It’s often easy to forget the conveniences of modernity until we are reminded of a time before satellite navigation, smartphones, or even electric and gas heat. For instance, in the bucolic setting of The Pumphrey Brothers’ newest picture book, The Old Sleigh, a small town relies on firewood deliveries to keep its homes heated and its lights on throughout a snowy winter. So what happens when the sleigh breaks down?
We recently had the opportunity to speak with Jarrett and Jerome Pumphrey about the latest book in their series about trusty vehicles, what it’s like to create with one’s sibling, and how small gestures can make a big difference in the lives of others.
Hi, Jarrett and Jerome! Can you briefly introduce our readers to the characters and setting of The Old Sleigh and what makes them so special?
Jarrett: The Old Sleigh is about a father and son who brave the wintry landscape of their small town in their old sleigh to deliver firewood to their neighbors.
Jerome: Really, they deliver more than firewood. They bring connection and community, but their tradition is tested as the small town grows.
Many people may not realize that there are still plenty of places in the world that depend on wood-burning stoves for reliable heat. Was the setting of the book inspired by a place and time of the past, or by something more modern?
Jarrett: The town in the book was actually inspired by small towns all throughout Central Texas, where we live. We don’t get a ton of snow in Texas, so that might sound strange, but a few years back, we got more snow than we’d ever seen before. Overnight, the Texas Hill Country became a winter wonderland.
But, unfortunately, Texas doesn’t really know how to be a winter wonderland. Lots of people were stranded with no electricity, no heat. Texas being Texas, Texans being Texans, plenty of neighbors were looking out for each other, but even still, so many were left in a tough spot.
All the trucks in Texas were no match for that weather. Sleighs would have fared much better. That’s when we started thinking about the story that would become The Old Sleigh.
The Old Sleigh is rich with relevant themes, especially given the wintery setting: resilience, perseverance, ingenuity, and community. What made you want to explore these particular themes with young readers?
Jerome: That’s the stuff of life, really. All the books in this series explore those themes. We’re always looking to our own lives and family for inspiration for these books, and those themes were always front and center for us growing up.
What is the message you most want readers, young or old, to take away from this story?
Jarrett: That it doesn’t take much to make a difference. That it’s more about the giving than the gift. A simple act like delivering firewood to your neighbors says so much. That’s the spirit of the holidays we like to celebrate.
This book is the third in a series of vehicular titles, following The Old Truck and The Old Boat. What draws you to telling stories about tradition and cooperation through old vehicles?
Jerome: There’s just something powerful about things that endure. Whether it’s an old truck, old boat, or, indeed, an old sleigh, there’s meaning in something being cared for, restored, and given a new purpose.
I think that reflects how we see the world: objects carry history, and with time, care, and imagination, they can find new life. That idea is at the heart of so many of our stories.
The art style for these books is so unique and incredibly labor-intensive: you design and hand-cut stamps to create each illustration (over 250 for The Old Truck!). How many stamps did you make for The Old Sleigh, and were there any unique challenges for this book?
Jarrett: It was hundreds of stamps for this one as well. We love the medium because it’s so collaborative—there being two of us helps with divvying up all that labor—but it’s also particularly fitting for the type of storytelling we like to do.
We use a lot of visual repetition to show what changes and what stays the same as time passes from spread to spread. For instance, the vehicles in these books anchor as the constants—we’re seeing the stories from their POV. To reinforce that idea, we keep them in the same place positionally on every spread while the world around them changes visually.
So when it came to making the stamp for the sleigh, we only had to make it once because we could use it over and over again to make the different prints of the sleigh throughout the book. Printmaking is perfect for that kind of repetition.
Your website proudly declares that you’ve been making stuff together since 1981. How did your creative collaboration begin, and how has your cooperative style evolved over time?
Jarrett: Yeah, we’ve been making one thing or another together most of our lives. We have two other brothers. We were all pretty creative, but for whatever reason, Jerome and I clicked collaboratively.
Jerome: Our earliest collaborations were comics we’d make at home and in school. We were lucky enough to go to a school where the teachers embraced collaboration across grades, so even though we weren’t in the same classes, we could work on projects together.
Jarrett: One day, Jerome came home with a big stack of books. Our mom had taken him to the bookstore to buy books on how to get a book published. I think I was 16 at the time. Jerome was about 15. He’d decided we should try to get a book published.
So we read all those books and did what they said, and ended up getting our first children’s book published a couple of years later. We were stoked. It would take us about 20 more years before we’d get our second book published.
Jerome: In that time, we pursued other careers, had families, lived a lot of life, and I think our work is better because of it.
Are there any more books planned for the series?
Jerome: For now, we don’t envision another one, and a trilogy feels just right. But I don’t think we’d rule it out if inspiration strikes.
We always love to ask creators about the children’s books they enjoyed when they were youngsters themselves. Are there any books or series that inspired you as children?
Jarrett: We were big fans of Peter in The Snowy Day and Charlotte and Wilbur in Charlotte’s Web.
Jerome: Miss Nelson is Missing was one of my favorites.
Lastly, in honor of The Old Sleigh, what is your ideal way to spend a snowy day?
Jarrett: Snuggling up by the fire with my family while we veg out to a good movie.
Jerome: Half the day outside playing in the snow and the other half staying warm by the fire with hot cocoa.
About Jarrett & Jerome Pumphrey
Brothers Jarrett and Jerome Pumphrey are award-winning children’s book author-illustrators. Their critically acclaimed books include Link + Hud: Heroes by a Hair, It’s a Sign!, Somewhere in the Bayou, The Old Boat, and their author-illustrator debut, The Old Truck, which received seven starred reviews, was named a Best Book of the Year by Publishers Weekly, and received the Ezra Jack Keats New Author Honor. They also illustrated New York Times bestselling author Jason Reynolds’s debut picture book, There Was a Party for Langston.
An enormous thank you to Jerome and Jarrett for taking the time to talk about their work with us. Be sure to check out their website at ThePumphreyBrothers.com, and be sure to pick up a copy of The Old Sleigh on bookshelves now!
The Baby Bookworm 