LB School: What was it like working together on a second book?
Minh Lê: It was so much fun. My approach when working with an artist of Dan's caliber is to provide just enough story to start the book... and then get out of the way. It's total magic to toss a manuscript Dan's way and then see what amazing things he comes up with.
Dan Santat: When I got the script for Lift, it immediately felt like the type of story that I wish I had written. Sometimes there are some ideas that seem so obviously brilliant that you sort of ask yourself why you hadn't thought of it first. To me, that's the sign of a really good idea. Minh has a very good way about his writing where he writes for the artist. He knows when to say things in the manuscript and he knows when the story is better told with illustrations and he's very economical with his words so that when paired with images they work perfectly in synchronicity. After having completed two books together I think it's safe for me to say that I've found my book making soul mate if there were such a thing.
