I recently finished a children’s book illustration project for an awesome author (and person), Lissa Webber. Next to working on my own project ideas, illustrating children’s books is my favorite job. This is even more true when the author has a great concept and is as easy to work with as Lissa. The process Lissa went through in writing and publishing her book, Pipsqueak, the Puppy, is described in her blog post. Her post is very worth the read!
Like Lissa, I love any book, for children or otherwise, that has a positive message. I also think it is important for the message and characters to speak to those who may often feel underrepresented in literature. What makes you feel different than many characters or stories out there could be anything…your appearance, your gender, your family make up, your size, your abilities, your culture, etc., so I love to see stories that can aim to help individuals take what makes them unique and use it to thrive. And while celebrating those differences is important, finding our commonality with others is important too (ie. I’m a girl and you’re a boy but we both like dinosaurs! Awesome!).
Thank you Lissa, for empowering the Pipsqueaks out there and for supporting Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta while doing it! Thank you for also including information in your post to help others potentially publish their own book (listen to her when she emphasizes organization!).
May you, too, find yourself, find your value, and find your tribe.