DOCTOR FAIRYTALE: An interview with Catherine Jacob

Catherine Jacob joins Ian Eagleton in The Reading Realm to talk about her delightfully inventive and magical new picture book, DOCTOR FAIRYTALE, which is illustrated by Hoang Giang!

Before we settle down in The Reading Realm and talk about your new book, what’s your drink and snack of choice!

It’s got to be a cup of tea and a Garibaldi biscuit. Not the most conventional choice of biccie I know, but it reminds me of days off school as a kid with my Gran, drinking tea and dunking Garibaldi biscuits. She was a great storyteller and LOVED fairytales – the scarier the better.

Without giving too much away, can you tell us about your new picture book Doctor Fairytale? 

Doctor Fairytale is a rhyming picture book about a little doctor who whizzes around Fairytale Land helping lots of well-known poorly patients to get better. Unfortunately, it’s a very rainy day and poor Doc – along with her side kick Nurse Pup – end up very soggy and full of cold… cue some familiar faces to the rescue! One good turn deserves another, after all. Fairytale Land has been brought to life beautifully by Hoang Giang and she has added LOADS of details of other fairytales that aren’t directly mentioned in my text for little readers to spot. It’s great fun! 

I’m a big fan of Betsy Buglove! How is this book similar? How is it different? 

Like Betsy, Doctor Fairytale is written in bouncy rhyme. Most of my stories come to me in rhyme, for some reason! It features a strong and feisty little female character who is determined to do her best to help others, even when she’s not feeling very well herself, and in some cases is a teensy bit scared. (One of her patients is the Big Bad Wolf, so..!) The colour palate used by Giang in her artwork to create Fairytale Land is dreamy, just as Lucy’s is in the Betsy books and both feature lots of beautiful nature details. The overriding themes of both books are kindness, friendship and bravery! So I guess they have quite a lot in common! I would say that the world Hoang Giang has created in our book definitely has a very slightly darker side, like all good fairytales, with the more mischievous characters given free reign to show their true colours, if only in their facial expressions, but of course, good always wins and even a wicked witch wouldn’t mess with Doctor Fairytale – or her sidekick Nurse Pup!

The illustrations by Hoang Giang are magical! Do you have a favourite illustration?

Aren’t they just! Honestly, I’ve been overwhelmed by the world Hoang Giang has created and I could absolutely tell she had as much fun as me creating our Fairytale Land! I adore them all, but there are two illustrations I particularly love – the first is the Big Bad Wolf being treated by Doctor Fairytale. The facial expressions on all the characters and the sense of foreboding Giang creates are just sublime. This is the cover of the book in France. I also love the spread set in the rainy forest: my words are, “The rain was really heavy now, so through the streets we sped…” and with no illustration notes whatsoever, Giang has created the most beautiful scene featuring lots of other fairytales which aren’t mentioned in the text. Can you spot any of them? The last dream sequence is also stunning, where we see the characters swirling around as Doctor Fairytale sleeps. Beautiful!

The story is full of references to well-known fairy tales. Do you have a favourite fairy tale? 

I have so many! I don’t think I can name one, but among my stand out favourites are Hansel and Gretal, Jack and the Beanstalk and Little Red Riding Hood. I think all children love to be a tiny bit scared and these three fairytales all have that overriding sense of jeopardy… how on earth will our beloved heroes and heroines escape from THIS situation? Of course, we know they always will, which is half the fun. They all appear fleetingly in this book, but do look out for them featuring more heavily in future Fairytale Land stories. Not to mention Goldilocks, the Snow Queen, Rapunzel, Peter Pan… All coming soon!

I wondered about how you picked which fairy tales to include. Did you have any fairy tales you really wanted to include but had to edit out? 

I did indeed. In the first draft of Doctor Fairytale, Pinocchio, Hansel and Gretal, and Rumplestiltskin were all visited by the doctor, but to allow the story to flow and breathe more easily, we had to edit them out of this book. However, I’m delighted to say the lovely people at Walker Books have asked for more Fairytale Land books, so you can see these characters appearing in them, albeit not quite as I intended in this first book! 

Are there any other children’s picture books you’ve enjoyed recently?

SO MANY! Frances Tosdevin has just released a gorgeous book too called ‘Grandad’s Star’. Her books are always so gentle and moving and this one was no different. And I LOVED Catherine Cawthorne’s ‘Big Bad Wolf Investigates Fairytales’ picture book. It’s such fun and real food for thought. I think Wolfie and Doctor Fairytale need to get together some time! Oh and ‘Who Ate Steve’ by Sarah Tagholme. Laugh out loud picture book brilliance!

Finally, can you describe Doctor Fairytale in three words?  

Ooooh that’s hard. How about… Magical. Fantastical. FUN!