Bookish Gift Pairings
What would you pair with these books?
I had some fun brainstorming for this. If you have already read these books, my selections will make more sense. I think thoughtfully picked books are the best gifts, but it is even more fabulous when you can experience an activity that engages you in the story even more.
I am also thinking hair clips and favorite band posters!
These gifts are all more fun with friends too
Lucia The Luchadora And The Million Masks takes place at the mercado, so that feels like the perfect place to find a Lucia gift pairing. My friend and I spent a whole weekend making our own Lucia costume, so this leads well into a craft activity.
My Singing Nana has all of the beautiful details of a Mexican American Abuela. I wish I had all of the beautiful Talavera inspired kitchenware and other objects that remind you of your own Nana’s recipes.
I hope everyone has a beautiful Holiday season.
xo Alyssa
Junior Library Guild Gold Standard!
Today I got some really great news! Big Apple Diaries is a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection. That means they have placed a big fat order in advance and my book will be in the hands of so many more library readers across the US.
Today, JLG is the leading book review and collection development service that helps thousands of K12 school and public libraries acquire the best new children’s and young adult books. Our mission still follows editorial board member Eleanor Roosevelt’s mantra to put the right book in the hands of every reader–fostering the love of reading and learning as a path to lifelong success. https://www.juniorlibraryguild.com/about-us/
We Laugh Alike Juntos Nos Reimos Peek!
This week I received my sample copy of We Laugh Alike Juntos Nos Reimos in the mail from the publisher, Charlesbridge. I was so excited to see it in person! A lot of love went into creating these pictures and I hope future readers will enjoy them.
This book debuts April 2021 and is available for pre-orders anywhere books are sold! I can’t wait to hear what you think!
If you’d like to see a bit more of the illustration process for We Laugh Alike, check out this other video:
Consistency in a series from an illustrator’s perspective.
As an illustrator, it is my job to create the images that help enrich books for children. When I first receive the text for a story, my initial process involves reading it over and over again. I sit, lay, walk and drive with the text in my mind for a period of time to start putting together a visual narrative. This visual narrative is inspired by the text of course, but it also goes beyond that. It is a non verbal language that adds another layer to the story that the text doesn’t explicitly say. This perfect combination of text and additional narrative is the great achievement than any children’s illustrator strives for.
After the initial stage, I start imagining the characters and the world they live in. For the Lucia The Luchadora series, their family heritage was front and centre for me as I began the process of their visual depiction. I set out to find cultural references and colours to inspire their world. For the Amelia Chamelia series, I tried to figure out how to make her stand out yet also be relatable to other eight year old Australian girls. Before any pencils hit paper, a lot of research and thought was involved. I feel as though I truly know the characters before I start to draw them.
To provide consistency to these characters across multiple pages and books is a unique challenge as well. While they need to look like the same person with the same proportions, their body language and emotional range needs to be as diverse as the readers themselves.
Amelia Chamelia faces a huge challenge of public speaking when her teacher assigns her the role of narrator in the school play. Her best friend Willow also faces a fear of heights during the school swimming test. Portraying these very real emotions in visual form can help engage early readers along the journey.
Creating consistency in style can be an interesting challenge too, especially when illustrating a series. Lucia the Luchadora set the style for the sequel, but I still tried to introduce new colours and characters into the culturally rich world they live in. Amelia Chamelia is simple black and white interior illustrations, so even though the artistic style doesn’t change throughout, the characters and expressions are diverse.
Each book is an exciting opportunity to explore style, consistency and nuance of character for visual storytelling. An illustrator’s work is never over! Stay tuned for more of my illustrated books coming soon including My Singing Nana!
Appearances & Events!
Upcoming Event in Hobart!
So much has happened this year and so many projects are coming! For now, the best way to hear about them all is on Instagram (@bermudezbahama) and Facebook (click here) OR if you are in Hobart, come to our SCBWI event. I will be talking about all of the projects, pathways and more.
Australian Book Week 2018
School visits and another real life Lucia The Luchadora.. or two
Last week was the CBCA's Australian National Book Week 2018. The theme was Finding Your Treasure. During this time schools, libraries, booksellers, authors, illustrators and children celebrate Australian children's literature and you will often see children's book character parades and talented librarians creating amazing displays. Many of my art students came in costume to class - it seems to be taken more seriously than American Halloween! Book week is also when the annual awards are announced for Australian Book of the Year.
I had the pleasure of seeing a lovely little Kindergarten student dressed as Lucia The Luchadora again. It reminded me of last year when there was another little blonde Lucia at book week who SWORE she looked exactly like the real version with one exception -- she didn't have green shoelaces. I didn't even remember that I created green shoelaces for the character, but this little girl did. It was beautiful to see that this girl had no idea that her and Lucia might have come from completely different cultural backgrounds.
I also made my debut into schools! I spent a lovely day at St. James College in Cygnet where I presented Behind The Scenes of Picture Book Illustration to grades Prep-6. The students were so engaged and ran up to me all day with Thank You's and to show off their Luchadora crafts that they made after. One kid apparently saw me in the library wearing my cape and ran to another kid saying, "OMG the REAL Lucia The Luchadora is here!"
Mid day coffee break!
I also had the pleasure of showing some of the younger kids what the sequel looks like! They were SO excited to be the first kids ever to get a peek of the next Luchadora.
I also visited Moonah Primary school where I presented and did some drawing with the 3rd and 4th graders.
They all created superhero characters and I was so impressed with their enthusiasm and creativity! Now that I have broken the ice, I will certainly be open to more school visits in future!
Send an email to alyssa.bermudez@gmail.com if you are interested in me visiting your school in person or via Skype!
Until next time, Book Week!
Lucia The Luchadora and The Million Masks Cover Reveal!
It's reveal time!
The moment you have all been waiting for! Lucia's return! It's been so exciting bringing Lucia and her family to life in pictures once again, this time introducing her little sister Gemma. Debuts October 9th, 2018 - We have a few months to go, but the anticipation starts now! Written by Cynthia Leonor Garza, published by POW! Kids. Click here to pre-order.
The cover will look something closely related to this!
Lucia The Luchadora was chosen as picture book cover of the year in 2017! It's pretty impossible to top that, so I went back and forth on so many different color schemes and designs. Some of them were a bit too scary! This story takes place for the most part at the Mercado. Abuela had a great idea once again and you'll have to read the rest to find out what adventures take place when they get there! I hope that old and new Lucia fans can enjoy this next part of their story.
Getting into some trouble at the lucha mask stall
The sounds of the mercado!
I was a little late in the game to watch the Pixar movie Coco, but it is so inspirational to see such beautiful art direction in a movie with Mexican culture. I actually watched it for the first time a few days after finishing all of the artwork for this book. My heart did a little flip seeing El Santo in it! Stay tuned in Lucia The Luchadora And The Million Masks to meet another very famous Lucha Libre star.
Hearing about your experience with Lucia The Luchadora is so meaningful to us, so continue sharing your stories and spread the love! #luciatheluchadora
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