What Makes a Book Tick?

I’m so excited What Makes an Opossum Tick? by Lyn Smith is now published!!

She and I will be guests of the Graves Library’s Pasco Lecture Series next Sunday, March 3 at 2 PM. Hope you can join us!

We’ll also be celebrating our book at the Peaks Island Library on Saturday, April 6 at 10 AM.

After illustrating Lyn’s first book, A Porcupine’s Promenade, I knew she had another story up her sleeve.

I blogged about it HERE after I delivered the illustrations last September.

Now that it’s out, here’s more details of my process. The illustrations began taking shape during a creative retreat last May at a summer cottage owned by Lyn’s mother-in-law. I mean, how could I not be inspired by this sweet setting?

After sleeping in a guest room, I came up with a loose storyboard to show Lyn at lunch the next day.

After our discussion, I took numerous photos for reference, and began making a miniature dummy book. This was the title page sketch.

Lyn liked the immediacy of my hand-lettering, so it was used for the cover and title page.

Her husband, Brian, became my model for Grandpa. He is, after all, a naturalist and science teacher, and inspires Lyn daily! I caught him in action washing dishes with fellow creative retreater, Kirsten Cappy.

She stood in for Bailey here, the curious boy who also appears in Lyn’s first book.

There are antiques, vintage charm, and nautical elements all over the cottage.

Sketch from the dummy:

Final illustration:

Bailey’s encounter with an opossum happens after dinner in the backyard.

Here’s my sketch of Bailey at the compost bin. An island neighbor, Abbott, who makes the BEST faces, became my model for the boy.

Stinky!

Here’s the final illustration, with imagined lighting.

This wildlife ambassador, Wilbur, provided most of my references for Oliver, the opossum in Lyn’s story. He visited my Maine College of Art illustration class with Katie Brodeur of the Center for Wildlife months before I even read Lyn’s manuscript. I’m a big advocate of life drawing, especially wild things.

I also visited Wilbur in his habitat at the Center for Wildlife. He has since died; opossums live short lives and yet as a species have been around for eons.

Attempting to get the right lighting, I used a toy double.

My sketch of the moment Bailey spots Oliver by the compost bin.

Final illustration:

Lyn had shared some old photos of the cottage. This one informed an illustration.

I was attracted to the narrow slice between the cottage and the barn, the old car, and the dog. Frisky, the Smith family pet, found a spot in my illustration.

I loved the yellow light in the window, even though that barn is long gone.

Here’s my sketch, in which Frisky is sniffing around while Oliver lumbers away, and Bailey is eating blueberry pie.

Final illustration:

I saved working on the cover for last. After I’d done all the illustrations, I had a feel for the whole thing. I showed these five rough ideas, all variations on Oliver poking around in wildflowers.

Lyn’s a literacy specialist at a Kennebunk school where some of her students and colleagues became her beta testers. Which one is your favorite?

In the final cover illustration, which wraps around the back, I wanted to capture wild nocturnal nature under the stars.

Today I gave Abbott a signed copy of the book from Lyn!

Many thanks to Lyn, Abbott, and all the wild things that brought this book to life! Sharing our world with critters makes for a worthy read.