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It's Perfect Picture Book Friday again!

And I'm about to something unprecedented...

I'm reviewing two picture books today!

I know!

Unheard of!

But here's why:

Two of my dear writer friends had books release this week on the SAME DAY from the SAME PRESS!  What are the odds?  And both books are too wonderful to pass up, and I couldn't possibly choose one over the other in their book birthday week, so there you have it - two for the price of one :)

I hope you enjoy them both! (And in case you're wondering, they are genuine Perfect Picture Books, not just here because they were written by friends!  That is just a happy coincidence :))

Title: Sophie's Animal Parade
Written By: Amy Dixon
Illustrated By: Katia Wish
May 2015, Sky Pony Press, Fiction

Suitable For Ages: 3-5

Themes/Topics: imagination, loneliness, friendship, animals

Opening: "Everything Sophie drew came to life.  Mama called it Sophie's imagination.  Sophie called it magic.
When Sophie felt hungry, she drew something scrumptious to eat.
When Sophie felt sleepy, she drew somewhere cozy to rest.
And when Sophie felt cold, she drew something snuggly to wear."

Brief Synopsis:  Sophie's drawings have the magical ability to come to life.  One day, feeling lonely, Sophie draws a friend.  And then another... and another...  Sophie's room isn't quite the place for any of them, and accommodating their needs makes them impossible to play with (the polar bear can't reach the scones and jam from inside his igloo; the duck can't play hide-n-seek in a wading pool with nowhere to hide etc.)  But in the end, Sophie finds a friend - no pencils or paper required :)


Links To Resources: if your drawings could come to life, what would you draw? Someone to be friends with, like Sophie? (animal, human, alien, unicorn, fairy etc.???)  Someplace you'd like to visit (a castle, a beach, an enchanted forest, etc.???) Something you'd like to do (perform on Broadway, compete at the Olympics, explore the jungle etc,???)  Now draw it!; discuss how you know if something is real or imaginary; why might an imaginary friend be better than a real friend?  why might a real friend be better than an imaginary friend? Sophie Coloring Pages

Why I Like This Book:  The concept of drawings coming to life is so engaging and fun - what child wouldn't want to have that ability?!  And hasn't every child felt lonely at some point and longed for a friend?  This is an endearing story with delightful animal-antic-filled illustrations, and the sweet message that as fun as imagination is, real friends are what matter.  The page where Sophie meets Luke and checks to make sure she hasn't drawn him (no pencils!) is perfect, as is the very real friendship between two imaginative animal lovers :)



Title: Dress Me!
Written & Illustrated By: Sarah-Frances Hardy
May 2015, Sky Pony Press, Fiction

Suitable For Ages: 2-5

Themes/Topics: careers, being yourself, exploration, self-expression

Opening: "Dress me!
Tutu me!
Dancer me!"

Brief Synopsis: A little girl tries outfit after outfit, exploring the many possibilities of what she can be- dancer, artist, teacher, lawyer etc until she finds just the right one.


Links To Resources: think up 3 careers you'd like to try.  Do any of them require special outfits or equipment? If so, what is required?  See if you can find or make some items so you can dress up like the people in those careers.  Play charades and act out a job/career you'd like to try - fireman, doctor, plumber, lawyer, carpenter, teacher, minister, etc.

Why I Like This Book:  With simple text (the word count is 44!) and adorable illustrations, a little girl tries out being a dancer, an artist, a monster, a doctor, a plumber, and many other things.  In each case, her little dog is right alongside her, joining in the fun and often sporting his own accessories.  This is a wonderful story that makes exploration, self-discovery, the freedom to choose who you are and what you want to be accessible to youngest readers.  Sweet and fun.

For the complete list of books with resources, please visit Perfect Picture Books.

If anyone would care to visit Amy Dixon or Sarah Frances Hardy, they are both very talented and have wonderful sites!   Please visit Amy HERE and Sarah Frances HERE.  Should you be interested, their sites include links to purchase their delightful books! (Actually, I'm not sure Amy's does, but you can find her books in all the usual places :))

PPBF bloggers please be sure to leave your post-specific link in the list below so we can all come visit you!  I can't wait to see this week's bounty of books!

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!  And Happy Mother's Day to everyone who is a mother, or has a mother, or knows a mother!!!  :)

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Art Show Teeming with Talent

By Leeza Hernandez, Illustrator Coordinator, NJ SCBWI

At the New Jersey SCBWI 2011 Annual Conference, more than 40 illustrators exhibited work in the Juried Art Show.

This is the second year that NJ SCBWI has offered the show to illustrators—in addition to the regular portfolio display—to help show off the variety of member talent to industry professionals during the conference. The show ran Saturday and Sunday and was accessible to all attending members for viewing.

The jury included editors, art directors and agents from this year’s faculty. They selected the winners based upon the following factors: Craft, Consistency, Concept, Impact, Marketability and Appropriateness.

First place went to Lisa Falkenstern (www.lisafalkenstern.com) for her Steampunk-style Humpty Dumpty piece. She left the conference prior to the announcement of the winners, so a friend called live from the amphitheater to break the news.

Falkenstern’s reaction was regret for not staying until the end, but also shock. “I entered my piece because I wanted to see the reaction to Steampunk from children’s book people,” Falkenstern said. “I was sure I wasn’t going to win—I just wanted to see  what people would say. To me it wasn’t a typical children’s [book] illustration.”  She added that she never wins anything so the shock was two-fold!

For winning the show, Falkenstern will visit two publishing houses to meet with art directors and editors and show her portfolio of work.

The two runner-up winners were Kelly Light www.kellylight.com  and Katia Wish www.katiawish.com , who each received a $50-off gift certificate for a future NJ SCBWI event.

Here is Kelly Lights winning entry:

Here is Katia Wish’s entry for the art show.

Honorable mention went to Kim Wood, who received a $25-off gift certificate for a future NJ SCBWI event.

When thinking about showing an illustrator’s work one member of the jury had this piece of advice: “There were many strong pieces and I found this a hard decision. In the end it was marketability that broke the ties, because in the end—even if all the other qualities are there—if it can’t find a place in the bookstores, it has no chance of success!”

There was no theme for the juried art show. IIlustrators were invited to submit one print of a piece of work that showed off their style in the best possible way.  NJ SCBWI will be featuring the juried art show, portfolio display and a special bonus exhibit at next years’ conference, so stay tuned for more details.

Leeza Hernandez is an illustrator/author and serves as the Illustrator Coordinator for New Jersey SCBWI. www.leezaworks.com

Thanks Leeza for sharing an inside view of the art show.

Talk t

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I met Katia Wish at the SCBWI Conference held at the end of January, after she won the 2011 Tomie dePaola Award from the SCBWI.  She says, “Winning the Tomie dePaola Award is the greatest and most unbelievable award I have received.”

As soon as I saw her work, I knew I had to show her off to all of you.   She is a freelance illustrator based in Boston, MA. She moved here from the former Soviet Union about eleven years ago and is a delightful person.

Here is how it all started.

As someone who didn’t begin to work on illustration until I was 24, I can say that with hard work it is never too late to develop the skills necessary to become an illustrator.  I was born and grew up in Belarus and I absolutely loved painting with watercolor and gouache when I was very young. This is how most people begin their story. What is different in my story, though, is that I did very little drawing and painting until the age of twenty-four, when I started attending the Massachusetts College of Art & Design. Why was there such a gap?  I always wanted to paint, but I had no idea how to apply myself and having a career in arts was out of the question in my home country. So I went to the Linguistic University instead and studied English.  It was only when I came to the US that I realized a career in art was possible.

My love affair and obsession with illustration began when I enrolled at MassArt. I had little idea what illustration was when I came to school, but soon enough I couldn’t think of anything but illustration. I had no figure drawing classes before art school, so I was one of the worst students in that regard, but I was stubborn, so I attended many more figure drawing sessions than were required.  My desire to learn and experiment with different media was frightening. I tried pretty much everything: watercolor, gouache, scratchboard, ink, cut paper, even 3-D illustration. Constant dissatisfaction with my artwork and the sense that I was getting a late start made me work harder. 

Right after graduation with BFA in Illustration with Illustration Department Honors, I went to the Illustration Academy, an intense seven-week program led by renowned American illustrators. It was a very challenging and life changing experience. They put an overwhelming emphasis on following all steps of the process for creating an illustration. I think the best part of the program was that we were constantly together, students and instructors, learning something new every hour of the day by watching the demonstrations, listening to the presentations, paying attention to what other students are doing, asking questions, giving answers, etc. I felt that my knowledge and skills stepped onto a whole new level while at the Illustration Academy.

Looking back what I accomplished for these five and a half years still surprises me. Receiving Tomie dePaola award from SCBWI award was an official recognition of my work and permanently made me believe in myself and in the value of hard work. 

Below is the piece that won the award.

Now let’s get to process. I am old school in every respect when it comes to process and choice of media. I believe in process and following all the steps. If I a skip a step, it usually results in having issues while working on the final illustration.

I absolutely love traditional media (I use watercolor and gouache) and I really hope that I will never ha

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