ARGUABLY, NO other author-illustrator duo in Canada has made as deep an impression on young readers as Robert Munsch and Michael Martchenko. In 2017, to celebrate 150 years since the country’s Confederation, BookNet Canada released a list of the bestselling Canadian books of the past century and a half. Of the 150 titles listed, an impressive 28 of those were Munsch- Martchenko collaborations, three of which were in the top 10.
Munsch’s books are most often associated with Martchenko’s energetic and comically expressive illustrations. But as Heather Camlot reports in this month’s Kidlit Spotlight (starting on p. 14), a new generation of artists are putting their own spin on the prolific author’s books. What I particularly like about Camlot’s story is not just Martchenko’s advice to illustrators stepping into his big shoes (“If you keep it fun, you have fun doing it”), but that it demonstrates there is room in the Munsch empire for more than one visual style.