Janet Stevens shares how she uses illustrations to help her write her stories. She includes the steps of drawing the characters, creating a problem to solve, then revising until she feels her work is complete. The illustrations in the book are impressive and colorful. I like the use of color with black and white sketching. I think that this is an awesome book to use in writing class to help motivate students. Grades 1 - 8. ( )

Popular children's book illustrator and author Janet Stevens shows us how to create a picture book with help from the characters in her imagination who have been waiting for the chance to appear in a book. We learn about character, setting, plot and conflict, as well as the editing and publication process that writers and illustrators go through. The story Stevens creates here isn't nearly as compelling as her other books, and her own self-portrait illustrations oddly lack expression compared to her animal characters, but this book is still an excellent resource for teaching students about the writing process through the perspective of one of their favorite author/illustrators. ( )