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A Peek at Steve Jenkins’ Desk

h1 January 2nd, 2014 by jules


“Look for colors. Is it time? Are they ripe? Scan up. Scan down. Paw and claw and pull. Find … huckleberries. Rake them with your teeth. Purple your snout.”


 

Last week over at Kirkus, I chatted with author April Pulley Sayre about her newest picture book, Eat Like a Bear (Henry Holt, October 2013), illustrated by Steve Jenkins. What a good book it is, and I really enjoyed hearing April’s thoughts on the writing of it. That Q & A is here.

Today I’m following up with some art from the book (without the text in the spreads), as well as some sketches from Steve.

[Please note: Some of the colors in these spreads are slightly off, as they appear here online.]

Enjoy!



Early sketch and final art:
“Can you search like a bear? It’s May. Find food. But where? Tear at sedges.
Chomp cow parsnip stems. Eat dandelions. Their yellow fluff is not enough.
Sniff the air. What smells?”
(Click each to enlarge)


“… you are left behind.”



Early sketch and final art:
“Hunting’s over. Time for clover …
and for meeting another bear.”



Early sketch and final art:
“Can you climb like a bear? It’s August. Find food. But where? Check the talus slopes. Dig in. Dig down. Paw and claw and flip! Rocks tumble, crumble, crash and bounce!”
(Click second image to enlarge)


Early sketch: “Find … cutworm moths. Mash them in your mouth.”


“Can you gather like a bear? It’s September. Find food. But where?”



Early sketch and final art:
“Settle in. Settle down. Paw and cuddle and curl. Find …
midwinter, you have two more mouths to feed.”
(Click second image to enlarge)

* * * * * * *

EAT LIKE A BEAR. Copyright © 2013 by April Pulley Sayre. Illustrations copyright © 2013 by Steve Jenkins. Published by Henry Holt and Company, New York. All images here are reproduced by permission of Steve Jenkins.





3 comments to “A Peek at Steve Jenkins’ Desk”

  1. So fun to see first and last art. “Eat Lke a Bear” looks like a beauty!

         by Elizabeth Rose Stanton January 2nd, 2014 at 10:53 am

  2. These are wonderful! I love the textures.

         by Allison January 2nd, 2014 at 10:56 pm

  3. […] bear.   Both Kirkus and Publisher’s Weekly gave it starred reviews.   Check out this post on Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast to get a peek at Steve Jenkins drawings for this […]

         by Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge | Assessment in Perspective January 22nd, 2014 at 5:08 am

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