October 25, 2020

What I'm Reading: October 2020

I haven't posted an update on the blog in a while so I thought it might be nice to do a quick write-up of some of my favorite kid lit reads from the past month or so. My local library finally re-opened its doors and I was able to find a little time between commissions and moving into a new house to discover some stories that I really admire.

Picture Book: Hungry Jim

Written by Laurel Snyder, Illustrated by Chuck Groenink

This charming Sendak-inspired story follows a boy who wakes up to discover he has turned into a lion... and is hungry for a bit more than pancakes. I love Groenink's use of color and the character design is excellent.

Early Chapter Book: Skunk and Badger

Written by Amy Timberlake, Illustrated by Jon Klassen

This new chapter book by Amy Timberlake is fantastic. I like to describe it as "It's like frog and toad, but frog secretly hates toad." The story does a great job of portraying authentic neurodiverse characters and the accompanying illustrations by Klassen are perfect.

Graphic Novel: Lightfall, The Girl & The Guardian

Written and Illusrtrated by Tim Probert

This new graphic novel is a visual stunner. The full color art has so much nuance and detail. Tim really outdid himself. The character design is outstanding and the world he had developed is truly unique and magical.

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If you liked this story, here's some more you could try:

What I'm up to in 2022

I'm using the new year to double down on improving my illustration portfolio, expanding my list of finished dummies and manuscripts, and of course querying, querying, querying! Over the course of the next few months, I'll be participating in a couple challenges, showcases, and events to help me reach my goal of getting an agent and my first book deal.

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Making Stick Ponies

Its a cold snowy weekend and I'm stuck inside. I thought it would be fun to make some stick ponies - the heads have such a fun shape. Here's what I did and how it turned out.

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Howl's Moving Castle

I created a series of three illustrations inspired by the book Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones. For these illustrations I focused on creating dynamic compositions and a strong style that would unite the pieces visually. The final results convey the whimsy and magic that I felt when reading the story while still staying accurate to the text.

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