What If...

  • last week
by Samantha Berger
illustrated by Mike Curato
Transcript
00:00For everyone who is compelled to create no matter what.
00:22S.B.
00:23For Sarah Jane and Julia, my artistic soulmates who continue to inspire me to create.
00:30M.C.
00:32What If.
00:33Written by Samantha Berger.
00:36Illustrated by Mike Curato.
00:39With a pencil and paper, I write and draw art to create many stories that come from
00:44my heart.
00:46But what if that pencil one day disappeared?
00:49I'd fold up the paper till stories appeared.
00:53And what if that paper was no longer there?
00:56I'd chisel the table and then carve the chair.
00:59And what if there wasn't a chair here at all?
01:02I'd chip and I'd peel at the paint on the wall.
01:06And what if there wasn't a wall anymore?
01:09I might build a story from boards in the floor.
01:127.
01:146.
01:165.
01:174.
01:18Without any floor.
01:20I could still use the land and sketch out a tale in the dirt with my hand.
01:25I could still shape the leaves.
01:28I could still sculpt the snow.
01:30I could still plant the flowers and make kingdoms grow.
01:35Without any land, I would still use the light invent shadow stories the sun would ignite.
01:41If there was no light.
01:43I would still use my voice to sing out my stories to chant and rejoice.
01:49I'd still have my body to twist and to bend to dance out my sister's beginning to end.
01:55If I had nothing.
01:58But still had my mind.
02:15There'd always be stories to seek and to find.
02:19If I know nothing but one bit of fate.
02:22As long as I live, I will always create.
02:25As long as I live.
02:27I will always create.
02:29A note from the author and artist.
02:32I wrote the first draft of this book after a flood forced me to evacuate my apartment with nothing but my dog and my sketchbook.
02:41I was right in the middle of a big creative project and I was making a new piece every day.
02:48After the flood hit, I had nothing to work with at all.
02:51No paints, no brushes, no markers, no nothing.
02:56It was then that I started to realize anything could be used as an art supply.
03:01The pinecones on the trees, the paper in the recycling bin, the kibble in my dog's dish and I used them all.
03:09When I understood that everything could be used to express myself, it made me see the world in a new way.
03:17It also made me see myself in a new way.
03:20Throughout my life, I have always wondered how some people have found a way to create under the most difficult circumstances.
03:29Now that I see I am also someone compelled to create, I know will always find a way.
03:35I wrote this story for them and for you, and for all of us who have too.
03:40Samantha
03:42I met Samantha Wright about the time her apartment flooded.
03:46When we first talked about illustrating this book, I thought about how she was using found objects to continue to create art.
03:55That inspired me to use many different things to make the illustrations in this book.
04:01I used traditional art supplies like pencil paper and ink.
04:06But I also added objects found in nature like seashells, moss and dirt.
04:12I even used stuff from around the house like brown paper bags, a wooden cutting board and marbles.
04:19You can create with just about anything, but the most important art supplies you have are your mind and your heart.
04:27When you use them both, everything you make will be beautiful.
04:31Mike
04:33After meeting at a picture book party and singing an Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong duet, we became the best of buds.
04:41During the making of this book we wrote and drew together we folded origami together, some tried harder than others, we sang a lot of songs danced a lot of dances and laughed a lot of laughs together.
04:54We worked on it and worked on it.
04:57And now together, we hope you like it.
05:00Love Us
05:02Acknowledgements
05:04Samantha would like to acknowledge Alva Chong, Steven Shin and Scooby who let her stay at their house for three months after the flood.
05:12And Kirsten Antonia and Oscar for hosting in Hudson.
05:17True friends indeed.
05:19Mike would like to acknowledge Tymka Briggs for her thoughtful input, Ruth Chan for lending her skyline photo to his collage, and for being a good friend, and Pidge Pidge for photographs of their beautiful woven fabrics that appear in this book.
05:37Samantha Berger and Mike Curato are kindred spirits karaoke partners and the best of friends.
05:44They are both passionate about creativity to spread hope and healing in the world.
05:49They encourage each other and you to work hard and do one fabulous thing every day.
05:55Samantha is the award-winning author of Krankenstein Martha Doesn't Say Sorry and over 85 books for young readers.
06:03She was also a picture book editor and a vice president of animated shorts at Nickelodeon.
06:10She lives in New York City and Santa Monica.
06:14She invites you to come see more at samanthaberger.com.
06:18Mike is the creator of the beloved Little Elliot book series and the acclaimed illustrator of Worm Loves Worms by JJ Austrian and All the Way to Havana by Margarita Engel.
06:29He previously worked in graphic design for over a decade.
06:35He lives in Northampton, Massachusetts and he invites you to visit him at mikecurato.com.
06:42Visit us at lbyr.com.
06:45The End