Ben Clanton - InterPLAY: The FUNdamentals of Pairing Pictures and Words

Ben Clanton is the Eisner award-winning author and illustrator of books like the Narwhal and Jelly series and Rot: The Cutest in the World. He's also an editor for Little Bigfoot in Seattle.

Just going to share a tiny tiny bit from his presentation! Sorry!

Here are some questions to ask to see if your picture book will be wonderfully interactive:

Is it relatable?

Does it have some unique or interesting angle to it?
I remember meeting Ben a million years ago and he has ALWAYS loved and talked up Viviane Schwarz's There Are Cats in This Book. It remains an excellent example of interactivity in a standard paper book.

Strong central characters that come alive?
Ben says he can probably name more fictional characters than he can real people, and that he may have more fictional friends than real ones. Which he says may sound sad but trust him, he's happy with it that way!

Does it invite the reader to participate?

Does it have enough negative space/white space to let the reader's imagination have space to play?

Is there a subversive element?
Ben loves to use No, David! as a great example for this.