He was drawn to success

As a kid growing up in Spokane, author-illustrator David Shannon loved to draw.

“Very few people discouraged me from drawing,” he says, “because it was the one way to get me to shut up.”

But talent might also have had something to do with it.

“There’s an artistic streak that goes way back on (my dad’s) side of the family, and he’s a pretty good artist himself,” Shannon said. “He always made sure I had plenty of materials and he took time to look at what I was doing. He still spots things in my illustrations that no one else sees.”

Spokane educators also fed the fire. “Mrs. Castoldi was my first art teacher in preschool. Later on I went to the Spokane Art School, which was taught by Joe Kagle. He really opened my eyes to art in general. We visited Harold Balasz’s studio a couple of times. Harold is incredible. Ken Spiering was my high school art teacher. He was very supportive despite my less-than-classical tastes (comic books) and my poor attendance record.”

With dozens of books on his resume, including 1998 Caldecott Honor Book “No David!” (loosely based on a book he drew as a kindergartener at Hutton Elementary), he’s proved the faith of friends and family was well invested. He’s made the grade. He’s even earned the right to play.

Enter “Why Did the Chicken Cross the Road?” (Dial) – a collection of 14 full-color, two-page spreads by 14 of the best children’s illustrators in the business – set to go on sale Thursday.The artists, includingShannon, Mo Willems, Chris Raschka, Jerry Pinkney and Tedd Arnold, answer the question in their own distinctive way.

Shannon’s contribution features a chicken at the wheel of a stylish convertible, a pig riding shotgun, and a bull wedged into the tiny backseat. Why did this chicken cross the road? “Because the light was green,” Shannon contends, at least in this version. But other options crossed his mind.

“I had one image where chicken is caught in the middle of the road with a humongous semi-truck bearing down. The answer would have been: ‘No one will ever know.’ “

Which road would the chicken have crossed had he been cruising Spokane? “Well, if Chicken was crossing the road to get to the other side, I guess it would have to be Division,” Shannon said. “But I would say Chicken would probably cross Grand to hang out with the ducks at Manito Park.”