Robert Munsch

Michael Martchenko has always loved to draw. He started off drawing new pictures for his favourite comic books, then went to art school and became the art director at an advertising agency. His first picture book was Robert Munsch's The Paper Bag Princess. He has collaborated with Robert Munsch on many other titles, including, Mmm, Cookies!, We Share Everything, Alligator Baby, Makeup Mess, Up, Up, Down, Andrew's Loose Tooth, Playhouse, More Pies and Zoom!. He has also illustrated his own books, and such popular titles as Oonga Boonga. Michael loves to include sub-plots and visual jokes in his books — watch for the chickens in Playhouse, and see if you can spot Michael and Robert Munsch at the bus stop in More Pies! Michael writes and illustrates picture books from his studio in Burlington, Ontario. Read our Illustrator Spotlight: Q & A with Michael Martchenko (PDF).

Jay Odjick is an artist, writer and producer from Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg, an Algonquin community just outside of Maniwaki, Quebec. He loved reading comics as child and eventually went from being a fan to a comic book creator! His indigenous superhero Kagagi appeared first as a graphic novel and is now an animated television series broadcast in both English and Algonquin.

Jay drew upon his upbringing to illustrate Blackflies. The story is set on a northern Alberta reserve and is about Helen, a young girl whose sister and father have been swept up by a swarm of insects! Jay previously illustrated Munsch's story The Ocean Goes On Forever, which appears in the anthology Munsch Mania.

Jay’s most recent collaboration with Robert Munsch is Bear for Breakfast, which was also published in a dual language English-Algonquin edition. When asked about the most interesting food he’s ever eaten, Jay said “I have not eaten bear... for breakfast. However, growing up in Kitigan Zibi, I did eat bear meat. Once.”

Jay hopes to inspire other indigenous artists and storytellers to aspire to big projects as well. “Believe in yourself and your vision. You have a unique take on your world that no one can deliver as well as you.”

Odjick is also passionate about revitalizing and preserving indigenous languages. He launched the Twitter-based #Algonquin Word of the Day, which shows Algonquin words alongside his illustrations.

Dave Whamond is an award-winning illustrator and cartoonist. He has illustrated more than 45 picture books, including the Oddrey series and My Think-a-ma-Jink. His syndicated cartoon strip Reality Check is now in its 20th year and is featured in newspapers around the world.

When his kids were young, Dave read Robert Munsch books to them and imagined one day illustrating them himself. That dream came true with the book Braids!, which won the Reuben Award for Best Illustrated Book from the National Cartoonists Society and the Rainforest of Reading Award. Dave has had tremendous fun illustrating two more Robert Munsch books recently, School Rules! and Think Big! Dave lives in Calgary, Alberta.

Mike Boldt had a successful career illustrating children’s products, including pop-up books, iPhone games and comics, before making the leap into picture books. It makes sense for someone who easily admits to having a special interest in ice cream, Legos, cartoons, and all things Star Wars. Mike also loves J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit, and he grew up on a steady diet of Bill Peet and Bill Watterson books. As a child, Mike spent much of his time drawing and creating stories of his own.

“At one point, I thought I would become a marine biologist, only because the dream of working for Disney seemed too far-fetched,” explains Mike. It was support from his parents that convinced him to pursue a career he would really enjoy. He has been illustrating professionally for almost 20 years now.

Although he loves to sketch with just a pencil, his work now is almost exclusively digital. He illustrated Robert Munsch’s story Get Me Another One digitally as he did for Little Jack Horner, Live from the Corner. Mike is also the author-illustrator of A Tiger Tail, 123 versus ABC and Colours versus Shapes.

Mike lived for a year in South Korea and had the opportunity to see Japan, Thailand, Cambodia, and China. Now he lives in Alberta with his family. Visit him online at www.mikeboldt.ca.

Janet Wilson is the award-winning illustrator of more than forty children’s books, including Lighthouse: A Story of Remembrance, Daniel’s Dog, In Flanders Fields and Selina and the Bear Paw Quilt. She is known for her sensitive portraits of children and adults. Janet lives in Eden Mills, Ontario.

“Janet Wilson's exquisite cover illustration of Lighthouse sets the tone…. Wilson's gift is facial expressions, and her poignant oil on canvas renderings of Sarah's face as she deals with her sorrow are nothing short of brilliant.”
-CM

Husband and wife team Alan and Lea Daniel paint together in their house in Kitchener, Ontario. Their own children, pets, friends and furniture often appear in their illustrations. They have illustrated several books for Scholastic, including the Robert Munsch titles Get Out of Bed!, and Aaron’s Hair. They were nominated for the Governor General's Award for Illustration for their book Sody Salleratus.

Eugenie Fernandes loved exploring the outdoors and making her own little books when she was young. As an adult she has combined these interests by creating books such as Ribbon Rescue, The Tree that Grew to the Moon, Waves in the Bathtub, One More Pet, and Grandpa Dan's Toboggan Ride.

Eugenie is part of a very artistic family. Her father was a comic book illustrator, her husband, Henry Fernandes, is a picture book illustrator who collaborated with her on the book Ordinary Amos and the Amazing Fish, and her two children are also artists. Eugenie lives near Peterborough, Ontario, where she works in a studio that is surrounded by water and woods.