By: Juana,
on 3/3/2016
So much to be excited about in this announcement!
Beth Ferry‘s manuscript of SWASHBY AND THE SEA is beyond beautiful, and I get to work with Kate O’Sullivan and the fine folks at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
I can-not-wait to dive into this project!
> Stay updated: email | rss | facebook
By: Juana,
on 2/16/2016
It’s official! I’m back to blogging.
With LA MADRE GOOSE being released on July 19th, and more books coming after that one, the blog will be the best place to stay updated with my publishing news. Come back often or subscribe to the blog (right).
Now to the reason of today’s post: I’m very proud of LA MADRE GOOSE, and can not wait for all of you to see the book!
Today I’m pleased to share the cover with the world!
If you’d like to reserve a copy, you’ll find pre-order links below. I hope you do :)
> Stay updated: email | rss | facebook
By: Juana,
on 2/10/2016
I’m excited to share fantastic news to start off 2016!
I’m over the moon, thrilled, elated to share the news that Candlewick will be publishing my first book as an author-illustrator. My picture book, entitled ALMA, will be out Fall 2017.
The book was announced in Publisher’s Weekly on December 17, 2015. Being so close to the Holidays, I decided to leave this post for my first post of 2016. Needless to say that it has been a fantastic Fall and Winter thanks to ALMA, my super-agent Stefanie, and the editors who so kindly shared their time and expertise during the process of finding the home for my first picture book as an author illustrator.
> Stay updated: email | rss | facebook
By: Juana,
on 9/25/2015
I’m delighted to share that I’ll be working with Susan Kochan and Cecilia Yung once again on my next picture book! LA PRINCESA AND THE PEA by Susan Middleton Elya, will be coming from Penguin in 2017!
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By: Juana,
on 3/19/2015
So thrilled to share a sneak peek at an illustration from my first picture book with Penguin Young Readers, LA MADRE GOOSE. The illustrations will be leaving the studio soon. I can’t wait for this book to be out in the world!
LA MADRE GOOSE
G. P. Putman & Son’s
Penguin Random House
Winter 2016
Written by Susan Middleton Elya
Illustrated by Juana Martinez-Neal
Happy Spring!
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By: Juana,
on 9/26/2014
Last Monday (September 15), I woke up to the news that “Dana’s Trip” made the IBBY Honour List 2014 for Illustration. The diplomas were handed by the President during the IBBY International Congress held this year in Mexico City – September 10-13.
From IBBY’s Site: “The IBBY Honour List is a biennial selection of outstanding, recently published books, honoring writers, illustrators and translators from IBBY member countries. For the 2014 Honour List, 52 countries have sent 150 nominations in 39 different languages. Selected for the 2014 list are 57 entries in the category of Writing; 50 in the category Illustration; and 43 in the category Translation.”
You can see a timeline of how it all happens here, and a video with all the winners here. Go to 11:07 for “Dana’s Trip”! :)
“Dana’s Trip” (Rihlat Dana) was written by Salha Ghabish, and published by Kalimat in 2012. I got a chance to work on the illustrations. It is not available in the US for purchase but I have a few copies sent from the publisher last year.
And, since I want to celebrate “Dana’s Trip” IBBY Honour List 2014, and 2,500 likes on my Facebook Page, I am giving away a signed copy of the book.
“Dana’s Trip” Giveaway
I’m giving away one (1) signed, hardcover copy of “Dana’s Trip” (Rihlat Dana) (Kalimat 2012) to one (1) winner. The winner will have a chance to pick a special dedication, if requested.
How do you enter? It’s super easy. Do one or all of the options listed -each one counts as an entry. Don’t forget the mention. Please, post 1 comment listing your entries:
The winner will be randomly chosen and announced here, and on my FB Page Friday, October 3, 2014.
Good luck!
* Shipping Note – I will be covering the shipping charges when mailed within the continental US. If the winner resides outside of the country or the continental US, I will contact the winner with shipping charges and estimated date of delivery. Thanks for understanding!
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By: Juana,
on 6/16/2014
Good news are to be shared with friends! And I can share with you all, that I’ll be illustrating LA MADRE GOOSE written by Susan Middleton Elya and published by G.P.Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers, and imprint of Penguin.
Like the PW’s announcement from last Thursday reads, LA MADRE GOOSE is a collection of poems with a sprinkling of Spanish. The book will be released Winter 2016. I can not wait for it to be out! :)
> Stay updated: email | rss | facebook
By: Juana,
on 5/2/2014
I was recently working on some character studies geared towards middle grade. The characters were *almost* 12 years old.
I’ve mostly worked on younger Picture Book age characters before, so there was some testing to do. In the image below, you will see my three rounds of sketches for the main character. The sketch on the right was the first one. She looks a little too old – about 16. The sketch on the left was my second attempt. She looks a little too young – about 7 years old. The one on the middle was my third attempt. She is just right – *almost* 12.
I went through a very similar process with the other character studies. On my first attempt, they were a bit too young – about 7. On the second attempt, they were the right age – *almost* 12.
Once the characters were done, I moved on to color samples. Once the characters were done, I moved on to color samples. Again, I was trying a new thing for this age group, so I tried flat colors with no texture. I played with Photoshop, and then with Acrylics. I like how soft the colors look on my Photoshop test. What do you think?
Next step, testing different colors for the clothing and skin tones: I think I still like the green dress with the teal sweater version the best. Which one is your favorite?
And that, my friends, was my week long Middle Grade investigation. Hope you enjoyed it! :)
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By: Juana,
on 12/3/2013
Welcome back to our Mini-Interview Grand Finale Week! Today I have with me the author-illustrator Sophie Blackall.
I have lost count of how many times I have read, looked, open and closed “Are You Awake?”. Sophie brilliantly wrote and illustrated it. Since I love the book and Sophie’s work so much, I had to asked her to be my last guest. It’s been a busy couple of months for Sophie, nevertheless she found time for us. With you, the fantastic Sophie Blackall.
Born in 1970, Sophie Blackall grew up in Australia. She completed a Bachelor of Design in Sydney in 1992 with honors. Blackall was seduced by New York and moved there in 2000. In 2002, she illustrated the children’s book “Ruby’s Wish” by Shirin Yim Bridges (Chronicle Books), which won the Ezra Jack Keats award in 2003. Since then, she has illustrated seventeen other books for children including “Meet Wild Boars” by Meg Rosoff (Henry Holt & Co) which won the Society of Illustrators Founders Award, and the “Ivy and Bean” series by Annie Barrows (Chronicle Books).
In the rare moments that Blackall is away from her desk, she can be found in the kitchen making preposterous birthday cakes for her children or wandering the Brooklyn flea markets in a daze.
To learn more about Sophie, you can visit her website: sophieblackall.com. You can also follow her on Twitter and Instagram.
Please describe your career as an author-illustrator in 5 words:Often exhausting but endlessly rewarding.
Which books, that were your favorites when you were little, have had the greatest influence on your work?
Please share an instance in which you had an idea or experience, that started out small, but took root and grew to become a book.
In early 2009, having worked happily but relentlessly on children’s books for a number of years, I had an overwhelming desire to do something more grown-up. I stumbled on Missed Connections, the online listings posted by lovelorn strangers hoping to reconnect, and immediately saw those messages as drawings. I decided to illustrate them. In an effort to make myself actually commit to the idea, I endeavored to do a drawing a week, and post them on a blog. As the blog posts grew, so did this remarkable, surprising audience. The response was overwhelming, all the more because it was unexpected. I began to receive emails from all over the world; Italy and Argentina, South Africa and Israel. Magazines asked for interviews. The New York Times called. And regular people wrote begging me to help them find their lost loves. They told me my pictures had made their day, had pulled them out of a funk, had put a spark back in their marriage. Had given them hope. Hope in kindness and intimacy between strangers, hope in finding their own true loves. Hope of connecting. In 2011 Workman collected the series in a book, Missed Connections, Love, Lost and Found, which was named one of the Best Art and Design Books of 2011 on brainpickings.org (one of my very favorite websites).
Do you ever hide little images, names or personal details in your illustrations? Please give us a peek.
It’s no longer a secret that I hide a whale in every book in honor of Moby Dick.
Daily routines are important for both writers and illustrators. Could you describe your typical work day, and tell us the one little thing you absolutely cannot begin your day without (besides caffeine)?
Email. Some of the people I love best in the world live in different time zones, so I like to see what they’ve been doing while I’ve been sleeping.
I love Are You Awake? Would you share anything you would like about the book and your experience as an author-illustrator?
This was my first book as author and illustrator and I learned a lot from the experience. I wrote the manuscript when my son was 3, and it finally came out when he was 12. In some ways it bears little resemblance to the book I imagined, and I admit that it was a rather disappointing process. Sometimes in publishing you don’t have much control over the finished book. But having said that, I read it to a bunch of four year olds at a pre-school recently, and they hooted appreciatively! So that was nice.
You can find more about “Are You Awake?” and Sophie’s process in her blog post.
‘Are You Awake?’ by Sophie Blackall
Thank you for your time and the interview, Sophie! I’m so glad you had time for this. And to the readers, thank you so very much for following the series!
We still have 3 more interviews this week:
You can learn more about the Series and the guests to this blog here.
By: Juana,
on 12/2/2013
It’s time for our Mini-Interview Series Grand Finale!
For the past 3 years, we have interviewed Illustrators and Author-Illustrators. It has been a fantastic opportunity while we have shared them with you. We are seeing busier times in our lives these days and are retiring the Mini-Interviews. If you want to revisit them, you can find links to all MIs still available at this Pinterest board.
Getting back to this our last week, we have 4 fantastic Author-Illustrators yet to be interviewed:
Mini-Interviews 2013 – December 3-6
You can learn more about the Series and the guests to this blog here.
> Stay updated: email | rss | facebook
By: Juana,
on 11/26/2013
Hello again! Happy Thanksgiving week! Welcome back to week four of our 2013 November Mini-Interviews. People, it’s time to celebrate! I have here with me the most talented Zachariah OHora.
The first time I saw Zach’s work I was at a bookstore. I opened “No Fits, Nilson!” and was immediately attracted by the bold work. Nilson, the zen-challenged Gorilla, filled each page. With each page turn, I fell more and more in love with this angry ape. I wanted to know more about the author-illustrator behind the book so I asked Zach to be part of our Mini-Interviews. He graciously agreed. Now, I am giddy to introduce you to Zachariah OHora.
Zachariah OHora is an award winning illustrator. His work has appeared in numerous magazines and newspapers and has been recognized by the Society of Illustrators, American Illustration, Communication Arts, AIGA and Print Magazine.
His debut book “Stop Snoring Bernard!” (Henry Holt) was the PA One Book choice for 2012 and won the Society of Illustrators Founders Award for 2011. His latest book “No Fits Nilson!” (Dial) received a Kirkus Star and was included in the 2013 SOI Original Art Show. He is hard at work on his next picture book “My Cousin Momo” (Winter 2015) about a flying squirrel who is reluctant to show off his talent. He is also illustrating two books for Little, Brown -“Wolfie the Bunny” and “Horrible Bear” both written by Ame Dyckman.
To learn more about Zachariah, you can visit his website: zohora.com. You can also follow his Blog, and follow him on Twitter.
The Long and Winding Road.
Which books, that were your favorites when you were little, have had the greatest influence on your work?
Pretty much all of the Richard Scarry stuff. Especially “Rabbit and his Friends” and “What do People Do All Day?”. Syd Hoff’s, “Danny and the Dinosaur”. Also, “Harry the Dirty Dog”, “Lyle the Crocodile” and “Father Fox’s Pennyrhymes” by Clyde and Wendy Watson.
Please share an instance in which you had an idea or experience, that started out small, but took root and grew to become a book.
I’m not sure if this was small. But my oldest son was in the middle of his terrible twos AND threes and was throwing huge fits regularly. I always marveled that this little person could have so much strength. I was like wrestling a gorilla out of the supermarket, that lead to the creation of Nilson the gorilla. Here’s a chart that describes it pretty well.
Do you ever hide little images, names or personal details in your illustrations? Please give us a peek.
Yes, I do. Sometimes they are references to my life or family and sometimes they are just things I think are funny. I’m working on a book right now called “Wolfie the Bunny” written by Ame Dyckman. In it the bunny family live in our old apartment in Park Slope. It was a “garden apartment” so that seems like a good one for bunnies. Here are a couple from “No Fits, Nilson”.
Daily routines are important for both writers and illustrators. Could you describe your typical work day, and tell us the one little thing you absolutely cannot begin your day without (besides caffeine)?
After coffee and a bagel, I drop my kids off to school. Emails, Blog stuff and surfing for the morning. I usually have my first session of working on projects about 10am-1pm. Listen to NPR morning edition and music. Break for lunch and talk to Teddy as he is in preschool and home by noon. Work again from 1:30-4:30 or 5pm This is my most productive time if I’m not on a severe deadline. Listen to Podcasts like WTF or YDMN. Dinner and kids to the playground. Put them to bed and work again from 7:30 until 10pm. Sometimes I’ll stream a Netflix movie while I work. An hour of TV with my wife Lydia. Usually I sketch on fun stuff or read while I’m watching TV.
My wife Lydia and I both work for ourselves and we alternate days that the other person is taking care of the kids. So on my day with the kids I work until 11:30 Hang with the kids in the afternoon and make dinner. Work again after they are in bed. So on average I work either an 11 hour day or a 6 hour day but my commute is only a set of stairs.
Would you tell me about your first experience as an author-illustrator? How did it happen? Who gave you that chance?
My first illustration job was also a dream job. While I was in school at CCA, I got a call from Arlene Owseichik to do a poster for The Fillmore. I had sent her a couple postcards. I’d always love the Fillmore and the rich poster history there and at the time every poster that was made for a show was given out for free at the end of the show. They also put one framed on the wall of the Fillmore. It was fun over the years to see shows there and spot my posters among many talented and amazing poster artists.
‘My Cousin Momo’ by Zachariah OHora
‘No Fits, Nilson!’ by Zachariah OHora
‘Stop Snoring, Bernard!’ by Zachariah OHora
Such a great opportunity! Thanks for participating, Zach! It was great having you.
Thinking this is the last week of Mini-Interviews? No. I will see you here next Tuesday with my Mini-Interview with Sophie Blackall . But don’t go just yet, we have 3 more guests for you this week -even on Thanksgiving day:
You can learn more about the Series and the guests to this blog here.
By: Juana,
on 11/19/2013
Welcome to our third week of the 2013 November Mini-Interviews. This week, I have invited an author-illustrator whose work I love. The most wonderful Brian Won.
I saw Brian’s work for the first time at Lost Weekend 2012. Brian was a Mentee from the 2012 SCBWI Los Angeles Conference. I immediately connected with his work. It was moving, full of emotion, and full of heart. The details, textures and subject matter were fantastic. I had to have some time to ask him some questions about his Author-Illlustration career, and so, I asked him to be a guest of our Mini-Interviews. To my pleasure, he agreed.
With you, the fantastic Brian Won.
Brian Won is an illustrator, children’s book author, and motion graphics designer. He wears many hats.
After graduating from Art Center College of Design with an illustration degree, he studied graphic design, and co–founded a motion graphics company, National Television. During his 12 years in the motion design industry, his roles have varied from Creative Director, Art Director, Illustrator, and Designer. He is also a father of a three year old boy and coincidentally, wrote and illustrated a children’s book entitled “Hooray for Hat!” coming out in Spring 2014.
To learn more about Brian, you can visit his website: brianwon.com. You can also follow him on Facebook and Twitter.
Drawing words I struggle writing.
Which books, that were your favorites when you were little, have had the greatest influence on your work?
Roald Dahl/Quentin Blake books had the most impact on me especially Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. In the third grade, I won a bookmark contest by drawing Willy Wonka.
Please share an instance in which you had an idea or experience, that started out small, but took root and grew to become a book.
The inspiration for HOORAY FOR HAT! came from my son Charlie. When he was two years old, he would run around the house yelling “Hooray for Hat!” It confused me that it was a singular hat and not plural “hats”. He was (and still is) bad at sharing, so I wanted to write a story on the benefits of sharing outside of just social etiquette.
Linked is a Time magazine article explaining the direct connection between happiness and sharing: The New Happiness of Sharing
Why do exercising gratitude, kindness and other virtues provide a lift? “Giving makes you feel good about yourself,” says Peterson. “When you’re volunteering, you’re distracting yourself from your own existence, and that’s beneficial. More fuzzily, giving puts meaning into your life. You have a sense of purpose because you matter to someone else.” Virtually all the happiness exercises being tested by positive psychologists, he says, make people feel more connected to others.
That seems to be the most fundamental finding from the science of happiness. “Almost every person feels happier when they’re with other people,” observes Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi.
Do you ever hide little images, names or personal details in your illustrations? Please give us a peek.
Here’s a random tidbit: while working on HOORAY FOR HAT! there was a commercial for Sonos with Janelle Monae dancing. When I saw her, I thought, “This is the way Zebra must march!”
Daily routines are important for both writers and illustrators. Could you describe your typical work day, and tell us the one little thing you absolutely cannot begin your day without (besides caffeine)?
Ideally, I would have a much more regimented work day, but with a little boy running around it happens whenever there’s an opportunity to begin. I recently came across this advice from Roald Dahl which I believe applies to illustration/picture books too:
But Hemingway, a great American writer, taught me the finest trick when doing a long book, which is, he simply said in his own words, “When you are going good, stop writing.” And that means that if everything’s going well and you know exactly where the end of the chapter’s going to go and you know just what the people are going to do, you don’t go on writing and writing until you come to the end of it, because when you do, then you say, well, where am I going to go next? And you get up and you walk away and you don’t want to come back because you don’t know where you want to go.
But if you stop when you’re going good, as Hemingway said…then you know what you are going to say next. You make yourself stop, put your pencil down and everything, and you walk away. And you can’t wait to get back because you know what you want to say next and that’s lovely and you have to try and do that. Every time, every day all the way through the year. If you stop when you are stuck, then you are in trouble!
To answer the question, I need something to do, somewhere to start, in order to begin my day.
Would you tell me about your first experience as an author-illustrator? How did it happen? Who gave you that chance?
My first experience as an author-illustrator could only happen through the kindness of strangers (now near and dear friends). At the 2012 SCBWI Los Angeles conference, I received one of five illustration mentorship spots. Mentor David Diaz, opened up his home for the Lost Weekend where I not only got to meet past mentees, but my amazing agent Rubin Pfeffer of East West Literary Agency. Rubin graciously emailed me after the Lost Weekend and offered his help. I soon sent him the dummy for HOORAY FOR HAT! and after some revisions we sent it to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt’s senior executive editor, Jeannette Larson. I couldn’t have asked for a more perfect match. Jeannette is a joy to work with.
These are just a handful of awesome people I’ve mentioned, but actually there are so many more! I hope to pass the same encouragement forward.
You already are! Thanks, Brian for the interview. It was great to have you.
I will see you here next Tuesday with my Mini-Interview with Zachariah OHora but before then, don’t miss the 3 interviews for this week:
You can learn more about the Series and the guests to this blog here.
By: Juana,
on 11/12/2013
Hello again! Welcome to our second week of the 2013 November Mini-Interviews. This week, I have the huge pleasure to bring you the most wonderful author-illustrator, Yuyi Morales.
I am fascinated with Yuyi’s work. Completely. Utterly. Needless to say I am beyond excited to have her as a guest. I know you want to hear her, and she has lots to share today. Señoras y señores, Miss Yuyi Morales.
Since having immigrated to the USA in 1994, Yuyi Morales has create some of the most celebrated Latino works for children’s books.She is the multiple winner of Pura Belpre Medal for Illustration, given to a Latino illustrator whose work best portrays, affirms, and celebrates the Latino cultural experience in an outstanding work of literature for children.
To learn more about Yuyi, you can visit her website: yuyimorales.com . You can also follow her Blog, Facebook Page, and Twitter.
Discovering books lighted my fire.
Which books, that were your favorites when you were little, have had the greatest influence on your work?
I grew up in Mexico in the 60′s and at the time Mexico simply didn’t have a children’s literature that I, or any other children, could have access to or fall in love with. So instead I grew up reading comic magazines such as Archie, and La Familia Burron, and also many adult graphic magazines my relatives bought weekly.
My other library was the encyclopedia my mother bought for my sisters and I. From my parents’ bookshelves I also read many books for adults, most of much I failed to truly understand, but that often left me very impressed. Some of my favorite books from my early years were Platero y Yo, by Juan Ramón Jiménez’s, La Rosa y el Ruiseñor, by Oscar Wilde, and when I was about 12 years old, I had my first encounter with the short Stories of Gabriel Garcia Marquez, who intermediately became the biggest inspiration in my life.
Please share an instance in which you had an idea or experience, that started out small, but took root and grew to become a book.
At my writer’s critique group, The Revisionaries, we have an annual tradition where we write a new book by randomly puling words or phrases from a hat. We use this words as trigers, and we have the next couple of weeks until our last meeting of December to come up with a story inspired in this words. Several of my books, including Little Night, Niño Wrestles the World, and Viva Frida (which will be published in 2014) have been born from that tradition.
Some of the prompts we have used are words or phrases such as “one word”, “the lost thing”, “hairdos”. “the hideous thing”, “banned book”, “the way”, and “baby book”. The year I wrote my book Niño Wrestles the World, the prompting words out of the hat read “the time”. We are free to use these words as we need them, they can be mentioned in the story, or they can inspire the book, or anything that would make us create.
I have found that there are many stories inside each one of us waiting for their chance to come out, and in my case when I use one of those assigned ideas, what happens is that the stories inside me attach themselves to the prompting words, and the stories begin to take shape as I work on integrating them together. Can you guess how the words “the time” helped me come up with the story of Niño? I’ll give you a clue, look at the page after Niño has defeated the Chamuco, as he looks up and realizes that something dreadful is about to happen.
Do you ever hide little images, names or personal details in your illustrations? Please give us a peek.
I love filling my books with people I know, or that I know of. For instance, in the illustrations of Los Gatos Black on Halloween, written by Marisa Montes, I put a lot of the dead popular characters that I brought back from my childhood and from my country of birth, Mexico. I have the famous Mexican muralist Diego Rivera there with his dead, cold eyes, holding his brushes, and doing a stiff dance. I also included Josefa Ortíz de Domínguez, a freedom fighter from the movement of independence of Mexico. I also have El Pachuco, because what would be a Halloween dance without a pachuco dancer? I based that character on Tin Tán, a very popular Mexican actor and comedian whose movies I used to watch when I was a child. Some readers might be familiar with Cantinflas, another Mexican comedian and actor who was very popular for embodying the character of the everyday man in Mexico. Not only I painted Cantinflas in the book as one of the goths, but in the cemetery scene I included a reference to his tombstone with the inscription he always wanted to have (but didn’t get). Other characters include a Pre-Hispanic shaman dancing, my aunts Yola and Coti as the witches, Mexican dictator Porfirio Diaz, the skeleton of freedom fighter Simon Bolivar, an Olmec head, a Zihuateteo goddess, the skeleton of my dog Luna, and my son and I coming out of our tombs.
Daily routines are important for both writers and illustrators. Could you describe your typical work day, and tell us the one little thing you absolutely cannot begin your day without (besides caffeine)?
Well, no caffeine for me. My day starts with fruit and yogurt, and yes, I could not properly start my day without this sweet meal. It also begins with my three dogs whining, licking, jumping, begging that we start the day! I usually have my yogurt on my desk, where I check and answer emails, and read articles I find interesting, or search for images that inspire my day. If I have to do some writing or to answer an interview such as this one, I usually do it during the beginning of my working day. Later, when I have put my desk and my work in order, and usually after having lunch, I begin to draw or paint or build a puppet or sew a costume or write a story or anything that requires all of my creative concentration. Some breaks, of course, are demanded of me because my dogs like to play and eat and wrestle and go on walks, and things like that. I work until around 7 when most days I change into my dancing clothes and I drive or take the train to Oakland or San Francisco (I live in the suburbs) for a sweaty Vogue or House or African or Brazilian dance class. I usually return home around 11 pm. I might spend some more time with my family, or I might go back to my desk and work some more, or I might simply have dinner and go to bed reading a book.
Would you tell me about your first experience as an author-illustrator? How did it happen? Who gave you that chance?
I decided to take a night class to learn to illustrate picture books, and our instructor’s first assignment was to come up with a concept story, alphabet, or counting book that we would use to create illustrations. Because the class was for illustrating, our teacher didn’t want us to spend a lot of time writing, so she gave us a week to bring the story and some sketches. With no time to spare I decided to do a counting book. But what to count? And, who would do the counting? I had always loved the traditional folktales from my country. I specially love those where ordinary folks defeat great enemies, like death. So, taking inspiration from the Mexican tradition, and having counting and death in mind, I wrote my story about a grandmother who wakes up one morning to find a skeleton waiting for her at the door. Soon after having written the story and created a dummy with sketches, I learned that the SCBWI (Society of Children’s Books Writer’s and Illustrators) was offering a grant to help spiring illustrators like me, and I decided to submit my story and my illustrations. And I won! Winning the grant gave me the courage to submit my story to publishers, and I received numerous responses from editors, most of them telling me that they really liked my work, but that they thought that a book for children about death and with an skeleton as one of the main characters was way too scary for them to publish. It took more than a year of submitting for me to find no one but two brave publishers who became interested in my book idea. After some negotiations (and changes in my story to make it less scary, I was told), Chronicle Books became the publisher of my book Just a Minute: A trickster Tale and Counting Book, who came to win numerous mentions and awards, and which, I am happy to report, seems not to have scared any children so far.
‘Niño Wrestles the World’ by Yuyi Morales
‘Little Night’ by Yuyi Morales
‘Just In Case’ by Yuyi Morales
‘Just A Minute’ by Yuyi Morales
And it never will! Muchas gracias, Yuyi! It was so wonderful have you.
I will see you here next Tuesday but before then, don’t miss our other 3 interviews for this week:
You can learn more about the Series and the guests to this blog here.
By: Juana,
on 11/5/2013
Welcome to our first interview for the 2013 November Mini-Interviews. I’m starting by introducing you to the work of the Spanish author-illustrator, Marta Altés.
Marta has a fun, loose style. I found her work online a year ago and immediately loved it. So when it came time to short list our guests for this year, she was one of the names on my list. Now, she’s here with you and me. With you the author-illustrator, Marta Altés.
I studied graphic design in Barcelona and after working there as a graphic designer for almost five years (The Original Cha Chá), I decided to pursue my interest for illustration that I had since I was a child. I moved to England and I joined the MA in Children’s Book Illustration at the Cambridge School of Art. Now, after finishing the course, I think it was the BEST decision I have ever made.
Since I graduated, I’m working as an illustrator and it makes me feel so lucky and happy. I always try to have a positive and funny vision about life and to get a smile from who is looking at my drawings or reading my stories is what I like the most about illustration.
To learn more about Marta, you can visit her website: martaltes.com. You can also follow her on her Blog, Facebook Page, and Twitter.
Please describe your career as an author-illustrator in 5 words:Work / Luck / Work ( work appears twice, because I’ve worked a lot) / Friends / Change
Which books, that were your favorites when you were little, have had the greatest influence on your work?
This is one of those very difficult questions… It’s very difficult to respond… I don’t remember particular books that influenced my work. I’m one hundred per cent sure that all the books you read, like all the movies you watch, or all the activities you do when you are a kid, have an influence on your work. I used to read a lot when I was little. My mum was a teacher, and she would bring home lots of books. I also LOVED comic books. On the weekends, we would go to get the newspapers for my parents, and my little brother and I would get a small comic book.
Please share an instance in which you had an idea or experience, that started out small, but took root and grew to become a book.
The idea for my first book NO!, came from missing my dog… I had just moved to UK, and I missed him very much. I took him from the dog’s pound 3 years before, and he seemed not to mature at all… He was sooo naughty! He is 5 years old now, and he keeps being as “helpful” as he used to be. When I started this story, I wanted for it to be about a dog that stops being naughty, and his owner worrying about that… That led me to start thinking about his point of view. And that changed everything! I thought that maybe he was doing all of that cause he wanted to help out! And that ended up being the idea of my book.
Do you ever hide little images, names or personal details in your illustrations? Please give us a peek.
I do!! My parents have appeared in different drawings I’ve done. For example in this chapter book I did.
Daily routines are important for both writers and illustrators. Could you describe your typical work day, and tell us the one little thing you absolutely cannot begin your day without (besides caffeine)?
Well, yes, I think daily routines are very important, but my life has been so changing in the last couple of years, and so have my daily routines. I’ve lived in many different places, and depending on the place, my routine has changed. What hasn’t changed as you say is the caffeine! Wherever I lived I used to work from home, in my room, but this Monday I’m starting a new experience! I’ll be working from a little shared Studio. I can’t wait! Working from home can be a little bit lonely, plus I’m very unorganized, that’s why I absolutely love working from cafes (where I am right now). It makes you plan your day better, and it always helps if you are stuck with one idea to change space.
Would you tell me about your first experience as an author-illustrator? How did it happen? Who gave you that chance?
Long reply alert! Ok… Everything started 4 years ago. I was a graphic designer, but something inside me made me make the decision of quitting everything and to give my dream a chance. I left the graphic design studio where I used to work, I asked for a loan to the bank, and I joined an MA in Children’s Books Illustration in England. Best decision ever! It changed my life. I worked VERY, VERY hard during the course. One of the first projects I did, was my book NO!. I went to the Bologna Book Fair with my classmates, and I showed the book to many publishers. Many people liked it, but nothing else happened. After Bologna, I kept sending a pdf version of my book to different publishers, and Martin Salisbury (the director of the MA) also sent a few of them. After a few months, Child’s Play International (UK) contacted me back saying that they wanted to publish it!!! I was over the moon! I still now cannot believe it! I’m SO grateful to them! They gave me my very first chance. That was before finishing the MA. When we did finish the MA, we did an exhibition in London, and Macmillan Children’s Books contacted me. They’ve been my publisher ever since. I couldn’t be any happier. My third book with them is coming out in June 2014! It will be called “My New Home”.
Thank you very much, Marta! We can’t wait to see your new book!
I’ll be back here next Tuesday with our Mini-Interview with Yuyi Morales. But don’t wait until next Tuesday, this week we have an amazing list of guests. Just see below:
You can learn more about the Series and the guests to this blog here.
By: Juana,
on 10/29/2013
The 2013 Mini-Interviews are back with more interviews, more guests, and more weeks! Our focus for 2013: Author-Illustrators!
For this year, we have 21 Picture Book Authors-Illustrators visiting our blogs. Once again, we will be hosting the Mini-Interviews on our blogs with our regular posting schedule: my blog on Tuesdays, Molly Idle‘s blog on Wednesdays, Mikela Prevost‘s blog on Thursdays and Laura Jacobsen‘s blog on Fridays. Mini-Interviews will go for 5 weeks from November 4th through December 6th.
My guests this year include:
A great group! And now see our whole guest list! You don’t want to miss any of the 2013 November Mini-Interviews:
I hope you are excited. We certainly are! And with that I leave you until next week when we start :)
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By: Juana,
on 8/22/2013
I was asked to work on the cover of SCBWI Bulletin for their September-October 2013 issue.
The only requirement was to include a kite on the illustration. I wanted to illustrate the kite as a main element in the composition instead of it just being… well, a kite.
SCBWI Bulletin September-October 2013
This is the first version of Simon. It was good but Simon was not flying. He was just happy to wear his kite.
Initial sketch of Simon.
There were 2 other cover layouts before the final sketch felt right. Simon had to be full of innocence, hope and wonder, almost ready to take off, and with his friends there with him. Here is the final art.
Final art of Simon Will Fly
Curious to see the cover? Want to read all those great articles in this issue? Want to read the interview? SCBWI Members can download the issue here. Mailed Bulletin copies should arrive to your mailbox the first week of September.
If you are a children’s writer or illustrator and are not a SCBWI member yet, join! I am very grateful for everything I have learned and got thanks to SCBWI. Thanks again SCBWI for the assignment!
Final sketch and art for SCBWI September-October 2013 Bulletin.
Details of Cover art for SCBWI September-October 2013 Bulletin
Details of Cover art for SCBWI September-October 2013 Bulletin
Details of Cover art for SCBWI September-October 2013 Bulletin
Details of Cover art for SCBWI September-October 2013 Bulletin
Details of Cover art for SCBWI September-October 2013 Bulletin
About the Cover in the SCBWI Bulletin September-October 2013
How do you receive your copies of the SCBWI Bulletin? Mail or Digital? What do you think of the cover? You can let me know in the comments.
Thanks again for reading and see you soon!
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By: Juana,
on 6/4/2013
This series started with the idea of one post and ended up in a whole month and a half of planning, writing and thinking…. lots of thinking. It has brought life back to the blog, my FB page and Twitter. Stats… they went through the roof. From an average of 3 to 8 visits per day to 750 visitors the best day. That’s amazing! Yes, it’s not millions of visitors but it’s enough for my blog and me :)
Thanks to all of you who commented, shared, RTed, favorited and simply cheered me up. It meant a lot. Thanks to those of you who only read. You made the stats :)
Thanks to Angela Matteson, Tracy Bishop and Laura Zarrin who made the series more legible. Thanks to Molly Idle, Santiago Uceda, Debbie Ohi, Greg Pizzoli, Brian Won, Laura Jacobsen who took the time to photograph their portfolios.
Now, are we ready for a winner? You’d better be!
The winner of the giveaway is… Drum Roll, Please…
HEATHER NELSONwhose entry went flying out of the glass bowl as I was shaking it. Really! Those guys in the picture were there to watch it.
Thanks to all again! Read you soon! :)
Portfolio Blog Post Series:
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By: Juana,
on 5/28/2013
Hello there! Welcome to the last post in The Craft of Portfolio Making Series.
Today, I will show you how to mount your artwork to a Kolo album. I am also holding a Giveaway for a Kolo Newport 8.5″x11″ or 11″x14″ Album (your choice).
But first, let’s recap. Over the past 2 weeks, we discussed “How to Put a Children’s Illustrator Portfolio Together” and compared a “Mentee Portfolio vs. Grand Prize Winner Portfolio”. Today we are mounting your work to your portfolio.
The Kolo albums have a custom, handmade feel that I love. The cloth-hinged pages fold over easily and lay completely flat. The woven covers are matte, their sheets are matte. There is nothing shiny or sparkly about these portfolios but your work once it is in them. For all images in this post, I have used the 8.5″x11″ Newport Album.
It is important to mention that I am not benefiting from sales of any of the brands mentioned in the post nor have I been asked to promote any products. With that out of the way, let’s get to work!
To mount your reproductions to the portfolio, you will need:
*What’s ATG? ATG stands for Advance Tape Glider. Years ago, I learned how to do professional, acid-free framing, and learned about materials. I loved the ease of use and convenience of the ATG guns and tapes and have used it ever since. While I was trying to get some links for the post, I found out 3M released a new gun aimed for scrapbookers. They have made a gun, colored it pink and boxed it with 2 rolls of 1/4″ acid-free tape. This scrapbookers’ version sells for less than half the price of the original ATG 700. You can see the tape gun, how to load the roll and how to apply the tape in this video. Please be aware that the yellow gun in the pictures in the post is my ATG 700 purchased in the 90s and still in use.
Now that you have all your materials together, let’s get to work! What you will do is print your reproductions on white high quality paper, trim and then glue them to a Kolo sheet. Here are the steps in more detail.
If you have any questions, leave a comment or tweet me @juanamartinez. Please, click on images for enlarged views.
{ Step 1 } Print your reproductions on high quality white paper. Download the template from the list below. Open with an image editor program. Place your image in the center within the white box.
Using InDesign: Create a Master Page following the template below. Place 1 image per page using the guides. Once done, you will have 1 file for all your portfolio. All portfolio pieces will print with 1 “Send to print”. Guides will be transparent hence no need to turn Layers OFF.
{ Step 2 } Using the x-acto knife and metal ruler, cut around the image right at the edge. Do not cut more than 1/8″ passed your illustration.
Note: Replace your x-acto blade after trimming 1 or 2 reproductions.
Note: If you are using the 11″x14″ templates, you will have to trim your reproductions on white paper to 11″x14″.
{ Step 3 } You will have a white window and your trimmed illustration (image below on the left). Fold the white window in two along the length and width to mark the middle points within the window. Put your trimmed illustration inside the box and mark the middle points with a pencil (image below on the right). Make sure the pencil marks are both small and soft. Put the window aside.
{ Step 4 } Place your trimmed illustration facing down and apply the tape using the ATG Tape gun. Make sure your surface is clean. Try to get as close to the edge as possible. If some of the tape is left out of the paper, use your finger to roll it in. Watch this video to learn how to use the ATG Tape Gun.
{ Step 5 } Place your “window” on top of a Kolo Sheet. Align both perfectly. They will be the same size.
{ Step 6 } Start from the corner and place your glued reproductions inside your window (image below on the left). Check that your pencil marks match. Apply some pressure around the edges. Remove your window (image below on the right). Erase your pencil marks.
{ Step 7 } Repeat Steps 2 through 6 as many times as needed. Once done, place all sheets through the post, put the cover on top and screw the post in. If you are not completely happy with the flow of the images, you can reorganize them. Another reason why I love my Kolo Portfolio!
And because I love pictures and I took a lot within the last few weeks, here are some portfolio details.
You have probably heard enough about Kolo albums and are ready to buy one. Hold on for just one more week! I talked to the great people there and convinced them to give One (1) lucky winner a brand, new 8.5″x11″ or 11″x14″ Kolo Newport album (your choice). The album showcases your reproductions beautifully and meets SCBWI guidelines for the Portfolio Showcase! Pretty amazing, right? So here are the Giveaway details:
The Prize
One (1) Winner of an 8.5”x11” or 11″x14″ Kolo Newport Album (your choice)
Any of the currently available colors.
Note: Shipping is not included. The winner will receive a special code to use at time of checkout at kolo.com
How to Enter
You can do one or all of the following. Each one count as an entry:
And this concludes the Portfolio Making Blog Post Series. In case you missed the previous posts in the Series, links below. Read you next week :)
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By: Juana,
on 5/21/2013
Hi again! The Craft of Portfolio Making – Post #2 is here!
Last week, we worked on putting together your brand new Physical Portfolio on the post “How to Put a Children’s Illustrator Portfolio Together”. Today, I will try to expand on what we briefly touched on Image Selection and Flow & Continuity on last week’s post while sharing my 2011 and 2012 Portfolios.
Why am I sharing my 2011 and 2012 Portfolios?
For two reasons:
1Every year I considered attending the SCBWI Los Angeles Conference, I looked at the information for the Portfolio Showcase and the list of winners from previous years. Every year, I wished I could see their winning portfolios. The portfolios were not available. I want to change that now by sharing my portfolios.
2The Portfolio I put together in 2011 earned me 1 of the 5 SCBWI Los Angeles Conference Illustrator Mentorships offered that year. A year later, my 2012 Portfolio was awarded SCBWI Los Angeles Conference Portfolio Showcase Grand Prize Winner.
Sharing the selection of illustrations may show what the judges were looking for those years. Hopefully that will help you win a portfolio award, an Illustrator Mentorship or the Grand Prize at the Portfolio Showcase this year.
Each year during the Portfolio Showcase, the Illustrators Committee members and a guest Mentor select 5 to 6 portfolios for the Illustrator Mentorship Program. By entering your portfolio to the Portfolio Showcase, you automatically have a chance to be part of the Illustrator Mentorship Program. The Program helps push your work to the next level.
Here are the illustrations included in my 2011 Portfolio. Illustrations were shown in the same order in which I present them here (left to right, top to bottom).
In 2011, the Mentors were David Diaz, Priscilla Burris, Cecilia Yung, Pat Cummings and E. B. Lewis. Each one of them gave me a 15 minute portfolio critique. Here is the list of some of the comments I heard that day:
{ Design vs. Decoration } Every time I sketched and found myself adding more and more elements to a page, I stopped and asked myself if the elements would help communicate the emotion. If they didn’t, I removed them. I continue to practice this exercise the most. I continue to struggle with this point the most.
{ Characters } I tried to know my characters. Once I started making them someone I knew, I achieved more emotion and personality. The “Ant and Grasshopper” pieces were the perfect project to practice this.
{ Patterns } I had to paint the final art for “Dana’s Trip” after the Conference. It gave me a chance to experiment with patterns, folk art and culture.
{ Color } It had been a year since I switched from colored pencil to mixed media. I was more comfortable with the new technique but I felt my palette felt right out of the tube. I reduced the amount of colors in my palette and tried more muted pieces.
The pieces below were the results of my attempts to fix the problems pointed out by the Mentors. And this is specifically what I did when I was putting the portfolio together:
These are the illustrations in the 2012 Portfolio. Illustrations are shown in the same order in which I presented them. The judges for the Portfolio Showcase that year were: Neal Porter, Tamar Brazis, Deb Warren, Jennifer Rofe and Stefanie Von Borstel.
Curious what other Grand Prize Winner Portfolio looks like? Check Eliza Wheeler‘s post: Portfolio Comparison: What made an SCBWI winner. Eliza much like me was a Mentee and the Grand Prize Portfolio Winner the following year.
Want to learn more about the Illustrator Mentorship Program? Watch this video where Cecilia Yung, Art Director and Vice President at Penguin Books for Young Readers in the U.S. and SCBWI Illustrator Committee member, tells you all about it.
Know of any other Winning Portfolios shared online to add to the list? Have any questions? Leave a comment. Please, do come back and let me know if this post helps you this Conference Season.
Best of luck to you and until next Tuesday for the new and last post in this Portfolio Making Series. We are also closing with a Giveaway! A brand, new, 11″x14″ Kolo Newport Album. Come back for that! :)
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By: Juana,
on 5/14/2013
Spring is finally here and that can only mean Conference Season has started!
With that in mind, I thought I would write a Blog Post Series about The Craft of Portfolio Making.
Today we will focus on the making of the Physical Portfolio. We will be talking materials and how to best present your work for a Portfolio Show or a face-to-face Meeting. When we are done (post purchases and put-togethers) you will be walking around town with a new portfolio under your arm. Let’s get started!
There are several options of what to use to display your artwork. You can make one from scratch or you can purchase something made and customize it a little. I personally prefer the latter. With that in mind, I will list some of the Portfolio options I have seen used that I think looked wonderful. Please click on images for enlarged views.
{ Pina Zangaro } This company makes portfolios that are beautiful. With a large variety of cover options, you will definitely find one that fits your personality. For an extra fee, you can laser etch or color print your logo on the cover. If you opt for that, congrats! They look fantastic! Most of the portfolios come in 8.5″x11″. Some are also available in 11″x14″. Their screwpost design allows for easy adding and subtracting of pages. Refillable. Price: $60 and up. Images courtesy of Molly Idle.
{ Kolo } These are my personal favorites. With 12 cloth cover options, you are bound to find one that fits your brand. Black leather cover also available. Screwpost design for easy adding and subtracting of pages. Available in 8.5″x11″ and 11″x14″. Each album comes with 10 cloth-hinged sheets. Extra sets of 10 sheets are sold separately. Sheets can be off white or black. Refillable. Price: $30 and up.
{ Blurb } An uncommon but really nice looking option. It demands a bit more time and some design skills but if you have both, you will end up with a GREAT looking portfolio. Only Con: when it is time to replace an image, you will have to print a new book. Price: $30 and up. Images courtesy of Santiago Uceda.
You also have all the other portfolios that are easily available at any art store. Most of the time, these are not refillable which leaves you with too many or too little pages. Another dislike, the plastic sleeves. They reflect light at times which makes the art hard to see. Sleeves also get scratched and wrinkled easily.
Select 10 to 12 pieces. Those pieces will introduce your work to Art Directors and Editors. How do we best tackle that? Here is how to accomplish it in 5 easy steps:
{ Step 1 } Create a folder on your desktop and save .jpg files of what you consider to be your strongest work.
{ Step 2 } Come back the next day and make your selection smaller. If you are like me, it is clear we have picked too many. 15 to 20 will do.
{ Step 3 } * Grab your calendar and call the cavalry! Find a date that works for your core group of children’s illustrators and write it down in your calendar. You are getting together and debating the selections.
{ Step 4 } * Make high resolution prints on high quality paper of your best 15-20 pieces. One image per sheet. Print them as large as you will show them in your portfolio. Good reproductions are key to represent the work well.
{ Step 5 } * Make it to the meeting. Show your reproductions to your friends. Together you will select your 10 to 12 best pieces. Once done, continue celebrating. You are out of the house and with friends. Take advantage of it!
* These may be challenging if you live far from civilization. What to do instead? Meet via Skype, Facetime or Google Hangout. Don’t like stepping in front of a camera? Create a Dropbox folder, move your selection of images there and share it with your online critique group. Don’t want to have your work up in the cloud? You can always email your selection to your closest illustrator friends. They can reply with their votes.
Next Tuesday, I will share the images and thought process while I was putting together my 2011 and 2012 portfolios in my post: “Mentee Portfolio vs. Grand Prize Winner Portfolio”. Make sure to come back for that.
Mounting your work can be as easy as putting your images in a plastic sleeve or mounting your reproductions to a page. If you choose to use a { Kolo } album, you will have to cut and mount your pieces on the sheets.
On May 28th, I will share the details and secrets of how to do that in my post: “The Craft of Portfolio Artwork Mounting”. The post will include a Giveaway. What would you get? A brand new { Kolo } Newport album. Come back and enter!
In the meantime, here are some images from May 28th’s post.
This is something Molly taught me: You must think of your portfolio as a book. Pay close attention to the order in which you have placed your pieces. One page should lead you to the other. If you feel one illustration stops the flow, move it somewhere else or take it out completely.
Once you are satisfied with the flow and continuity of the illustrations, put it away. Look at it with fresh eyes a couple of days later. If you are happy with it then, Congratulations! You have done it! You have put a fantastic portfolio together!
Now you can carry it around town, bring it to the Portfolio Showcase or proudly take it to your face-to-face meeting.
Before I leave, I want to share pictures and details of some great portfolios. Please make sure to visit the illustrators’ websites. I have included the portfolios of:
Click on images for enlarged view. See image captions for credits.
Two Portfolio Winning Children’s Illustrators have also blogged about Portfolio Making. Here are the links to their posts. I would say read them and decide for yourself what YOU want to make of your portfolio:
Thought of any more portfolio brands to add? Have any portfolio tips? Have links to add to the list of Other Posts? Leave a comment. Please, do come back and let me know if this post helps you this Conference Season.
From here, all my good vibes to you! Until next Tuesday for the new post in this Portfolio Making Series :)
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By: Juana,
on 5/3/2013
Give me 60 seconds. I know you have them. I’ll tell you what I’ve been up to during these last 12 months. Ready? Here we go:
1 One More Chair. Yes, we added a high chair to our dining room, a crib to the bedroom, a bouncer to my studio and a stroller to the trunk of the car. Miss Eva came to us on February 6. We are happy to report, we are in love (Photo by Mel Bosna of Lulliloo Photography).
2 Portfolio Awarded. By June, I knew we were expecting. I also knew it would be a while until I would make it to Los Angeles for the SCBWI Summer Conference. I decided to make the trip and enter the portfolio. At the Portfolio Showcase in August, the Illustrator’s Committee called the winners one by one and then at the very end called my name. I had won the Portfolio Showcase Grand Prize. I was floored. Thank you to Neal Porter, Tamar Brazis, Deb Warren, Jen Rofé and Stefanie Von Borstel who were the judges last year.
3 Full Circle. I met Stefanie on Saturday after the Portfolio Winners were announced. We kept in touch for a few months and after a while it was clear we could work well together. Now, I’m proud to announce that since mid-November Stefanie Von Borstel of Full Circle Literary is my agent. I couldn’t be any happier. Her support and encouragement have been incredible throughout these months!
4 New Books. A couple of new books came out within the last 12 months: “Dana’s Trip” (Kalimat, November 2012), “Poppy Aprende Algo Especial” (Nido/Nestlé, August 2012), “The Night Before My Birthday” (2012) and “The Messy One” Mini edition (Capstone, January 2012). Also, “Lena Jellie Beana – Science Matters” (January 2013).
5 Storybook Brushes. Another highlight of the last 12 months. A few of us children’s illustrators joined forces and started Storybook Brushes. Our first mailer was a 2013 Wall Calendar. You can get a copy at my BigCartel Shop.
6 New Magazine Work. A few assignments for Babybug and Ladybug came last year. All of them where fun and whimsical. You can also read an interview at Babybug‘s blog here.
7 Back To Instagram. I stepped back from the online world while I was pregnant. Just last week, I reopened an instagram account. I post sketches (and the occasional family picture). You can find me as @juanamartinezn
8 Back To Work. As of Monday, April 22nd I’m back to work after 3 months of maternity leave. I’m full of tasks to accomplish and projects to complete but you will hear more about that later.
And with that my time is up! Life is good and I am happy. Until the next post, I hope you are happy. Thanks for reading!
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By: Juana,
on 4/26/2013
Penelope Dullaghan has decided to leave Illustration Friday. It is sad to see her go but I’m excited to see what she does next! She created a fantastic community where so many of us illustrators started getting the courage to show work. I was one of them :)
Good luck, Penelope!
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By: Juana,
on 1/26/2013
During the Banner Ironwood Medical Center event.
Banner Health has launched a new program to get a Mobile Health Unit to schools. The “Banner Children’s Healthmobile” will travel throughout the Valley to provide primary care to underinsured and uninsured children.
The “Banner Children’s Healthmobile” is a licensed outpatient treatment center that will operate just like a mobile doctor’s office, offering children up to 21 years of age treatment for health problems, physicals for camp or sports, and routine annual check-ups.
Walk-ins are accepted at the mobile clinic, but reservations are preferred. To make a reservation, call 480-412-6344.
Children from across the Valley can visit the mobile clinic, which is a licensed outpatient treatment center, for concerns ranging from earaches to neurological conditions. A parent or guardian must be present.”
Banner Health has organized 2 events as part of the “Banner Children’s Healthmobile” Open House. The events are free and run from 10am to 1pm. At both events there will be games, a bouncy castle, music, healthy activities, healthy food and a Coloring area. Children can participate and enter the Coloring Contest. Each Saturday a winner will be picked and the winning Coloring Page will be reproduced and hang in the unit. Great way to encourage art and health!
Last Saturday, I participated helping the children in the Coloring Area at the Banner Ironwood Medical Center in Queen Creek. This week’s we were going to be Banner Estrella Medical Center in Glendale. This event has been cancelled due to unusually heavy rain here in the Valley. I’ll keep you posted if and when it gets rescheduled.
You can read more about the Health Unit in the Banner’s Press Realease.
'Banner Children's Healthmobile' Photo courtesy of Banner Health.
Event Poster.
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By: Juana,
on 1/24/2013
Our giveaway closed last Sunday at 8pm Arizona time and we announced the winner Monday. Who is he or she?! It was Miss Megumi Lemons. For those of you who didn’t win, you can order a copy by clicking the link below.
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By: Juana,
on 1/16/2013
Now that I got my copies of the Storybook Brushes Calendar, I can hold the GIVEAWAY! Whoop!
It’s not only me having the Giveaway. Katriona and Maria also are and so will Angela a little later this week.
What would you get? We are giving away 1 copy of the Storybook Brushes 2013 Calendar and a print from one of us. If you enter here and you win, you will get one of my prints. If you enter Kat’s giveaway by posting a comment on her blog and win, you will receive the calendar and a special gift from here. The same goes for Maria and Angela. No limit of entries, no matter where in the world you live. Now you probably want the details!
You are probably thinking, how does it work?! You can enter the Giveaway by:
1. Liking the Storybook Brushes FB page.
2. Following @storybookbrush and tweeting: I want my 2013 @StorybookBrush Calendar now! #giveaway
And don’t forget to come back here and post a comment telling me what you did. Each one counts as an entry.
Can’t wait and need your calendar RIGHT now? Not a problem, order your copy here:
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Its great that now your books are available in kindle!
Love it!
And, I just realized that thanks to your comment! :)