The Toy Plane by Cherise Harris

We welcome Cherise Harris, author and illustrator of THE TOY PLANE to the blog today. 

KLiC: What was your inspiration for The Toy Plane? 

CH: I first came up with the idea that inspired The Toy Plane years ago, during a class as a BFA Illustration student at the School of Visual Arts in NYC. In recent years, I decided to revisit that early idea and those early illustrations. My agent would always ask, what is the heart of the story? I had just given birth to my son, and I wanted to make a story that would be set in my country Barbados, and I knew I wanted to create a book that showed boys in a more tender story setting; which inspired the theme of loss, and how we cope with grief.

KLiC: Please tell us about your writing process. How long did it take you to write and sell this book? 

CH: When I revisited this story idea, I originally wanted it to be a wordless picture book. I first wrote a summary of the story that I could illustrate from, and then sketched it out and made a book dummy. This process included critique and feedback from my agency, and when all edits were complete, my agent then pitched it to the editor. My editor loved the wordless story, but felt that including words would enhance the experience for children, especially in our targeted age group; so we decided to include a few words of story throughout the book. As both an illustrator and an author, this process worked well for me, and the written words became a  blend of narration as well as a beautiful poetic journey, where the use of metaphor can take readers on a deeper interpretation of the illustrations. I would say the process to write and sell the book took roughly a year.

KLiC: What are your favorite illustrations in the book?

CH: My favorite illustrations in the book include first in the beginning, when Leonard's father gifts him the toy plane, and Leonard is overcome with emotion. I really enjoyed showing this tender moment between a father and son. My other favorites are the fantasy scenes. Growing up in Barbados I loved fantasy books like the Chronicles of Narnia, but I didn't see children with skin like mine that were in stories like that. In The Toy Plane, I really enjoyed illustrating Leonard flying the plane among dragons and lions with wings!

KLiC: What's the one thing you want children to take away from your book?
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CH: One thing I want children to take away from The Toy Plane is that it's okay to feel a range of emotions when it comes to processing grief. I want them to know that it's okay to cry- especially for boys. When I was making this book, I imagined boys in Barbados and around the world seeing themselves in the character of Leonard, going from being sad, to crying tears, to being lovingly embraced. In the book, children will see that we can go from feeling vulnerable to feeling brave and feeling joy. 

 KLiC: What's next for you? 
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​CH: I'm currently working on my first early graphic novel series as both author and illustrator called Audrey's Magic Book Club! 

Cherise Harris is an author and illustrator from Barbados. Her work centers around an interest in fairy tales and their role in telling deep, meaningful stories. Cherise uses pencil, watercolor, and clay, exploring her ideas in both 2D and 3D form. She has a master’s in illustration from Falmouth University in the UK. 

Headshot credit: Ryan Harris