Vintage-Inspired Children's Books
I have loved children's books for as long as I can remember. I especially love the older ones, when the illustrations were drawn and painted by hand and you could see the artist in every page.
When I began writing my own books, I knew I wanted that same feeling. I work with illustrators who draw and paint by hand because I want my books to feel like the books I loved growing up, while still telling stories for children today.
What Vintage-Inspired Means to Me
As a child in the 60s, children's books meant the world to me. My sister and I would spend hours reading books together, pretending we were part of the story and allowing ourselves to live through the stories and illustrations we loved so much. Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty were my favorites.
While I loved the stories, it was always the illustrations that drew me in the most. I wanted to look like the pictures I saw when I grew up. Little did I know those small experiences I had so long ago would one day influence the style of illustrations I wanted for my own stories.
Through the years, I collected vintage children's books not only for their storytelling, but also for the way the illustrators brought those stories to life visually.
Bringing that Feeling into My Books
Brave Belle and the Dog Show by William "Bubba" Flint
The Flower at the Edge of the Garden by Katrina Howarth
Ziva the Great by Rebeckah Gerstner
I don't want all of my books to look the same. Every story is different, and I like finding the illustrator who feels right for that particular story.
The illustrators I work with all have their own style, but there is something I look for in each of them. I want to see the artist in the illustrations. I love seeing the lines, the brushstrokes, and even the little imperfections that show someone created it by hand.
Maybe that's because those are the kinds of illustrations I fell in love with as a child. And all these years later, I still do.
Stories with a Vintage Feel
I still believe there is something special about holding a children's book in your hands and getting lost in its pages. Those are some of my favorite memories from childhood.
When I create a book today, I hope a child will find something in the story or illustrations that stays with them, just as those books stayed with me.