Calling 2022 my Reboot Year

Much of this year I've been illustrating a fictional chapter book geared toward adults. This has been such a different project for me and so much fun to illustrate. I'd forgotten how much I love working in black and white. Without going into too much detail, it's a conglomeration of tall tales; running the gamut from funny, scary, poignant and just plain bizarre. It's a unique book, sort of a cross between a modern Canterbury Tales and The Twilight Zone. I'll have more to share next year closer to the book's release date.

Nancy Oswald and I are collaborating on a creative nonfiction picture book. The working title is "Wilma's Worm". I first became aware of Nancy when I illustrated the cover for her YA book "Hard Face Moon" with Filter Press, (one of the best books I've ever read!). Through the years we kept running into each other at various conferences and book events. Not only is she a talented, hardworking, award winning author, but she's a great person and a dream to work with! Please check out Nancy Oswald's Website.

Why am I calling 2022 my reboot year? Coming out of the closures of the last couple of years I'm very excited to get back to classroom, library, and bookstore visits again. I had two books come out in 2020, the thick of the virus. They really didn't get the attention they deserve. So lately I'm busy with some local school visits plus setting up engagements for 2023.

The above images are from three afternoon sessions at Red Feather Lakes Elementary. After our story time reading we talked about making picture books, writing and illustrating, etc. Next we created fall wreath crafts with the younger students. For the older kids we created handmade book dummies and the kids wrote and illustrated their own stories. Those kids can write! 

Thank you so much, Red Feather Lakes Elementary!

Please give a shout out if you'd like me to visit your school.

And thanks for taking a look at my blog. Click images for a larger view and links for more information.

Cathy

@CathyMorrisonIllustrates

 

Summertime Reading Beyond the Book

I love how museums and companies are thinking outside the binding to expand books way beyond their borders. As a volunteer for Fort Collins Museum of Discovery I've been able to share several of my creative nonfiction picture books through Storytime in the Dome.

Wild Ones: Observing City Critters by Carol Malnor

This program happens twice a month in the expansive 360° digital dome. The books always have a live narrator to keep it interactive for these young book lovers. The books are digitized with animated page turns and some include background sound effects! It's a fun, creative way to engage these young kids in reading. Afterwards we head down to the Learning Lab for a related craft.

If You Love Honey by Martha Sullivan

Here's a couple of the photos the Murray family sent me after reading If You Love Honey in the Dome. The girls created a bulletin board full of artwork, crafts and activities relating to the story, especially focusing on the honey bees. There's no limit to their imagination!

Over on the Farm by Marianne Berkes

Are you familiar with Ivy Kids Kits? These are monthly subscription boxes designed around a picture book. I've been in awe of this company for awhile. One day I was on their website and was surprised to learn they were featuring one of my books, Over on the Farm, for that month. (Seems the illustrator is always the last to know!) But it was a happy surprise and I was blown away by all the STEAM based activities created to enhance the book. Please check out more about their company at Ivy-Kids.com. I love their mission and wish they had been around when my own kids were little.

And finally, here's some illustrations from a picture book I've been working on that's a little different for me. The publisher doesn't want me to talk about the book, but says I can show a few illustration samples. So here's my show-and-tell. It's been a fun project full of flowers, fairies and the moon.

Thanks for taking a look at my blog. Click on the links for further information and the images for larger views.
Cathy

Welcome to my world!

The view from my home studio with a work-in-progress from What's This Tail Saying?

 Welcome to my world. Winter in Colorado is a great time to be inside all warm and toasty working on new projects. Below are illustrations from a creative nonfiction picture book with Dawn Publications. The working title is What's This Tail Saying? and it's a Spring 2020 release. The author, Carolyn Combs is a super smart scientist as well as author who knows precisely what animals' tails are saying. When you read our book you'll know too!

Flip! Zip! What's baby Elephant's tail saying?

Uh, oh! Skink doesn't see the raccoon in time to run away.

Two page spread showing copyright page and beginning of the story: Animal tails are talking. Can you guess what they are saying?

Stranger danger! Hearing the alarm all family dives into the pond.

And finally, If A Mummy Could Talk by Rhonda Lucas Donald unwraps at a bookstore near you very soon. To commemorate the book release here's the vintage 1978 King Tut performance by Steve Martin for SNL. And yes, we have an entire spread dedicated to King Tut in the book.

Cover, title page and interior spread from If A Mummy Could Talk...

Arbordale Publishing sent a book ARC (advanced reading copy) and I'm very happy with it. Also, the first review by Kirkus hit this December and they seem happy with it too!

Kirkus Review for If A Mummy Could Talk...

There's more books and projects in the works. I'll catch up with you in 2019 about those!
Thanks for taking a look. Be sure to click on the images for a more detailed view or a link for further information.
Cathy

This, That, and the Other Thing

I've been a loyal follower of Miss Marple's Musings since her blog began in 2011. Joanna Marple travels the world exploring children's books that focus on nature, cultural diversity and storytelling at it's best. It was an honor to have her review Baby on Board which just came out this spring and also include me in her illustrator interviews.

Miss Marple's Musings, A young adult and children's author celebrating the natural and cultural diversity in our world

Below is I Spy Blackberry Pie, a book I'm writing as well as illustrating and will be submitting to publishers and agents soon. It's creative nonfiction - reads as a story while being based on facts. The facts are our five senses - sight, sound, smell, touch and taste. I got the idea while emailing with my best friend, Ginny. We've known each other since we were four years old and many of our happiest memories revolve around food. Why do we have such vivid memories of being in my grandmother's kitchen, waiting five more minutes for that pie to come out of the oven? That was 50 years ago while I hardly remember what I ate last night. Did food taste better when we little? Which lead to googling about kid's taste buds... and on from there. So far it's coming together pretty well. We'll soon find out what the publishing world thinks.

Black and white rough layout with type in PDF

Full color artwork to show style

Very messy, early storyboard and more refined layout in Indesign

Here are some photos from Storytime in the Dome at the Fort Collins Museum of Discovery where I'm a volunteer. Desiree with Photography by Desiree came to my studio as well as the museum and took photos for an article that will be in Where Women Create Business summer edition. 

We read Pitter and Patter with a packed house on the 35 ft digital dome screen!
This is such a fun story time experience. Ben, the Digital Dome Manager animates the page turns, adds sound effects and makes the book big and wonderful. 

Super cute kids making Rain Cloud craft that ties in with the book. Sarah, the Early Childhood and Special Learning Lead at the museum develops the activities and makes story time all come together.

Detail of Pitter and Patter's Rain Cloud activity- cotton ball clouds!

And this came in today's mail - two acknowledgments for Over on the Farm. It received Bronze Medal for Alphabet/Counting books and also was chosen by the International Literacy Association's Teachers' Choice Winner 2017.

Over on the Farm gets some love!

You can click on the images to enlarge them.
Thanks for taking a look!
Cathy

A Picture's Worth A Thousand Words

Slide from Power Point Presentation, Judging a Book by its Cover

 I'm super excited about this upcoming conference in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Robert Schram, the genius behind Bookends Design and I are giving a presentation about book covers for the Women Writing the West Conference. Bob will talk about book design while I chime in on illustrations.

Women Writing the West Fall Conference in Santa Fe, New Mexico

Julia Cameron is the key note speaker and I've been a long time fan of her books. The Artist's Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity started a movement that's been going on over two decades.

Santa Fe's always beautiful, but my favorite time is in the autumn. Looking forward to making new friends, soaking up some culture and dining on yummy southwest cuisine.

Photos from Santa Fe's tourism site

August's here already?

It's hard to believe it's already August. This year I've had my head buried in projects; four educational picture books, one trade book and several presentations. Yesterday I turned in final illustrations for Baby on Board which comes out in the spring. Now there's one more book and one more presentation to go. I have ideas I want to develop so I'm looking forward getting involved with new projects and open up some space to see what comes next.

In Northern Colorado we have Style Magazine. August's issue focuses on female entrepreneurs. I was fortunate to be interviewed by Elissa J. Tivona. Elissa is a journalist, she travels internationally to present her work in peace and conflict studies and teaches at CSU. She was wonderful to work with and I'm proud to be a part of this month's magazine.

Also, I wanted to thank Elizabeth Dulemba for including Storytime in the Dome in her Friday Linky List! Elizabeth is a Visiting Associate Professor of the Picture Book Design class at Hollins University in Roanoke, Virginia in the summer. The rest of the year she lives in Edinburgh Scotland, pursuing her MFA in Illustration at the University of Edinburgh. Plus, she's an all around good person to know. We're both members of PictureBookArtists and I keep up with her on her blog these days.

Last, but hopefully not least, here's a couple of illustrations from Baby on Board.

They paddle very slowly as they swim along the coast.
But nestled under Mama's fin, this baby likes it most.
Manatee

Tucked in pouches, gripped in teeth
Propped on backs or underneath
This is what some animals do.
How did someone carry you?

 Thanks for taking a look. See you in September!

Tortoise and Hare's Amazing Race

Yesterday I received my ARC (advanced reading copy) of my second book coming out this fall. It's Tortoise and Hare's Amazing Race by Marianne Berkes, a retired teacher and librarian, now a full time children's book author and presenter. This is our third picture book together and we are working away on our fourth to come out spring 2016.

Arbordale Publishing is the publisher and they specialize in fun stories that build on science, nature and math skills. Tortoise and Hare is a retelling of the classic story with a math twist. Fractions and distance measurements mark progress for Henry Hare and Tess Tortoise along the way. 

How far to the top? 1,760 yards or one mile!

No Henry, you really don't have time to play, but you never did listen to me...

5,280 feet is the same as one mile. I already knew that because Denver is the Mile Hi City.

Click on the images for a larger view. And as always, thanks for taking a look!

Latest buzzzz for If You Love Honey

After turning in artwork for If You Love Honey, Nature's Connections I got a look at Patty Arnold's design and layout for the book. I'm posting a few spreads here to give you a sneak peek. This is my second book illustrated by Martha Sullivan and third book for Dawn Publishing. It comes out this fall. After doing a lot of research for the illustrations I've converted to a true honey bee fanatic, not to mention a Martha Sullivan fan!

And here's a couple of early reviews:
"If You Love Honey is vibrant and engaging with warm, lifelike, and impressively accurate art that remembers the young audience the book is written for. Parallel sections of text throughout the book effectively lead the reader through the pages. The theme text is repetitive and playful, while the more instructional sections are informative but still easily accessible and interesting to a young audience" --Randy L. Seagraves, Curriculum Coordinator, International Junior Master Gardener Program

"If You Love Honey takes its readers on a beautifully illustrated adventure through the intertwining natural world around us. It highlights the work of our bees, linking golden honey on bread to the earthworms crawling underground, and everything in-between. Children will be fascinated by this tale." --Sarah Red-Laird, Bee Girl, Executive Director, American Beekeeping Federation, Kids and Bees Program Director

And I wanted to say "Thanks!" to William Porter at the Denver Post for including me in his Mother's Day tribute. It's always great to give a shout out to our moms, especially our moms who spent so much time reading that favorite book once, twice, three times and please, just one more time before going to bed.

Dreams of dino treasures and life on the prairie

Here's my four legged office assistant and security system, Crowley, who always goes with me to check the mail. This day we received advanced reading copies and marketing materials for The Prairie That Nature Built and Dino Treasures. Crowley posed for a few of the illustrations in Prairie so he was excited then relieved when some good reviews starting coming out. He was so relieved that it was time for a nap.

Here are some early reviews from Prairie on Dawn Publishing's website and an article by Lindsey R. McKissick on 5280 Magazine's Bookshelf. You can also find fun ideas and activities that tie in with the book here. And look for a game app coming out soon.

Crowley dreaming of digging for dino bone treasures and his life on the prairie

Dino Treasures hasn't been released just yet, but has gotten a nice review and recommendation from The National Science Teacher's Association, NSTA Recommends.

And here's 303 Magazine's illustrator interview by Wendy Pitton. Sometimes when I tell folks that I'm a children's book illustrator I get funny looks. So it's always extra special to get local support from Colorado media. Makes me feel more legit!

First look at Pitter and Patter's cover

I just got a look at the cover and interior spreads for Pitter and Patter by Martha Sullivan, a wonderful writer. This comes out March 1, 2015 and we're collaborating with Dawn Publications on another book now. Also, here's the first review by Kirkus and they like it!

Wishing for snow

And hopefully you're familiar with Debbie Glade's blog, Smart Books for Smart Kids. She's pretty amazing; hosts numerous book give-aways, tips on raising a reader, focuses on science education, much more than I tell you here. I was fortunate to talk with her and she did an illustrator interview that focuses on my work process (yes, I work digitally, but it really does take more than just pushing a button and BAM!, out pops a prairie owl), a view of my home studio and more that you can find here.

Finally, I've updated my SCBWI Illustrator Gallery with some new work. Thanks for taking a look!