Tags
CODY, Doll Bones, Eliza Wheeler, Jen Rofe, John Ronald's Dragons: The Story of J.R.R. Tolkien, Miss Maple's Seeds, Sendak Fellow, Tell Me A Tattoo Story, The Encyclopedia of Writing and, The Encyclopedia of Writing and Illustrating Children's Books, Wherever You Go, Writing with Pictures
Eliza Wheeler is the author and illustrator of Miss Maple’s Seeds, which debuted on the New York Times’ bestseller list. She also is the illustrator of several books, including Alison McGhee’s Tell Me A Tattoo Story, Pat Zietlow Miller’s Wherever You Go, and Holly Black’s Newbery Honor-winning Doll Bones.
Wheeler will be an illustration contest judge at SCBWI’s Writers & Illustrators Day on Feb. 25.
Erlina Vasconcellos: Congratulations on being named a 2017 Sendak Fellow! What will you work on during the retreat?
Eliza Wheeler: Thank you so much. I’ll be working solely on developing my own projects; a mixture of illustrating and writing. My second book will probably be my main focus, which is about my grandma’s childhood. But I’m also going to bring all the other littler story ideas I have on the shelf just in case inspiration strikes in a way that’s different than what I expect. I’m leaving it as open as I can. Continue reading
I mainly work in visual storytelling, which is a fancy way of saying I like to draw pictures that tell a story. Throughout the years, this has meant working in animation, editorial, and now, children’s books. Drawing and writing for kids is something I’ve always wanted to do, because when I was a kid, I loved stories and movies and books, but I wanted more of them to look like me (rather selfishly, I admit). This is a pretty common thread amongst a lot of creators and storytellers I meet. We become artists so we can add to the mix and enrich the narrative with our perspectives and experiences and dreams. 
Lori Nichols
I find my creative juices flow better when I have a fair amount of playtime. Right now, we are doing a kitchen renovation. Walls are being demolished and floors ripped up. My world has been turned upside down, so creative juices are not flowing– at least not until yesterday when I took a sharpie and started drawing on the exposed ceiling rafters and unfinished walls. That helped some.
Prolific illustrator John Nez shares with us about the tools he uses, why life as a working illustrator really is work, how to be your own best advocate, and how to keep that “little mouse of creative happiness” alive and thriving through it all. Read on for some great insight, tips, and illustrative goodness!
Debbie Ridpath Ohi writes and illustrates books for young people in Toronto, Canada. Her first solo picture book, Where Are My Books?, debuted from Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers in 2015. Her illustrations appear in picture books by Michael Ian Black and in Judy Blume chapter books and middle grade reissues, 
Kite Tales 