The Pig War by Emma Bland Smith, illustrated by Alison Jay (Calkin Books; Boyds, Mills & Kane)
Sometimes, a writer seizes on an idea and can’t let go. That’s the way it was for Emma Bland Smith with The Pig War, How a Porcine Tragedy Taught England and America to Share (illustrated by Alison Jay, Calkin Books; Boyds Mills & Kane). Emma knew this little-known story of a fight about a pig that brought two countries to the brink of war would be challenging to tell. She knew it would take more research than she’d done for her previous four books. She even knew she might not find an answer to every question that came up — and she found an ingenious way to acknowledge multiple possibilities while staying clearly in the realm of non-fiction.
It helped that Emma is a children’s librarian who already has wonderful books on her resume, including Journey: Based on the True Story of OR7, the Most Famous Wolf in the West, winner of Bank Street College’s Cook Prize and Northland College’s SONWA award. But I think the biggest reason she did such a great job is that she was compelled to tell this story. And we’re so glad she did. Thanks, Emma, for taking the time from your husband, two kids, one cat and one dog in your San Francisco, California home, to answer questions on The Kids Are All Write!
Emma Bland Smith
What inspired you to write The Pig War: How a Porcine Tragedy Taught England and America to Share?
I read about the historical incident called the Pig War when I was poking around the internet, researching another book. I initially didn’t think much more about it, but I must have filed it away in my brain, because I kept coming back to it. One day I just decided, “Yes, I think this would make a great picture book!” It was the first book of mine to require a great deal of research, and that was a real learning experience for me.
The Pig War by Emma Bland Smith, illustrated by Alison Jay (Calkins Creek; Boyds Mills & Kane)
Tell us about your book journey. How much did the book change from the time you got your idea to when you finished the manuscript? Did it find a home right away?
The first editors of my story were my amazing critique partners, of course! After that, it did not change a great deal. I had it critiqued at a conference, and the critiquer recommended an editor—Carolyn Yoder at Calkins Creek, the American history imprint of what was then Boyds Mills Press (now it’s Boyds Mills & Kane). So when I turned the manuscript in to my agent, she submitted right away to Carolyn. Luckily, Carolyn liked it and acquired it! It was only my third picture book deal, so it felt very, very exciting.
How long did it take you to find your narrative voice — to figure out how to tell this story? I imagine you had a ton of information to sort through!
From the beginning, I knew that I wanted to use a slightly comic, folksy voice to tell this story. I love writing in that style, and it worked here because of the ridiculous-but-true aspects to the tale. There was indeed a lot of information to sort through, but one of the challenges and joys of narrative nonfiction is figuring out which facts move your story forward, and which should be relegated to the back matter.
Emma Bland Smith at the scene of the porcine crime
How challenging was the research? Did you go to San Juan Island?
I began with online research, but I told myself right off that if this manuscript were to be acquired, I would visit San Juan Island. The manuscript was acquired in February, and that summer my family and I spent a week in the islands. It’s not an easy place to get to: It requires flying to Seattle, taking a two hour bus ride, waiting several hours at the ferry terminal, then taking a ferry through the islands. But boy, was it worth it! Getting to actually walk around the areas the Pig War took place did influence my revision. I was better able to capture the physical characteristics of the island. Besides visiting San Juan Island National Historical Park, I spent an afternoon in the archives of the ranger station, searching for primary sources to back up every fact in my story. My editor is a stickler about primary sources, as well she should be, and I felt strongly about measuring up to her standards. I had a few quotes, taken from other reports, for which I was not able to find back up; I ended up taking those out of the manuscript. I also had an expert reader, Mike Vouri, who had written a scholarly book about the Pig War. I met with him twice in person, and we exchanged many emails.
Emma doing research at San Juan Island
Did you know from the start that you were going to lead off with questions about Lyman and his motivations or did you tell the story that way because you couldn’t find the answers to why he did what he did?
That is a sneaky but effective nonfiction technique I had fun with. In certain cases, when I didn’t know for sure how someone felt, or why someone did something, I wrote my assumptions in the form of a question or guess, or I used a qualifying word or phrase, such as “maybe,” “likely,” or “must have.” (This also added to the humorous tone in some cases.) Here are some examples:
• “Maybe Lyman hadn’t had his coffee. Maybe he’d slept poorly. Maybe he was looking forward to boiling those potatoes for his lunch. Maybe he was thinking of the many painful miles he’d rowed to buy the potato seed. But for whatever reason, when he saw that pig, he got cranky.” • “Hornby…likely felt a tad nervous himself at this point.”
• “The Americans must have sighed a breath of relief.”
• “Now, the two bosses, Harney and Douglas, may or may not have been cranky. We don’t know.”
• And lastly: “Did Lyman participate in these good times? Probably—he was known as a fun-loving guy. Did he feel just a teensy bit embarrassed about all the fuss he’d caused? Let’s hope so, for goodness’ sake.”
These techniques allowed me to get inside the characters’ heads and examine their motivations while still keeping the work legitimately nonfiction.
Did the fellow who lost the pig ever get paid anything?
Oh, what a great question! No, I sincerely doubt Charles Griffin received a penny from Lyman Cutlar! To think what cost and trouble would have been avoided if in the very beginning Griffin had simply quoted a reasonable price for the pig, rather than letting his ego and temper get the better of him and making such a fuss!
When did the islands officially become part of America?
1872
The Pig War by Emma Bland Smith, illustrated by Alison Jay (Calkins Creek; Boyds Mills & Kane)
What illustrations are your favorites? Did anything surprise or delight you about Alison Jay’s approach to the story?
I could not have been more thrilled at learning that Alison Jay would illustrate this book. I’ve been reading her book to my kids since they were babies! I just adore her crackle painting technique. I think my favorite illustrations are the ones that show lots of charming, vintage everyday detail, such as the spread depicting the parties the Americans and Brits had together. Alison likes to include animals in all her illustrations, so I also enjoyed finding all the cats, dogs, horses, and pigs running around, as well as the whales and orcas in the ocean.
Journey: Based on the True Story of OR7, the Most Famous Wolf in the West by Emma Bland Smith, illustrated by Robin James (Little Bigfoot)
How does this book compare with your earlier work, including your award-winning debut, Journey: Based on the True Story of OR7, the Most Famous Wolf in the West?
The Pig War was my first historical nonfiction picture book, and very different from my first few books. Both books, however, have an important message to impart. For Journey, it’s that we can all take action to help save endangered wildlife. For The Pig War, it’s that while one hostile action can ignite an argument and spiral out of control, it’s never too late to back down and turn things around.
Did this story change you and, if so, how so?
The book pushed me to write with a very different voice from what I’d used before. I had so much fun being cheeky and ironic. I learned that using a comic voice can be a good way to take on heavy subjects—the sugar to help make the medicine go down.
What do you hope kids will get from this book?
I truly hope that young readers will come away from this book a little less likely to want to fight issues out, and more interested in compromise and peaceful problem solving.
The Pig War by Emma Bland Smith, illustrated by Alison Jay (Calkins Creek, Boyds Mills & Kane)
Emma, thanks so much for visiting us on The Kids Are All Write! Is there anything you would like to add?
I appreciate your having me here, Nancy! You’re an inspiration to me with your own wonderful books!
My pleasure, Emma! Thank you for sharing your book and your journey here.
Remember to visit Emma on social media!
On her website: emmabsmith.com
On Facebook: Emma B Smith
On Twitter: @EmmaBlandSmith