Ruzzier knew Yorinks’ work and was ready to work with him from the start. Though Yorinks was unfamiliar with Sergio Ruzzier, an award-winning children’s book author and illustrator, the opposite was completely untrue. I then looked carefully at his work, and I felt he might be able to handle what is a very significant challenge of the manuscript-no people, only insects who don’t do much but TALK!”Īrthur Yorinks, left Sergio Ruzzier, right And it was fateful for I had just met Sergio through the folks at The Maurice Sendak Foundation. I did not know Sergio’s work (and to be clear, I have not kept up on the current crop of illustrators working now), but my editor Liz, after some discussion about other possibilities, came up with the idea of Sergio Ruzzier. “I have been known to have strong opinions about illustrators and naturally who I might collaborate with on a book. One of the challenges Yorinks faced was finding just the right illustrator for One Mean Ant.

I wrote the story many years ago-can’t remember exactly when right at this moment-but between finding the right illustrator, and fitting work into his schedule, and all the ‘stuff’ of producing a book, well, let’s put it this way, the young boy I dedicated it to is now in college! Just kidding, but he was in preschool and now he’s just about past the age of picture books.” “It seemed like this book took forever to be published.

Yet, this book seemed to be in the works longer than most. Having written more than 35 picture books for children, Yorinks knows the process inside and out. Yorinks, an award-winning author, playwright, and director, is no stranger to the world of children’s books. Though One Mean Ant is about friendship, I presume and hope there are all sorts of things the reader will come away with from reading the book based on their own lives and experiences.” One Mean Ant is a book about friendship, and I thought about how, in some ways, we’re alone in the world and what it means to have a friend. And in the instance of One Mean Ant, I turned to Beckett (“Waiting for Godot”) and, at the risk of being a bit esoteric, “No Exit” by Sartre-both are plays. My book It Happened in Pinsk (Farrar Straus & Giroux, 1983) was drawn from my love of the works of Gogol. “My book Louis the Fish (Square Fish, 1986) was drawn from my love of the works of Kafka.

“I’m drawn to references, literary and otherwise,” shares Yorinks about the idea that started this book. A really mean ant.” So begins the newest book from author Arthur Yorinks and illustrator Sergio Ruzzier entitled One Mean Ant (Candlewick Press, 2020) that follows a mean ant as he learns how to be a friend.

Arthur yorinks books