Interview: Greg Stobbs
SARAH STEINBACHER: Your debut picture book as both author and illustrator, CLOUD BOY, is a “buoyant picture book that literalizes a child’s experience of distractibility” (Publishers Weekly). What are the pros and cons of being an author-illustrator versus an illustrator?
GREG STOBBS: I am an Illustrator first and an author second. The pictures come first and then words wrap themselves around them and stories grow out of them. I draw a character over and over again and then they start to speak. The pros of being both are that I have total license to explore how a story reveals itself both visually and verbally, so I can balance the responsibilities between the two. The con is that the process can be quite isolating, and that sometimes it’s important to share the creative process with somebody else, and play in a way that might be less comfortable and offer up unexpected outcomes. When I am the Illustrator alone, I can either respond to the text or work with the author, and I always come away from that experience feeling like I’ve learned something new.
SARAH STEINBACHER: CLOUD BOY received a starred review from Booklist, who said it’s “an excellent, vibrant demonstration of the power of a young imagination, with delightful illustrations that effectively capture the challenges of focusing.” How would you describe your picture book illustration style?
GREG STOBBS: Ever changing and evolving. Because of the kind of brain I have, I crave stimulation through newness, and exploration. When things are repeated too many times I get very bored, and lose the love for the illustration process, so I am always playing, and failing and trying again in different ways. I use a combination of hand drawn, painted, printed and digital techniques because I’m greedy, and want to try everything.
SARAH STEINBACHER: Booklist also said CLOUD BOY “will bring comfort to neurodivergent kids—especially those who experience attention deficits—and the adults who are exploring ways to help their little ones feel more secure in an often rigid world.” Why was it important for you to show others meeting your neurodivergent main character where he was at?
GREG STOBBS: I am Cloud Boy. Bobby the main character mirrors my own experience growing up knowing I had a different sort of mind, but not knowing what it was that made it unusual. It can be scary and isolating as a child knowing that other people think differently to you, and it’s difficult not to try and change yourself so that you fit in with the crowd. It is so important to me that young people who have very wild imaginations can keep that spark of wonder for as long as possible. Often the activities offered in school are based around observation and memorization, which can squash a dreamer. We need all of the different kinds of brains to evolve, and it really matters that creative minds are encouraged and celebrated. I hope that children (and adults) can see themselves in Cloud Boy, and feel seen and understood.
SARAH STEINBACHER: Inclusive Books for Children called your newest picture book, ISLA AND THE SKY, “a thoughtful, uplifting tale about acceptance, perspective, and seeing beauty in all its forms.” Your story explores societal expectations about which emotions are valued and which ones people sometimes feel pressured to hide. Why should children feel safe to share all their feelings?
GREG STOBBS: Masking is a major part of Neurodivergence, and that is what Sky does when she listens to what other people want, hiding her own feelings to make others feel comfortable. While that is a trait magnified in Neurodivergent people it is something that many, maybe even most people experience as a child. That feeling that you need to smile in order to make others feel comfortable. It seems to me that if you do this, and push down the other emotions it is easy to become disregulated and unbalanced. The emotions find their way out in other ways both mentally and physically, so it is important to recognize anger, frustration sadness grief as they happen, to reflect and feel in order to move on. I hope Isla and the Sky offers adults and children the opportunity to talk about their true feelings.
SARAH STEINBACHER: You’ve shared you grew up watching your illustrator parents draw. How much have those early memories shaped your illustration style and/or career?
GREG STOBBS: They are fundamental to everything I have done since. My parents were both truly inspirational, and more than anything they loved to draw. It was like magic watching them, and I was always so proud whenever I saw one of their books. I wanted to feel that for myself, and I wanted my own children to feel that too. My mum and dad both died before my first picture book was published with Lemn Sissay, and if I could change anything, it would be that.
SARAH STEINBACHER: How do you approach creating your illustrative vision for a book?
GREG STOBBS: I draw, and I draw and I draw. There is a period of time where it is intense and chaotic and maybe obsessive, but that concoction mixes to make something new. In truth, it is not an ordered A to B sort of process, and it changes for every book. The common thread is Play.
Follow Greg through his website and Instagram.
*****Order Greg’s picture books, CLOUD BOY and ISLA AND THE SKY, available now.*****
*****Pre-order Greg’s next picture book, URSA THE STAR BEAR, available 4/20/27.*****
