Have you ever wondered how a picture book is made?

Hi friends! This is me with my friend Ken Min, the talented, wonderful illustrator of BENJI, THE BAD DAY, AND ME. It’s not often that the writer and the artist of a picture book get to meet and hang out in person. But I was lucky — Ken and I got to do a panel together at the Mysterious Galaxy Bookshop in San Diego in 2019. He is AWESOME!!!

The process of creating a picture book is kind of complicated. It takes many people, but three are especially key: the artist, the writer, and the editor. The editor of BENJI, Jessica Echeverria at Lee and Low Books, had a beautiful vision for how my words and Ken’s pictures should come together. She held the reins and made it happen!

First, she worked with me to make lots of little changes in the wording. She helped it be a much better story! Then, she worked with Ken to discuss art direction – and based on these talks, Ken made a bunch of sketches in blue pencil. Here’s one of them:

We tossed around some ideas for small changes, but basically, we all loved Ken’s ideas for how Benji and Sammy, the two brothers in the book, should appear. Then, with everyone happy, Ken went ahead and completed the artwork.

Here is what the finished page in the book looks like:

It’s a long process with a lot of teamwork, to make a picture book, but that’s just part of the fun. And the result is so wonderful. Here is a photo of me, holding the original art Ken did for that blue-pencil sketch! He generously gave that sketch to me, and it’s hanging proudly on the wall in my office, right now.