my late twenties when I finally came up with the entire idea for The Lemonman series – the beginning characters, the town of Applenook and the decision to write entirely in rhyme.
Apt613: Writing in rhyme is quite hard to do. Why did you decide to tell a story this way rather than a traditional narrative?
Natasha Ferrill
NF: Personally, I prefer writing in rhyme and also reading children’s books that are written in rhyme. Children and parents enjoy them, and I love the sing-song quality they have. I put a considerable amount of work into the stories that I craft because they are written in rhyme. In all honesty, the two books that I have completed in The Lemonman series took me years to perfect and the third book I’m working on now is also taking years!
Because I write in rhyme, I need to re-assess multiple times before I feel comfortable with the words. Every single word on the page needs to have a purpose – it needs to be there to enhance the story and not just as a fill-in for rhyme beats (syllables) or rhyme words.
Apt613: The illustrations are a central part of the story. How did you work with illustrator José Pou to combine the words with imagery?
NF: Working with Jose was great because of how unbelievably talented he is. I already had all of the images in my head for every page of both stories, so I would write out a text description of the images in my head, and then José would take my description and run with it. He is a local animator in Ottawa and you can check out some of his doodles here: http://www.josepou.com/.
Apt613: You now have two books in the series. Looking forward, what are your plans for the series?
NF: I have so many ideas for future books and characters, the ideas for Applenook and The Lemonman are endless! I am currently working on a third book in the series, revolving around a peach and a beach (in keeping with my rhymed story-telling). My eventual plan is to have a book for each month of the year, with my two current stories taking place in the months of April and May.
The Lemomnam series can be purchased online at Natasha Ferrill’s website as well as local bookstores, including Kaleidoscope Kids’ Books.
