Kate Greenaway shortlist: Hike Q&A with Pete Oswald

May 7th 2021

Pete Oswald is a bestselling illustrator and designer best-known for The Angry Birds Movie film franchise and Oscar® Nominated ParaNorman. He is also known for his work as a children's book author and illustrator, and painter. Pete's work includes the best-selling picture books The Good Egg and The Bad Seed. His latest picture book, Hike, is shortlisted for this year's Kate Greenaway Medal. We catch up with Pete to find out more. 

Could you tell us about the inspiration behind the story? Where did the idea come from and how did you develop it from that initial spark into a fully realized picture book? 

Hike is a deeply personal story about a father and child witnessing the magic of the wilderness, overcoming challenges, and playing a small role in the survival of the forest.

This story is loosely based on my childhood. I grew up in Utah with my parents and brothers, where we spent most of our free time in nature. My father is an avid outdoorsman and his love of wildlife played a huge role in our family. All of our vacations were centered around camping, hiking and exploring new adventures. As a child I always loved it, but it wasn't until I had children of my own that I realized how influential it was to me. 

Whether it’s the sound of a rushing waterfall, the smell of wild flowers or the sight of an eagle soaring through the sky, nature has a way of putting the universe in perspective. Changing where you are has a way of changing who you are. This book is my love letter to nature which I hope is passed down for generations.

This is the first picture book that you have created alone. How did the experience of creating a story entirely your own differ from illustrating someone else’s text?

Writing an engaging story with relatable characters and then illustrating your own idea is quite daunting. I’ve been very lucky to collaborate with really talented and smart writers on my other picture books. We’ve formed symbiotic relationships when creating story through words and pictures. On other projects, I’ll get a manuscript first then start sketching ideas. The writer and myself will bounce ideas back and forth until we land something we’re both happy with. On Hike, I had to form this relationship with myself. Also, I was very fortunate to collaborate with two extremely talented picture book veterans. Editor Liz Bicknell and Art Director Ann Stott supported my ideas from day one and improved the book at each stage. Hike would not exist without these two super humans. 

Hike is a wordless picture book. Can you tell us about your decision to tell the story solely through illustration?

I knew I wanted to tell a story about a father and child going on hike in nature, basically ‘a day in the life.’ I began doing some rough sketches thinking that we’d eventually add words, but as I refined the story I started to realize the tone was more powerful if it was purely visual. I tried to leave room for the reader to come up with their own journey. Ever since I was young, I’ve always loved wordless picture book’s because I could put my own spin on the story. Empowering the reader to make the story personal seemed appropriate for this book.

Your book is a celebration of many different things: of the beauty of nature and our interactions with it; of walking as exercise for both physical and mental health; of the power of family traditions. What do you hope that readers will take away from this story?

I hope this book helps inspire readers to help realize the destination is not a dot on a map, it’s the space in between. Changing where you are has a way of changing who you are.

Hike is published by Walker Books and is available now. See the full Kate Greenaway shortlist here.