I had the delight of illustrating an entertaining children’s board book, Animals: Counting, Colors & Sounds, which was published at the end of 2015. Order it here!
I was initially approached by the publisher with the concept of a board book that could be read to young children featuring and teaching the names of animals as well as the sounds they make, numbers, and colors.
The publisher had found my website through an internet search for illustrators of children’s books. As they looked through my gallery and images of my work, they were impressed with what they saw and thought I would be the person to create the look they wanted for their book.
After some initial conversations, I was given the ability to collaborate significantly with the publisher on the book and granted creative license in producing the fun artwork.
On each spread of the book, a group of animals is displayed and every animal has the word next to it that represents the sound it makes. The book begins with the number “one,” and the first illustration features one red rooster who makes the sound, “Cock-A-Doodle-Do!”
From there, the story proceeds with two orange cats, each one with a cheerful “Meow!” Then, three yellow lions each “Roar!”. This is followed by 4 green frogs, 5 blue birds, 6 pink pigs, 7 brown dogs, 8 gray owls, 9 black bears, and 10 white lambs, each with their respective sounds.
Ideally, the reader of the book would point to and count the number of each animal, along with the child they are reading the book to. As another activity, the reader could point to the animals again and imitate the sound, giving the child the experience of counting the animals and hearing the sound they make, one time for each animal represented. The child can then interact by mimicking the sound themselves.
Something I love about the book is the happy expressions I was able to achieve on the faces of the animals. I used a simple, rounded style for the art that is very fun, colorful, and appealing to young children.
I can imagine the pleasure of a child who is looking at these pictures and hearing someone playfully making the sounds. The child’s experience of identifying the animals, counting, recognizing colors and hearing the variety of sounds and learning to mimic them would be very enjoyable, as well as educational.
In fact, while visiting family over the holidays, I was able to present the book to my 19-month-old niece, who thoroughly enjoyed it and did quite well at imitating the animal sounds.
This sturdy little book is large enough to accommodate the illustrations, but small enough to fit comfortably in a young child’s hands.
As always, I loved doing the research for the artwork. It was a fun challenge to create a collection of animals that have individual characteristics, but all seem to “go together”.
I established the concept for each of the animals and illustrations by first sketching them out in pencil. When I was satisfied with the image, I scanned them into the computer and created the final artwork using Adobe Illustrator.
Some of the reactions I’ve received to this book are:
“Cute!”
“Cute critters!”
“Fantastic!!”
“Awesome. I…need to buy one for my classroom!” —Preschool teacher
“What a great cover Joe. I love your artwork.” —Donna Nelson Gauntlett, author, illustrator & artist
If you’re interested in purchasing this book, you can go to my website, www.JoeEckstein.com, and fill out the contact form.
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The date was May 5th, 1992, a Tuesday. I was finishing up my seventh grade year of middle school in Ohio, and was riding home with my mom and siblings in our family van, most likely from one of my or my sibling’s many afterschool extracurricular activities. I proceeded to spend the long ride to our house out in the country my preferred way to pass the time—by drawing.
Pulling a sheet of notebook paper from my backpack, I grabbed a pencil and began to sketch out a most unlikely creation: a simple cartoon of a friendly, smiling parrot stretching out his wing, clinging to an umbrella, and exclaiming, “Okay—I’m Ready! Come Rain on My Parade!” I traced my pencil lines with a felt-tip marker and proudly signed and dated it, knowing I had just created something special.
This was the very first incarnation of Herby the Parrot, 21 years ago. Why a parrot? Well, I’m not really sure. I’ve always been fascinated by birds, and our family had a few parakeets as pets over the years, but from the beginning Herby has always had a life of his own. I continued to draw dozens of Herby cartoons over the next several years, even dabbling throughout my college years and beyond. I had always wanted to do something more with my cartoons, but never quite settled on exactly what.
Nearly 20 years later, I decided to finally give Herby the attention he deserves. Over the past year and a half, I’ve worked on developing a book of Herby’s cartoons, especially designed for children (particularly third- to fifth- graders), that entertains, encourages, and educates them with important life lessons and positive character values. If you haven’t had a chance yet, check out my book Herby Gets a Life and grab copies to share with the children and children-at-heart in your life!
At 21 years, Herby is finally coming of age. And he has so much further to go!
Have a good Memorial Day weekend remembering those who died defending our country and all those who have touched our lives and are no longer with us, whether we knew them personally or not. Many have gone before us and sacrificed much so that we can enjoy a better life.
Happy Mother’s Day to all of you who are moms!
Daisies happen to be one of my favorite flowers, and I always get excited when I see the multitude of oxeye daisies blooming all over the countryside around May. They seem to embody expressions of joy, childhood, and innocence. Daisies also hold special meaning for my wife and I, a symbol of our marriage. When we were about to be engaged, I prayed for a sign that my wife was the one I was to marry. No, I’m not referring to the “she loves me, she loves me not” test! What I asked for was to spot three daisies growing from one stem. A bit silly, perhaps. But about a year later, we were engaged and scouting out the site of the outdoor wedding we were planning when I received the answer I was looking for—in the middle of our path that day, growing alone from a patch in the recently mowed lawn, were three daisies, all sprouting from a single stem.
This illustration of a daisy is a study I first sketched in pencil, then inked using a Hunt Globe dip pen. I colored it using watercolor pencils.
Beyond my affection for daisies, spring is my favorite season of the year. After the cold, barren winter, the earth gives birth to new life and new hopes. A wondrous array of beautiful flowers spring forth, and everything is fresh and alive again. It is an exciting time. Let’s celebrate the bringing forth and nurturing of life this Mother’s Day and the ultimate Source of that life.
What are your favorite facets of spring? What does springtime mean to you?
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