Author-illustrator Laura Jeffcote weaves warmth, humor, and a touch of the unexpected into Spider Hair, a charming and silly picture book about creativity, problem-solving, and the bond between a boy and his pets.
When Bear’s hair isn’t growing fast enough, he turns to his furry friends for help — only to discover that the best solution might be the most surprising one of all. With charming illustrations and a playful, imaginative story, Spider Hair is sure to delight young readers.
In this Q&A, Laura shares the inspiration behind Bear’s adventure, her creative process, and, of course, the all-important role of spiders!
Spider Hair by Laura Jeffcote is published on April 24th. Pre-order now from Amazon and Waterstones.
Spider Hair has such a unique and fun premise! Can you tell us about the moment that sparked the idea for this story?
I was sitting in a coffee house in Uttoxeter (but that’s another story) and thinking about a visit I had recently paid to Toby, my brother and his stepdaughter, Maisie. I had met Toby’s new granddaughter, Leia, who found it highly amusing when Grandad Toby draped his very long beard over her head, like a big salt and pepper wig.
Slurping on my flat white, I fondly remembered putting our pet cats on my head when we were little because I desperately wanted long hair. “Hmm” I thought, “What animals would make the best hair?”. Working through a long list of pets and household creatures, I ended up at spiders, because with enough spiders, you can create any hairstyle. I was that tickled by the idea that I roughly drew the bare bones of the story on the napkins in front of me.
You’ve mentioned previously that pets often play a big role in children’s imaginative play. Do you have any funny childhood memories of trying to “wear” a pet?
Well, Arthur was the best cat for wearability. Arthur was a long-haired cat, not a pedigree Persian, but had enough Persian to have an incredibly bushy tail and big fluffy pantaloons. He was very placid, very kind and loving and didn’t appear to mind being a wig.
We also used to plop him on Angus, our Labrador’s back. Arthur would sit atop, whilst Angus bumbled around the house and garden. With his fancy tail and fluffy pantaloons, Arthur resembled a musketeer, so we nicknamed him D’Artagnan. It was quite a sight when Angus picked up the pace.
As a fully grown adult, I still have pets on my head! I look after rescue cockatiels, and they do like to sit on my head, whether I want them to or not.
Were there any other personal experiences or stories that made their way into the book?
Yes, my lack of hair when I was a little girl. I had quite severe cradle cap as a baby, and my hair didn’t grow properly until I was three. I remember being very cross that my hair wasn’t growing like other children’s and just wished for it to be long and luscious.
So Bear, the main character in Spider Hair, feels this frustration too and is on a mission to find a solution. And of course, sibling squabbling had to be put in the book too!
Spider Hair is both written and illustrated by you. However, what came first — the words or the imagery?
The imagery came first. I saw the story in my head, like a film, and I tried to design Spider Hair so that if there were no words, you could still understand the story.
However, on reflection, I think the words and pictures carry equal weight now. The words have a certain rhythm. They help the story gather momentum, like a steam train.
This is also your first-ever children’s book! What has the experience been like so far?
Well, until it’s out there, I’m like a cat on a hot tin roof!! But it’s all been very exciting, and I have enjoyed learning about publishing with the help of Tiny Tree Books. I have plans for a second Bear book, so I haven’t been put off yet!
We love the look of Spider Hair. How would you describe your illustration style, and what helped define it for you?
My childhood friend said to me that she knew immediately that this book was mine. So it looks like my illustration style hasn’t changed since I was seven! However, I do have a penchant for watercolour illustrations, and I do like cartoons and slightly irreverent drawing. I am a child of the 1970s and was raised on Roobarb and Custard, Peanuts and The Banana Splits. I was particularly fond of drawings by Quentin Blake and Jules Feiffer. Quentin Blake illustrated my favourite children’s book, Mortimer’s Tie and Jules Feiffer illustrated The Phantom Tollbooth. Both absolutely brilliant.
From a storytelling perspective, how has your work as an animation designer influenced the way that you’ve put this book together?
It has helped considerably with the visual storytelling. The first thing I did was to create a rough storyboard to pace out the story and develop each scene in terms of its cinematography, as if it was a film. Then my experience as an animation designer helped with the character designs, the props and all the backgrounds as well as with character posing and facial expressions. Animation has also helped with the visual rhythm in terms of colour and composition, and it has certainly helped with continuity.
Animated children’s series have taught me more about storytelling arcs, too. Animation scriptwriters are so good at ramping up the tension, humour or pathos in a story. It’s an absolute treat to witness.
A title like Spider Hair might surprise a few people, but it’s a book about creativity, problem-solving, and friendship. What do you hope young readers take away from Bear’s experimental adventure?
I hope young readers are entertained by Bear’s antics. I hope they laugh and shout, and see the silliness in creating hair from spiders. I hope they enjoy the relationships between Bear, his pets and the natural world and the fact that he can talk to animals. I hope they follow Bear’s reasoning as he seeks to solve his hairy problem. I hope they can relate to the unconditional love and warmth that comes from your family in whatever shape or form that takes, and I hope they find joy in reading it aloud with other children and adults.
Oh, and I expect that some young readers will relate very well to annoying siblings!
Spiders don’t always have the best reputation, but in Spider Hair, they’re heroes! What made you want to give them a positive role in this story?
I have arachnophobia, the fear of spiders. I have had it forever. I remember every fight, every panic, every stand-off with the little blighters, and I really wished that I could just get over it. When I became a Mum, I decided that enough was enough. I did not want to pass this ridiculous phobia onto my son. So, I worked on desensitising myself to house spiders. I walked past them on the stairs, left them to happily dangle in the corners of rooms and let them meander across the lounge floor during the 10 O’clock News. And, eventually, we began to harmoniously co-exist. I quite like them now, but I’ll be honest, I don’t know if they like me.
Anyway, I think it’s important to show children that spiders are not to be feared, so I made them the heroes of the story. Disclaimer alert! I know this may not necessarily translate well to Australia and South America!!
Finally, what would you say to anyone (big or small) who doesn’t like spiders about why they *might* want to give this book a go?
It doesn’t have snakes in it!
Spider Hair by Laura Jeffcote is published on April 24th. Pre-order now from Amazon and Waterstones.
