Thinking in Pictures

My collaboration with Nancy Oswald is taking shape. We work back and forth as we revise and tweak the story and illustrations. It's exciting to watch it come together and take the form of an actual creative-nonfiction picture book.

Not only is Nancy a multiple award winning author, she also taught in one and two room schools for over twenty years. She now lives on a family ranch near Cotopaxi, CO. She is a soil enthusiast as well nature lover. I grew up in a family of farmers and ranchers, plus had my very own worm farm. What can I say, I was -a nerd- ahead of my time. As you might guess Wilma's story is close to both of our hearts. 

We plan to start submitting soon, so fingers crossed! Here's three fully colored page spreads from Wilma's Worm. If you're a publisher interested in seeing the full book dummy and manuscript, please email me at cathy@cathymorrison.com or Nancy at nancyos@centurylink.net.

 

Below are some new pitch decks created for Lynnette Novak, my literary agent with the Seymour Agency. I'm honored to be a part of Team Novak! Here's a recent interview, Agent Spotlight showcasing Lynnette. Her email is lynnette.theseymouragency@yahoo.com. We're always interested in new publishing projects.

 

And a huge "Thank You!" to Poudre Libraries for hosting Book Fest 2023, For the Love of Reading for the entire month of February (also National Library Lover's Month and I Love to Read Month). It might be a short month, but it packs a huge heart! This year's new format included children's books and their creators. You can find details about the fun event here: https://www.focobookfest.org/.

Thanks for taking the time to check out my blog. Click on highlighted links for more information and images to see a larger view.

Cathy

https://linktr.ee/CathyMorrisonIllustrates

Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue

US Forest Service Poster framed by a Colorado sunrise - I'm an early bird illustrator

In with the Old!

Here's one of the last illustrations completed in 2019 (so last decade!) which goes to press January 2020. This was such a fun project to research and illustrate. I'd love to have more jobs like this come along in this new decade.

The Ribbon, new story in the works

 Something New!

I'm collaborating on a new picture book. The working title is The Ribbon. So far I'm just playing around with different looks and exploring possibilities. The story is in flux as well as the illustrations. I don't feel I'm where I want to be yet, but you have to start someplace. Plus, turtles are fun to draw.

Download, print, color and laugh!

 Something Borrowed!

I borrowed these jokes from the folks who bring us Arbor Day. This fall I have a new book, The Tiny Giant coming out. The premise of the story shows how it takes one small thing to make a huge impact. We get the concept through watching the life cycle of a tiny acorn becoming a giant oak forest. I love to create activities that relate to the book. And kids love jokes, right?

Below is a partial cover reveal. The acquiring publisher, Schiffer Books, has been great to work with and is putting all the bells and whistles on the book cover and interior design and layout. You'll be seeing more throughout the year.

Partial cover reveal with a Colorado sunset in the background - gotta set the mood

Shhhh, Blue Beauty and her animals are trying to sleep!

And finally something Blue!

What's This Tail Saying? by Carolyn Combs, illustrated by Cathy Morrison

And I'm adding one last bittersweet announcement regarding my picture book coming out this Spring with Dawn Publications. I've been a huge fan of Dawn's creative nonfiction nature books long before I started working with them. This is our seventh book together and they have always been amazing to work with. Dawn has been acquired by Sourcebooks based in Chicago and is now part of their eXplore juvenile nonfiction imprint. You can find the acquisition details in this Publishers Weekly article. So on one hand I'm excited that Dawn Publications has found a new home with Sourcebooks. This should bring a wider audience to their books, continuing their mission of connecting children with nature. But on a personal note I'm going to miss working with the original folks who have always been so supportive and put their heart and soul into creating these fun nature titles.

Thanks for taking a look at my blog. You can keep up with new images by following me on my Instagram account, @cathymorrisonillustrates. Also, clicking on an image will enlarge it for a better view and clicking on a link will give you more information.

Happy 2020.
Cathy

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

New book, kids, crafts and museums, oh my!

It's always exciting to get copies of a new book. Even after you've spent months reading the manuscript as it goes through numerous revisions, researching and illustrating art spreads, have proofed it through several generations of design, layout and printer proofs. It's great to hold the actual book, all shiny and new, in your hands. I hope kids will enjoy it.

Baby on Board's official release date is March 1, 2017. I didn't plan a book release party, but I'm working on a gallery exhibit and talk at the Red Feather Lakes Community Library for the month of March. Also, I'm working with the folks at Where Women Create BUSINESS on an article coming out this summer. So there'll be more about Baby on Board and what goes into being a children's book illustrator.

Copies of Baby On Board arrive in mail!

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that In A Nutshell finds a good home. The author and I are both submitting to literary agents and publishers. For the most part we've been sending PDFs through email, but some publishers want physical copies so we have those as well. I learned how to saddle stitch to create printer spreads for the book dummy. Thanks to the Fed Ex/Kinkos lady who told me that was what I needed to do and thank you to YouTube for walking me through the process.

In A Nutshell by Barb Ciletti, illustrated by Cathy Morrison 

Interior spreads for In A Nutshell

More saddle stitched and paginated spreads...

On Thursday, February 2 we read Over on the Farm as part of Storytime in the Dome at the Fort Collins Museum of Discovery. I hadn't read this book in a while so practiced by reading to Crowley. As you can see he loves the story, begging for his next walk to be over on a farm. He's fascinated by the sounds of the owls.

During our actual Storytime we had lots of audience participation. The kids counted the animals, made turkey gobbles, cow moos, pig snorts and found the hidden rooster on each page. Next book I'll have to figure out better hiding spots.

Over on the Farm by Marianne Berkes, illustrated by me, published by Dawn Publications

Here's Amy, another museum volunteer helping out with Rooster Puppets down stairs in the Learning Lab. We had five tables full of parents and kids making crafts, such a fun group!

And here's an image from The Prairie That Nature Built used for a display at the Prairie Heritage Center in Peterson, Iowa. I got a call from them one day asking to purchase rights to an image from the book. As a museum geek, this is a big honor!

O'Brien County Conservation Board's Prairie Heritage Center

Clicking on the images will enlarge them for a better view.
Thanks for taking time to look through my blog!
Cathy

Happy New 2017!

Thank you to Lydia Dody, the publisher of Style Magazine and journalist, Elissa J. Tivona for the article featuring "Storytime in the Dome" at the Fort Collins Museum of Discovery. This magazine reflects the heart and soul of life in Northern Colorado and it's an honor to be included.

Style Magazine, January 2017
Click on Style Magazine's cover to get the Flip Book online magazine

Storytime in the Dome at Fort Collins Museum of Discovery
Click on the above logo to go the museum's site.

Everybody at the museum works hard to put this program together - hopefully it's a labor of love. Ben Gondrez, the Digital Dome Manager takes the files from my creative nonfiction picture books, digitizes and animates the page turns to be read and viewed on the gigantic 35 foot dome screen. He adds sound effects, bringing the experience to life. Sarah Kinard, the early childhood and special learning lead makes it all happen. She comes up with the crafts and activities that the kids will create that relate to the book. We head up to the theater escorting a group of cute, literary-loving kids along with their adults where we read the story. Afterwards we head down to the learning lab for art! Both publishers I work with, Arbordale Press and Dawn Publications have generously donated rights to the books since this is an experimental experience. So far it seems like the local families are enjoying it. The article below explains it much better than I do.

Stories Come to Life for the Whole Family

My messy desktop

And I'm making progress on a couple of projects. Here's the "during" and "after" shots for If the Mummy Could Talk.... Below I've placed some type to get a sense of how the cover will look. The book designer will choose the actual font and make it look much nicer. This helps me to visualize if I've left enough room for type, plus it's fun to experiment with various fonts. I'm excited to be working on another book with Rhonda Lucas Donald and Arbordale Publications!

If The Mummy Could Talk... coming Spring 2018

It's a good way to start a new year!
Thanks for taking a look.

Storytime in the Dome

Fort Collins Museum of Discovery

I'm a volunteer at the Museum of Discovery in Fort Collins. Volunteering there always brings new experiences, plus it's fun. On opening day I was behind the cash register in the gift shop. I work with the educational department greeting school groups on field trips. Last fall I helped with garden maintenance, pulling weeds and pruning plants. One of my favorite things is being a docent in their Historical Heritage Courtyard program.  

Storytime in the Dome at FCMod.org

This month I am totally excited and honored to kick off Storytime in the Dome. This opportunity began in a brain storming session when they were opening the new Tot Spot exhibit. Here is the software program they are using to create the big interactive picture book we'll be reading and discussing. The event will begin with the kids creating an art project that relates to the book, a nature pendent. Then we'll head upstairs to the digital dome where we'll read and talk about The Prairie That Nature Built. I want this program to succeed so we can bring a lot more books to life and get more book creators involved.

Thank you to whoever took this photo!

And I want to report that our first ever "Storytime in the Dome" was amazing. As we were preparing and rehearsing for this event I'd ask how ticket sales were doing. A couple of weeks ago 10 sold, then 37, then the morning of the event I heard 55 tickets had sold. As we were getting the materials together for the art project and passing them out people continued to stream in. We actually sold out all the seats which equalled a dome-full of 80 plus kids and their folks. It was great to see families excited about this and I'm very encouraged.

Thanks to Sarah, the early childhood lead for working super hard to make this a success, along with Ben, who created the digital show, Jason, the museum director who brainstormed the event and kept us all enthused and on track, to Amy for creating a great display and book signing area in the gift shop and especially thanks to Holly who really believed in me and this book. Did I mention I love being a volunteer at the museum?

Red Feather Lakes Community Library

On the same day as "Storytime in the Dome" I have an afternoon presentation at the Red Feather Lakes Community Library where we'll talk about illustrating creative nonfiction children's books. This is part of their Summer Reading Program. It will be a day of more talking, less drawing which makes me a little nervous with four book deadlines looming this summer! Here's a photo of the exterior of the library where they're putting in new landscaping. It already looks great. Flowers sooth my extreme deadline anxiety.

And just so you know I'm really working, here's the Common Loon illustration from Baby on Board.

The little loon's thick feathers hold body heat inside, So it can climb on Mama's back as they go for a ride.

Thanks for taking a look!