Q & A with

Peter Brown

by Julianne Black DiBlasi

For so many of us, picture books are our earliest form of communication. We don’t always understand the words, the context, or even the story, but even as babies, we pick up on the tone, the mood, and the feelings surrounding the characters and their actions. We feel the color scheme, the chaos, or the calm of the illustrations—the way the person reading it to us expresses the theme page to page in their tone. We absorb the pages more than understand them, and the good ones stay with us for our whole lives.

When I picked up Fred Gets Dressed, it had that timeless feeling of a welcoming space. The pages create enough depth to move into, as if walking around in between the sheets of paper, occupying the world of Fred. The storyline reached for my hand and led me along on an effortless stroll from scene to scene, taking in each location from top to bottom and around again.

Fred Gets Dressed is about a little boy trying on his mom’s clothes, jewelry, and makeup. But more than that, it wraps the reader into a warm blanket of play, safety, exploration, and love. I’m always thrilled when a new book comes out for kids with concepts that warm the heart and shake the cobwebs off dusty and outdated children’s themes. It’s time to meet Fred and create a forever book of love and acceptance for the next generation.

Q: Fred is just adorable and arrives in perfect timing with so many cultural and social issues making headlines in politics, school board meetings, and across news channels. How did the idea first come to you to create a picture book around a character experimenting in gender roles?

A: I know the subjects I explore in Fred Gets Dressed are timely, but the idea came from an experience I had many years ago, when I was 5 years old. I was exploring the house and I got into my mother’s things and started experimenting with her makeup, and when she found me, I had makeup smeared across my face. My mom’s reaction was simply to clean off my face and show me how to put on makeup the right way. We ended up having a really sweet, fun moment together, and it’s one of my favorite memories of her. I thought there was enough good stuff in that memory that with a few adjustments it could make a really poignant picture book, and that turned into Fred Gets Dressed.  

Q: The name Fred is so hard-edged masculine. Was that a conscious choice?

A: From the start, I wanted the title for this book to be “_____ Gets Dressed,” because I loved how the word “Dressed” ends up having a double meaning. I just had to decide on a name for the boy protagonist. I wanted a name with a single syllable to give the title a nice punchy rhythm, and “Fred” had a great ring to it. Plus, there was the added bonus that it was such a familiar, masculine name which helped amplify the themes of the story.

Q: Not to spoil the story for our readers, but there is so much depth in that the character has “trouble” putting on Dad’s clothes and just leaves it at that, but then goes through a series of struggles to dress like mom without regretting the effort. This speaks volumes to the unnamed dread of moving in a direction your heart objects to without drowning the moment in vocabulary and overthinking. Very powerful steppingstone that I’m sure young readers will “get” on their own level of understanding. At this point in the story, what kind of editing were you working through to make this point, or were you already solid on how you wanted to share it when you started writing? 

A: What excited me about this story concept was that it was so personal to me, and yet it had the potential to connect on a very personal level with many different kinds of readers and families. However, I didn’t want this story to only appeal to readers who can relate to Fred, personally. I wanted this story to appeal to everyone. These subjects have the potential to get a little heavy, so I tried to lighten things with humor, which is one reason why the story begins with Fred romping naked through the house. Eventually, he romps into his parents’ room and then peeks into their closet. We see Fred trying on his dad’s clothes first, which makes sense. Then, when that doesn’t work out, it seems perfectly natural that he’d try clothes from his mom’s side of the closet. That works better, and it seems natural that he’d then check out mom’s makeup and jewelry. The goal was to show readers, step-by-step, just how perfectly natural it is for this sweet, funny, curious boy to dress up like his mother.

Q: There is pink glow throughout the color scheme that kind of softly pulls the backgrounds (nongender), “masculine,” and “feminine” images, or iconic messaging all together, kind of creating an overarching blend. What was the art direction like for you for Fred Gets Dressed? 

A: As both the author and the illustrator of Fred Gets Dressed, the color palette was something I thought about a lot. Pink is actually my favorite color to use in illustrations, and since this story was clearly playing with the subject of gender identity, this seemed like a great story to really lean into that color. But with a vibrant color like pink, you have to be careful not to overdo it, so I balanced out the palette with earthy tones of gray and brown and green.

Q: I love that one spread of Fred already dressed and facing his parents! Did you toy with a verbal exchange there, or did you know it just needed that quiet moment of recognition?

A: There really isn’t much tension in this story. We’re just watching a sweet little boy as he explores and experiments. However, I knew some readers (mostly adults) would be uncomfortable with the subject matter, and whatever tension exists is building to this moment, where Fred’s parents find him dressed up like Mom. Readers will be wondering how Fred’s parents will react, and I thought I would draw out this one slightly tense moment and not show any clear reaction until the next page. I couldn’t find any words that added to this moment, so I left it wordless, which leaves readers to wonder what each of the characters is thinking in that moment. And when we try to imagine how other people or characters are feeling, we’re starting to empathize with them, and I think we can all agree that the world needs more empathy, these days.

Q: I’m just completely in love with how many children’s books are featuring nonbinary characters and emphasizing a lack of gender-specific pronouns, especially titles that focus on adventure and emotional topics. How do you feel the world of children’s books is changing and where are you finding there is still resistance in your own personal career promoting Fred Gets Dressed?

A: I love how more types of characters and stories are being depicted and embraced in kids’ books. As happens so often, artists are nudging society to grow, but whenever that happens, society always pushes back. I have received some of the most incredibly touching responses to Fred Gets Dressed, but I’ve also received quite a few negative responses, as well. Obviously, it’s upsetting whenever I get attacked online by complete strangers for making this book, but I’ll be fine. What really upsets me is to think what actual children must be going through. Every kid deserves to see themselves represented in culture, and they deserve to feel loved and accepted, regardless of who they are. So, I’ll just keep doing what I’m doing, despite the naysayers.

Q: Because some of our Story Monsters are aspiring authors themselves, I like to ask my bestselling authors about that title. When was the first time someone called you a bestselling author and do you remember having a specific reaction? Is it embroidered on your pillows (because I would absolutely do that!), and have you adopted a theme song?

A: Ha! I vividly remember when I first learned I was a NY Times bestseller. I was on tour for a picture book I wrote and illustrated called The Curious Garden, and after an event in a San Francisco area library, my editor called to tell me the book had just made the bestseller list. It was a dream come true. I feel really lucky and grateful to have found some success doing what I love.

Q: What’s next that we can watch for from you and how do our Monsters follow your work?

A: In addition to writing and illustrating children’s picture books, I also write and illustrate children’s novels. I’m currently finishing up the third book in my Wild Robot series, entitled The Wild Robot Protects. That book will be published next fall, so stay tuned! Readers can learn more about me and my books at peterbrownstudio.com.