MELVIN out in the world

MELVIN has officially published!!! He hit bookshelves while I was out of town in early July. I have been illustrating books for about 6 years now, but this is the first I have written. Way back in the summer of 2007 I drew this in my sketchbook, which immediately sparked the story of MELVIN AND THE BOY.

Now, a whole 4 years later, it's an actual printed book! It's a scary thing to be 100% responsible for the outcome of a book — illustrations AND text — but hearing and reading the kind reviews and responses to MELVIN has been wonderful encouragement to write more stories of my own.

Here are a few reviewers that have shed some light on little Melvin:

—Shelf Awareness (click below image to enlarge/read)

—An article in The New York Times, titled "For Children Who Want Pets and Parents Who Don't"

—A Kirkus Reviews article by Julie Danielson, titled "Seven Impossible Things: Illustrators on Their Own"

—And, today Jules included Melvin on her Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast blog. If you'd like to see a handful of interiors from the book, head over there to take a look.

Thanks so much to these reviewers for their interest in MELVIN AND THE BOY!  xoxo~Lauren

bloggers like Melvin!

Melvin and The Boy will soon be appearing in bookstores!!! And a couple great bloggers have some exceptionally nice things to say about this turtle. Hooray! Many thanks to Travis Jonker over at 100 Scope Notes for writing what is probably the most complimentary book review I have ever received. You can head over to his blog to read the whole review if you'd like. Here's a clip that made me smile from ear to ear:

"The text is a strong point, as Castillo does wonders with an extremely small word count. Succinct, yet crystal clear, this is a book that will work with very young children.

The illustrations put Melvin and the Boy squarely into Caldecott territory. Castillo uses a unique acetone transfer with markers and watercolor, and the results are gorgeous. The composition of each illustration is masterful, and the spreads are especially memorable, bursting with subtle skill."

And thanks to another outstanding blogger, Tasha Saecker over at Waking Brain Cells, for her oh-so-kind review of Melvin! Wander over to her blog for the entire review. Here's a little snippet:

"This is the first book that Castillo has both written and illustrated.  Her writing is pitch perfect here, offering just enough detail and with the right phrasing and tone.  It really feels as if a child was speaking in first person without becoming distracting. "

Thank you both so much for recognizing little Melvin and the boy! xo~Lauren

Character sketches!

Here's some character sketches I did for a new project I'm working on titled THE READER (written by Amy Hest). A boy, a dog, and snow—what could be better?

Visitors!

 



Melvin and the Boy have finally arrived!!! 

My first book as author comes out in less than a month, and I'm pretty excited. Will share much more very soon!
(It is available for pre-order here if you're interested)

American Booksellers Association Silent Auction

I donated this study from MELVIN AND THE BOY to this year's ABA Silent Auction (benefiting the ABFFE Fund for Free Speech in Children's Books) which is part of Book Expo America.

 There's going to be tons of great art to bid on at the event ~ hope to see you there next Wednesday evening, May 25th! You can browse through all the art right HERE! And, details for the auction are HERE.

Nice day for a picnic

Cinco de Mayo sketcharoo

come join the party!

This Friday evening there is going to be a celebration of all that is good. You should come! There will be tons of artwork filling the walls of the party space, including this piece of mine. (click to enlarge—you'll see Melvin the turtle made it in to the scene!) Details are here. Don't miss it!

MELVIN cover

Here's a bit of the cover progression for Melvin. Veronique Sweet over at Henry Holt did an excellent job designing the jacket...and there's even going to be a surprise case cover! I can't wait to receive my first printed copy. The book isn't out till July, but you can already pre-order here!