Eliza Wheeler's Blog, page 7
August 10, 2017
THE POMEGRANATE WITCH…new release!
A new book that I illustrated, written by Denise Doyen, came out last week; THE POMEGRANATE WITCH. It’s here in time for the fall season coming up, and is such a fun romp between a group of neighborhood kids from the suburbs, and the old Pomegranate Witch who guards a legendary pomegranate tree. This release kicked off with an awesome starred review from Publisher’s Weekly! “Luscious rhymes and an atmospheric eeriness immerse readers in a neighborhood battle: …
July 6, 2017
Cut the Fluff in Your Portfolio!
For those illustrators making last-minute shifts to their portfolio for the SCBWI National Conference, I have 3 pieces of advice: I was recently asked to judge portfolio applications for a Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators award. It was an eye-opening experience being on the other side of the table, in the judge’s seat. Here’s what my big take-away was from that experience: I preferred to see 5 GREAT pieces alone, vs. 5 great pieces mixed …
June 21, 2017
TOLKIEN BIO book trailer
Guys…have you seen this book trailer yet?? I’m so proud. My husband, Adam, made it. My friend, Nick, did the music. They are so awesome! Anyone recognize the song he covered? Please help me share this video with the Tolkien fans that you know! Get JOHN RONALD’S DRAGONS at your local indie bookstore -or- Order from Barnes and Noble here Order from Amazon here
March 10, 2017
Research Travel Tips
Over on the Picture Book Builders blog, I shared some highlights about illustration research I did for three weeks in England in 2015 for the new picture book biography JOHN RONALD’S DRAGONS: STORY OF J.R.R. TOLKIEN, by Caroline McAlister. I had a great question come over Twitter recently about traveling for research, but couldn’t seem to limit my answer to few characters, so I’m sharing those here! The most helpful thing I learned overall is to …
January 26, 2017
In case you missed it! : Check out this nice feature on E...
In case you missed it! : Check out this nice feature on Elizabeth Dulemba’s blog, where I discussed my two newest books, THIS IS OUR BABY, BORN TODAY by Varsha Bajaj and THE LEFT-HANDED FATE by Kate Milford, and on the difference between working on picture books and middle grade novels.
August 8, 2016
New proofs came in for JOHN RONALD’S DRAGONS: The Story o...
New proofs came in for JOHN RONALD’S DRAGONS: The Story of J.R.R. Tolkien! I’m so excited . . . and the color is looking spectacular. Just a tiny peek:
August 2, 2016
THIS IS OUR BABY BORN TODAY book birthday!
My new picture book, with author Varsha Bajaj and Nancy Paulsen/Penguin Books, came into the book world today! THIS IS OUR BABY, BORN TODAY celebrates the birth of a baby elephant. Over the course of one day the jungle family and friends rejoice the baby’s arrival. The book is set in the lush wilds of India and is a tribute to all little ones getting their first warm welcome into the world. I’m so excited to …
July 19, 2016
Tell Me A Tattoo Story
I have illustrations in two picture books releasing this year. The first is TELL ME A TATTOO STORY, written by Alison McGhee and published by Chronicle Books, came out this spring. In TELL ME A TATTOO STORY, a father tells his little son the story behind each of his tattoos, and together they go on a beautiful journey through family history. There’s a tattoo from a favorite book his mother used to read him, one from …
August 15, 2015
THE ‘I SUCK’ DILEMMA
It’s been two weeks since the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators annual summer conference in Los Angeles, and I am still feeling like I’m in recovery mode. This conference is a massive whirling ball of creative energy. There we experience information, inspiration, connection, excitement, boredom, nervousness, and ultimately, exhaustion! It was the first year I was on faculty to give a portfolio workshop and moderate a panel of art directors at the Illustrator’s …
April 21, 2015
Happy Book Birthday WHEREVER YOU GO and THE UNMAPPED SEA
Today was the official release of not one, but two books that I worked on over the past two years: The first book is WHEREVER YOU GO, written by author Pat Zietlow Miller. I’ll be traveling to Madison, Wisconsin to celebrate this book’s release in May. For those in the area please join Pat and I on May 15th at Books & Co. Bookstore, and/or May 16th at Mystery To Me Bookstore. A special thank you to Pat for …
