In 2018, our book “The Secret Garden” became the Book of Fate! :) Insanely, we were overwhelmed with joy. Ale head almost bulo i є — podjaka. Thank you for the team that put your heart into this work. And today, we’ll talk to a person who poured his joy onto the sides of a book - through a pencil. Catch an interview with the wonderful illustrator of the book “The Secret Garden” - Lyubov Maligina!

What is the attitude of a wonderful illustrator to the book itself?

The book is truly magical, it made me think again about how important thoughts are, their power and influence on reality, that accidents are not accidental, everything today depends on what we thought yesterday.

What was your first impression when you read it? Was it love at first sight?

Yes! The first impression was... happiness that I would be illustrating this book, in my dreams there was just such a book, with just such a plot, filled with flowers, a bird and a little girl, while reading I enjoyed the story, I literally couldn’t put it down. I read it literally in 2-3 days (considering that I have a child), in spirit. The text itself, its lightness, also the feeling that you are a child again, all this, it seems to me, is a separate part of the inspiration.

As for children, you mentioned it. As far as we know, it was during the period of illustrating the book that you became a mother again.

Yes. It seems to me that this book calmed me all the time and kept me in some kind of balance. If I had a pregnancy with my first child... I would say an alarming one, then this book reminded me every time that my thoughts are expressed in reality, that I need to think about the good, believe (most importantly) in magic, in the best. And under no circumstances should you think about any negative situations, especially during such a wonderful time when you are carrying a child.

How did you find the illustration style itself? It also mixed several techniques, several types of illustrations, how did he come to you at once? Or was it some kind of search?

It was a search, I looked through many books illustrated earlier, studied the terrain typical of Yorkshire (in which main events take place), looked at the furniture and clothing style typical of this period, and re-read it with my daughter book and watched the movie...I wanted to do something of my own, special, not similar to previous authors, I wanted fill it with light, air, space, give this story lightness, the smell of flowers, a lot of joy, warmth...

Beautiful botanical illustrations are your strong point! :)

Thank you!

Please tell us also how you looked for these garden flowers that appear in every chapter of the book?

This is a separate conversation; while illustrating, we together with the editors (founder Irina Ivanova and executive director Valeria Ivanova) met more than once, thinking about what kind of flowers are characteristic of this lists were made of the areas described in the book, I remember a stack of books received at the editorial office for research :)))This was a very interesting experience for me, because I learned a lot of plants, including flowers, which, although I met them in everyday life, but did not pay enough attention to them, although I really love flowers and botany in general. It’s a pleasant aftertaste that when I see a flower, now I know its name. :)

As for the cover, how many options were there, and how did you choose the one that exists today?

There were several options, and we paid special attention to the cover. For some reason, initially I wanted it to be on the cover featured the main character. But then we decided together that it would be flowers. After all, the real point of the book is: plant and grow goodness and beauty in your soul and in the world as a whole, then the weeds will not have a chance. Remember how Burnett quotes: “Where you tend to a rose my lad, a thistle cannot grow.”

How did you feel when you found out that The Secret Garden was named Book of the Year?

This cannot be described in words. Gratitude, and enormous, incommensurable happiness to the point of a child’s squeal of “weeeeeee”, such, when you are a child rushing down a slide, when something unusually important and unreal happens, and you jump straight up on the spot and squeal! WITH ! part, that my dreams came true, that miracles exist, that in the first place, that’s exactly what it’s about I dreamed that I had invested so much love, time and effort into - everything was reunited into one whole and beautiful, that a child or an adult reading this book will look at my illustrations and enjoy them... what will they do someone happy... Many thanks to my publisher, Irina Anatolyevna, for believing in me; and all friendly and especially “warm” publishing team. Every time I came to a meeting at Nebo BookLab Publishing After discussing sketches and illustrations, I felt like I was coming home, I always felt that we were all in tune, that we loved and “we breathe” alone, and how many books and beautiful paintings, inspiration... Some special meetings when you don’t feel like it leaving... and this is a special relationship. Usually everything is edited and corrected. And the artist leaves with his wings cut off, from I flew away from them.

That is why this book brings so much joy, because it is clear that it was made with love, from all sides.

Yesss!

Next project with the publishing house: what is it?

There are so many warm feelings when hearing the word “publishing house”... I even remember that moment at Arsenal when they came up to me and said "we want to make a book with flowers and a bird, with you." I remember that delight until viiii :))))) When I tried not to to show that she is ready to jump with happiness just like that. So, I didn’t even think about what a miracle it was when all my interests, love for books, paintings, aesthetics, the fact that I think it is very important now to have paper books for children, children's literature, and so it's all woven together here... And so comfortable, so easy...

Tell us already, tell us about the new project?

I probably won’t say the title yet... The book will be about animals, and for me personally, this is a revolution in consciousness and my attitude towards them. I love them very much, but there is a special category of rodents that I am afraid of. Before this book, I have them only caused some kind of unpleasant sensations, but when I started reading the book, I seemed to be in a completely another world.This is another feature of books - a transition to another reality. So, while reading, it’s as if you find yourself next to them, you notice how they move, communicate, their interests.Yes, the book is magical, it seems to me that it is permeated with such very subtle humor, very pleasant to read, very smooth, and it seems to me that children will especially love it, because every child at least sometimes dreams of somehow talking to an animal, somehow interacting with it, and This book opens the curtain to some other world. Animal world.

Let's go back to the Secret Garden. A year has passed since publication. Looking back, would you have tweaked anything? Or Would you leave everything as it is?

It seems to me that I would constantly walk around with brushes and touch them up)) But... what’s surprising is that probably 70% of the work is for me I like it... When considering my previous illustration experience, I always approach it very critically. Even after a year, two, I notice some mistakes in my work, probably because I’m growing. You always notice the nuances. But this book is so permeated with my feelings, my emotions, and... there are very few illustrations in it that I would like to change).

Who is your favorite character in the book? (And why?)

Of course it's a girl). Because there is something of me in her.

It always seemed to me that you were such a child...grew up in love?

Not really. Many years passed before I realized that I was living by some rules that were not mine. I tried for a long time understand who I am. And it seems to me that this heroine in this book, she changes before our eyes, because she begins... She begins to grow there is beauty in yourself, you begin to notice the magical.Something that she previously denied, something that she didn’t seem to believe in before. Thanks to my mother, I am close to the fact that the boy Colin was sick, and this illness was practically forced on him, he hid behind her, and lived in all this for several years. Why do I recommend reading it not only to children, but also to adults, because sometimes such things lie on the surface, we walk past them, live with them, live in them, and do not notice what is happening and what impact they have on our lives.And in this book: “If you want to change something in this life... You need first change in yourself, in your head, and then the whole world around you will change, adjust..."