Halibut Jackson
Written and Illustrated by David Lucas
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What a name.
What a title.
And what a cover! From the oblong golden sun and that delightful Bodoni-esque title font; to the star of our show, camouflaged along the horizon in yellow broad hat and dress coat; to the beautiful line work, adorning the cover like filagree, everything about it feels like a vintage treasure.
Yet much like its main character, HALIBUT JACKSON’s cover gives little away. Indeed, when I was introduced to the book in my daughter’s classroom1, I mused, “This is beautiful,” then wondered, “But who or what is a Halibut Jackson?”
Well friends, you’re in for a very stylish treat.
Published in the U.K. in 2003, the book is illustrator David Lucas’s authorial debut. The title was published in the U.S. by Knopf in 2004, so these days, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a brand new copy, as it looks like it’s out of print. Still, it’s worth hunting down at your local library or via used book sites—it’s one you’ll happily revisit.
Let’s meet Halibut Jackson, shall we?
“Halibut Jackson was shy.
Halibut Jackson didn’t like to be noticed.
Halibut Jackson liked to blend into the background.”
And so we say hello to our protagonist and get a hint of his Big Problem—BOOM!—right on the first spread. And what a spread. It’s red!
Red, and fanciful! In Halibut’s world, bluebirds have crowns, ladies wear big statement making hats, and everywhere you look, there is incredible architecture.
But where is our protagonist? A first read of this book is practically a Where’s Waldo Halibut seek-and-find, given how well Lucas disguises Halibut Jackson into each set.
That’s because Halibut doesn’t want to be noticed. He’s crafted frocks to match any place he might find himself, all the better to blend into the background. Which is ironic, given his statement-making sartorial instincts. This is his conundrum—how does an expressive, creative genius move through the world when he’s afraid for others to see him?
Allow me to pause and point out two very thoughtful art decisions in the early spreads of this book.
Lucas has drawn the majority of each scene within frame, with text on the recto set underneath the frame’s border. I find this layout often lends an old school, vintage-y storybook feel to a book. But, elements of the scene extend beyond the frame’s borders, with particular focus on the lower third of the verso. This encourages the eye to focus on the copy first, Halibut second (who is always in the same location), and finally, to move clockwise around the spread, inviting readers to study the wonderful details and spend extra time on each page.
See how the layout repeats in the previous two photos, and this one?:
With repeating layouts, we feel the safety—and dare I say monotony?—of Halibut’s life. His world is beautiful and colorful, but despite the variety of places he ventures, there’s a sameness for him.
“Mostly, Halibut Jackson stayed indoors,” Lucas tells us.
(Note that he doesn’t say Halibut Jackson prefers staying indoors.)
The layout also feels symbolic, hinting at the idea that Halibut can’t lock himself away in a box forever. Nor should he! He—and his ideas—are big, bold, and creative. They don’t fit within a box! Eventually, they’re going to spill over any borders he’s built for himself…
Hello, foreshadowing!
We’ll come back to the story in a second, but I also wanted to shout out David Lucas’s unbelievable attention to detail here. I was so tickled by Halibut’s wonderful sense of style, and the specific, exacting nature of his outfits. He’s a guy with an eye! Look at his outfit for the library:
I was also drawn to the pen work in the illustrations. Throughout, the ink shows signs of bleeding into Lucas’s (presumably intentional) paper choice, which adds this whimsical, magical feel—almost like Halibut’s world scintillates and sparkles! We’ll see this in action later in the story, and speaking of…
Here’s our inciting event:
An invitation from the palace arrives, inviting Halibut to the Queen’s Grand Birthday Party. This is big!
(The typography nerd in me has a minor gripe with how the text was set on the invitation scroll. Or even better, give me a hand-lettered version!)
Still, we’re set up for the big climax, which gets us to…
What do you do when you’re invited to THE royal gala of the season but you’re also a stylish agoraphobe who doesn’t want anyone to notice you?
You make an outfit that looks exactly like the palace, obviously!
Unfortunately for Halibut, he must not have read the back of the invitation, because the Queen’s birthday is, in fact, not a gala.
It’s a garden party.
Different vibe. Different dress code. Poor Halibut!
But then something wonderful happens. Amidst the blah of garden party garb, Halibut’s vision, creativity, talent, and spark shine bright. So much so that the royals ask him to make clothes for them.
Check out Lucas’s pen work in this spread! The sheer number of fine lines—plus all those details—make the clothing feel bejeweled, even though we’re looking at drawings on paper.
One imagines that with the King and Queen as your patrons, the rest of the aristocracy comes running. And indeed, Halibut’s panic-inducing “whoopsie” evolves from fear, to growth, to entrepreneurial windfall.
Most importantly, it allows him to share his creativity and vision with the world. It allows him to stand out!
GO HALIBUT!
Love the premise of HALIBUT JACKSON? Check out David Lucas’s 2005 follow-up, NUTMEG. Publisher’s Weekly wrote a short review of it here!
Though he hasn’t been active in a while, David Lucas houses a collection of videos about art and picture books on his website.
Support the makers:
Buy your copy:
Big Releases
It’s a big week in PB world! Here’s what’s new from veteran makers:
AND THEY WALK ON by Fry Bread author Kevin Maillard, illustrated by Rafael López. About “a boy [who] says farewell to a loved one as he imagines her walking on into her next journey,” I’ll be checking this one out as a future Tough Topics pick. (Publisher description here.)
BROKEN, by X. Fang. “Let me tell you a story about the day I broke Ama’s cup,” begins Fang’s latest and greatest. “I was at her house, and I was bored. So naturally…I decided to scare her cat, Mimi.” You can see where this is going, and from the previews, it looks absolutely hilarious. I can’t wait to read!
DON’T EAT EUSTACE, by Lian Cho. If you don’t subscribe to author and illustrator Lian Cho’s Substack, it’s a must! In addition to funny missives from her personal life, she often takes readers behind the scenes of her work. Her recent posts about developing the cover of EUSTACE and its general visual direction, were incredible reads—especially if you’re a picture book maker! Trust me, don’t sleep on ‘em.
What I’m checking out from the library:
Greystone Kids/Aldana Libros—publisher behind ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE FOREST and THE CAPYBARAS—has two new titles out:
SKETCH, by Jacques Goldstyn and translated by Helen Mixter. A story about a little boy “not drawn like other people.” Heads up: based on a preview I saw, the artwork may provoke questions about human birth!
A PLACE JUST FOR ME, by Loredana Baldinucci and Melinda Berti. I’m neutral on the story previews, but was drawn to this one for the art.
PEOPLE ARE WEIRD, by Victor D.O. Santos and illustrated by Catarina Sobral. Ok, this one seems fresh, potentially profound, and, yep, a little weird. Right up my alley!
DON’T EAT ME! THE ALMOST TRUE STORY OF BELLADONNA, by Kate Finney and illustrated by Esmé Shapiro. I’ll let the marketing pitch do my job: “The unforgettable story of Belladonna, a spunky, beautiful plant who must learn to survive—even though she can’t flee from those who want to devour her!”
M E T A
In this Post: Halibut Jackson by David Lucas
Keywords: Shy, Agoraphobia, creativity, fashion, style, talent, standing out, blending in, party, castle, king, queen, embarrassment, fitting in
Credit where credit is due: Shoutout to Andrea for introducing me to this gem of a book!