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Bugs and
Flowers and Plants, Oh My!
2nd grader's
art brings "kid-like aesthetic and naive honesty" to
Spring 2012 children's picture book by Peter
Stein
and Bob
Staake
 It's not every day that a 6-year-old
gets to see her drawings published in a major picture book --
but then it's not every 6-year-old whose uncle is a well-known
children's author and illustrator.
"I had just started
doing sketches for a children's book called 'Bugs
Galore' written
by Peter
Stein",
says Bob
Staake, "when
I had this brainstorm of an idea: Since I'd have to create literally
hundreds of bugs, flowers and plants for the book, wouldn't it
be fun to scatter among the pages some actual drawings by children?"
The author and/or illustrator
of over 50 books for kids, Staake is also known for creating
covers of The New Yorker, pages in MAD magazine,
and even animation for Cartoon Network, but when he considered
which "pint-sized Picasso" he could call on to create
buggy and flowerly  doodles
with instant kid-appeal, he immediately thought of his 6-year-old
niece, Amelia
Leonard.
"Amelia has always
sent me these incredible drawings of hers", recalls Staake,
"so this lightbulb instantly went off in my head; Amelia
could draw whatever bugs, flowers and plants she wanted, I'd
scan and colorize them, then intergrate her kid-like doodles
among my lushly illustrated scenes within the book!"
Staake called Amelia
at her home in North Carolina and asked her if she would be interested
in doing some  drawings
for her uncle's new book. Her answer was an enthusiastic "YES!"
-- even before learning that Staake would pay her to do so.
Amelia doodled page after
page of crawly, slimy, flying bugs and colorful, viney, spritely
flowers, then Staake scanned them digitally and began blending
them in among his own bug and flower drawings.
When asked if she felt
intimidated when her uncle wondered if she could create some
drawings for 'Bugs Galore', Amelia was initally skeptical.
"I thought my drawings would stink", she said, "because
I was only six! But it was a lot of fun doing the drawings because
I have always loved creating books -- and bugs with big eyes,
squiggly tongues and a ton of legs."
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| 6-year-old
Amelia created her buggy doodles (above) in black felt pen, then
uncle Bob Staake scanned the drawings and added colored details.
Amelia's quirky insects and whimsical foliage appear within every
page of 'Bugs Galore' (Candlewick Press - Spring 2012) |
"The ultimate effect
was amazing", pointed out Staake. "The entire book
looks as if it was illustrated by Bob Staake, but when
you peek closely, you see bugs and flowers and bushes that evoke
a kid-like aesthetic and naive honesty -- thanks to the little
drawings that Amelia created. I think both kids and parents will
love the look of the book, and why another children's illustrator
hadn't thought to do this before, I have no clue -- but maybe
they couldn't call on a niece as artistically precocious and
talented as my Amelia."
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