The Day War Came by by Nicola Davies and Illustrated by Rebecca Cobb

 

 

We recently received The Day War Came by Nicola Davies and Illustrated by Rebecca Cobb. The story follows a young girl as she tells the reader the story of war…

From her home to her classroom, war descends and changes the landscape all around her. The story was originally a poem published on the Guardian newspaper’s website and within this book the poem has been accompanied by gorgeous (and sometimes harrowing) illustrations.

I had a firm lump in my throat reading this to my children. It’s utterly heartbreaking to connect the dots and register how this is happening right now. I think this book is incredibly relevant and it’s a story we all need to wake up to. I also think it’s important to educate our children about the realities of war, in the sheer hope that they can create a better future for the world.

This book is a story of devastation and hope, and I feel very lucky to have had the chance to ask illustrator Rebecca Cobb a few questions about the book…

 

• How easy was it to translate story to illustration? 

I was daunted by the prospect of creating illustrations that lived up to the text because I think this is such an important and significant book. But I think because Nicola’s words are so powerful, I had a very vivid idea of how I pictured the images from the first time that I read it and my original storyboard for the book is quite similar to how it eventually ended up looking. When I’m illustrating a book the characters always feel like real people to me and I can often see them in my head quite easily, and this was particularly the case with this project because it is a story that is sadly happening in real life today.  

 

• How do you begin this transformation, is it with a particular character or scene? 

For this book, alongside the design of the little girl who is the main character, the first thing that I decided on was the colour palette. I wanted to use colour to add to the symbolism in the story – the darkness of graphite pencil against the lightness of the cream, with blood-red for the little girl’s clothing and fiery orange in the flowers on the windowsill, children’s drawings of volcanoes and the flames of the explosions when the war arrives. 

 

• Did you want to work in illustration from a young age? 

Yes, for as long as I can remember I have always loved drawing and making things. I would often make little picture books at home and stick them together and at school I was sometimes told off for spending too long illustrating all my projects rather than doing the projects themselves! 

 

• What advice would you give a budding illustrator? 

My main advice is to draw lots and lots, and to keep drawing and don’t give up! 

 

 

Don’t forget to check out more interesting book ideas from The Ladybirds Adventures!