Inspirations, Part 1

Back in the late 1980s I began my career as a children's bookseller. I knew that I wanted to write and illustrate children's books one day, and was lucky enough to get a job at The Children's Book Shop in Brookline, Mass. (I'll save how I got the job for another post...) It was great to see the new books coming out, hot off the presses, and put on display each day. One of the early influences on my work was the work of Charlotte Voake. Her beautiful book "First Things First" was published by Joy Street in 1988, and I liked it so much, I decided to write her a fan letter (okay, okay, I was in my 20s and didn't think twice about doing this -- why wouldn't an illustrator want to hear from little ol' me!) and she very kindly wrote back and gave me this little sketch! Of course, this was before the world of selling children's book art became an industry in itself. This particular drawing was a sketch/study for the title page of the book. In the few years that followed, every now and then I'd write to illustrators whose work I admired... and often got little sketches, doodles, and interesting letters in reply. I'll post some of my other 20-year-old treasures in the weeks to come!