Looks Like Trouble

Fans of Matt Davies will recognize the character Ben Lukin in the Wilton political cartoonist’s forthcoming illustrated children’s book, Ben Draws Trouble (Roaring Brook Press, winter 2015). As in Ben Rides On, published last year, the title character closely parallels Davies’ experiences as a schoolboy in Surrey, England, where he indulged a penchant for drawing caricatures of his teachers and classmates. In the new book, Ben’s prized sketchbook of similar drawings is lost, then, to his dismay, passed around school. It is an embellishment of a story from Davies’ own childhood. “I didn’t have to step very far outside my circle of comfort,” says the forty-seven-year-old artist. “I’ve never seen a story about a character like me, so I wrote one.” Davies, who lives with his wife and three children in a 100-year-old cottage, also wrote and created an animated piece for Smart Kids with Learning Disabilities (based in Westport), which will appear on its website (smartkidswithld.org). “It’s a departure from what I usually do,” he says. “I’m not making people laugh but I’m still making them think, hopefully.”