Interview by Rachel Moffat

We sat down with Matt Hunt, the brilliant creator of Up High, published by Nosy Crow. Join us as we delve into his creative process behind the book.

In your own words, what is Up High about?

It’s about discovery and curiosity and how being small might feel overwhelming at times.

Nicky tells me that this is your first author/illustrator book with Nosy Crow. How have you found the experience?

It was fantastic, and I’m looking forward to doing it again! The Nosy Crow team is wonderful; they had great trust in me and encouraged me to develop the book as I envisioned it. We did really cool things, like having each spread be a full-bleed scene, and the format of the book is quite tall, which looks great and fits with the themes in the story.

What inspired the story?

It was inspired by my son, Maxwell. When you have a young child, you tend to take a lot of walks through town, parks, and playgrounds to keep them entertained. Everything is new and interesting to them at that age, stopping every few minutes for a bug or leaf they’ve discovered. It made me think about things from his perspective, being that small.

What inspired the art in Up High?

The setting was inspired by the town we live in and the walks we take. There’s use of perspective throughout the book when the boy is looking up at the tall buildings and people or when he’s on his dad’s shoulders looking down. Those scenes were fun to work on. I wanted the illustrations to have a lot of texture, so I used a mixture of paint, ink, and collage.

What did you love most about the author/illustrator process?

To be able to switch between writing and drawing when inspiration strikes, as one can inspire the other. It’s really fun to see an idea develop and eventually come to life.

What was your favourite part of working on Up High?

It might be the writing. I find it the most challenging part but really rewarding when a seed of an idea turns into a story. Or it could be when I got a physical copy of the book sent to me. Finally seeing it as a ‘real’ thing is hard to beat!

Why is the book important to you?

It’s important because it’s personal and inspired by my family, and also because it was a joy to write and illustrate. I had the idea for Up High a few years ago, so to finally have it here feels like an achievement. In terms of the illustrations, I’m really pleased with how they turned out, which sometimes involved drawing and re-drawing pages over and over again.

Is there anything specific you hope readers take away from reading Up High?

Maybe to slow down a bit and enjoy the little things in life.

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Get your copy of Up High here.

To work with Matt, get in contact with Nicky Lander here.