An illustration from “Library Mouse” by Daniel Kirk. Photo courtesy of the Illustration Institute

Scott Nash is a Maine illustrator, known for his work on the Flat Stanley children’s books. He’s also co-founder, with his wife Nancy Gibson-Nash, of the Portland-based Illustration Institute. Since 2012, the institution has organized 15 exhibits of work by illustrators, including ones from Maine, at libraries and other venues around the state.

The Illustration Institute show “Mice in the Bookshelves: An Exhibition of the Greatest Rodents in Literature” is on view at the Wells Public Library through Nov. 15. With a focus on children’s literature, it features some 40 works from noted illustrators, both contemporary and from the past, including Garth Williams, Walt Disney, Timothy Basil Ering, William Stieg, Louis Darling and Paul Zelinsky.

Illustrator Scott Nash, co-founder of the Illustration Institute in Portland. Photo courtesy of Scott Nash

How did you decide to do an exhibit on illustrations of mice?

One of our assistants, Imogen Moxhay, came up with this idea. She said, “I can’t believe how many mouse books there are. Maybe we should do a show on that subject.” We wanted to find historic versions of illustrated mouse protagonists and we very quickly found the Kerlan Collection, which is an archive in Minnesota. We also worked directly with contemporary artists, like Timothy Basil Ering, who designed Despereaux (from “The Tale of Despereaux” by Kate DiCamillo).

What do you think makes rodents a good subject for children’s books?

I do think there’s this sense that a mouse represents somebody who is sort of an every man or woman. They can tell a story that resonates with people, about going from modest beginnings or coming from a modest place and seeking adventure, and growing. You’re able to start with the premise that there’s this diminutive character that can suddenly do all sorts of things you wouldn’t have expected. And I think that’s the draw, specifically in children’s literature.

Do the mice have to be cute to be in a book?

The way Despereaux is drawn in the books, he’s very much a mouse, but he also carries a needle as a weapon. There’s a cuteness there, but the needle is kind of terrifying at the same time. “Stuart Little,” as drawn by Garth Williams and written by (Maine writer) E.B. White, is anything but cute. He’s an adventurous, eloquent, dapper character. He looks more like some other form of rodent, but not exactly a rat.

Stuart Little, illustrated by Garth Williams. Photo courtesy of the Illustration Institute

Was it worrying to you at all that a lot of people don’t like mice? 

That is one of the things I’m up against with this exhibit: Adults will say, “I don’t like mice.” We need to separate, first of all, mice, the fictional depiction of mice, which is an anthropomorphized mouse, and the real thing, the real critter. Let’s take another animal that’s very popular in in children’s lives, teddy bears. You could, if you’re a rationalist, say, what are we teaching our kids by giving them a bear? We don’t want them to have an affinity for bears.

Why do you think it’s important to showcase children’s book illustrations in an exhibit? Can’t people just see them in the book? 

We’re able to do add another dimension to the art, to present them as artifacts, as one part of the book. We can also show the sketches the artist made or show the image not cropped at all, and we can show the illustrator’s notes. Those let people see what the artist was thinking about. We’ve discovered in our other exhibits, most recently the Robert McCloskey exhibit (at Curtis Memorial Library in Brunswick in 2023) that people like to get a sense of the production, to see how the book was created.

To see images of some of the work in the exhibit, go to illustrationinstitute.org.