Say Hello To Your Kids Books For Me
As synonymous as vegemite and sexier than Dame Edna, Rove McManus is one of Australia’s most-loved TV Personalities. An award-winning comedian, producer, television and radio presenter and 3-time Gold Logie winner. (Wait, am I looking into a mirror?) Rove’s career success extends around the globe, hosting a number of shows in the US and voicing over twenty characters in animated films and TV shows such as Finding Nemo, Kitty is Not A Cat and Monster Beach. (Yes I am. A Luna Park mirror.)
There are more feathers in Rove’s cap than Elton John’s wardrobe. Adding Children’s Book Author to his illustrious list of credits, he now has more strings to his bow than the Philharmonic Orchestra. Publishing via Scholastic Australia, Rove’s two self-illustrated and authored children’s books, Disgusting McGrossface and Rocky Lobstar: Rocky To The Rescue, are now available on shelves in bookstores and amongst the pages of your school’s Book Club leaflet.
As a fellow cartoonist, author and father, I asked Rove about his new venture into the world of Children’s Book authoring.
Q&A with Rove McManus
What inspired you to write your first children’s book?
I’ve always found writing to be a great creative outlet since I was young and drawing has been the one thing I’ve been able to do since as long as I can remember. But more recently, having a daughter to share stories with reignited my passion for it.
What then inspired you to write another?
I guess it was to prove I’m not a one-trick pony.
Writing books and creating kids are somewhat similar in that the first one is always a challenging experience. The second, even more so. How did your second book experience stack up to your first?
My second book, Rocky Lobstar, was actually slightly more challenging than Disgusting McGrossface as it required a bit more work to properly plot out a story, create the characters and world they live in, plus there was well over a hundred more illustrations to do. Having only ever had one child, I’m guessing it’s the exact same experience with creating a second human.
What did you learn from your first book that enhanced the process for your second book?
The fact that we had signed off on the first one gave me the belief that the second one was possible. Sometimes the biggest inspiration to achieve something can simply be knowing you’ve accomplished it before.
They say you should ‘write what you know.’ How does ‘Disgusting McGrossface’ and ‘Rocky Lobstar’ fit into that ideology?
I don’t know that there’s any life experiences that have necessarily made their way into the books, but certainly the original concept of Disgusting McGrossface came about after seeing litter dropped right next to the bin at our local park and thinking of who would have done it. And Rocky certainly taps into my love of performing, especially with my friends.
What kind of children’s books did you like growing up?
I loved Where The Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak – and still do. Also, Animalia by Graeme Base, which had such supremely detailed illustrations that made it an easy book to keep coming back to again and again. I was also really into the more comic book style of the Asterix series by Goscinny and Uderzo, even though most of the joke names went over my head at the time.
Do you have any favourites now, as a grown up? And what in particular, appeals to you about them?
More recently I think the Bad Guys series by Aaron Blabey, Dog Man by Dav Pilkey and Heath Mckenzie’s Now That’s A Hat are really fun reads. Naturally, it’s the humour in them that appeals to me the most, especially how it is conveyed through the illustrations.
What’s been the reaction from kids to your books?
I got a wonderful post from someone on Instagram whose daughter had made her own Disgusting McGrossface mask, which I thought was pretty cute. More importantly, the other day my wife overheard our daughter and her friends were having a deep and meaningful conversation about their favourite parts of Rocky Lobstar, which means more to me than just about anything.
My kids will tell you my jokes aren’t funny, but my 4yo daughter thinks she’s hilarious. Who do you test your stories out on and how do you respond to their feedback?
My daughter has been very hands-on with suggestions and feedback for both books. In fact, Disgusting and Rocky’s pets have come purely from her suggestions. She also loves rattling off Rocky’s catchphrases in her day-to-day life which tells me I’m onto something there. My wife was also a good sounding board and I totally trust her judgement as she is far more talented than I am.
Take us through your writing process.
I really just sit and bash it out. I have to work hard to focus as it’s easy for me to get distracted by a million inconsequential things that suddenly become really important to do instead, but I’m getting better at it. I also find the best thing for writer’s block is taking my dog for a walk to clear my head.
What tools did you use to produce your illustrations and how long did they take you?
The illustrations were a labour of love and after doing all of the drawings for Disgusting McGrossface by hand, I made the smart choice to go digital for the first time with Rocky. I used the Procreate app which made the process of creating around 130 images at lot easier as you don’t have to rub out all of the pencil lines. That was easily a few months’ work over the summer holidays but with a set of headphones on while I listen to music or a podcast, it was a process I still enjoyed, despite the workload.
What was the process like to get published? Did you have to shop it around first?
The character of Rocky Lobstar had been kicking around for a few years after I’d read about old-school sideshow carnival performers and it was probably the most fully-formed idea I came to Scholastic with. Disgusting McGrossface was a very different situation. That character came about after I’d already booked my pitch meeting, but by the time I got into the room it had jumped straight to the top of my list. It must have been the right decision to make as they said yes to it right there in the room.
What do you like most about your books?
Simply the fact that they even exist. After working on them for so long, to finally see them on the shelves is a really cool thing.
Do you need to be smarter than a 5th grader to understand your books?
No, but having the maturity of one helps.
You have a long working association with children; Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader, Exchange Student Zero, After the Game. Don’t you like grown-ups?
I find them too tall.
You’re a fellow 40-something Dad, does your daughter also make you do funny voices when you read to her at night? What tidbits of advice can you offer in reading to kids?
I think it’s very important to read with your child. It’s a fantastic way of kick-starting their imagination. It used to be a good excuse for me to go into performance mode with my daughter, doing the voices for the characters in each story, which she enjoyed. Now she’s able to read by herself, it makes it a bit trickier to join in but it’s still a something we do as a family every night.
For us, the discussion around the story can be just as important as the book itself, not just through the telling of the story but also by finding out what the child thought, what their favourite part or character was and if there’s any part that they relate to.
I guess my advice is always be engaging, ask questions and above all make it fun. If it feels like homework, you’re doing it all wrong.
What’s next for Rocky Lobstar and are there other characters in the works?
The manuscript for Rocky Lobstar book two is currently in the hands of my editor and we’ve also had a chat about the story I have for book three. Beyond that, there are a plenty of other potential ideas that I have already put forward or thought about and I do see this as the start of a hopefully long journey into the world of children’s books, so fingers crossed they’ll all get to see the light of day at some point.
Thanks, Rove. We’ll look forward to more adventures of Rocky down the road. We’re already using some of his catchphrases and we didn’t miss Rocky’s cameo in Disgusting McGrossface either. Fun reading for you and your kids. Let me know what you’re reading with your kids in the comments below.
Disgusting McGross face ($17.99); Rocky Lobstar: Rocky to the Rescue ($14.99) out now via Scholastic Australia
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