PictureBookBuzz: Hello Cassandra Federman, tell us about yourself. Cassandra: I’m an author/illustrator and a mom. I grew up reading comic books and drawing superheroes. At age 13 I decided I’d never cut it as a comic artist, so I gave up drawing entirely. After college I moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in film/TV and worked in production, casting, and acting. I was miserable and it wasn’t until I married a writer that I finally realized why. I’d been trying to tell stories for a living, but had been approaching it from the wrong angle. That’s when I started writing for children and purchased a sketchbook for the first time in over a decade. PictureBookBuzz: What inspired your book, This Is a Sea Cow (Albert Whitman & Co.)? Cassandra: I spent a semester of college studying in Belize, where I helped the local manatee experts track and tag their manatee population. During my time there I met up with a British non-profit group in the early stages of building a manatee rehabilitation center. My first day at the center, a report came in about a baby manatee whose mother had been killed in a boating accident. I got to help with the rescue, bottle feedings, snuggles, etc. This Is a Sea Cow is my love letter to manatees (in all their glorious strangeness). I hope my readers will come to appreciate just how fascinating these animals are, and maybe someone will even grow up to snuggle, feed, and rescue manatees professionally. PictureBookBuzz: Tell us a bit about your illustration process for the book. Cassandra: The book is designed to appear as though it’s a child’s school report, so the illustrations are a collage of penmanship paper, pencils, crayons, and other found objects that I arranged in Photoshop. PictureBookBuzz: What are you currently working on? Cassandra: Right now I’m primarily focused on the interior illustrations for This Is a Sea Cow. In my spare time you might find me revising other manuscripts, working on a new book dummy, sketching, reading, or matching wits against my precocious toddler. (And on occasion, winning.) PictureBookBuzz: How can readers discover more about you and your work? Cassandra: My website is cassandrafederman.com. Check there for book news, links, and artwork. You can also find me @CassFederman on Twitter and Instagram. I’m part of two debut groups called @picturebookbuzz and @notable19s. Check them out on Twitter to learn about some other amazing authors and illustrators with books coming out in 2019!
10 Comments
11/7/2018 05:24:33 pm
I’m so glad there is a rehab group for manatees and that you’re helping to bring their plight to the public, Cassandra! This sounds like an awesome book!
Reply
11/10/2018 11:07:06 pm
Cassandra, I love that you used school type supplies for the art for this book...what a unique idea. And I love how you describe the book as your love letter to a manatee.
Reply
11/13/2018 04:20:00 am
Hi Cassandra, I am sure This Is A Sea Cow will inspire a future generation of conservationists 😊 Congratulations, I can’t wait to read it.
Reply
8/1/2022 03:03:32 am
Really informative article, I had the opportunity to learn a lot, thank you. https://takipcisatinalz.com/takipci-2/
Reply
8/2/2022 12:42:44 am
Really informative article, I had the opportunity to learn a lot, thank you. https://www.ugurelektronik.com/
Reply
8/2/2022 06:28:15 am
Really informative article, I had the opportunity to learn a lot, thank you. https://takipcialdim.com/ucuz-takipci-satin-al/
Reply
8/2/2022 11:43:45 pm
Really informative article, I had the opportunity to learn a lot, thank you. https://www.takipcikenti.com/instagram/turk-takipci/
Reply
8/9/2022 06:34:00 am
Really informative article, I had the opportunity to learn a lot, thank you. https://www.smsbankasi.net/2022/08/amazon-shopify-aliexpress-walmart-ebay.html
Reply
8/11/2022 03:24:16 pm
Really informative article, I had the opportunity to learn a lot, thank you. https://bit.ly/instagram-takipci-satin-al-takipci
Reply
8/19/2022 03:09:07 pm
Really informative article, I had the opportunity to learn a lot, thank you. https://guvenbozum.com/
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorsWe are a group of picture book authors and illustrators whose first picture books will be released in 2019. Read about our roads to publication here. Archives
May 2019
Categories
All
|