Through the universe to make bread: Lily Uivel

Did you know that bread is made from stardust? Board the rocket and blast off on an adventure through time and space to discover the secrets of a home-baked loaf!

Big Bang Bread is a kids’ time-travel adventure cookbook with a cosmic twist. Take off with the Big Bang, and drop in dinosaurs, Ancient Egypt and other times and places to collect the ingredients for a delicious loaf of oven-baked bread.

Kete is delighted to speak to Lily Uivel, author and illustrator of Big Bang Bread, about where she finds inspiration.

Kia ora Lily! Thank you for speaking with Kete. You’ve illustrated many picture books and young readers, but Big Bang Bread is your first as author. How does that feel?

It feels really great, it’s been a long journey for Big Bang Bread to get to print so it’s nice to finally be able to say, 'I’m a writer!'

Something that surprised me is just how much joy it brings me when someone tells me about their kid enjoying Big Bang Bread, or even better, a kid tells me themselves! I mean this is what we are all doing it for at the end of the day, I just didn’t quite realise how much happiness it would bring me.

The other surprise is how nervous it makes me. As the author and illustrator I feel like I need to stand by the work in a different way and the book represents me too. It can be a scary feeling!

To combine the development of breadmaking and its significance to human development with the world’s evolution makes for a book with epic scope. How did you bring this to fruition?

The brilliant Carl Sagan has a famous quote, 'If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe.'

I was watching Cosmos (The Neil deGrasse Tyson version), and that quote is featured. It struck me as a wonderfully simple way to contextualise how everything in the universe is part of the same epic story. I thought bread would be a bit more global than apple pie. The rest was just figuring out how to make it make sense!

Do you bake bread often yourself?

I do love baking bread, and make my own sourdough when I can. But between writing, illustrating and parenting there are never enough hours in the day!

I did do A LOT of baking to create the recipe in Big Bang Bread. There were over 20 experiments to find the right balance between something quick and easy that kids can do and something edible.

What is your favourite New Zealand picture book?

Easy - The Lion in the Meadow by Margaret Mahy.

And what is your best read this year?

Well, I only really get time to read picture books at the moment. I love a lot of them. But I think the front runner for this year is Emile, by Tomi Ungerer.

A brave Octopus meets a deep sea diver in trouble, and from there unfolds a story delightfully similar to the plot of a Baywatch episode, there’s even a police boat chase! It feels like Tomi Ungerer gave no thought to what a picture book ‘should’ be and instead let his inner child write. It speaks directly to children. My son LOVES it and it makes me laugh.

Last but definitely not least, we’d love to hear what you’re working on at the moment, or what your next project is.

I am illustrating two books at the moment with well-known NZ picture book authors. One of the books in particular is very personal to my family history, so that feels wonderful to be a part of.

As for writing, I have a few new things cooking! I’ve taken a turn away from science and non-fiction and am enjoying writing about fantastical creatures, magical characters, secret gardens, flying animals and spells gone terribly wrong.

Big Bang Bread is available in all good bookstores now.