Tales from the Rushmore Kid

Kristi Valiant - Illustrator

Sometimes when I am checking the blog traffic I will find a site that interests me. This is how I came across illustrator Kristi Valiant. Her art was brilliant, so I asked her for an interview. As it turns out, Kristi has a recent picture book out that she illustrated, Cora Cooks Pancit. I give you Kristi Valiant.

When and why did you start illustrating for children?

When I was little, I was fascinated with the illustrations by Janet & Anne Grahame Johnstone in Dean's Mother Goose Book of Rhymes. God gave me the talent to draw, and those Mother Goose illustrations gave me the desire to work in children's books.

Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art

When I visited my relatives in Boston, I decided to travel a hundred miles south to the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art. The Very Hunger Caterpillar illustrator/author Eric Carle and his wife Barbara founded the museum in 2002. It is a fabulous museum honoring illustrators past and present who have worked in children's literature.  With a library, galleries and hands-on art studio for the kids, this is a wonderful place for families.  Here is the mission statement for the museum:

"The mission of The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art is to inspire, especially in children and their families, an appreciation for and an understanding of the art of the picture book.