BEAN'S BIG DAY, by Karen Ackerman, illustrated by Paul Mombourquette, Kids Can Press, $15.95.
"Basically, I suppose I'm old-fashioned, I still like pen and paper when I illustrate."
That's what Paul Mombourquette uses for his drawings in children's books: pen and ink and sometimes oils and acrylics.
But the other part of his creativity — which brought him to Salt Lake City five years ago — is computer animation, making characters move in 3D.
"I've really illustrated all my life, " he said in a recent interview. "When I was 12 years old I drew cartoons for my local newspaper in Canada."
He admitted that political cartoonists and the classical pen-and-ink artists have been an influence on his work. As a child, the Warner Brothers cartoons — "a loose cartoony style" — made an impression on him.
That cartoony style is the technique used in his latest picture book for children, "Bean's Big Day."
When it was announced that the talkies were coming to the town of Bean, Pa., everyone was in a dither. "News spread as fast as chicken pox" that someone might become a movie star.
It seemed as if the whole town sought the notoriety. People were edgy and fidgety dressed in their go-to-meeting best, starched collars, tight corsets, ruffles, bows and face paint. Even spunky 8-year-old Cricket's Mama and Daddy appeared to be under some kind of magic spell, all gussied up; she in a lacy dress and he with a wildflower pinned to the lapel of his checkered suit.
The only person not affected by the hoopla was Slip, the livery boy, who "sang softly to himself and mucked out the horse stalls like always."
When the Bean Ladies' Beneficent Society announced that the moving pictures were the devil's work, the folks bickered and "ladies who'd been close as nine-is-to-ten didn't even trade how-dos on the street."
The town was acting crazy. The only one going about his business was Slip.
It's no surprise — at least to the reader — that the movie man picks Slip as a singing cowboy to star in "Song of the Old West."
According to Ackerman, Bean, Pa., is a "made-up" place but the idea of a small town being scouted for talent and filming has a figment of truth.
Both author and illustrator researched the early '20s for details about early talkies. Their concerns were for accuracy in technology, slang and costumes.
Mombourquette paid special attention to store fronts and fancy garb. Particularly humorous are the ornate hats and the gaily-patterned fabrics. Garish sheaths cover ample bosoms and the tawdry suits display the men's idiosyncrasies. Jelly-roll hairdos grace the most sophisticated.
Each character has a unique demeanor and "attitude" portrayed through posture, facial expression and stance. Whether it's a scowl, grimace, sneer or pout, Mombourquette has parodied some of the most delightful personalities I've ever seen in children's books. A study of these expressions alone is worth the price of the book.
Mombourquette has three previous award-winning picture books, "Fog Cat" (1998 winner of the Mr. Christie Award for excellence in illustration of Canadian children's literature), "Emma and The Silk Train" (winner of the 1994 Teacher Choice, International Reading Association) and "The Klondike Cat," which was selected in 2004 as one of the Best Books by the Society of School Librarians.