BIO

Ron Barrett is the illustrator of the classic CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS, written by his wife Judi Barrett. They also collaborated on PICKLES IN PITTSBURGH. He lives in New York City.

INTERVIEW

November 8, 2005

Ron Barrett, best known for the picture book CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS, tries his hand at both writing and drawing with THE NUTTY NEWS. He recently spoke with Kidsreads.com reviewer Bob Oksner about his first childhood art lessons and how he chooses to view himself as an "idea maker" rather than just a "writer" or an "illustrator." Barrett also shares amusing anecdotes concerning his history with the newspaper business, and dispenses humorous but helpful words of wisdom to future authors and artists.

Kidsreads.com: What was your inspiration for creating THE NUTTY NEWS?

Ron Barrett: I am not new to the newspaper business. As a boy I wrote and drew a newspaper. I slept with all my readers --- Andy, Sandy, Pandy, Brownie and Woo-Woo, who were all stuffed teddies. The name of the paper was The Teddytown News.

I also was a delivery boy for The Bronx Home News. My route was in Manhattan, not The Bronx, which probably explains why I had so few customers.

KRC: The artwork and captions in THE NUTTY NEWS are equally hilarious and outrageous. What special training, if any, did you receive in order to be both an artist and a writer? Do you see yourself primarily as an artist or a writer?

RB: I don't see myself as either. I see myself as an idea maker and as Arthur Farkas, the name I use when dropping off dry cleaning.

KRC: THE NUTTY NEWS has hundreds of drawings and captions. How long did it take you to produce the book? What was your daily schedule like as you were working on it?

RB: THE NUTTY NEWS was written, designed, and drawn in the length of a full-term pregnancy. It takes lots of discipline to work on a long-term project. I set daily goals, keep a chart of my progress, and avoid frequent trips to the refrigerator.

KRC: Some of the crazy articles are directed to kids and some are addressed to adults. Do you see THE NUTTY NEWS as primarily aimed at kids or adults? Or both?

RB: THE NUTTY NEWS was created for the adult in every child, the child in every adult, and the squirrel in everybody.

KRC: You poke sharp barbs of humor at some overblown American institutions, such as professional sports. Is there a subtle educational message here?

RB: My only message is: "Wash your hands after you go to the toilet. And before."

KRC: What advice would you give to young people who would like to be an artist and/or a writer when they grow up?

RB: First, copy from the best. Wipe your feet and put them on the shoulders of the giants. And how do you get to Carnegie Hall? Don't just practice, practice, practice. Take the subway to Columbus Circle, walk three blocks and listen to Brahms' 4th Symphony. Also read the dictionary. Not much of a plot, but a great vocabulary.

KRC: Can a person with very little art ability be taught to draw or paint well enough to become a professional artist? 

RB: I learned to draw by watching a black and white man with a funny little beard in a plaid flannel shirt on TV who told me that if I could draw a cube, a cone and a ball, I could draw everything in the known universe. If I learned to draw even after hearing that, anybody can do it.

KRC: Being funny and having a great sense of humor is a wonderful gift. Do you think the art of being funny can be taught, or do you just have to be born with it?

RB: A gift, you said it. It probably helped me to be an only child. My humor and my art became my playmate, my self-entertainment, and my shield from parental death rays.

KRC: In this age of digital cameras and computers that draw, is it still possible for a professional artist to earn a living?

RB: Oh, of course, because cameras and computers can't think.

KRC: What are you working on now, and when can readers expect to see it?

RB: I'm working on two picture books, one with Judi Barrett, the author of our CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS. It's another foody epic, and we hope to finish it as soon as someone decides to publish it.

Click here now to buy this book from Amazon.com.

Back to top.