Melissa Taylor's website Imagination Soup is a great resource for teachers and parents for book recommendations for kids on just about any theme you can think of.
Check out Imagination Soup here, for lots more!
Children's Book Author and Illustrator. Teacher at School at Visual Arts, NYC.
Melissa Taylor's website Imagination Soup is a great resource for teachers and parents for book recommendations for kids on just about any theme you can think of.
Check out Imagination Soup here, for lots more!
Once upon a time August 20, 1921 was Egg Day in Petaluma. (Now National Egg Day is on June 3) Here are a few pictures from Petaluma Historical Library and Museum:
And for more about Allyn and her many talents, here is her website: www.allynhoward.com
and her instagram: www.instagram.com/allynhoward/
I am thrilled to introduce sisters Rina and Risa Horiuchi and their debut picture book K IS FOR KINDNESS. Illustrator Risa was in my summer SVA class several years ago and she just sent me the happy news that her first book has been published, a collaboration with her writer sister, Rina. CONGRATULATIONS!
From School Library Journal: "The Horiuchi siblings bring a fresh appeal with this book's emphasis on incorporating kindness into daily life. The theme feels especially timely for today's audience, as parents and caregivers increasingly seek to instill empathy as a core value."
A collaboration like this doesn't happen very often - Congratulations!
Yes, usually the author and illustrator for a picture book work completely separately! I have been drawing ever since I was a child, and Rina had many ideas that she wanted to turn into books, so it made sense for us to collaborate. We’ve both always loved children’s books. We do give feedback on each other’s work, which is nice. We have been working on several book ideas in addition to K Is for Kindness, so we hope we get the opportunity to release more books together.
What was your favorite part of working on this book?
My favorite part of working on this book was drawing the lion and the scene with the Jaguar! I am a cat person so it’s always fun to draw big cats.
And the most difficult part?
I think figuring out how to make the last illustration balanced and not too busy was a challenge.The last scene shows several characters at a picnic, doing different acts of kindness. So it was challenging to make sure everyone and everything was in proportion.
What were you like as a child? Did you always draw and paint since you were very young?
As a child, I always enjoyed drawing. Comic strips like “Calvin and Hobbes” and “Garfield” inspired me to draw my own animal characters and also comics. I was also influenced by movies like The Great Mouse Detective and Abel’s Island which is probably why I like drawing mice.
When did you decide you wanted to do children's books?
In 2006, I had the opportunity to work on some illustration projects, and the process of planning and sketching for a picture book made me realize that illustrating children’s books was what I wanted to do. I then came to New York City and got my degree in illustration at SVA: The School of Visual Arts
Do you have any special words of advice or encouragement for illustrators/writers starting out now?
I would say to connect with other illustrators and writers through critique groups. If you can, join organizations like SCBWI because you have access to different events and classes. Keep drawing what you love and don’t give up.
For more about Risa, here is her website: risadraws.com
and her instagram: instagram.com/risadraws/
Good luck to Risa and Rina, and we look forward to many more collaborations!
“A winsome interactive picture book with STEM appeal.” Kirkus
One of the rewards of teaching is watching students explore and develop during and after class. Azadeh Westergaard was in my class "Writing and Illustrating Children's Books" at The School of Visual Arts years ago, at that time pursuing illustration. Over the years she focused more and more on her writing and she makes her debut as an author with A LIFE ELECTRIC: the Story of Nikola Tesla illustrated by Júlia Sardà.
"An elegant and enlightening look at a man who brightened the whole world." - Booklist
Congratulations on getting off to an electric start!
What was your favorite part of working on this book?
Everything about this book project was exciting since it was my authorial debut. The research process was a true delight - I can really lose myself in the process and with a subject as brilliant and interesting as Nikola Tesla, it was hard to know when to stop. Since I was so deeply moved by Tesla as a person and by his life story — it was important to me to help shed light on what were considered his eccentricities from a different, more positive angle.
A research highlight was corresponding with the Nikola Tesla Museum in Belgrade and receiving my requested items from their archives by email. Another highlight was receiving Julia Sarda’s beautiful and intricate sketches during the height of the pandemic and discussing them with my wonderful editor, Tamar Brazis. The drawings were quite polished and not at all rough, so it was extremely easy to visualize the finished piece… especially since I have long admired Julia's work on other picture books.
What were you like as a child?
I was an extremely shy child and very much in my own creative world. On any given afternoon I could be found drawing mushrooms, rainbows, and upside-down girls hanging from tree branches; writing in my treasured Hello Kitty journals with a pseudonym, or writing fantastical stories inspired by Roald Dahl.
One of my favorite memories of childhood is reading Pippi Longstocking on my favorite maple tree branch right next to our covered garage while my mom made dinner. I also adored anything by Shel Silverstein and memorized many of his poems, especially the one where the little girl pretends she's sick so that she doesn't have to go to school. A Light in the Attic and Where the Sidewalk Ends are one of only a few books that have traveled with me into adulthood and still have a special place on my bookshelves.
When/How did you decide you wanted to do children's books? Two books have been instrumental in my creative life. Ezra Jack Keats’ Snowy Day and Maira Kalman’s Ooo La La Max in Love. The former was one of the few picture books I had access to as an immigrant child in the 80’s and the illustrations resonated with me so deeply I remember staring at them for hours. And as for Maira Kalman, it’s because of her wildly imaginative and funny books that I fell in love with picture books as an adult and why I decided to pursue the field professionally. Her books quite simply blew my mind.
What was your path to publication? How did you find your agent?
I found my agent, Alyssa Eisner Henkin of Birch Path Literary by researching agents on Publishers Marketplace. It’s a terrific resource in that you can search by authors, editors, and agents and get a sense of who is represented by whom, what kind of projects specific editors and agents are drawn to, the name of the books they’ve acquired and authors they’ve signed on. In my case, Alyssa was one of the first agents I reached out to (I am a big fan of many of her clients) and I consider myself extremely lucky that my manuscript resonated enough with her to offer representation.
Is there anything you learned back in class that has particularly stayed with you? The importance of making rough thumbnail sketches and picture book dummies. It’s my favorite part of the creative process when it comes to picture books.
What I also loved about your class was that you held a great space of creative possibility for each and everyone of your students. You nurtured our projects in a completely non-judgemental way and it was exciting to see so many classmates and workshop members go on to publish their books.
Do you have any special words of advice or encouragement for writers starting out now?
You have to take yourself seriously enough to start work on your projects, but not so seriously that you freeze up in the creative process. My new mantra is all about focusing on the fun. The minute I feel myself tensing up creatively, that’s my cue to take a breath and let go. For me the key is to loosen up and trust the creative process. First drafts will always be awful, but look closely and you’ll always find a little nugget of something interesting to hold on to and build upon.
And most importantly, listen to that still small voice in your head. It’s never, ever too late to either start or pick up on a path already started but halted. Take writing and art classes, join SCBWI, and consider fully immersing yourself in your creative path by completing a graduate program. I attended Vermont College of Fine Arts for my MFA in Creative Writing for Children and Young Adults and the experience was a major turning point in my writing life.
and for illustrator Júlia Sardà visit: juliasarda.com
Jennifer Merz recently published her non-fiction biography picture book, Steadfast: Frances Perkins, Champion of Workers’ Rights. With bold, beautiful collage illustrations and words, Jennifer perfectly captures the spirit of urgency and commitment that Frances Perkins lived by. First out in hardcover, it is about to be available as well in paperback.
I hope you enjoy hearing about Jennifer’s journey to bring this book to life, from first idea to the decision to self-publish. Read on as Jenn shares her expertise, advice, and tips!
This was a book that needed to be published! Tell us why!
Frances Perkins was a strong, courageous woman, an unsung American hero and trailblazer for workers’ rights when women were not encouraged to speak up, let alone have careers. She’s responsible for many of our workplace safety rules; and she became the first woman in a U.S. Presidential Cabinet as well as the force behind the New Deal.
I felt it was important to get her story out to children, girls in particular, to inspire them to fight against injustice, the way that Frances did, and not be limited by others’ ideas of women’s roles. I also saw a great opportunity to provide my readers with a stellar role model: someone with great integrity and tremendous character who worked steadfastly to make changes within the system. We’re living in a time when it’s increasingly important to step up to the plate when we see injustice. Frances did that, and I hope my readers will embrace the idea to do that, too.
How did your picture book, Steadfast: Frances Perkins, Champion of Workers’ Rights, get started? What were some of the stages along the way?
The seeds of Steadfast were planted when I was doing my MFA in Illustration at the Fashion Institute of Technology in NYC. It was 2011 and F.I.T., with its long connection to textiles, was commemorating the 100th Anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire, a workplace disaster that Frances Perkins witnessed as a young social worker.
I created a handcrafted collage for that Triangle Anniversary, a work that spoke to the 1911 narrative. I incorporated the fabrics and trimmings of my past textile background. I used cut and torn papers, laces and trims, to make a shirtwaist collage to honor the 146 workers, mostly girls and young women, who lost their lives in that fire.
From that shirtwaist collage, I wrote and illustrated a picture book called Sew Strong, about the conditions leading up to the Triangle Factory fire and the subsequent groundswell for change. My agent was excited to share this version with many publishing houses. Editors took my dummy into acquisition meetings, but ultimately, it didn’t get picked up. It was later, only after I’d discovered Frances Perkins and her incredible story of steadfast achievement that I knew I was truly onto something special. I took more children’s book classes and workshops (including Monica’s at SVA, for example!) and I continued to work on my book.
Little did I know that my participation in the 2011 F.I.T. event would ultimately lead to my picture book on Frances Perkins. As I researched, whom did I find – who found me – but Frances! She was everywhere: pushing for workers’ rights, women’s rights, safety reforms, abolishment of child labor, and immigration reform. Why had I never heard about this woman? Why had so many people not heard about this remarkable woman?
I was bitten by the Frances bug and she wouldn’t let go. I needed to create a picture book on this American hero and role model. I had to get the word out to children. Children, girls in particular, needed to know the empowering, inspiring story that is Frances Perkins. Her strength of character, her integrity, her determined nature – all beckoned me to create this book.
Quite by accident, I discovered the Frances Perkins Center in Damariscotta, Maine. I met Tomlin, Frances’ grandson and remaining living relative. I met Sarah, the Board President who read and approved my manuscript. I was invited to the film premiere of Summoned, a documentary about Frances Perkins created by esteemed PBS filmmaker Mick Caouette. All the while, I kept creating: writing, editing, revising, sketching, and cutting buckets and buckets of collage papers.
Steadfast was released in hardcover on Sept. 1, 2020, and in softcover very soon (March 1, 2021) - in time for Women’s History Month! It’s available at www.jennifermerz.com, through the Frances Perkins Center, and on Amazon and other online stores. Art prints and cards will also be available soon, both at the Frances Perkins Center and on my website.
How did you choose to self-publish?
I knew this book needed to be published and was having trouble locating a traditional publisher. I knew that a traditionally-published book takes about a year (or more!) from when the finished art and manuscript are delivered and the release date, and I was not willing to wait any longer, having started this project in 2011!
What have been some of the pros and cons and advantages of self-publishing?
Self-publishing gives you a wonderful sense of freedom. You are in control of every aspect of the project from design to manuscript, pricing, release date, quality of paper and binding. It’s fantastic to have that free reign.
The flip side is that you don’t have others to collaborate with and you need to seek them out to create a quality book. Mostly, you don’t have the broad overview that an editor or designer has. They have worked on many books, know what problems to anticipate, and understand how each book fits into the overall scheme of bookstores’ lists.
What was your favorite part of working on your book?
I approach book-making from the art side and loved doing the hand-crafted collages. Research and writing is also rewarding but can’t compare to the lovely tactile creation of the illustrations.
And the most difficult part? Did you take on some new roles?
For me, the business side was the toughest part. Learning how to price, fulfill orders, market, and organize a complex business spreadsheet were all new tasks for me. And don’t get me started on taxes!
When working with a traditional publisher, you work with a team of people: editor, art director, copy editor, marketing and publicity team... Did you bring in some people to help you?
When you publish traditionally, the process is very collaborative, as you mentioned. However, self-publishing is an independent undertaking, so it’s important to hire people to help. I brought a copy editor and a book designer on-board who were very professional and skillful.
Do you have any special words of advice or encouragement for illustrators and writers who are considering self-publishing now?
Initially, work hard on your craft, and don’t focus too much on being published. Being published is really only a by-product of doing the work. Read – a lot! By this, I mean read current picture books. Study them: how are they put together? How does the writer create compelling page-turns? How does the illustrator create exciting compositions? Join the SCBWI. Join a critique group. Be patient with yourself and your progress. This is a marathon, not a sprint. Carry around a little notebook wherever you go to catch those ideas as they come to you. Ideas are like butterflies and can fly away quickly if you don’t!
If your project is ready for publication, decide first if you want to self-publish or traditionally publish. They are two vastly different paths! Self-publishing is very rewarding – but you are setting up a business. You must want to do all the marketing and business work yourself. Have realistic expectations for what you can do on your own without a large company behind you. Both paths have pros and cons!
How delightful to appear on your blog, Monica! Thank you so much for having me.
If anyone has questions regarding my creative journey or my picture books, I’d be happy to hear from you. Please visit www.jennifermerz.com and leave me a message. I’m also on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. And, of course, if you’d like me to sign a copy of my book to you, I’m happy to do that, too!
All the best! Jenn
And for my first Q&A with Jenn about her first books: http://monicawellington.blogspot.com/2014/09/interview-with-illustrator-jennifer-merz.html