Storytelling Art — Transforming Photographs into Fantasy Images

Five years ago I began creating children’s book illustrations with Photoshop and discovered a new genre — Storytelling Art.

That’s because I had no formal training as an artist, but I was computer savvy from my medical science research work. Photoshop fascinated me — it seemed the perfect tool for illustrating, especially because I can’t draw. I took photographs of my grandchildren to use in simple digital collages. Because my photographs were generally bad, I relied heavily on Photoshop for edits. Each photo took hours to correct.

Continue reading Storytelling Art at Story Quest.

Story Quest Books Report: What Was The Impact of Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2016?

Multicultural Children’s Book Day — founded by Valarie Budayr and Mia Wenjen — is a virtual online holiday dedicated to raising awareness about diverse, inclusive and multicultural kids’ books. To boost the event’s impact, Budayr and Wenjen teamed up with the three groups who screen children’s reading material — librarians, teachers and parents. As one of the three Platinum Sponsors of Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2016, I participated on behalf of my company, Story Quest Books, in all activities leading up to and including the big day — January 27.

Continue reading Story Quest Books – Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2016 at Story Quest.

Celebrate Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2016 with Sunbelievable by Jo Ann Kairys. I’m so excited to share this book review by Ronna Mandel at GoodReadsWithRonna as a way to celebrate Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2016. I’m honored to participate along with her and hundreds of amazing authors and bloggers!

GOOD READS WITH RONNA
IS A PROUD PARTICIPANT IN
MULTICULTURAL CHILDREN’S BOOK DAY 2016

FEATURING SUNBELIEVABLE FROM STORY QUEST BOOKS

Welcome to Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2016!

Continue reading Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2016 and Sunbelievable at Story Quest.

My Take on the Diversity Gap in Children’s Literature

I’m really excited to have a feature article in the February 2016 issue of Story Monster’s Ink – a terrific magazine all about children’s books. The topic coincides with Multicultural Children’s Book Day happening on January 27, 2016!

Continue reading Children of Color in Picture Books at Story Quest.

January 27 – Counting Down to Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2016.

For Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2016 (MCCBD) on January 27, 2016, Robert Liu-Trujillo designed this fantastic poster. Robert is a visual artist helping support Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2016 because his mission is the same. He wants his son to see himself in books.

As our nation grows more and more diverse, we need books to reflect children of many different cultures, traditions and race. All children want to see kids like themselves in stories they read at home and at school. Here’s why I’m so excited to participate as a Platinum Sponsor of the Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2016 online event: 10 Reasons To Read Diversely from Lee and Low Books:

1. The world is diverse, so why shouldn’t our books be?

Continue reading Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2016 at Story Quest.

I’m really excited about the MCCBD Classroom Reading Challenge: January 27, 2016! Sponsored in part by Junior Library Guild, the Reading Challenge is designed to help TEACHERS build their classroom libraries with diverse, inclusive and multicultural books. It’s a fantastic opportunity for schools, teachers and students!  Teachers read up to four multicultural books in their classroom and earn a FREE multicultural book from MCCBD. Having Junior Library Guild on board assures that the free book is a pre-screened, library-quality book that maps to Common Core. PLUS Junior Library Guild will donate up to 200 books for classrooms and teachers!

Continue reading MCCBD 2016 Reading Challenge at Story Quest.

It’s my 2nd MOST FAVORITE time of year. Well, nothing beats spring – but – a harvest moon, flocks of wild turkeys and vivid autumn landscapes make my imagination howl.

This season, though, I’m not sure I can manage an abundance of creativity. Hard to stir up a new story when my newly published book turned up damaged last week. First out of the box. FLAWED. Second out of the box. DEFECTIVE. What happened? What mistakes did I make? How can months of tedious planning and obsessing over every detail end up a nightmare? It did. It CAN.

Continue reading 5 Scary Mistakes Every Indie Author Can Avoid at Story Quest.

Ten Groundbreaking Books: 1920 – 1969

The debate about lack of diversity in children’s literature sparked my interest in a very personal way. Confessions of a white author – well, not really – anyone can see I’m not a person of color. Okay, that’s out of the way. So, why am I responding curiously to the diversity dearth facts? Because maybe, just maybe, the facts hit a raw nerve. Behind the data are stories of authors and illustrators whose picture books broke new ground for depicting children and families of color when the mainstream/buying public had little interest in multicultural content.

Continue reading Diversity in Children’s Picture Books [Infographic] at Story Quest.

A Collection of Current 2015 Data from Internet Marketing Experts

While waiting for my new children’s book, I Want Cake! to come off press (any day), I’m re-directing exaggerated anticipation and nervous energy into a sure-fire distraction — social media. I don’t mean to diminish social media timeliness or importance. Given a choice, I’d prefer diving into the next book and creating new illustrations. So I started the past week somewhat reluctantly diving into Twitter instead. Much to my surprise, I was hooked.

Then I dug deeper to understand more about best practices and opportunities for authors and marketers. 

Continue reading 8 Twitter Stats You Should Know and Use at Story Quest.

I love this article by Lee and Low Books. The list of 10 reasons makes me smile like the child in the image because I always loved picture books. But the only kids of color in those books were cartoon figures or animal representations of multicultural kids. My family grew to be large and diverse, with many young voracious readers. Finding books with children that look like them has been a challenge. I’m happy to see the the trend changing over the past few years — thanks in part to publishers like Lee and Low.

“When we talk about reading diversely, the conversation often focuses on representation and social justice: making sure that our books don’t reinforce inequality by stereotyping, marginalizing, or erasing groups of people. 

Continue reading 10 Reasons to Read Diversely at Story Quest.

Multicultural Diversity in Children’s Books Spurs Sales in 2015

Excellent news for the children’s book industry and multicultural diversity in kids’ books was revealed at a Nielsen Summit held in September 2015 in New York. Jonathan Nowell, president of Nielsen Book, shared the following encouraging statistics:

• Children’s book sales are up 12.6% in the US for the period between January 2014 and September 2015.
• 11 of the 20 best-selling books in the US are children’s titles.
• Print sales in the juvenile market have grown 40% in the last decade, with 5% of that market share growth in the last three years.

Continue reading Multicultural Diversity in Children’s Books at Story Quest.

Parents, teachers and librarians concerned about the lack of diversity in children’s books will welcome I Want Cake! This intergenerational picture book featuring three real-life siblings as they venture through their real-life multicultural neighborhood looking for cake for breakfast. It will be released November 12, 2015, by Story Quest Books. The story, for children ages […]

The post Introducing I Want Cake! A Children’s Picture Book appeared first on Story Quest.

I’m so excited that Story Quest Books is now a proud sponsor of the Multicultural Children’s Book Day (MCCBD) Event – January 27, 2016.   About Multicultural Children’s Book Day (MCCBD) “Our mission is to not only raise awareness for the kid’s books that celebrate diversity, but to get more of these of books into […]

The post Multicultural Children’s Book Day and Story Quest Books Celebrate Diversity – January 27, 2016 appeared first on Story Quest.

Have you seen stats about the diversity gap in children’s books? They caught my attention while illustrating my new picture book featuring multicultural children – I Want Cake! Because the kids are part of my nuclear family, I didn’t give much thought to cultural identity issues, but focused on creating a fun story that could be […]

The post Diversity in Children’s Books – Missing in Plain Sight 8 Key Facts for Authors, Illustrators, Publishers, Parents, Teachers and Librarians appeared first on Story Quest.

Manalapan, N.J., Sept. 8, 2015 — Parents, teachers and librarians concerned about the lack of diversity in children’s books will welcome “I Want Cake!,” an intergenerational picture book featuring three precocious siblings as they venture through their multicultural neighborhood looking for cake for breakfast. It will be released November 1 by Story Quest Books. Jo Ann Kairys […]

The post New Jersey Diversity Expert’s Picture Book for Children Combines a Sweet Cross-Cultural Adventure with Eye-popping Illustrations appeared first on Story Quest.

Customizabooks Launches The Great Illustrator Kickstarter Project For Kids And Writers  

The Great Illustrator Kickstarter Project is well on its way to achieving funding goals! Create your own children’s book app using amazing illustrators and one-of-a-kind children’s customizable book app from Customizabooks. Customizabooks LLC today announced that it has launched a Kickstarter project called The Great Illustrator Project. The Great Illustrator Project features a group of 42 of the best children’s illustrators, who will create artwork for the upcoming Blackfish Story Creator App. I’m thrilled to be a featured illustrator in the project!

Contibutors to The Great Illustrator Kickstarter Project will be able to use ALL of the developed artwork in creating and distributing their own stories. The app will be easy to use, yet powerful, as it is built on the most sophisticated book engine on the market. Kids and adults alike can easily place backgrounds, characters, text, animations, and other book elements within the app. 

The Great Illustrator Project (#TGIP) represents an innovative approach to the flourishing crowdfunding movement. In many Kickstarter projects, when you pledge money you get a physical thing (a water bottle, a watch, etc). Then, it doesn’t matter how much the project raises above the minimum – whether it is $500 or $500,000, you still just get your item. In contrast, TGIP is focusing on incremental growth, known in the community as Stretch Goals, particularly where each person who pledges is contributing to the rewards that everyone else receives. The power of this concept applies to other crowdfunded projects such as video games or movies, where the end result is better for everyone, the more money that is raised. However, TGIP is the first Kickstarter project where creating incremental illustrations to be used by contributors, is the main focus from the beginning.

“The Great Illustrator Project is a really exciting idea,” said Tom Anderson, Managing Partner. “The project becomes more and more powerful, as we raise more money. Kids will get a fun app that allows them to unleash their creativity while encouraging writing, reading, and education. Parents and kids can create professional looking bedtime stories together. As the project grows and our image library gets bigger, the Blackfish Story Creator App will become a multi-platform tool for authors to create and distribute their books. I think there is a huge unmet demand for an easy to use app with a large amount of quality art for the large and rapidly growing self-publishing market. We can’t all be great artists, but everyone has a story to tell!”

Pledges start at $1.00! I’m so pleased to be a featured illustrator in the project! Details can be found at:
http://www.customizabooks.com/TGIP/tgip.php

About Customizabooks:Customizabooks develops, licenses, and publishes interactive digital books. Blackfish Children’s Books is a free app to download and read Customizabooks’ books. For more information visit:
http://www.customizabooks.com
http://www.facebook.com/customizabooks
http://www.twitter.com/customizabooks
http://www.pinterest.com/customizabooks
http://www.youtube.com/tomlucient

Read more about Customizabooks LLC Launches Kickstarter Project For Kids And Writers – BWWBooksWorld by books.broadwayworld.com. Article reprinted from BWW Books World.com

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Create Your Own Children’s Book App: The Great Illustrators Project

I’m excited to tell you about one of the most inventive new ways to create your own Children’s Book App through The Great Illustrators Project! Blackfish Children’s Books (BCB) has created more than a digital platform. It’s a storytelling experience! Push a button and watch the graphics, text, narration, sounds, music and animations come to life. All the features are customizable, so adults and children can easily transform each page with different characters, illustrations and text. Using their Customizabooks engine, BCB works with authors, illustrators and publishers to create stunning, one-of-a-kind interactive books. 

What is the Kickstarter Great Illustrators Project (TGIP)?

Imagine being able to create your own children’s book app using artwork from professional illustrators! Take a look at the thumbnails below! Tom Anderson, the cofounder of Blackfish Children’s Books, has developed a groundbreaking new concept called The Great Illustrators Project (TGIP) www.customizabooks.com/TGIP/tgip.php.  You and your children can access the library of superb images—characters and backgrounds—to craft a digital book unlike any other. You can even make your app work on any mobile device. The project’s artists include nationally acclaimed, award-winning illustrators. TGIP goes live Tuesday, May 14th and lasts 41 days. 

•    The way Kickstarter works is that you get huge amount of value/”rewards” for a relatively small pledge. Also, the more the project grows, the more everyone benefits as more artwork is created. Pledges start at $1.00. If the project seems interesting to you, a $25 pledge is the heart of TGIP. Supporting the project early would be great ~ the key to success is gaining momentum quickly. 

•    If you do pledge, please keep track of my Artist Code [2125] (or just ask me for it again later). At the end of the project, you’ll receive an email asking for the code, and your pledge will help me create illustrations for the Story Creator app. There’s lots of great info about TGIP and you’ll see my illustrations and bio on the website: www.customizabooks.com/TGIP/tgip.php. 

Please Spread the Word!

I would love your help spreading the word (links below). I think this could get really big and become very exciting for everyone. Some of the main groups we’re targeting are parents, writers, teachers, and do-it-yourself crafters.

https://www.facebook.com/events/649340751758564/ 

Twitter.com/customizabooks

Pinterest.com/customizabooks

Please visit www.customizabooks.com/TGIP/tgip.php on May 14th to participate. The project lasts 41 days. Thanks so much!

The post Create Your Own Children’s Book App: The Great Illustrators Project appeared first on Story Quest Children's Books.

Children’s Picture Book: I Want Cake! ~ The Miss-Adventures of YaYa and Leen

After months of creating and illustrating, I’m almost ready to launch my new children’s picture book! My first book, Sunbelievable, took several years to produce, but I Want Cake! emerged in under 1 year.

Why so much less time? With Sunbelievable, I had to learn not just how to write a children’s book, but how to illustrate, produce, publish and promote. As a first-time, independently published author/illustrator, every task demands new knowledge and skills. I quickly became the master of mistakes—ones I shared in a guest article written for a wonderful blog: The Creative Penn: Thoughts on Writing, Publishing and Book Marketing.

The key points in 5 Essential Tips for Creating a Children’s Book apply just as much now as they did then, if not more so!

• Don’t take writing skills for granted.
• Develop a meaningful message.
• Can you sum up the message in a short sentence?
• Work with professionals on illustrations.
• Work with a professional children’s book designer.

When I wrote this article, Sunbelievable hadn’t yet earned 7 national children’s book awards, including Mom’s Choice Gold—nor did I dream it ever would. Each award encouraged my work on I Want Cake! Not only did I avoid unnecessary mistakes, but discovered a new passion . . . illustrating!

Much to my surprise, many of the awards recognize the illustration style—blending real photographs with digitally manipulated backgrounds. The combination produces rich visual imagery that makes images “pop.” More recently, I learned about magic realism—a style of painting where “sharply rendered and detailed elements, both in the foreground and background, are used to develop an air of mystery or ambiguity.” 

To learn more about magic realism, I invite you to visit my website: EasyPhotoshopMagic.com where I offer webinars, tutorials and live trainings. You’ll discover essential tips and tricks I used to create Sunbelievable and I Want Cake!: techniques you can use for any type of images, including, book illustration design, social media, and so much more!

Please stay tuned for more updates on my new children’s picture book:  I Want Cake! ~ The Miss-Adventures of YaYa and Leen.

The post Children’s Picture Book – I Want Cake! appeared first on Story Quest Children's Books.

Wondering How to Create Your Own Illustrations?

With a few technical tools, you can create illustrations for picture books, social media banners, blog posts, and much more! Use your own photographs to construct your own, one-of-a-kind images.

Take the image on the left, for example. Change colors, shapes and size. Give it a twirl. Blend with other objects for a digital art montage. The possibilities are endless!

I began making picture books several years ago. Using Photoshop’s digital image editing software, I learned simple techniques at first. I read lots of how-to books, watched online tutorials and experimented with digital drawing tools. My learning curve was steep, but the results steadily improved. I was, and still am, totally hooked.

Much to my surprise, my first picture book – Sunbelievable – earned multiple awards for illustration. My confidence grew, and I continue to learn and experiment.

What do you need to get started? Here are 6 suggestions:

1. Digital editing software. MACs and PCs offer built-in programs with editing capabilities. I use a stand-alone product—Adobe Photoshop—the industry powerhouse. The choice depends on many factors, including how much you want to “tweak” or edit your work, whether you intend to create images for professional illustrations, graphic design, and/or personal use.
2. Time to play with images. Starting from scratch or revising takes time. With editing tools at your fingertips, you may stumble upon a new technique by accident, or combine new objects and photos into a new scene. Then, start all over again!
3. Access to free stuff. Numerous websites offer free tools for your digital canvas—brushes, patterns, vector shapes, objects, photos. Expanding your “paint box” with free online tools is a treasure hunt, with wonderful goodies to enhance your images. Check out Brusheezy.com for starters.
4. Access to paid stuff. There are equally numerous websites offering digital tools by subscription and/or per download. Shutterstock.com and iStockPhoto offer hundreds of great quality images for your illustrations.
5. High-quality, low-cost images, photos and illustrations can also be found at GraphicLeftovers and PhotoDune – super prices for large images!
6. Watch online tutorials. Many are free and readily available: tvAdobe.com and Topaz Labs webinars are a few examples of great learning opportunities.

Many people ask how to create the style of my illustrations. Thanks to all the requests, I’m now offering online, live classes where I demonstrate step-by-step techniques. Whether you’re a novice or advanced Photoshop user, you’ll learn something new. I’m passionate about teaching and helping others achieve fantastic results! For more detailed information, please visit: storyquestbooks.com/digital-design-illustration-webinars/

What are you most interested in learning? What topics would you like to focus on? I’d love to hear your questions, comments and ideas!

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Easily Create Your Own Children’s Book App Features – Choose an App and Customize It!

* Want to add your own features to a children’s book app? Select your own music? Narrate with your own voice and language? Even add special names and characters to delight young readers?

* Easily customize children’s book apps on your favorite mobile devices!

* Sound interesting? Read on . . .

One-of-a-kind customizable technology is now at your fingertips! Bring new levels of  fun and learning to your young readers’ experience. I’ve been lucky enough to team up with Blackfish Children’s Books and Customizabooks – a pioneer in developing innovative technologies and games.

We’ve created a fully customizable book app version of my award-winning book, Sunbelievable. Every page is filled with animation and the most advanced interactivity in today’s children’s book app market.

Take a look! Preview all the special features of customizable Sunbelievable in this short video!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Download the Sunbelievable Children’s Book App from: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/sunbelievable/id578391227?ls=1&mt=8.

Enjoy our special app launch sale!  Only $.99 from 11/29/2012 – 12/1/2012. 

Please visit the Blackfish Children’s Book App Store today! You’ll be amazed and delighted. Customize an app for your children, friends and family – near and far. Have fun making the app your own special book!

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The post New Customizable Children’s Book Apps! appeared first on Story Quest Children's Books.

Ever wonder how to make a children’s picture book without hiring an expensive illustrator?

In the past year, my first picture book, Sunbelievable, earned 6 top awards for story and illustrations. No one is more surprised than I am! Why? Because I have no formal art instruction/training. None! So how did this happen? And can it happen for you? Absolutely!

Draft Illustration from Jo Ann’s new book: I Want Cake!

I learned – and always am learning – how to create digital art using Photoshop. It started as a hobby. Like a typical grandma, I took thousands of photos of the new kids. Then I started making little picture books for them using online photo book company software. I wrote short stories to accompany the photos. To adorn the books, I discovered online scrapbook tools – purchasable decorative items for digital collages. Then I was totally hooked. 

It took me 3 years to create the images in Sunbelievable. Now I’m working on my next book, “I Want Cake!” The key illustrations – 10 full story pages plus the extra info pages – will take less than 3 months. I’ve more than quadrupled my speed, but most importantly, I’ve learned to work more efficiently AND creatively. Many authors now ask me how to replicate the process. Truth is, with today’s amazing digital software, anyone can make beautiful picture books. 

But if you search the children’s book sections, you most likely won’t find illustrations created solely with digital art. If you’re wondering how to create your own illustrations, read on.

Children’s Book Illustrating – Killer Simple Award-Winning Ideas for Authors

• Download a free trial of digital art software. I started with Photoshop Elements and graduated to full Photoshop (now using Photoshop CS6). Play around with it. See if it’s something that might spark your creativity. There are countless free tutorials to help get you started. 

• Do an Internet search for “digital scrapbook elements.” You’ll readily find dozens of websites offering artistic images to incorporate into your illustrations. Read the terms and license note to avoid copyright infringement. Some sites offer free “elements” with no restrictions on usage. Some offer commercial usage for an additional fee. 

• Take lots of photos. I use real photos of my grandchildren along with photos of places and just about anything to transform with digital art. You own your photos. Simple! But again, take care that any image you use for your own artwork is copyright free. Unlikely that anyone might recognize an oak tree in a field or a particular cloud.

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Welcome to Day #6 of Bloggers Read Across the Globe (BRAG) — Promoting Children’s Literacy and Reading

Children’s Literacy Headline: On tests involving 4,500 to 10,000 students in 43 countries, half of the girls said they read for at least thirty minutes a day, compared with less than one-third of the boys. United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO 2009)

Today I have the pleasure of being guested hosted by Paula Rivas at Paula’s Reading Chair. In “Bloggers Read Across the Globe (BRAG) — Children’s Reading and Literacy Resources,” I’ve gathered information for you about great websites and bloggers dedicated to raising awareness about children’s literacy. Paula’s blog is a lively and entertaining hub for information about children and reading. Head on over to Paula’s Reading Chair for all the details!!

Paula’s Reading Chair is owned and operated by Paula, a young mom of two boys and wife to a “wonderfully supporting man.” Paula’s love for books is what conceived the idea of Paula’s Reading Chair. Reading to her children nightly in their “reading chair” gave Paula the idea of a place where parents can review children’s books and purchase them for their children! Paula takes the guesswork out of deciding what book to purchase for your child. Her blog is a sounding board where parents can discuss children’s books, parenting, and more. 

Paula also works as a Kindergarten Teacher’s Aide at a local school and attends University of Phoenix where she is obtaining a Master’s Degree in Elementary Education. Being in the education field, Paula recognizes the need of children’s books and reading programs for children. That is why Paula’s Reading Chair’s focus is to promote literacy so that every child across the globe has at least one book in their home. You can help us raise literacy awareness by donating funds to Paula’s Reading Chair to be used to purchase books for children in adoption/foster care, neighborhood schools, and children’s hospitals. You may also donate unwanted books.

What is Bloggers Read Across the Globe (BRAG)?

Bloggers Read Across the Globe (BRAG) is a new initiative founded by children’s book author, Jo Ann Kairys, to bring attention to children’s reading and literacy issues. A professional medical writer and former high school English teacher, Jo Ann was inspired by the many well-established programs and resources available to parents and educators about raising young readers. What makes BRAG different?

Bloggers love to communicate . . . but what would we do without readers? BRAG brings together a diverse community of children’s book authors, parents, literacy specialists, and book marketing experts who share a common theme — helping spread information about raising kids who love to read. BRAG is our way of joining the conversation and adding new insights and perspectives about children’s reading and literacy.

[...] Ways to Integrate Social Media On Your Website7 Easy Ways to Increase Your Facebook Pages EdgeRank6 Easy Ways to Make Blogs Sparkle — Story Quest Children's Books #logo .site-title, #logo .site-description { display:block; } body [...]

Jo Ann, your accomplishments continue to amaze me. So glad to know you and share in your success. Congratulations on this and all other awards. So proud of you.

WOO HOO!!! Is this my life?

Just received 2 First Place 2102 Purple Dragonfly Awards for Sunbelievable. That’s 6 national awards for 2012. But who’s counting!

Purple Dragonfly Book Awards
Book Contest for Children’s Books

The Purple Dragonfly Book Awards honor published authors of children’s literature – fiction and nonfiction – with 35 distinct subject categories. A Purple Dragonfly seal on your book’s cover tells parents they’re giving their children the very best in reading excellence. Books entered in this contest can appeal to children of any age. We are looking for stories that inspire, inform, teach or entertain.

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