Julia & Robert Van Nutt: The hearts, minds and voices of Cobtown

Teaching Pre K-8, Nov/Dec 1999 by Winarski, Diana

The fictional 150-year-old community that launched the careers of this innovative couple may lie within their apartment walls, but its effect on children @ literature will reach far beyond

here are certainly authors and illustrators who work out of home offices; perhaps even most of them do. But far fewer can say their home offices are also one-bedroom New York City walk-ups that triple (at least) as a research library, a dress makers shop and a woodworker's studio. And we know for certain that there is only one duo that has used such an environment to carve a place for themselves in the children's book world: the husband-and-wife team of Julia and Robert Van Nutt.

The couple has lived in the West Village for 25 years. They cook their own food, make their own clothing and, since 1995, have written their own books. It's in this apartment that writer, Julia, and illustrator, Robert, conceived and built Cobtown, a mid 19th century industrial community that serves as the centerpiece for their three published picture books: A Cobtown Christmas (1998), Pumpkins from the Sky? (1999) and The Mystery of Mineral Gorge (1999).

Life imitating art. "We didn't set out to recreate an early American philosophy from a 20th century viewpoint," Robert told us as we cooled off with homemade iced tea, "but what we realized, without even saying it aloud, was that even though we were in the heart of New York City, we'd been living in a 19th century mode for most of our lives. We've always tried to make our lives as self-sufficient as possible, first through economic necessity and then, well ... we like it. Because we were living the pre-industrial revolution way of life, projecting it into Cobtown was an easy thing to do."

From the casual way the Van Nutts talk, constructing the Cobtown model - an ongoing project - and the acrylic paintings that are based on it, is almost as easy as laying the foundation for the books. From a nearby bookshelf, Robert produced for us his entire "studio" - a box of minuscule paintbrushes, matte knives, balsa wood and paper. With these tools, Robert crafts elaborate characters and sets to illustrate the diary entries of 12-year-old Lucky Hart that Julia writes.

Up close and personal. Not every couple could live and -work together so effectively in such tight quarters. "We hardly ever leave Cobtown. We wake up with it at the foot of our bed and we go to sleep thinking about it. We're right here at arm's length all the time," Julia smiled, 'though I do try to keep some things mysterious still."

"It's a fine line between work and play," Robert added.'@But it's all enjoyment, really."

The emergence of Cobtown. The concept for the Cobtown books blossomed naturally from a research project that centered on The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. For the project, Robert and Julia explored the nooks and crannies of the Hudson River community in which the legend is based; the more they learned, the more enamored with the period they became. Robert, a former Broadway set designer and animator, created a miniature town set in the same era. As the town grew, it slowly became inhabited by the characters they developed.

"We named the characters," Julia explained, "and that's when it really took on a life of its own. All of sudden there was a town that had people who interacted. It had a blacksmith, a shopkeeper, teachers and industry."

In fact, Julia and Robert have now developed the entire history of Cobtown, much of which will be revealed in future books.

Model town, real world. Though the model town appears fanciful, when they planned Cobtown, Robert and Julia established a credo to which they vehemently adhere.

"There's nothing that happens here that couldn't happen in the real world," Julia told us. "Animals don't wear hats and walk around with bow ties and talk."

Robert added, "Whenever you see an object in a Cobtown book, you can count on the fact that it's well researched. I knew how it was made, what it was made of and what its function was before I even picked up the pencil to portray it. In this sense, everything in there is almost an artifact."

Authentication is vital to the Van Nutts. The endpapers are "real" copies of The Cobtown Observer newspaper and historically accurate recipes are sprinkled throughout the text. The Van Nutts agree, "If someone becomes fascinated with something we include and pursues it further, that's great."

While accuracy is of utmost importance, the Cobtown books don't read like history textbooks. There's plenty to hold the readers' interest, even without talking animals. "There are great characters, great stories and a great town. We want to show the magic of real life," Robert told us with gleaming eyes. "There are wondrous things that happen without the supernatural being involved. All it takes is an awareness of what's around you to make life exciting and interesting. It's the imagination and the observation of what's really there that makes life- fabulous."

For the Van Nutts, life since the emergence of Cobtown has been especially fabulous. They participate in book tours that include Cobtown events like pomander making. They'd even like to branch into writing nonfiction (a particular love of Julia's) that focuses on period craftmaking, for example.