Step Lightly: Book Maker Construction Site Ahead!

World Read Aloud Day is an annual celebration of reading and story sharing that connects students with children's book illustrators and authors from all over the world. It's a fun event coming up February 2, 2022. Book creators volunteer their time that day visiting classrooms and libraries for a virtual read-a-loud plus sharing our book making experience.

Thank you Jessica for this fun poster featuring 100 Days of School Projects. Please see more on Jessica's Pinterest.

 

 

 
As 2021 winds down I'm wrapping up some projects while starting others. Most are in various stages from rough sketch concepts, reading and researching, revising and presenting, story boarding, etc. Nothing is ready for show-and-tell just yet.

My studio is a mess, but it's part of the creative process. I keep telling myself this.

Here we're moving off the floor and opening a drawer of my old school flat files... (also a mess).

Here's a couple of projects I am happy to finally share; both working with Barb Ciletti and Schiffer Kids. We just signed two contracts. One is for a brand new picture book. The second is redeveloping The Tiny Giant as a board book and puzzle package created for younger kiddos. Nothing makes me happier than watching a toddler engrossed in a board book. This is something I'm super excited about.

For now the upcoming book's working title is Meet the Minibeast, but everything can change. It's under construction, going through growing pains; some parts undergoing major revisions, some parts just need a little tweak. We want to make the final book as awesome as possible. So the below illustration might or might not make it into the final book. It's a very fun project to work on and I'll be showing more sketches and illustrations along the way. Even though the book isn't scheduled to release until 2023 the final story and artwork need to be submitted to the publisher this summer. Once it's in their hands the designer takes over and does the final design and layout. From there it goes to the marketing and sales team, gets proofed and printed, and cataloged. Finally it’s sent out to book reviewers, book stores, etc. so it can be released fall 2023. That seems like a long way off, but it'll be here before you know it. 

Since I haven't included a ton of artwork in this blog post I've posted a mini portfolio highlighting a few of my favorite projects I’ve collaborated on recently. Just click this link!

Christina Wald's Blog

 

Alright, last bit of big news is that I'm going to be traveling with Christina Wald's Sketch Romania 2022 Tour! Christina and I have been virtual friends for several years. We both illustrate children's books for Arbordale Press. She's an amazing illustrator, educator, Urban Sketcher and world traveler. Below is one of her watercolor sketches when she was in Romania last 2014. Originally our trip was scheduled for the summer of 2020, but we all remember how that year turned out. Plus, my plein air painter husband is coming along too. It's going to be an amazing two weeks. I've been working digitally so long that I need to brush up on my analog skills.

One of Christina's sketches from Brasov Square in Romania, 2014 and link to her twitter

 

Thanks to everybody for reading my blog. Click on images for larger detailed views and links for more information. 

Here's to a happy, healthy 2022 and beyond.

Cathy

What's happening this Summer?

Publishing is seasonal with most books debuting in Spring and Fall. So what's up in the Summer? Writers and illustrators are still creating. Acquisition editors continue to discover and acquire upcoming titles. Art directors are still designing and creating beautiful picture books. But we all take a little extra time to stop and smell the roses. In my case, I also draw the roses along with the yucca, moon flower and many of the hungry pollinators who come out by day and by night. 

Front End Papers Artwork

Back End Papers Artwork

 

And below are a couple illustrations from a portrait series. These are two of my favorites.

Digital Pastel Portrait of Amanda Gorman

Digital Pastel Portrait of John Lewis

A huge "THANK YOU!" to Peter Limata for including The Tiny Giant in his Storytime Book Series. 

 

 

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One of the few good things that came out of our COVID lockdown was so many publishers started granting rights for Virtual Story times. My favorite is Story Time with Mr. Limata on Facebook and YouTube. I first discovered him on Instagram, @StorytimeWithMrLimata, but most people know him from his appearance on the Ellen Show! We all appreciate his creativity and hard work he puts into his class of second graders along with sharing picture books with the rest of the world. Lucky us!

And last, but not least... The Tiny Giant is the recipient of the 2021 IBPA Benjamin Franklin Award - Children's Picture Book Silver Award Winner! Thank you to the judges and Schiffer Publishing for believing in our book!

So enjoy your summer and thanks for taking time to check out my blog. Please click on the links for more information and the images for a closer view.

Cathy

Birds do it. Bees do it.

Here's some illustrations from a work-in-progress. Did you guess that it's about pollination? Right now the project is very fluid, lots and lots of changes going on. I won't bother to give you the working title because that's been changing weekly right along with the story. Here are some page spreads which may or may not make it into the final book. So it's a sneak peek just for you. Shhhh, don't tell anybody.

A tiny fleet of insects wings its way to nectar and pollen.

Hummingbirds hover at petunias, and tango with trumpets of mint.

Flowers bloom around the clock. Some only bloom at night. The Cereus cactus blooms once a year so you better be watching. Most of us are familiar with daytime pollinators like bees, hummingbirds, lady bugs and butterflies. What about the nighttime pollinators? Bats, fireflies, hawk moths and even some geckos are a few of our nighttime heroes working hard to save our planet.

Their feast awaits.

By day or by night, pollen falls when creatures feed.

One of my favorite projects that capped off 2020 was illustrating a picture book by Ryan Caver and Jacqueline Bordeaux. The book is for CleanHorizons.org, an environmental Conservation Organization. Check out their inspiring instagram feed, @clean.horizons (https://www.instagram.com/clean.horizons/) and their website is https://cleanhorizons.org.  

For every book you purchase Oliver and his friends pledge to pick up a pound of trash in your honor. This is your opportunity to help protect our coastlines along the Gulf Coast, keeping our beaches safe and beautiful and our wildlife happy and healthy. Who is Oliver, you ask? Well, he's absolutely amazing! You really need to buy a book to get involved and find out more!... 

Below are some free downloadable activity sheets created for the book.

Cootie Catcher Sea Turtle Challenge Activity Page for Litter, Litter, Please Come Here

Be-A-MAZE-ing activity sheet for Litter, Litter, Please Come Here

No to littering! coloring sheet for Litter, Litter, Please Come Here

Scratching my head, trying to work out the kinks for the cootie catcher/sea turtle activity.....

Think I've got this thing figured out with a lot of help from kids who totally know their cootie catcher construction and games!

Thanks for taking the time to check out my blog. Clicking on the illustrations enlarge the images, much easier to see details. Click the links to go to Clean Horizons for more information about their environmental group and to purchase a book. You can also click on the activity pages to download them, print them out and enjoy!!

Cathy