CBP Week 1 & Amazing Books
Week 1 of CBP is all about Intros and basics of Children’s books along with some homework to analyze children’s books.
Instructor Intros were made on Galentine’s Day (Feb 13, 2025). Each instructor gave a brief bio and background as well as shared a few books they each illustrated. They briefly went over the course synopsis and answered a few questions.
The first few modules discussed the instructor’s favorite picture books, (which I loved, I saved most of the books to my Amazon wishlist), types of illustrated books, Anatomy of a children’s book (number of pages, formatting, etc) and a very detailed chart of the journey of a children’s book which included 5 key roles: Author, Agent Illustrator, Editor, Art Director.
That last portion was incredibly eye-opening for me. I’ve never heard anyone breaking down the process that much.
Homework
Our assignment is to analyze 3 children’s books (Which is referred to as our “Amazing Books” list), answer a few questions about each one and draw/sketch imitations of a few characters, props, and spreads from each book.
I may or may not do 4 books. But with out further ado, here is the written portion of my homework:
Book 1: The Rabbit Listened by Cori Doerrfeld
Publisher: Penguin Random House
What was the main reason reason you liked this book?
Initially I fell in love with the clean design. Lot’s of breathing room and negative space (hello, I’m a graphic designer). But the main reason I LOVE this book is the social emotional learning that it teaches and that it’s very relatable to any one (all humans) who experience any degree of failure, grief or loss. It’s so beautiful, touching and heartfelt, but also super easy for a small child to digest.
Do other books by this illustrator and writer resonate with you in the same way?
I haven’t read the other books by this illustrator, but it seems like most of the books that are written and illustrated by Cori are all more minimally styled with more negative space and cleaner typography (my kind of styling and creative choice), especially her more recent books. I could see myself picking up ‘Goodbye, Friend! Hello.’, Friend, ‘Wild Baby’, ‘That’s Life’, and ‘Ready to Soar’.
How much does the text contribute to the success of the book (equally, more or less than the illustration)?
I think for this book it’s equal. The first half of the book is definitely carried by the illustrations. You can easily interpret the message with out the text. I think that’s because there is a animal that represents each emotion. But when Taylor experiences the same emotions one by one as each animal, it’s a little trickier to decipher with out the text. You kind of have to pay attention a little more to Taylor’s body language and the reaction of the rabbit. Where as before you had a character representing each emotion. A part of me feels like that was intentional.
What’s one thing you would change to make the book better? (single page, or ending, etc.)?
The color lover in me REALLY wants to add some color. Maybe to the blocks or some sort of background, halo or shadows that are colored. Maybe a different colored shadow for each animal/emotion so the reader could see how Taylor’s feeling matched the animals.
Also the end pages. The attacking crows/birds doesn’t feel intentional. I feel like they could’ve made a really cool pattern with the animals or Taylor’s blocks. The ghostly birds actually kinda feel ominous like a reminder that failure and grief are inevitable. But maybe that is the message they wanted to convey, But I think there are more clever and kid-friendly ways to convey that.
Book 2: Cinderella–With Dogs! by Linda Bailey, Illustrated by Freya Hartas
Publisher: Penguin Random House
What was the main reason reason you liked this book?
To be honest, I judged this book by its cover. Hard core. I thought, maybe it could be cute, or it’s super tacky. We aren’t really pet or dog people, so I had my doubts about how interested I would be in this book, but my daughter is definitely in her puppy dog play pretend era.
There was a season where we read this book almost every night and I found myself really enjoying my narration job and appreciating the illustration style and how well it matches the silly-ness of the text.
I love this book because the story goes off the beaten path of your traditional Cinderella story. I appreciate pretty much any Cinderella story, but this one had me laughing out loud when Cinderella ends up with a fairy DOGmother instead of a Godmother. The story is more down-to-earth, practical, teaches a far better lesson than falling for the first prince that proposes to you.
I also like this book because her style, though I don’t doubt that it’s difficult, I look at it and think this is a style I am falling in love with and I could see myself drawing a similar style.
In addition I love that you can reread this book and find something new every time. There are a lot of little details with some jealous cats and so many different breeds of dogs.
Do other books by this illustrator and writer resonate with you in the same way?
I haven’t read the other books by this illustrator, but her other books seem to be more styled towards nature and natural tones. Mossy greens and earthy vibes. I don’t think this book is even listed on her website anymore. It might have been an early project.
How much does the text contribute to the success of the book (equally, more or less than the illustration)?
This one is kind of tricky. I think the text contributes more to the story than the illustrations. But the illustrations really add character and charm to the book. The illustrations set a strong cute, kinda silly and goofy sort of tone for this book.
What’s one thing you would change to make the book better? (single page, or ending, etc.)?
This was a freebie book for my daughter from the Dolly Parton Imagination Library. I do wish I could see the full hardcover book with end pages, cover art and jacket.
I'm not a huge fan of the back cover. I think that could’ve had a more thoughtful design. It feels like it was thrown together. There should be some hierarchy with the text on the back and, I see what they were trying to accomplish with the white oval, but it was executed poorly.
I also take issue with some of the shading and lighting techniques. But that’s a minor detail.
I’m such a design snob/critic. 😅
Book 3: Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney, Illustrated by Anita Jeram
Publisher: Candlewick Press
What was the main reason reason you liked this book?
I love this book because it’s (A) nostalgic and (B) I’m obsessed with Anita Jeram’s watercolor technique. It is so lovely. The line work has a life of it’s own. There something about inked art. It feels more like a story by itself versus the chalk/ charcoal/ paintbrush/ bristled line art. And of course, the message and theme from the story is so precious.
Do other books by this illustrator and writer resonate with you in the same way?
A couple of the spin-offs and sequels from this book resonate with me pretty closely. Not as much as this one, but they are close.
How much does the text contribute to the success of the book (equally, more or less than the illustration)?
I think it’s equal. I have this book in board book format, so I’m not sure if there is more text in the hardcover version, but I like the combination of simple text and illustration. I think they go well together.
What’s one thing you would change to make the book better? (single page, or ending, etc.)?
I wish I had the full hardcover version.
There are some minor lay out issues I have with the placement of some illustrations and text. And I would love to have illustrations on the inside cover where the publishing details were printed. it’s just a solid blue background. I think a watercolor texture would’ve been nice or a cute illustration of Little Nutbrown Hair fast asleep.
Book 4: Three Little Words by Amy Novesky, Illustrated by Grace Lee
Publisher: Disney Press
What was the main reason reason you liked this book?
I am crazy in love with the art style. Grace Lee is a magical wizard with watercolor. I’m fairly certain it was all rendered digitally and I’m mesmerized! The colors are also so stunning and how everything flows so seamlessly with how the color fades in and out for text placement. And the scale between Destiny and Dory and the reef is beautiful hierarchy placement.
Do other books by this illustrator and writer resonate with you in the same way?
No. Her other books are primarily based Sophia the First and there is one other book that kinda sorta has this similar style, but the watercolor vibe isn’t as noticeable.
How much does the text contribute to the success of the book (equally, more or less than the illustration)?
They alter the scale of the text and even clarity/blur and opacity for some spreads. So there is an element of graphic design intermingling with the illustrations. There is a part of me that almost wonders if the text was made or altered after the illustrations, because the illustrations are so strong and some of the illustrations don’t directly correlate with the text. It’s about half and half.
But overall I’d say the texts contributes less to the success of the book. Some of the wording doesn’t flow nearly as well as the illustrations do.
What’s one thing you would change to make the book better? (single page, or ending, etc.)?
I would have loved to see some more organic and nicely hand lettered sort of font family or even a beautiful classy serif font would look stunning with this illustrative style. The san serif font would not be my first choice, it’s a little too modern. But Pixar does tend to lean in to more modern fonts.
Runners Up
I definitely don’t think I will have time to imitate illustrations from more than 3-4 books this week, but here are some other books I love and contemplated adding to my Amazing Books list:
Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister
Fancy Nancy Books
Grow Big, Little Seed by Bec Nanayakkara, illustrated by Sarah Capon (stunning paper cut art)
Christmas at Hogwarts illustrated by Ziya Gao (serious eye candy)
And here are some illustrators I really admire:
Claire Keane
Joy Hwang Ruiz
Bethany Jayde Stancliffe
Apryl Stott
Naomi VanDoren
Emma Block
Anastasia Wessex
Lorena Alvarez
Emma Block
Jane Massey
This was an intriguing exercise. I found myself flipping through the books multiple times and giving myself more thought to my answers than I thought I would. My next post will feature my master imitation artwork based on these books.
