Behind-the-scenes peek into picture book writing & illustration process with Hazel Mitchell (SWEET PEA SUMMER, Candlewick)

Hazel Mitchell has helped create more than twenty children's books, including her award-winning picture book Toby (Candlewick Press). Her illustrations appear in books by Cynthia Lord, JaNay Brown-Wood (Imani's Moon was mentioned on the Stephen Colbert show!), Lynn Parrish Sutton, Liza Gardner Walsh and others. You can find out more about Hazel and her work at HazelMitchell.com, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

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Author Shelli R. Johannes, with Co-Author Kimberly Derting and Illustrator Joelle Murray, on LIBBY LOVES SCIENCE: MIX AND MEASURE

By Sara Truuvert

"My daughter said she wasn't going to science camp because 'science was for boys.'"

Shelli R. Johannes had never written a picture book when she heard her daughter's stance on science, but it sparked the idea that she, with co-author and friend Kimberly Derting, would turn into the Loves Science series.  

Libby Loves Science: Mix and Measure is the latest instalment in the series and shows young readers that science is for everyone. When Libby's baking goes awry, can science solve the problem?

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Behind The Scenes: Illustrator Andrea Offermann and the cover of THE YIN-YANG SISTERS AND THE DRAGON FRIGHTFUL

Don't you love the gorgeous cover of The Yin-Yang Sisters and the Dragon Frightful? Written by Nancy Tupper Ling, this upcoming picture book is illustrated by my friend, Andrea Offermann, and it comes out from G.P. Putnam's Sons Books For Young Readers on Sept. 18, 2018. Andrea was kind enough to share the process behind the cover design process....

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Writing or illustrating a picture book? Browse my free Picture Book Creation Resource (including templates)

I've been gradually compiling my "How This Picture Book Was Created" resources, advice from the children's book writers and illustrators I've been interviewing, and the thumbnail sketch and layout templates I use for my own writing and illustrating process. Here's the link to my CREATING PICTURE BOOKS resource.

There is no charge. All I ask is that you pay it forward someday.

Three Questions with Jackie Azúa Kramer & Maral Sassouni, debut author & illustrator of THE GREEN UMBRELLA (NorthSouth Books/Simon & Schuster)

I'm delighted to be one of the stops on THE GREEN UMBRELLA blog tour! The story is fun and imaginative, with gorgeous art. The underlying message of sharing, generosity and looking out for one another is even more important these days. 

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Rescue dogs, debut picture books and advice for young writers: Interview with TOBY author/illustrator Hazel Mitchell

Congrats to my friend and agency sister Hazel Mitchell today on the launch of her debut solo picture book, TOBY, which comes out from Candlewick today. Even though I've never met the real-life Toby in person, I've been following Hazel's photos and posts about this sweet rescue dog via social media. And like many other Toby fans, I was genuinely distressed when I heard about Toby getting lost and I cheered out loud when he was finally found, safe. You can find out more about the real-life Toby's adventures in this post by Hazel.

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How does Penguin Random House senior art director Guiseppe Castellano find illustrators?

Aspiring children's book illustrators should check out Guiseppe Castellano's blog post, "The Search For Illustrators." Lots of useful and interesting info here about how to connect with people in the industry, whether or not you're an illustrator.

Free Picture Book Thumbnail Templates for Writers and Illustrators

With some sketches for picture book NAKED! (Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers, author Michael Ian Black)

When I was asked to illustrate my first picture book (I'm Bored) and I started researching picture book formats, I was confused. I knew a standard picture book had 32 pages, for example, but I discovered that these 32 pages might also include the title page and other non-story pages. Plus some books had the story beginning on the right-hand page while others started on the left. 

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