Chelsea Lin Wallace is a poet, a school theater director, and a children’s author. Her picture book credits include Ode to a Bad Day, The Boo-Boos of Bluebell Elementary, and Dare to Be Daring. Author-illustrator Thyra Heder is also a storyboard and scenic artist for movies and TV, a fashion and interior design, and an adjunct professor at Drexel University and Tufts University. Her picture books include Fraidyzoo, The Bear Report, Alfie, How Do You Dance? and Sal Boat. We asked Wallace and Heder to discuss their new book, On Our Way with Mr. Jay, about an intrepid school bus driver, kicking off a series of picture books celebrating school heroes.
Thyra Heder: Hi, Chelsea! To start, let’s talk about Mr. Jay! Who inspired this story? And tell me about your school bus growing up.
Chelsea Lin Wallace: Hi, Thyra! I’d love to! To me, Mr. Jay is the MacGyver of all bus drivers. He has a resourceful solution to every mishap and stays calm and cool and kind to every kid throughout the chaos. I loosely based Mr. Jay on my bus driver, Mr. Bob, at Angell Elementary School [in Ann Arbor, Mich.]. While not quite the solver-of-all-problems, he knew how to have fun. He always drove fast over the bumps. My little brother and I were the last stop and there was a bump on the road to our house. Every day, Mr. Jay would speed up and shout, “Here comes the bump!” and my brother and I would hold up our hands like we were on a roller coaster and fly.
Not being an illustrator, I could ask you a million questions! I am dying to know your process for creating Mr. Jay and what or who inspired him. I’m obsessed with the character details you included, from his hilarious coffee mug to his Hawaiian shirt.
Heder: I “auditioned” a bunch of characters. I started pausing movies when I saw good faces in the background and taking sneaky pics of strangers on the street to inspire Jay. I came up with so many drawings I loved, but when you have to draw a whole book, it also has to be a character who kind of flows out of you. He ended up being a combo of Bob Vila and John Goodman. But then I also needed Jay to get more disheveled as the book went on, so I thought about ways his hair or clothes could accentuate that transition as the story got a little crazier. When I’m adding details to a character, I like to imagine how they got all their stuff, and in Jay’s case, he loves a tropical vacation!
Wallace: Oh my gosh, Thyra—as a theater kid, I’m so into your auditioning process! When I first saw Mr. Jay, it was like I was meeting him for the first time, but also like I had known him forever. He had so much warmth and charisma—not unlike John Goodman! One of my favorite spreads is when he decides he’s going to get these kids out of the traffic jam—the glint in his eye and the smirk on his face—gah.
Heder: I loved that part too! I liked to imagine him starring in his own mini version of Die Hard: that’s his Bruce Willis moment!
I’m sure that when you write there are different visuals in your head than what ends up in the book, but what is that experience like—to hand off a manuscript and see art come back?
Wallace: Honestly, the best part of being an author only is that I have the honor to work with a partner who is going to bring their unique storytelling vision to the book. You created experiences in this story that I had never imagined. The day I got to see what you came up with was exhilarating in every way. From your details, like the kid holding the sign in the back of the bus, to the vast scenic spreads, you knew this world and you invited us in, taking us on a cinematic adventure that felt like we were living it rather than reading it. I played a game with my daughter asking her, ‘Which stop would you most want to live in?’ She answered, ‘The [one with the] horses.’ Of course.
Heder: Oh, I love this game. It’s funny because at first I was extremely concerned about whether this took place in a real location on a map, and I had trouble thinking about where that should be. And then I remembered the Disney movie Big Hero 6, which took place in an imaginary mashup of Tokyo and San Francisco they called San Fransokyo... and that freed me up to take elements of East and West Coast cities, as long as the place felt real inside the story. If I had to name where this book took place, it might be Marylandifornia?
Wallace: Oh! I want to live in Marylanifornia! It’s kind of like Springfield in The Simpsons. It’s that “anywhere and everywhere” kind of place. You physically and emotionally transported us into this world that transcended anything I could have imagined.
I’m fascinated with your storyboard background. How does that influence your artistic style in picture books and specifically for Mr. Jay? Even my dad said, “It feels like a movie!”
Heder: Thank you, Chelsea’s dad! I think my work as a storyboard artist comes from the same instinct I have for making books, and maybe I always have a cinematic lean to how I think about telling a story. When you work with a director, the discussion is always how the shot affects how an audience feels at a specific moment for a character. I find it an essential practice when visually plotting a narrative.
Also, since Jay’s story sort of felt like an action movie to me, when I started on the cover, I was inspired by the illustrated action movie posters of the ’80s, drawn by the incredible Drew Struzan. I didn’t want to overly stylize it and make the reference too obvious, because you wrote such a warm book that’s very much about everyday life, but I used that to add a little bit of a superhero composition to Jay. I do think that the people who support the lives of children are superheroes. I think it’s the most important work someone can do.
Wallace: I couldn’t agree more, Thyra! And I loved that ’80s movie poster vibe!
When I was writing this story, I was imagining it as an episode of 24 meets Sesame Street. The ticking clock of getting to school on time and Jay’s refrain, “That’s okay, we’re on our way!” keep a constant sense of urgency, but also served as an anchor, allowing me to play around with the action and emotional dynamics in the verses. I think when you are writing rhyme, it is important to break up patterns so your readers aren’t lulled to weariness. It’s like a great song that takes you on an emotional journey through its pacing—fast and slow, quiet and loud, strong, and broken. I love working with story rhythms the same way.
Heder: Speaking of pacing, a fun challenge for me with this book was deciding to use markers instead of my usual watercolors. It meant I could work very fast (no need to wait for anything to dry!) and so I think it ended up transferring that energy in the art too.
Wallace: I loved that your art medium also played its role, affecting the cadence and energy of the book!
Thyra, I would love to know how you came to create the personalities of each of the kids on the bus! As an author, I mostly focused on differentiating the emotional beats of each kid in the way they responded to each situation they found themselves in when Jay picked them up. I also hoped that where they lived and who they lived with might give something to their character. But truly, it was you who made each of these kids who they are.
Heder: I truly loved getting to draw kids being kids. Thankfully, I live in N.Y.C. and there are so many people to look at every day, and I spend a lot of time in schools visiting kids. Sometimes it’s just an outfit you see. But I sat down with a big piece of paper and just started making characters up, and then some felt more real to me.
OK, so I need to know: what kind of kid were you on the bus? I was sort of a troublemaker I think (sorry, bus drivers!). Although, I was also the kind of kid who would jump into action to help out.
Wallace: I liked to make up stories to tell the little kids. I once made up this toy store called Bingo Boms and told them I got all my stuff from there and it was magical and it was too bad they could never go because it was invisible. Maybe I was a troublemaker too? LOL. I want to know about you!
Heder: All I can say is one time I definitely did test the emergency exit door in the back.
Wallace: No way! I like you even more now.
Heder: This book is the first in a new series spotlighting school heroes. Shall we share who is up next?
Wallace: Umm, yes! We are beyond excited to share that we are working on our next book in this series together called Emergencies with Ms. Bernice, with the custodian as our hero!
On Our Way with Mr. Jay (School Heroes #1) by Chelsea Lin Wallace, illus. by Thyra Heder. Holiday House/Porter, $18.99 July 29 ISBN 978-0-8234-5704-5
