Animal artwork by Vincenti from Tanzania "My favorite animal is the lion (Simba in Swahili) because its the king of beasts and it has an awesome mane. In art class, I learned how to paint pictures more realistically by blending colors. I used to draw all the time when I was younger but its knowing how to paint that can make a picture look real. It feels amazing that our work will be in the book and I hope they feel amazed by our talents and that its interesting for them!" "My favorite African animal to paint is a lion because it’s so beautiful and easy for me to draw (I love tigers for the same reason!). In art class, I have learned carefulness and neatness and to take your time. I feel really good and proud to know that our talent will be known across the world and I hope kids who read the book will get more drawing skills and believe in themselves--they can also do it!" "My favorite animal to paint is the horse because of the way it moves. I love to paint the hair moving as it runs, but for African animals my favorite is the elephant. I have learned a lot in art class like how to mix different colors but also how to make sure that the animal is in the same position in the painting as it is in the photo you work from. Maybe its running, or walking or just standing, but you have to make sure you are showing those movements and positions. I feel good about my art being featured in a children’s book so that our art can be known to so many children and they can see and learn from us. I hope American kids will get some knowledge about different animals, what they look like, the way they run and eat and do so many things and also learn to believe in themselves that they can do it and do better!" "My favorite animal is the black panther because they have good hunting skills and I love the movie Black Panther. In art class, I leaned that art is part of my talents, its something I hadn’t really tried before. It feels really great that my work is included in the book and I hope kids everywhere will enjoy it. I hope they will be good artists and learn that art is a good talent to have." (C) Sleeping Bear Press, 2020 "My favorite animal to paint is the cheetah because it is so fast. In art class, I learned how to paint and blend the colors, but I love the idea of being in the book because I could be a famous artist! I hope that kids in America will be proud of our talent and want to paint just like us" "My favorite animal is the cheetah. This is because from my childhood I used to hear about its speed, where it is the fastest animal in the world. In art class, I have learned how to sketch and make the drawing proportional without using the grid method. I learned painting and also putting very important details. I also learned how to use different kind of brushes, mixing colors and coming up with different colors. It makes me feel very good to know that my art is being featured in a children's book. I am really proud of that! I really hope American kids will get inspired by the book, feeling enjoyment when reading about African wild animals. And for those who are talented in art, I hope they will get inspired." "My favorite animal to paint is the cheetah because I love the shape of the body and carefully painting the spots. In art class, I have learned to never give up if the picture looks bad--keep going and it will eventually be all right. I have also learned not to get too excited before you finish your picture because you can mess up the picture. I feel really great that I am in the book and I hope American kids will be excited about it. I hope they will notice that art is a great skill that you can learn." "I love to paint elephants on sunsets, impalas and cheetahs. These animals are fun for me to draw and paint. In art class, we worked on doing reflections in the water of animals as they walk along and that was really hard. It feels wonderful to be included in the book and I hope all other kids will like it!" The ten young people interviewed here contributed artwork published in LIONS & CHEETAHS & RHINOS! OH MY!, written by Moira Donohue and John Platt, and published by Sleeping Bear Press. When painting the animal portraits found in the book, they were from 10 to 23 years old and lived in Tanzania, Kenya, and Malawi. They learned how to draw, paint and depict African wildlife from professional artists volunteering with How To Draw A Lion, an art-based education program founded by John Platt, an award-winning New York based artist. How to Draw a Lion is a nonprofit with low overhead that raises funds by hosting art shows with the children's art. Some of the young artists in the program, like Samuel, have gone on to become professional art instructors themselves. Find out more at drawalion.com. "A successful combination of factual prose and appealing artwork."Win a chance to receive a signed copy of this book by leaving a comment anytime during the party's duration! All images used with permission of Sleeping Bear Press
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Animal artwork by Yahani from Tanzania When you first read John and Moira’s manuscript for LIONS & CHEETAHS & RHINOS OH MY!, why did you fall in love with it? I have always loved animals, so it was very easy for me to enjoy this book. The text is fun and has both a sense of humor and a sense of adventure while sharing factual valuable information about the animals. Why did you also fall in love with the idea that the book would be illustrated by children living in the sub-Saharan parts of Africa? I thought this book was a wonderful opportunity to be able to give these children some way to be recognized for their accomplishments. The book is also a great way for children in the United States to relate to children in other parts of the world. Were there any particular challenges during this book’s creation? This book was a very different process from most books I work on, so that was an interesting change for me. John gathered all the art, the permissions, and handled getting the art scanned. My biggest challenge was taking paintings by many children and creating a cohesive looking book. A book needs to feel like a single thing. I took hints from where the children live and from the wildlife they depicted. That lead me to choose patterns that echo the animals depicted and the environment of the African countries the children reside in. I also took hints from the children’s paintings and from some of John’s paintings to determine the color palette I worked with. How did you feel when the kids' artwork started coming in? I was pleased. The paintings by these children are quite accomplished. I thought they were beautiful and deserved a very special presentation in the book. Once I started putting things together, I had a lot of fun with the design of the book. What do you love about the final product and why do you hope kids here in the U.S. will read it? I am pleased with the cheerfulness of the book. And I love the photographs of the children on the back of the book. I think children in the U.S. will be fascinated that these are paintings done by children like them and will want to try drawing a lion, or they can try drawing the wildlife they see near their homes, or even their own pet. Felicia Macheske is a book designer, art director and fine artist. She has been designing and art directing books at Sleeping Bear Press for twenty years. She also works on series book design for several other imprints for Cherry Lake Publishing. Felicia received her Master of Fine Arts degree from Arizona State University specializing in drawing. She continues to paint, draw, and experiment with mosaics in her free time. Win a chance to receive a signed copy of this book by leaving a comment anytime during the party's duration! Ten African animals, including lions, zebras, giraffes, and elephants, are brought to life in colorful artwork, accompanied by fun nature facts. Written by John Platt and Moira Rose Donohue, each animal portrait is painted by a student from the How to Draw a Lion program. Established in 2018 by New York artist John Platt, How to Draw a Lion is a nonprofit art education program that provides art classes for children in sub-Saharan Africa (Sleeping Bear Press, August 15, 2020).A successful combination of factual prose and appealing artwork." |
About MeI am a spinner of children's yarns, a weaver of nonfiction, and a forever-learner enrolled in the Institute of Imaginative Thinking. My kidlit work has appeared on the pages of Cricket, Spider, and Ladybug. As a work-for-hire author, I've written projects for Scholastic, Lerner, Capstone, Little, Brown and other educational publishers. My middle-grade, MAMA'S CHICKEN & DUMPLINGS, was published by Margaret Ferguson Books, August 2024. I've been an SCBWI member since 2005, and a Children's Book Guild of Washington D.C. member since 2022, and am represented by Kelly Dyksterhouse of The Tobias Literary Agency. Copying, reposting, or otherwise republishing anything on this blog without permission is strictly prohibited.
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