Erin Dealey

Today we’re switching over to nonfiction to celebrate

the Book Birthday of Olga Fadeeva’s gorgeous new picture book,

SOUND: Discovering the Vibrations We Hear,

translated by Lena Traer, Eerdmans Books for Young Readers.

“Dynamically illustrated…kid-friendly, intriguing.” ― Booklist (STARRED REVIEW)

“Fadeeva’s work is chock-full of clear explanations, suggestions for experimenting with sound, elegant infographics, and rich vocabulary, all defined in context…Brimming with cogent insights, delightful visuals, and infectious wonder.” ― Kirkus Reviews (STARRED REVIEW)

About Olga Fadeeva:

Olga Fadeeva is the author and illustrator of Water: Discovering the Precious Resource All Around Us, Wind: Discovering Air in Motion (Eerdmans), and many other books for children. Wind earned a starred review from Kirkus and was named a USSBY Outstanding International Book, and Water earned starred reviews from Booklist and School Library Journal. Olga’s art has been honored in Italy, China, and her home country of Russia.

Let’s ask some questions!

Q 1. Welcome, Olga! We see that your previous work includes two other Eerdmans titles: Water: Discovering the Precious Resource All Around Us (earning starred reviews from Booklist and SLJ), and Wind: Discovering Air in Motion (earning a starred Kirkus review and USSBY Outstanding International Book honors). Did you know sound and vibrations would be next or did you choose it?

Olga Fadeeva: My first nonfiction book was Wind. Before that, I wrote and drew only fairy tales. At first it was hard for me to write, and at that moment, I decided that I would never do nonfiction again. But after finishing the work, I realized that although it was difficult for me, it was very interesting. Perhaps, it was the most interesting experience!

Next, I started working on Water, and I couldn’t stop. So I started looking for another topic that was interesting to me. This is how Sound came to be.

Q 2. Can you tell us about your process? Once you have a topic or focus for your book, is your next step thumbnail illustrations, a story board, research, or text?

Olga Fadeeva: I start with research and storyboarding. This way, I understand how to structure the text — from the main part of the story to the secondary parts — while fitting in all the interesting information.

Q 3. What is your favorite sound?

Olga Fadeeva: I probably won’t be original if I say that it’s the sound of heavy rain and the rustling of autumn leaves. And also the sound of falling snow. When it snows, you can hear silence.

Q 4. What was one of the surprises or discoveries you made while working on Sound: Discovering the Vibrations We Hear?

Olga Fadeeva: There were many surprising things! For example, the number of languages on our planet and the fact that fish can make sounds with a volume of 190 dB.

Olga Fadeeva: I was also surprised by the story of the creator of the telephone, Alexander Graham Bell. He patented his invention just two hours before another inventor, Elisha Gray, and went down in history.

Q 5. What is your favorite spread?

Olga Fadeeva: The Sounds of History! It was incredibly interesting for me to dive into different eras and figure out how to convey the sounds of those times.

I also really like the spread with the orchestra. It was great to figure out the seating of the musicians and come up with their own image for each. Although, drawing this spread took more than 14 hours.

Q 6. What medium did you use for this project? Did you experiment with others before that?

Olga Fadeeva: I used the same technique as in the books Wind and Water — acrylic, collage, and digital drawing.

Q 7. What do you hope readers will take away from this book?

Olga Fadeeva: I would like readers to pay attention to the variety of sounds and to understand that hearing is a great value!

Q 8. What’s next for you? Anything in the queue that you can share?

Olga Fadeeva: Now, I am interested in exploring the world beneath my feet. Perhaps this will be the topic of my next book.

Oooh — we’re hooked already!

Special thanks to Olga Fadeeva for joining us on the blog today.

and Happy Book Birthday to Sound.

To learn more about Olga and her work, check out her website: https://t.me/ArtFolga
and find her on Instagram: olgafadeeva_illustrations

Next up on the blog:

We chat with award-winning author/illustrator Antoinette Portis,

about her zany new picture book from Neal Porter Books,

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