Of Blueprints and Bedtime Stories

Tom Shefelman almost decided to go to MIT, but the 1951 graduate now credits Harvard's master's program in architecture as having been extremely important to his career.

But Shefelman has chosen to apply those skills to an unusual occupation: Shefelman and his wife Janet work together to write and illustrate children's' books. The first effort on which they collaborated was Victoria House, a story about a young family that moved from a decaying Victorian mansion into an urban setting.

Shefelman says that the project was accepted by Harcourt-Brace because the editor thought that it would be popular with "young urban pioneer families." The prediction came true; the success of Victoria House encouraged the Shefelmans to write their newest book, A Peddler's Dream. The story is about Soloman Azar, a man who immigrates to the United States from Lebanon in hopes of finding his fortune. After many setbacks, Solomon and his wife Marie establish a fashionable department store in Texas (where the Shefelmans live).

The Shefelmans believe that every American is "made up of many different fantastic cultures." This belief is the basis for A Peddler's Dream and for a trilogy that Janet Shefelman wrote about the coming of age of Wilhemina, a young German immigrant. It will also be the theme of their next book about the friendly relationship between the Plains Indians and German immigrants in Texas.

Tom Shefelman says that his year at Harvard influenced him "by osmosis." He studied architecture with Walter Gropius, who emphasized the importance of "urban design" instead of just "plunking a building down in the middle of a city." Shefelman valued Harvard, Cambridge and Boston for their architectural assets as well as for their overall urban appeal.

The influence of architectural drawing methods is evident in Shefelman's illustrations. His works are sharp ink drawings combined with watercolor painting. Shefelman has found that he had to adapt his style for children's book illustrations. For example, although he was accustomed to drawing architectural renderings on a large scale, he had to create small paintings for Victoria House. Also, after he took a painting class at the Laguna-Gloria Museum in his hometown of Austin, Texas, Shefelman began to determine form in his works more by color than by line, as he had been trained to do as an architect.

The Shefelmans estimate that the entire process of producing a book takes about two years. The timetable assumes only part-time work on the illustrations, since Tom Shefelman is a partner in an architectural firm in Austin; Mrs. Shefelman is a full-time writer. When the first of their two sons was born, Mrs. Shefelman quit her job as a teacher to devote herself to her family and her writing.

The experience of bringing up two children was a great inspiration to the author-illustrator team. Although the first book was not published until after the Shefelmans' sons were in college, the many books they read to their children gave the couple ideas about the kind of book they wanted to produce.

Tom Shefelman never thought when he was working toward his Harvard degree in architecture that he would eventually launch a career illustrating children's books. He now knows that this is definitely what he wants to be doing: "Every time I get a response from a child I am heart-warmed and inspired to do more."