Assistant Professor Jodi Woosley illustrated the new children’s book “Route 66: Faces and Places Along America’s Most Famous Road.” (Photos by Derik Holtmann)
Once stretching from Chicago to Santa Monica, California, passing through eight states and a seemingly endless array of towns along the way, Route 66 grew to become the most famous roadway in America.
It had its legacy cemented by a classic 1940s song, “Get Your Kicks on Route 66,” as well as a 1960s television crime drama and literary mentions in John Steinbeck’s “The Grapes of Wrath” and Jack Kerouac’s “On the Road.”
Signs of the route remain visible today – including locally on apparel at Ted Drewes Frozen Custard or sidewalk plaques commemorating historic businesses that once stood alongside its original path through downtown Maplewood – though the road was officially removed from the U.S. Highway System in 1985.
Now, a new book, illustrated by University of Missouri–St. Louis Assistant Professor Jodi Woolsey, is helping bring the roadway back to life for young readers. “Route 66: Faces and Places Along America’s Most Famous Road,” was written by author Beth Bacon and published last month by Reedy Press to coincide with the 100th anniversary of Route 66’s founding.
A page from “Route 66: Faces and Places Along America’s Most Famous Road” highlights Missouri landmarks such as Ted Drewes Frozen Custard and Donut Drive-In.
Geared toward an elementary school audience, the book showcases many of the landmarks that grew up along the road as well as some of the historical characters who helped make it so famous. Readers come to see them all through Woolsey’s vibrant, playful, cartoon-inspired style.
Woolsey won’t soon forget the excitement she felt in mid-August when, after months of working on the project, she first got to peruse the finished product.
“That was the first time I got to actually pick it up and look at it, and yeah, it’s great,” she said. “It still feels a little surreal to have something tangible with my name on it. It’s pretty amazing.”
A representative from Reedy Press first approached Woosley about working on the book last summer.
“They were looking for someone to illustrate a children’s book about Route 66 because it hasn’t really been done before,” Woolsey said. “There’s a lot of books for adults, but not much for children. So, they were interested in getting a manuscript from a local author and turning it into something that would be fun but also very educational for a younger audience.”
She said Bacon had actually suggested her to Reedy. Though they’d never met, they had a mutual connection through the owner of a local bookstore.
Woolsey, who teaches both illustration and graphic design classes in UMSL’s Department of Art and Design, was immediately intrigued. It presented an opportunity to stretch herself. She had more than a decade of experience working as an artist and graphic designer and once created a graphic novel for her master’s thesis at Washington University in St. Louis, but she’d never worked on a children’s book before.
She first read Bacon’s manuscript in October and then had a meeting with her to talk about the project in December. Then she went to work sketching the illustrations using her iPad.
“It was kind of like a second job, so there were a lot of challenges,” Woolsey said. “I’ve done freelance for quite some time but nothing this extensive with a project. Usually, I just do design work, which usually has a quick turnaround. But for something like this that’s very iterative, you have a lot of sketches. You have to get revisions, make changes. That took a lot of my time, but I wanted to prioritize it because I wanted to really learn how the children’s book industry works.”
She said she studied other children’s books, including “Mighty, Mighty Construction Site,” to gain insight and inspiration, and she did plenty of other research on Route 66 and the people and places highlighted in the book, including examining different color palettes and typography from the 1950s and ’60s to create an authentic and nostalgic feel.
“Beth did most of the research on the project,” Woolsey said, “but when it came to me illustrating it, I had to do more research to make sure I was visually representing it in the correct way.”
The book is laid out so that each two-page spread encapsulates a different state. Some states have enough material that they’re featured in multiple spreads. Readers get to experience a virtual road trip as they turn the pages.
One of the Illinois spreads describes illustrator Bob Waldmire, known for creating postcards of Route 66. His family owned the Cozy Dog Drive In, located in Springfield, Illinois, so Woolsey drew the drive in along with a picture of Abe Lincoln eating a corn dog.
For Missouri, she shows the full parking lot and lines at the windows of Ted Drewes. The iconic Donut Drive-In sign just down Chippewa resides on the opposite page along with the drawing of car to help illustrate a fact about the origins of bumper stickers. Namely, they were developed by Lester Dill and used to help encourage people to visit Meramec Caverns.
Woolsey also had a lot of fun drawing the neon sign of the Blue Swallow Motel for New Mexico. She also added an alien to that sign as a nod to the state’s extraterrestrial connections.
“A lot of these places, I haven’t quite actually been to,” Woolsey said, “But I want to visit.”
She hopes the book can help young readers also want to explore.
Woolsey has found herself picking the book up and paging through it more than once since it first arrived at her house.
“I’m my own worst critic, so I’m like even looking at the book, and thinking, ‘Dang, I wish I would have done this differently. I wish I would have done this differently’” she said. “But that’s kind of the name of the game when it comes to being a freelancer. You live and you learn, and then the next project will be even better.”
But she remains proud of the work and happy she gets to share the books and lessons from the experience with her students this semester.
She’s also confident this won’t be her last book.
“I want to do more, and I’m going to try to do more if I can,” Woolsey said.
In the meantime, Woolsey is continuing to promote “Route 66.” She and Bacon did a special story time and book signing at Belleville Books on Aug. 29, and they have a similar event scheduled from 11 a.m.-noon on Sept. 19 at Main Street Books in St. Charles. They’ll also be at the Edwardsville Book Festival on Oct. 3.
“Route 66: Faces and Places Along America’s Most Famous Road” is available to purchase through Reedy Press.
