Kyra Teis

Imagining Stories

Why did you want to do Mozart's Magic Flute as a children's book?

I have loved this opera ever since I was a child. My mother took me to see the Ingmar Bergman film when I was six years old. After that, I loved listening to the record, dressing up in elaborate costumes, and dancing around.

I also had a wonderful children's book illustrated by Emanuele Luzzati that captured my fancy - and still does today. In fact, I kept my well-loved copy on my desk as I created this new version, letting Luzzati's beautiful collages inspire my own.

A few years ago, I read an article in the New York Times that Julie Taymor was going to design The Magic Flute for the Metropolitan Opera. I have been a huge fan of hers for a long time - such creativity!

To tell you the truth, hearing this news lit a fire under me. I had a lifetime of my own images stored up around this tale. Just knowing that Taymor was working on it, and knowing how amazing and imaginative her work would be, challenged me to try my hand at it too.

Did you get to see Taymor's version?

Yes, I did. I was so afraid I would be influenced by Taymor's imagery, but luckily I finished my book before I saw The Met's performance. It was amazing, lyrical, haunting...perfection! And now there is even an English-language version that is perfect for families to go to together.

What challenges did you face in adapting Mozart's Magic Flute into a book for children?

This isn't the first time this story has been told for children. I read every version I could get my hands on in order to see what I might bring to the table. Most adaptations for children are for older readers.

My goal was to create a book that was accessible to very young children - to give them a taste of the magic I felt as a six-year-old listening to Mozart's lyrical music and dancing around. While honoring Mozart's essential storyline, my version speaks directly to that bright-eyed six-year-old. It's readable, fun…and full of magic.

How do you create your illustrations?

My illustrations are entirely paper collage. I start by making a detailed line drawing of the scene. Next, I paint all the faces and hands of my character with acrylic paint - I cut these out later to integrate into the collage. Then I make a copy of the scene on tracing paper. I use the tracing paper as a guide to cut pieces of colored paper for the rest of the illustration.

The colored paper has been previously blotted or splattered with layers of acrylic paint. When all the tiny pieces are cut, I lay them out on Bristol board changing a few pieces here and there to get the right color balance. Then I glue everything down.

The last step is to go back into the composition with a paintbrush and refine the image with highlights, shadows and other details. The whole process takes about a week for one illustration.

Do you do school presentations?

One of the best parts of my job is going into classrooms and helping kids think creatively. I enjoy sharing how I research costume and culture, and how sometimes I revise an image five or six times. Seeing trial versions of an illustration really brings home the meaning of the word "re-vision." Teachers love that!

I just finished a five-session workshop in which we explored how to tell stories with images - how color, line, and the body language of characters all communicate the emotion of a story. At the end, one boy said to me, "Cool! Looking at illustration is like code-breaking!" I loved that. He summed up the history of art in one sentence.

The Magic Flute, An Opera by Mozart

Adapted by Kyra Teis

Author Interview