As an artist – and a human! – it’s hard not to be inspired by our earliest art. But even on the off chance that some such art has survived the ages, where is it and how do we find it? I was excited to learn that author Cedar Pruitt was taking us on one such adventure in her latest picture book. I caught up with Cedar to learn more:
Me: Congratulations on WHAT MARCEL FOUND: The Incredible Discovery of the Lascaux Cave Paintings (Beach Lane Books, Oct. 2026)! It could almost be fiction: boys exploring caves as the world explodes overhead and discovering that the best of the human spirit can be traced back thousands of years. What inspired you to write this book?
Cedar: Thank you! It is an incredible true story, one that I don’t know if I would even dare to invent for fiction. On a high level, I do have a natural inclination toward finding humanity and connection even in the darkest times, and I loved how that was part of Marcel’s journey. At the story’s heart, forests have always been almost magical sources of mystery and treasure to me – just what Marcel was seeking, and ultimately what he found, even though it was not what he imagined. There is both a fairy tale and a love of nature nestled in this book. And on a more concrete and practical level, I wrote the first draft because my daughter learned about it that day in middle school and came home bursting with the news that kids found the Lascaux cave art. She knew I was searching for story ideas – and this blew us both away.
Me: This is the kind of book I strive to have in my elementary art classroom, but I know non-fiction for kids is certainly not easy to conceive, create or sell. What were some of your challenges in writing this or other work?
Cedar: My debut book, Fire Flight: A Wildfire Escape, started as a poem until I inserted prose at my agent’s suggestion. The final version combines both elements while staying true to the facts of the story. What Marcel Found took the opposite approach, beginning as a straightforward narrative that relied on Marcel’s dog, Robot, for momentum. (Side note: My agent pointed out that the dog’s name could be a confusing narrative element for young readers, which was of course a very helpful and true point, but that fact was a favorite of mine because it demonstrates the innovative mind Marcel had – curious about new things, like the word Robot, which was only 20 years old. But it would be confusing for kids, no doubt – is it a robot or a dog? So into the back matter – and illustrations – went Robot, and back to the drawing board went I.) I reworked it for months until I had poetry in there too, in a structure and story that would engage a reader of any age. Ultimately an editor’s rejection contained one sentence about history that led me to deepen and root the story more in WWII, and that brought us to the final version, which my agent sold to the legendary Beach Lane Books at Simon & Schuster.
Throughout the process, determining the facts was a little tricky, since there are layers of history and story here, and we only know so much about prehistoric cave paintings, and about Marcel himself. Multiple versions of the story of his discovery circulated, but with enough research I built a stronger foundation of the facts that we do know.
Me: Illustrating a picture book featuring iconic art is its own special challenge, but David Litchfield’s bright and lively interpretations of the Lascaux paintings really jump off the page. What was it like getting paired with him and seeing his final art?
Cedar: As you can imagine, I think I literally jumped out of my chair when my editor suggested him, and David accepted. I had been lucky enough to be able to weigh in on the process with my publisher and had expressed my hope that the illustrator would be adept at shadows and dimensionality, not to mention horses. Since the book is about an underground cave, you can imagine that some illustrators might depict shadows with darkness. David depicts them with light, which is a wild and fabulous choice that makes more sense than any other solution, in some ways. He packs what feels like the entire universe into the spaces in this story. In the process he created something that almost comes off the page. I think the physical book looks like a present; as if a child is being given a wrapped and colorful present. And in a way they are, since it is about the truth of themselves– as humans, they are artists at their core, going back 1,000 generations. When they make art, it is fundamental to who they really are. It’s perfect that the book’s art is so joyful and engaging.
Me: How did you get into writing books for kids?
Cedar: I was a classic bookworm as a kid, the type that read everywhere (in the car! in the hallway! on stairs that people were trying to use!). I had so many favorite authors, but by second grade or so I considered William Steig and Chris Van Allsburg to be geniuses. I wanted to help create that kind of mystery, humor and wonder in the world. As soon as I graduated from college (where I did not get into the creative writing class!), I worked on it – through workshops, conferences, and a critique group, but got a slew of rejections (in my physical mailbox back then). After a few years of that, I just gave up. I became a fitness instructor on the side, which allowed me to express myself creatively in a different way, and did that for more than a decade while raising children and working a day job.
Then at 40, I realized I still wanted to achieve that dream of being a children’s book author. So I rejoined the classes and conferences and learned that everything had changed and there was now a much more welcoming community. I stopped teaching fitness classes and instead joined the 12×12 Picture Book Challenge, which emphasizes being prolific as well as learning the art of revision, and as a result I have written a picture book and revised a picture book every month since January 2018. I submitted about 30 manuscripts to many agents, and after getting about 200 rejections, I got a yes from my incredibly good agent, Mary Cummings of Great River Literary, who sold it a year later and Fire Flight was published in 2024.
What Marcel Found, my second book, is a real joy to behold and a labor of love. It’s very different to release a book having been through it before. Now I know how astonishing it is to have a toddler memorize your words, how stunned I was to be awarded Best Children’s Book of the Year from Bank Street, and how magical it is to be the author in a school library packed with 150 children who are star struck….by you. But none of it is old – it remains eternally energizing and special.
Me: Can you share what you’re working on next?
Cedar: I have several nonfiction manuscripts about astonishing prehistoric true stories that I would love to get in the hands of young readers, as well as a chapter book series that combines humor and cozy horror with a celebration of literacy and story. And I am especially excited about two animal-related manuscripts – lyrical and joyful investigations into the facts of the animal world, told with love, empathy and connection.
Me: Thank you so much for chatting, Cedar. Wishing your book much success!
Cedar: Thank you so much for the interview, and best of luck with your art and writing!
To learn more, please visit Cedar Pruitt – Writing books for young readers.
Pepper the chicken (with Cedar in foreground)
