Vail Valley author’s children’s book series takes flight

EAGLE COUNTY, Colorado – A few years ago, Sandy Fuller, a literary agent, author and illustrator in Eagle County, received some drawings in the mail of “adorable” little bluebirds wearing clothes and accessories from illustrator Louise Schroeder.”I thought, ‘Someone really ought to do something with these guys,'” Fuller said. “They had little costumes – it was just hysterical.” After several failed attempts at sending her illustrations to publishers with the hope that they could see the potential for an interesting story about the birds, Schroeder finally found a home for her five little blue birds: a children’s book called “The Blues Go Birding Across America,” written by Fuller and Carol Malnor. The book is the first in a series about five bird-watching birds called the Blues, and it received the honor as a finalist in the 20th annual Colorado Book Awards earlier this year. “I’ve been in the field so long, and it’s a very competitive, difficult field to be in,” Fuller said. “It was sort of gratifying and nice for the Blues.”Malnor said being a finalist for the award is so rewarding because it shows that others are appreciating their work. “It’s really been a fun series to work on,” Fuller said. “I think the illustrations in these books are so fabulous. They’re very unique. Once people see them, they just love them.”The idea for the art came from a photo in a book of five brown birds huddled together on a branch, Schroeder said in an email to the Vail Daily. “I painted my interpretation of them and added humor by making the middle one mad,” she said. “I then painted several more in different scenes always having the same little bird mad about something.” Thirty-five paintings later, she had developed a visual story for the blue birds. Fuller began writing the story, and as Malnor reviewed the manuscripts for Dawn Publishing, she fell in love with Fuller’s idea.”I am a birder, so I loved the idea right from the beginning,” Malnor said. “I took the ball and ran with it. The cartoon characters are just really adorable, and I think people can relate to their personalities.”Glenn Hoveman and Muffy Weaver of Dawn Publishing then asked her to co-author the book with Fuller. “I was totally thrilled because I loved the concept from the very beginning,” Malnor said. “All the information in the book is really accurate. That was really fun for me because I like the science behind birding as much as I like being out on the field and seeing the birds.”Bird watching is one of the fastest growing hobbies, she said. “The birds shown are accurate and presented in a fun perspective,” she said. “It has something for everyone. The storyline is a fun one that takes people across America.”The books about the Blues also contain a lot of humor, Fuller said. “I like to keep it fun and lively, as well as informative,” she said. “My writing style tends to be lyrical, and hopefully that resonates with kids.”

But Fuller did not always have her mind set on working with children’s books.While attending Yale in the ’70s, she was initially interested in studying art. But after taking a seminar with Maurice Sendak, the author of “Where the Wild Things Are” and “In the Night Kitchen,” she was hooked on working with children’s literature.”It showed me how special a medium picture books are,” she said. “I thought, ‘This is what I want to do.’ The light just came on.”Aside from the Blues series, Fuller is the author of “My Cat, Coon Cat,” the author and illustrator of “Moon Loon,” and the illustrator of “Out in the Night” and “Hannah and the Perfect Picture Pony.” She also created the John Denver & Kids picture book series, which is one of her proudest accomplishments, she said. Her career in children’s literature is all because of Sendak, she said. “He was wonderful,” she said. “I think I owe it all to him.” Some of what Sendak writes is macabre and very strange, she said, but she thinks he’s a genius. “There are special books you remember from your childhood. There’s a magic there that I’ve hoped to put in my own books,” she said. “Maurice had that spirit behind his books.”Fuller said she shares pieces of herself visually, as well as with words, through her picture books. “Most of the stories I’m working on or have done come from something in my life,” she said. “I tend to write more nature stories with mountains and animals. It’s personal stuff.”Courtney Riley is an intern at the Vail Daily. Email comments about this story to criley@vaildaily.com.