Let's Talk Illustrators #281: Cornelia Li

I am thrilled to present my interview with the immensely talented Cornelia Li! Today we're talking about Gravity Is Bringing Me Down, written by Wendelin Van Draanen. This was undoubtedly the perfect book for me to talk to Cornelia about (talk about room for creativity!), and I hope you enjoy our chat!

IF YOU FIND A LEAF

If You Find a Leaf by Aimée Sicuro encourages readers to see common things in uncommon ways.

Let's Talk Illustrators #216: Mariana Alcántara

I got a chance recently to talk to Mariana Alcántara about her illustration process for Swimmers, written by María José Ferrada and translated by Kit Maude. Mariana uses heavy white space and a primary color palette to bring Ferrada's humorous and thoughtful words to life on the page. Enjoy our chat!

Let's Talk Illustrators #210: Daria Peoples

I recently got a chance to catch up with author-illustrator Daria Peoples, illustrator most recently of Angela Dalton's Show the World. Daria has created and worked on many meaningful books over the years, and Show the World is no exception, with a focus on self-expression and developing a unique point of view. Check out my conversation with Daria below!

THE BEAR AND THE MOON

The Bear and the Moon by Matthew Burgess and Cátia Chien is a sweet story about love and loss.

Let's Talk Illustrators #136: Elizabet Vukovic

It was such a pleasure to chat with Elizabet Vukovic about her newly illustrated picture book An Ordinary Day, written by Elana K Arnold. We talked about some of my favorite topics, including the mechanics of portraying death in picture books and the joys of using only complementary colors to convey tone. Enjoy the read!

Let's Talk Illustrators #133: Flora McDonnell

Flora McDonnell's Out of a Dark Winter's Night is the gripping tale of a young child trying to stop the darkness from coming. Every time the sun sets, the child loses their spirit of adventure, and preventing the sun from setting is the natural solution to impending darkness. The book––and the child's feelings––are at once relatable to readers, many of whom have spent their own fair share of time trying to stop the darkness from coming, too. I hope you enjoy my chat with Flora about this special book.

DANDELION'S DREAM

Dandelion's Dream by Yoko Tanaka wordlessly tells the story of one little dandelion-turned-lion's journey to self-actualization.

THE PRESIDENT OF THE JUNGLE

The President of the Jungle by André Rodrigues, Larissa Ribeiro, Paula Desgualdo, and Pedro Markun is a lively primer on electoral democracy.

A LIFE MADE BY HAND

A Life Made By Hand: The Story of Ruth Asawa by Andrea D'Aquino is a biography of lesser-known wire sculptor Ruth Asawa.

Let's Talk Illustrators #87: Josée Bisaillon

Ten Cents a Pound by Nhung N. Tran-Davies and Josée Bisaillon is one of those rare mirrors and windows books. It's a mirror in the sense that any parent can understand working themselves down to the bone for their child's future, and it's a window, at least for me, into everyday Vietnamese culture and life beyond the glamour shots we see in the movies. With touch points any parent can understand, like wanting your child to get a better education that you did, or wanting them to simply sprout wings and leave the nest, this book kindly and gently reveals a mother-daughter relationship no parent or child will soon forget. I got a chance to talk to Josée about her illustration process, both for this book and in general, and it's an honor to share that conversation here today.

Let's Talk Illustrators #78: Cátia Chien

I had the pleasure of working with Cátia Chien about a year and a half ago over at All the Wonders when the team took a closer look Elaine Magliaro's Things to Do (I maintain that this is still one of the best features we put together!). So when her new book The Town of Turtle, written by Michelle Cuevas, came across my desk I knew without a doubt that I wanted to talk to Cátia about it. Now, four months after the book has been out in the world, I finally have a chance to share our conversation with you about a book that cannot help but lift the spirits of everyone who reads it. 

THE MEDITERRANEAN

The Mediterranean by Armin Greder is a wordless picture book about repressed people who flee their homes by sea in search of peace only to encounter inhumane treatment and death upon attempted relocation. 

THIS IS NOT A VALENTINE

This Is NOT a Valentine, written by Carter Higgins and illustrated by Lucy Ruth Cummins, is maybe the sweetest, least saccharine, most touching book about love that ever existed. And much of that beauty lies in the message of the story.

AFTER THE FALL: HOW HUMPTY DUMPTY GOT BACK UP AGAIN

Everyone knows that Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall and Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. But what happened after his fall? Dan Santat's brilliant new picture book After the Fall: How Humpty Dumpty Got Back Up Again reveals the events that followed Humpty Dumpty's fall to the ground and how he gets back his confidence.

PAX AND BLUE

Pax and Blue by Lori Richmond is a touching story of trust and friendship. Every morning, on his way to school, Pax stops and feeds his pigeon friend Blue. But one morning, his mom is in a rush, and they don't have time, walking straight down the stairs and into the subway instead. Pax, of course, feels helpless. But unbeknownst to him, Blue has decided to follow Pax, and he's in need of a little help himself.

CAT KNIT

Have you read Jacob Grant's Cat Knit?? It's one of the cutest books I've read all year! Basically there's a girl named Girl who gets her cat named Cat a new friend named Yarn. Things are going really well until Girl takes Yarn away one day and Yarn returns a little...different.

Stepping out of the Shadows

Happy Tuesday, everyone! Today we're talking about shadows in picturebooks. While picturebook illustrations are generally known for being inviting and colorful, shadows make the illustrations more mysterious and serve to show readers the dark side of the world they live in. Shadows are reserved for the nighttime and the unknown, so a picturebook that visually focuses on shadows is a great place for characters to have dark adventures and explore things they wouldn't normally do in the light of day. In these books the shadows becomes their own characters, representing our dark sides, the parts that remain hidden and tucked away.

You can't write about shadows and not talk about Suzy Lee's wordless masterpiece Shadow.