Is so clear to me, and I was glad to see it come though for people who didn’tĪlready know all about him. Love thinking about them hunting and flying above us while we sleep. Wonderful things, it’s hard to name just one. RY: Best thing, in your opinion, about owls? Too much fun creating all of the specific donuts for the chapter headers! RY: What’s your favorite interior detail? We asked that Kelsey include the following Give them a couple of prompts, but we also really want to see what they pullįrom the story on their own. There is anything that absolutely must be shown on the front cover. Whimsical but also had a touch of mystery to them, so perfect for thisĬover ideas to an illustrator, we usually give them a few specifics, like if The pieces in her portfolio that initially caught my eye were Most importantly, her work had the right energy and style that we were lookingįor here.

It’s always fun to hire someone locally! But RY: What in Kelsey’s work made her feel perfect for this projectĪnd what do you ask for in the first phase of jacket sketches? The tone, and that’s what really drives how I handle the interior. Really start to think about the other pieces of the book. I like to see the illustrator’s vision for the cover before I

I wonder if you have a vision for the synergy between the jacketĪnd interior design before an illustrator is even chosen, or is that something youĮverything starts to come together once we have initial sketches from the There’s darkness and mystery on the cover, but when you open up the book, it’sįilled with sprinkles and donuts, so you can taste the sweetness in the story Work together to give the reader a really complete picture of the story’s tone. Robin Yardi: What I love about the finished cover and design for the book is that they Illustration, but every cover begins with a book designer, so I’ll start with Today is all about the cover reveal and Kelsey’s outstanding Set out to find the culprits, facing fears that have followed her since her Help from her friends-and from Alfred, the stuffy but good-hearted owl-she’ll One night, Mattie looks out to see suspicious dumping taking place nearby. Roadside donut shop in Big Sur, California. Mattie Waters loses her mother, she goes to live with her aunt, the owner of a Is a wild California mystery full of feathers, sprinkles, and more. To celebrate the cover reveal of Owl’s Outstanding Donuts, I’m excited to talk to Lerner designer Emily Harris and illustrator Kelsey King about their creative process here on the Lerner blog! Today’s guest post is by Robin Yardi, author of Owl’s Outstanding Donuts.

Owl's Outstanding Donuts by Robin Yardi