Often I write a picture book without any idea of what my characters might look like, and sometimes I don’t even know WHAT they are. Are they even human?

Nope. I prefer non-humans. Monsters, aliens, purple orangutans—I feel they have more freedom in their actions than mere mortals. And that gives me more freedom, too. 

Such was the case with my upcoming title, PARTY ANIMALS, illustrated by the talented Anna Raff. I asked Anna about this blank canvas I dropped onto her drafting table.

Anna, when I wrote PARTY ANIMALS, I didn’t specify what kind of animals were having a party! How did you decide upon each character’s species?

What a fun question to start with!

I had a few things in mind at the very beginning of my sketch process. Primarily, I was thinking about your wonderful text and the personalities it brought to mind. For instance, Horace—our party pooper—needed to be a stern, no-nonsense kind of guy. At first I thought he might be a mule, since he’s a bit stubborn, too. Then I started to think about scale and how funny a vast difference in size would be between the chaotic partying animals and poor Horace cowering in the corner amidst the mayhem. So I decided he should be the smallest and chose a rat—I have a history of drawing rats—knowing he might also have a pink tail. To me, that flash of pink says maybe he’s not such a big ol’ grouch after all? Our wonderful editor, Sylvie Frank, gave me the idea of giving him a toothpick walking stick, which adds even more clues to his inner character.

In addition to scale, for the other animals I was thinking about what their area of partying expertise would be. Beatrix, the elephant chef, cooks all the wacky foods for each celebration. I thought having a trunk would be helpful for her in the kitchen. Who among us home chefs hasn’t wished for an extra hand? And to be honest, I really just love drawing elephant ears.

And love of drawing is what brought me to the other two animal species: Theodore, the cat, and Phoebe…who I think is a dog?…even I’m not entirely sure! One of the things I learned in from my mentor, Marshall Arisman, is something I try to instill in my own students. You have to ask yourself, “What do I want to draw?” If you answer honestly, you end up having a much better time in the process, rather than thinking about outside influences. As with elephant ears, I love drawing dogs and cats. I also thought it might be fun for readers to imagine their own pet cat being really into crafts and decorating, and a “dog” who was also a great virtuoso/DJ!

You’ve packed a whole lot of goodies into the illustrations: little hidden gems! Do you want to reveal one or two of your favorites? 

Another great question! Some people call them “carrots”.

During the-milk-has-gone-sour party, Beatrix is holding a 1960s edition of the Betty Crocker Cook Book (the space in between “cook” and “book” is not a typo!), the source of many of my family’s favorite dessert recipes when I was a kid. In fact, I just used it to bake my dad a strawberry-rhubarb pie for Father’s Day.

Another detail that was fun was switching the fabric patterns and imagery on the Party Animals’ clothing to match each party theme. Oh…and all the wacky bakes! I think the pincushion cake is my favorite.

What were some of your intentions when designing and illustrating the cover of PARTY ANIMALS?

Primarily, I wanted to emphasize each animals’ party energy, whether it be super-duper party-er or party-pooper, so readers would know what they’re in for. We’ve got the three partying animals in front, each exhibiting their party expertise, while Horace is up top amongst the balloons, acting all judgey.

At first, I had Beatrix holding up one of her more obscure bakes, the brain cake from the thinking party. But our editor and art director thought that might be a little misleading / too specific. At the time, they also mentioned the addition of the tagline, so when I was replacing the cake, that seemed like a great place for more lettering.

I knew early on that the title type needed to be prominent, in balloon lettering…you know, to scream PAR-TAY! The fact there we’re doing a second book drove my decision making, too. Before becoming an illustrator, I was a designer and art director and tapped into a few of those skills to really fine-tune the lettering, so it would feel like part of a series. That also helped with the lettering for Bea’s layer cake.

And then for the case cover, Joann had the idea of showing the aftermath of the fantabulous party on the jacket, with Horace sweeping up while the other animals crash in a sleepy heap. I played around with the lighting in the final art too, to contrast against the warm, splashy lighting of the jacket.

 

 

 

Thank you for all the fun, Anna!

And now here is the cover reveal for PARTY ANIMALS, releasing March 11, 2025 from Disney*Hyperion!

PARTY ANIMALS is available for pre-order anywhere, but if you’d like me to sign and personalize your copy, I’d be grateful if you placed an order via my local indie, The Bookworm, whose longtime owner passed away recently. We want to keep the store in Bernardsville, NJ running after 40 years of serving the community! You can call them at 908-766-4599.

Anna will sign copies ordered via Books of Wonder.

And now the givey! Comment below with what you like most about the cover and a random winner will be selected on August 1. That winner will receive a signed spread (by me, Tara Lazar) from the F&G (printed proof) of PARTY ANIMALS!

Good luck!