The first board book to win a spot on The Gittle List
How did it feel to win a spot on The Gittle List Top 10? While I have won awards for my work as a medical illustrator, Amos Likes to Jump was my first published picture book. It was immensely gratifying to be recognized for the hard work that collectively went into this book. As a first-time author and illustrator team, we are thrilled to have placed on the Gittle List. I can’t wait to see what the future holds for our second book in the Amos series.
Interior illustration by Ellen Davis
What children’s book contains your favorite illustrations? I love the whimsy of Shel Silverstein’s work. The starkness of his illustrations in The Giving Tree lend themselves so beautifully to the emotions in the text.
What is your favorite children’s book? My favorite children’s book of all time is The Lorax. I love the illustrations of the candy-like other world filled with truffala trees and the way Dr. Suess plays with light and darkness to evoke the changing mood in the book. I read it so often to my cousin’s child a few summers ago that I almost know every word by heart, and yet I never tired of it. To me, that is the mark of a lasting book.
Which artists or writers most influenced or inspired your work? Currently, one of my favorite children’s book illustrators is Will Terry. The use of light and color in his work really inspires me. He uses light very purposefully in order to set the mood of his illustrations, and his attention to detail is truly respectable.
What is your favorite color or color combination? I like using varying shades of blue and turquoise in my work. It’s a very calming color and I use it in most all of my work, children’s book and otherwise.
Interior illustration by Ellen Davis
Why did you decide to self-publish? Because the Amos books are about a real dog, [the author] Margaret Lowder really wanted to ensure that our books are true to the spirit of Amos himself. I did not anticipate the sometimes condescending attitude towards self-published books, but have been glad to see some recognition that authors are now choosing this route willingly over traditional methods.
Do you prefer to work digitally, by hand, or both? I prefer to combine traditional and digital methods in my work. I create my sketches in 2B pencil and apply color digitally. There is something about hand-wrought work that I think will always be appealing to readers.
Tell us about your latest project. I am currently working on final illustrations for the second book in the series of Amos Tales, entitled Amos Bounces Back: A Tale of Too Much TV. This book is due for release in the Summer of 2016. In order to reach an older audience, this book will be a large picture book (not a board book like Amos Likes to Jump).
Interior illustration by Ellen Davis
What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given? I had a professor in graduate school for Medical Illustration who passed away as I was working on this children’s book. Professor Mascaro taught that you should draw, draw, draw, and draw some more. He [also] told me that besides drawing, the best thing I could do was to really understand color.
What do you do to market your books? Aside from setting up readings and signings in shops, libraries, and schools, we have an active social media presence on facebook and instagram. We have a blog on amosthedog.com where we share dog treat recipes on #TreatYourselfTuesdays, and we promote the book through blogs and magazines.
Ellen is a science lover turned artist who found her niche as a medical illustrator. With a BFA in Scientific Illustration and a master’s degree in Medical Illustration, Ellen is well versed in color and design. Whether painting Amos or anatomy, she brings dynamic color and energy to her work. Ellen’s specialties include children’s book illustration, medical illustration and animation, veterinary illustration, and pet portraiture. When not creating art, she can be found cooking and spending time with her chocolate lab, Nala.
Buy Amos Likes to Jump* Board Book Activity Book
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Medical Illustrations
Aviva Gittle writes and publishes children’s stories in English and Spanish. Each year, Aviva runs The Gittle List contest to support her fellow indie authors. Oh, she also loves children’s picture books and is always on the lookout for great ones. The 2016 Gittle List Contest is in full swing: submission guidelines. Follow @AvivaGittle and signup for Gittle News (look right) to be the first to know when they are posted! 😺
Bev Stone, earned the #2 spot on The Gittle List 2015 for The Red and Black Ladybug. Bev is a two-time winner; her book, They Told Us Something Wonderful Was Coming snagged the #1 spot in 2014.
How did it feel to win a spot on The Gittle List Top 10? I was elated! I thought it was quite brilliant to announce them one at a time this year. I know, I, and I’m sure many others, anxiously awaited each new day, and each time another book was announced, I thought, ‘Wow, that book sounds so great!’ Then of course I worried that mine might not make the list. I’m enormously grateful to Aviva Gittle for putting in the time and effort it takes to showcase and help all of us indie writers.
What’s you earliest memory of drawing or writing? My earliest and best memory of drawing and painting is in Ms Moscerelli’s 6th grade classroom. Teachers, please know that all the wonderful things you do have a lasting effect on your students. Ms Moscerelli loved art so her class started with an art project every morning. When it was time to put that project away and open our math books, she’d say, “everyone open your books to page ….. ; then she’d say, “Bev, you can continue with your art.” Now, I may not be great at math as a result, but she certainly made me feel very special and helped to start me on my art journey.
What children’s book contains your favorite illustrations? There are so many talented illustrators out there and so many illustrations I love. The Lion And The Mouse, by Jerry Pinkney has to be one of my recent favorites and one purchase I made from last year’s Gittle List, The Kings Dream, written by Harris Tobias and illustrated by Cathy Reene, has some beautiful illustrations.
What is your favorite color or color combination? I love blue hues. I 
usually work with a pretty small palette. Some people say they can recognize my art by the colors I use.
Why did you decide to self-publish? You know, I find self publishing very easy and a perfect fit for me. I’m very happy with the whole process because it allows me to illustrate my own stories and put out as many books as I’d like. The thought of self publishing is a little scary at first — just like anything unknown — but I’ve been publishing with Createspace for about 3 years now and they’ve made it a great experience so far.
Do you prefer to work digitally, by hand, or both? I illustrate all of my stories with watercolors on watercolor paper.
What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given? The best piece of advice I was ever given was when my daughter and son were born and friends told me to ignore all the little things that really don’t matter and spend all that precious time with my babies. That wasn’t hard to do at all! Now I can apply that to things around the house that I don’t want to do so that I can spend my time writing and illustrating instead. That works, right?
What do you do to market your books? Well….Hmmmm, I have to admit I’m not very good about marketing my books. I think I’m getting better but I have to be honest, if I could just write them and illustrate them and not worry about marketing, I’d be happy. Actually, the best thing I’ve done, is to enter my books in the The Gittle List contest. In her prompting to get the word out for all indie writers, she’s led me in directions I wouldn’t have otherwise gone, Twitter, for example. You can follow me @Bevstone13. Thanks Aviva Gittle! Also, Melissa Crane, who is in charge of media at the gallery where I show my paintings, has been amazing at getting the word out locally.
Any advice for writers thinking about self-publishing a children’s picture book? All I can say is that it’s been a wonderful experience for me, so if you’re thinking about self publishing, definitely give it a try. I would caution however, have no expectations, accept to enjoy the process and the fact that you actually succeeded in getting that book you’ve been working on in print. Yay!!! Do it. You’ll be glad you did.
Bev Stone is an artist and indie 
children’s book author. Bev started painting and drawing at an early age and was first introduced to watercolor in elementary school. Today Bev paints in both watercolor and oil and continues to write children’s books while living in the beautiful state of Idaho, overlooking the Snake River. Many of her paintings and book updates can be found on her website, www.artbybevstone.com.
You can follow Bev on Twitter: @BevStone13
Credits: All illustrations in this interview post are created and owned by Bev Stone and come from her award-wining children’s book The Red and Black Ladybug.
Corrina Holyoake enters “Animania” to The Gittle List 2015 contest
Corrina Holyoake seemed destined to be an artist and a writer. She even wrote and illustrated a couple of stories at the tender age of nine. As children often do, she considered all kinds of things she could be when she grew up. A dancer, a doctor, an architect. She was in her teens when she decided to pursue a career in art.
“Six years passed and I hadn’t even picked up a paint brush.”
After Corrina completed college, she talked her way into a position with a graphic design company. Unfortunately, five years later there just wasn’t enough work to go around. She then took a job working in a medical and scientific publishing house. Now a technical support advisor for the same company, she admits that it is not an environment that inspires creativity. She says, “Before you knew it, six years passed and I hadn’t even picked up a paint brush.”
Corrina gets her “arty” side from her mother. Her dad, Jack, was the storyteller. She says, “He was in the Navy when he was younger and then moved into rigging.” Jack was posted all over the world. “He had such a colourful life and was quite the traveller.” A bear of a man with an intimidating demeanor, he was the family’s “gentle giant” who wrote poetry for Corrina’s mother.
“Then the unthinkable happened.”
Then the unthinkable happened. Jack got cancer. In 2009, after a painful six years, Corrina’s father passed away. “His passing was very tough going, to watch your big, burly Dad wither away to a husk of a man was heartbreaking to witness.”
“It was like a switch had been flicked. I think I picked up the brushes as a form of therapy and then things snowballed,” she says. Corrina realized illustration was her calling. Since her epiphany, she has been working non-stop painting illustrations for children’s book authors. Then she decided to illustrate her own book. The idea for Animania was inspired by a very silly conversation Corrina had with her 8-year-old son Dylan. “We were discussing how funny it would be to mix animals up. So we came up with creatures such as Antosaurus, Prickly Python and Fluffa Fish.” Another switch went off—her son had created a great idea for a picture book!
Corrina tried very hard to get an agent or traditional publisher to work with her. Finally, she decided to self-publish Animania. “I just wanted to share the book with children and couldn’t wait any longer.”
“I decided to enter straight away.”
As a self-published author, Corrina was now responsible for promoting her own book. She says, “I am still finding my feet with the wonderful world of marketing.” She’s trying many different avenues, including entering Animania into a book competition. She’d heard about The Gittle List, a contest exclusively for indie authors of children’s picture books, on Twitter. “I decided to enter straight away.” (Related article: The Book Contest That Keeps on Giving)
Corrina still grieves the loss of her father. “I would give anything to have just one more night of storytelling from him.“ But his passing opened many new doors to creative endeavors beyond her teen-aged aspirations. Recently, she decided to sponsor the pet therapy organization Critterish Allsorts. She says, “A percentage of all sales go to them. I have always wanted to give something back with my work.” Jack would be proud.
Hurry! The Gittle List submission deadline is Midnight (PST) November 15, 2015. Print books and eBooks are accepted. The contest is open to self-published authors around the world. (Submission Guidelines)
Aviva Gittle Publishing offers great stories for children in English and Spanish, including the Kitten and Friends / Gatito y amigos series. Aviva’s website, www.GoToGittle.com shares the stories of authors, illustrators and others who create books and creative media for children.
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Artist Cathy-Reene won the #3 spot on The Gittle List Top 10 2014 for her illustrations in the book, The King’s Dream: A Fairy Tale by Harris Tobias. (See Aviva’s review and the other winners here.) Learn more about Harris Tobias and his writing here.
How did it feel to win a spot on The Gittle List Top 10? Very excited. It wasn’t expected at all – a perfect Christmas gift 🙂 My works were selected for exhibitions before but this is my first award for a book I illustrated.
What’s you earliest memory of drawing? I think I was probably 2-3 year old and was drawing a gigantic person. The major part of the picture I spent most of the time were numerous buttons on his coat, at least 20 of them: all of different shapes and sizes. My Mom used to keep thin school notebooks full of drawings. It was my “pen and pencil” period. I feel I should get back to it some time.
What children’s book contains your favorite illustrations? Too many to list here,
Illustration: Freccia Azzura
I am mildly obsessed with illustrated children’s books. However the first one that came to mind was The Moomins series by Tove Jansson.
Which artists most influenced or inspired your work? Lisbeth Zwerger, Rebecca Dautremer, Alan Lee, Robert Ingpen, P.J. Lynch, Benjamin Lacombe of book illustrators. More classical inspiration would come from Bouguereau, Abbey, Dulac, Nielsen. I try to maintain a couple of Pinterest boards were I collect the art that inspires me – I collect themes, color palettes, compositions, techniques, or simply feelings.
What is your favorite color or color combination? I am tempted to say blue but according to my recent portfolio it probably should be red and gold 🙂 I also like black and white with a splash of one other color.
Darwin Christmas Tree Card
Do you prefer to work digitally or by hand? If I am time-pressed or simply do not want to “fight” with the tools, then digital is my go-to media. If I have more time to spend or simply want to enjoy the process, I always choose making art by hand. I love doing pencil drawings when I need to think, need to relax or get distracted.
Tell us about your latest project. I’ve just finished a personal piece. I wanted to try my hand in creating a book cover for a fantasy genre with a focus on a portrait.
Tell us 3 strange and wonderful things about you.
The Heart of the Clockwork
What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given? When you are done with your art piece don’t be hung up on the things that are not “perfect,” move on to the next project and don’t look back.
Cathy-Reene is a freelance illustrator and character designer from the Pacific Northwest (Seattle). After graduating from San Francisco Academy of Art University she has been working in different genres of illustration including, but not limited by, children’s and fantasy book illustrations and concept art. She enjoys working with traditional and digital media as well as constantly mixing both of them in search of unique illustration mood and feeling. Buy Cathy’s Art on Etsy
Contact Cathy-Reene:
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*Please support my indie book business by clicking on the book covers or using the links posted in my blog to buy books and other products. This way, Amazon gives me a little commission that helps me continue the website for you and other readers. Thank you!
Credits: All illustrations in this post were created and owned by Cathy-Reene.
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Author/illustrator Bev Stone won the #1 spot on The Gittle List 2014 for her book, They Told Us Something Wonderful Was Coming. (See Aviva’s review and the other winners here.)
How did it feel to win a spot on The Gittle List Top 10? Had you ever gotten an award for this or any of your other books before?
They Told Us Something Wonderful Was Coming is the first book I’ve ever published, so The Gittle List is the first contest I’ve ever entered. It was amazing to get that email and learn that I had made the top ten list! I can’t tell you how many times I opened that email, reread it and checked the list again. :0). The book was written in celebration and appreciation of all the people in our lives who make the world a wonderful place and after reading Aviva Gittle’s beautifully written 
review, it was great to know that its sentiment and illustrations were understood and appreciated.
How did you hear about The Gittle List and why did you decide to enter your book?
I was searching the net looking for advice from other independent publishers when I came upon gotogittle.com and Aviva Gittle Publishing. I was impressed with the site and with the children’s books showcased there. I also appreciated the effort Aviva Gittle was making to bring attention to other indie writers and illustrators. I wanted to be a part of that, if I could, so I decided to enter my book.
What’s you earliest memory of writing and/or drawing?
I grew up drawing and painting but I didn’t start writing children’s stories until my children were born. Their bedtime story requests were always stories that I would make up on the spot. In fact I had a hard time remembering my storyline and characters the next night when they’d ask me to finish last night’s story. I’d figure out a way to have them fill me in without admitting I had no idea what last night’s story was about. They remembered every detail; I started writing them down.
What is your favorite children’s book?
I have several favorite children’s books. Top on my list are those by Shel Silverstein; Where The Sidewalk Ends, A Light In The Attic, The Giving Tree and The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. Both authors speak to all ages in a beautiful, fun, and entertaining way.
What was the inspiration for your book?
The inspiration for They Told Us Something Wonderful Was Coming came from the birth and continuing joy my two children give me and for all the many wonderful people in our lives who should be celebrated. It’s amazing how much of the wonder in nature you notice when wonderful people come into your life; flowers wave, bees dance and a dog’s bark can actually sound melodious.
Did you have to overcome any obstacles to completing the book and getting it published?
The only obstacle I had to overcome was myself; would anyone else enjoy what I was writing? And even though I’m an artist, self taught, or more accurately, forever learning, I never tried to illustrate for children – could I do that?
Tell us about your latest project.
My latest book, Snowpuppies, was published in November, 2014. It’s the first book in an 
adventure series about ten little puppies made of snow, each named after a snowflake. It was recently featured in a local television holiday special sponsored by fist federal bank.
I have dozens of stories that I’ve written, and I continue to write, so picking the next one to illustrate and publish is hard; they all want me to choose them next. :0) I guess there’s always the dart method. I’m also working on my own new adventure; a Snowpuppy story line that I would love to see as an animated movie.
Tell us 3 strange and wonderful things about you.
What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?
Do it!
Bev Stone is an artist and author of three children’s books: They a Told Us Something Wonderful Was a Coming, The Best You Can Be and Snowpuppies. Bev started painting and drawing at an early age and was first introduced to watercolor in elementary school. Today Bev paints in both watercolor and oil and continues to write children’s books while living in the beautiful state of Idaho, overlooking the Snake River. Many of her paintings and book updates can be found on her website, www.artbybevstone.com.
*Please support my book business by clicking on the book covers or using the links posted in my blog to buy books and other products. This way, Amazon gives me a little commission that helps me continue the website for you and other readers. Thank you!
Credits: All illustrations in this interview post are created and owned by Bev Stone and come from her award-wining children’s book They Told Us Something Wonderful Was Coming.
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