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Bedtime Bliss: Jane Smiley’s
and Lauren Castillo’s Twenty Yawns

h1 April 12th, 2016 by jules



Sketch and final art: “She spread her blankie over them and kissed them good night. Now they looked sleepy and happy.”


 

Hello, Imps. I was out of town, and I missed blogging. But I’m back.

And today I’ve got a review over at BookPage of Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jane Smiley’s debut picture book, Twenty Yawns (Two Lions, April 2016), illustrated by Lauren Castillo. Such a good one. Here’s the review if you want to read about it, and Lauren shares here today some process images and final art.

Enjoy!



 


Manuscript
(Click to enlarge)


 



Sketchbooks
(Click each to enlarge)


 


Character studies
(Click to enlarge)


 



Cover thumbnails


 



Cover sketches


 


Final cover


 




Color sketches and final art: “The beach umbrella was flapping in the breeze.
Not far from the waves, Lucy was digging a hole all by herself.”
(Click each to enlarge)


 



Color sketch and final art: “Lucy walked with Mom and Dad
all the way to the end of the beach.”
(Click each to enlarge)


 



Color sketch and final art: “Lucy started to carry Molasses back to her bed. But the other toys were looking at her, even Leonard, the baby kangaroo. They seemed lonely.”
(Click each to enlarge)


 




Lauren: “The drawings on Lucy’s wall in the book are actual drawings I made as a kid. Slightly altered, but for the most part I tried to keep them as I made them back then. [Pictured here are] two photos I have of the original art, plus how it looks in the book.”
(Click last two to enlarge)


 

* * * * * * *

TWENTY YAWNS. Copyright © 2016 Jane Smiley. Illustrations copyright © 2016 Lauren Castillo. Published by Two Lions, New York. All images used by permission of Lauren Castillo.





2 comments to “Bedtime Bliss: Jane Smiley’s
and Lauren Castillo’s Twenty Yawns”

  1. Great blog! I especially enjoyed seeing the process and incorporation of your childhood sketches in your book! How wonderful! Thanks for sharing! 🙂

         by Keerti Sharma April 14th, 2016 at 10:25 am

  2. Love seeing how you incorporated your childhood artwork into your illustrations. I saved all the books I wrote as a child, and the pictures I drew … I’ve always envisioned using them for future picture book inspiration. Enjoyed this very much.

         by Cathey Graham Nickell April 16th, 2016 at 8:43 am

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