Shennen Bersani's Weblog

Any books I know? Read here to learn more about my books.

 

More Colored Pencil Portraits from the ‘80’s See how well they held up.

Don’t forget to Subscribe to my YouTube channel, drawerofmanythings.

Colored pencil portraits I created using Prismacolors and Derwent Studio pencils, back in the ‘80’s. Visit each video to read all the details. The lightfastness held up fantastic, the only sign of any wax bloom is on the inside of the glass on Ryan’s wooden chair. Love my Prismacolors! 

These were the very beginning of my career, the roots of my becoming a children’s book illustrator. Read each video’s description to learn why I created each of them. 

 

 

Shark Week! Draw a Shark with Shennen

It’s that time of year, again. Shark Week! To celebrate I’ve got a new video posted for all of you on my YouTube channel, drawerofmanythings. Check it out, and don’t forget to Subscribe, like and share! 

Uh-Oh, Ryan!! A Prismacolor and Neocolor II portrait on Matboard in a Shadow Box

This newest video on my YouTube channel, drawerofmanythings is a real fun one! Is Ryan in trouble? Watch and find out what he’s got himself into this time.

Follow along with me as I add more videos, of my art, art supplies, children’s books, and tutorials. Lots on the way, Subscribe to my channel, like and share this video.

 

Favorite Doll, a colored pencil portrait created with Prismacolors and Caran D’Ache Neocolor II

I’m continuing to share my colored pencil portraits on my YouTube channel, drawerofmanythings. Check out my channel; Subscribe, like and share. You’ll be notified as it grows, I’m planning on future how to’s and interviews with fellow creatives, so check it out and Subscribe! Here’s my newest video:

Here is another one of my Prismacolor portraits. I’m revisiting my older colored pencil work to see how well my art has withstood the passing of time. Yeah, I’m aging myself here a bit, but that’s ok! I love my age, with it has come fabulous experiences and years of published illustration work. This is a colored pencil and crayon portrait in a 20”x24” framed shadow box I created in 1990. I used Prismacolor pencils, Caran D’Ache Neocolor II crayons, and found objects - on hot press illustration board. It has held up quite nicely, I do see some wax bloom on the doll and some color shifting on my daughter’s right hand. Other than that, it looks great after 31 years. Artwork copyright Shennen Bersani 1990-2021. 

DM me over at @ShennenBersani on Twitter and @Shennen14 on Instagram

 

River Otter’s Adventure is a MUST READ BOOK! Mass Book Awards

River Otter’s Adventure, made the Massachusetts Center for the Book’s MUST READ Book list! You will find it under MUST READ PICTURE BOOKS/EARLY READERS.

I’m very excited! Written by Linda Stanek and published by Arbordale, here is Arbordale’s press release.

Released during the pandemic in 2020, River Otter’s Adventure is the 30th book I’ve illustrated. I’m so delighted children across Massachusetts will be reading it. Earlier this year the state of Texas selected it for their Tejas Reading List. I am doubly excited kids all across the country are reading it. Take a look! 

River Otter’s Adventure, available in English and Spanish, paperback and ebook. 

 


When a young river otter sneaks into a zoo, she wonders if she should be more like some of the other animals she meets. She wants a trunk like the elephant or be loud like the gorilla… By imitating and comparing herself to these other animals she learns to appreciate herself. Educational components are woven throughout this fun, read-aloud story and sidebar information complements and extends the learning, making it a perfect book for a wide variety of ages.

Written by Linda Stanek, Illustrated by Shennen Bersani
32 pg, 8.5 x 10, Ages 4 - 8, Grades K - 3, Lexile: 600, F&P: N 

 

Geeks Who Drink quiz art

Just before the pandemic hit I was given a really fun assignment for Geeks Who Drink. Then bars across the country closed and GWD had to go virtual. They are now getting back on track with live trivia quizzes, so I checked in with their Quizmaster-in-Chief Christopher Short (yeah, that Christopher Short, you might have seen him kicking butt on Jeopardy!) and asked him if it was okay to share these. I got the green light, so check these out! Can you solve them without cheating? 

These were really fun to illustrate! Adult books turned into children’s book covers. 

 

Portraits in Prismacolor pencils

I’m on the introverted side, I enjoy creating art and reading - 2020 was perfect for that lifestyle. But like a butterfly leaving its chrysalis, it’s time to breakout, get moving and spread those wings! Summer is here and life is finally getting back to normal.

I’m just finishing up a #30daysofdoodles on Twitter and Instagram. My ‘doodles’ weren’t exactly what one would call a ‘doodle’, mostly I experimented with new pencils and supplies. Check them out, you’ll see plenty of colored pencil bananas, each with a different brand of colored pencils using only the colors that come in their 12 set packages. I compared:

Faber Castell Polychromos

Caran D’Ache Pablo

Derwent Lightfast

Holbein

Caran D’Ache Luminance

Derwent Inktense

Crayola

Bic

Don’t laugh, the .97 cent Crayola’s are pigmented, actually blend and worked good! I wouldn’t use them for my professional artwork, but I would recommend them to students and colorists of all ages to enjoy. The Bic’s were pricey (haha) at $1.98 a package. I do not recommend them, they didn’t blend well and were dull for my standards. 

Keeping in mind my doodles were never meant to be finished, professional artwork. They were just me having some fun with new supplies. So for all who want to know what my colored pencil work actually looks like, I created a short YouTube video showing one of my Prismacolor pieces from 1988. All I hear online is quips about Prismacolors not being lightfast. Look at my art and you decide. Plus subscribe to my YouTube channel, drawerofmanythings. I plan on sharing much more of my Prismacolor colored pencil work. All self taught, back in the mid ‘80s I was teaching colored pencil course and giving workshops. I’ve never used a solvent or blender pencil, just tons of layers and lighter colors as my blenders. Plus I use a basic electric sharpener to sharpen my pencils. Take a look at this first video:

Find me on Twitter @ShennenBersani and on Instagram @Shennen14 

*I spent five years studying at the Art Institute of Boston (now at Leslie College) majoring in graphic design for two years and illustration for three. Colored pencil was a material I practiced with and perfected after I left there. Originally I used colored pencils for fine art and portrait commissions, eventually they morphed into my go-to technique for picture book illustrations. My illustrations are typically created with Prismacolors, Derwent Studio pencils, and Caran D’Ache Neocolor II crayons. After my eye surgery I finally broke down and bought Polychromos, and all those other brands, plus a few more people gifted to me. I really like them all, minus the Bic!, but so far I’m still in love with my Prismacolors! I’m trying out a variety of new materials and supplies, so stay tuned, new techniques are evolving and old dogs can learn new tricks. 

 

New Achoo! Activity Sheets - Color by Number, Connect the Dots, and Jigsaw Puzzle

I’ve added three four new activity sheets to www.achoowhypollencounts.com - Color by Number is the first one. I’m all for creative expression, I’m not mandating you follow this color key, use it as a guide to get you started!

The second is a Connect the Dots. One side is easy, whereas I’ve made the other side a bit more challenging. But you can do it!

The third is a Jigsaw Puzzle.

The fourth is a Find the Difference.

And don’t forget to visit the site to find lots of other activity sheets for summer fun time learning; puzzles, coloring pages, and free crafts. Plus photos of bees from around the world.

 



For the Jigsaw Puzzle. As a challenge! Try coloring in the pieces first, then cut each out and solve the puzzle to see how your coloring came out. 🧩

Legit Kid Lit Episode 43 Draw Off!

I participated in the latest Legit Kid Lit Draw Off! We filmed it last weekend, and it was released today. Participating with me were Isabella King and Kaela Rivera. Check it out! 

For Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month (May) I am giving away a hardcover copy of A Case of Sense by Songju Ma Daemicke and Honey Girl: The Hawaiian Monk Seal, by Jeanne Walker Harvey. (Both illustrated by me.) To have a chance to win follow and retweet my link on Twitter @ShennenBersani PLUS follow @Legit_Kid_Lit. Alexis and Tiffany at Legit Kid Lit will be selecting the winner. Good luck! 

 

Changing artistic styles and techniques

I love all the books I’ve illustrated. Each and every one of them (I’m working on book 34). Sometimes I’ve illustrated people realistically, as in the true non-fiction story of Astro: The Steller Sea Lion, written by Jeanne Walker Harvey. Astro is a celebrity Sea Lion! You can see him in person at the Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut. 

Other times I illustrate whimsical, playful people, as I did for the fictional storybook, A Family Walk, written by Jennifer Butenas. This is the delightful story of a family who spend precious moments together, creating lifetime memories - captured by their Mom with her camera. 



I was recently asked which style I prefer. I honestly answered this way. I truly don’t have a favorite style to work in. I look at each book as a new clean canvas. I read the manuscript and ponder it for a while. The words direct me one way or another. Non-fiction books typically are realistic, while fictional tales slide to whimsy. This isn’t hard and fast, and sometimes the editor/art director requests a specific style or technique. Working in a wide variety of styles and techniques is what makes my job so much fun!  

Pollen Season.... Achoo!

Are pollen allergies getting you down? Check out www.achoowhypollencounts.com. Over there you will find fun, free puzzles, coloring pages, and craft projects that are sure to cheer you up! 

....plus, Arbordale Publishing has free Teaching Activities and quizzes for additional learning possibilities. Find the links on the top right. 



Spring has arrived and pollen is in the air. Baby Bear does not like the pollen—it sticks to his fur and makes him itchy and sneezy. He’s allergic! Achoo! He just wishes the pollen were gone. When his friends gather to tell him why they need pollen, Baby Bear learns that pollen is good for the forest and provides food for many animals, including him! Pollen might be something we all love to hate, but can we really live without it? This story explains why we need it.

This fictional story includes a 4-page For Creative Minds section in the back of the book and a 45-page cross-curricular Teaching Activity Guide online. Achoo! Why Pollen Counts is vetted by experts and designed to encourage parental engagement. Its extensive back matter helps teachers with time-saving lesson ideas, provides extensions for science, math, and social studies units, and uses inquiry-based learning to help build critical thinking skills in young readers. The Spanish translation supports ELL and dual-language programs. The interactive ebook reads aloud in both English and Spanish with word highlighting and audio speed control to promote oral language skills, fluency, pronunciation, text engagement, and reading comprehension.

Also available in German and Portuguese! Gesundheit!

 

The Eyes have it!

2020, a year none of us can forget. We all have personal stories to share. 
Oh, it is so eye-ronic, here’s my right eye - which got injured in 2019 to the point of legal blindness - which finally got repaired with surgery this year! Yay! 20/400 -> 20/20 in one day! To have this book released shortly after my surgery is soo, eye opening and heart-felt emotional for me! 
...It was the pandemic that forced me to wait so long for my surgery, that, and requiring a specialist. 

Onward and upward! Yay! 

So the Big Question is, is my eye in The Eyeball Alphabet Book, or am I just teasing you here? Grab a copy and See for yourself! 

My eye surgery was in Boston. The day after surgery I had to return to Boston to have the surgeon recheck my eye. I was OVER THE MOON I could not only see, but I could see colors correctly again! We left the surgeon’s and headed directly to Dick Blick’s, of course! 

The injury, and all the trouble I had drawing that came with it, ushered in my Watercolor phase. I’ll talk about that in the future. Until then....

 

 

FIREBIRD BOOK AWARDS - 1st place Shark Baby!!!

Listen to my interview with Pat Rullo here, scroll down to find link. 

I am currently illustrating my 34th picture book. For 19 years I’ve been illustrating children’s books, that’s a long time and a lot of books. Over the course of my career, a few books have touched my soul. One has been Shark Baby. Written by author Ann Downer, Shark Baby tells the story of a baby shark, searching for his identity. Who of us can’t relate to that?

 

As you can read in my dedication, I traveled across the country to do hands-on research for the illustrations:

After the book was released, I was excited to meet Ann Downer, who also lived in Massachusetts. Ann and I did school visits and many book signings together; in and out of Boston, and at the Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut. With Ann being a year older than I and both of us mothers, I felt a real connection to her. I loved getting together with Ann. I had secretly hoped to illustrate more of Ann’s books. One day she told me she was ill. The doctors were having a challenging time nailing down a diagnosis. The next time we met she told me she was dying of ALS. Ann passed away two years after Shark Baby was released, one year after she was diagnosed with ALS. 

The world lost a most cherished author. You see, Ann was already a famous author before she wrote Shark Baby. You can read about her books at Simon and Schuster. Or on her Wikipedia page. Or find her books on Goodreads. Or on Amazon. 

I cherish Shark Baby. For me, it is wrapped up in many precious memories; researching it, illustrating it, promoting it with Ann. I would love to share it with others. So as the illustrator, and in honor of Ann, I submitted it to the Firebird Book Awards for illustration.  

I am honored to say Shark Baby, written by Ann Downer, has won first place in three categories of the FIREBIRD BOOK AWARDS: 

First place: Illustration Children
First place: Illustration General
First place: Picture Book All Ages 

https://www.speakuptalkradio.com/?powerpress_pinw=12876-podcast

Here is the press release:

EIGHTY FOUR AUTHORS AWARDED THE FIREBIRD BOOK AWARD

April 2021 – Speak Up Talk Radio announced the winners of 2021’s first quarter FIREBIRD BOOK AWARDS contest. Eighty four winners were announced in 98 categories.

One of the winning entries was from Massachusetts, illustrator Shennen Bersani, whose book titled Shark Baby won in First Place in these three categories: Illustration Children, Illustration General, and Picture Book All Ages. 

Authors and publishers from around the world submitted their work to the Firebird Book Awards. A panel of 12 judges within the writing and publishing space then read every book and independently scored each entry according to a set of standardized criteria that evaluates the quality of the writing as well as production aspects. Only entries with the highest of scores are awarded the coveted Firebird.

Patricia J. Rullo, founder of the Firebird Book Awards, says, “This quarter’s entries were a joy to read and speak to the talent out there. At Speak Up Talk Radio, our mission is to offer radio interviews and podcasting services to help authors expand their reach. In addition to additional prizes, our winners have the opportunity to be interviewed and aired on iHeart Radio, Pandora, as well as 50 additional online venues, giving them new ways to speak up and share their work.”

Pat adds, “We’ve included a charitable component to our awards by making all entry fees tax-deductible to the author. In return, we personally make and send handmade fun and whimsical pillowcases to women and children in homeless shelters via Enchanted Makeovers, a 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization. All entry fees fund this project. In this way, authors can get notoriety for their work while doing good for others. It’s been such a rewarding venture for everyone.”

The Firebird Book Awards run quarterly contests so authors can receive recognition on a timely basis. Authors from all genres, mainstream, independent, and self-published are welcome. Additional winning authors and titles as well as entry information is available at https://www.speakuptalkradio.com

Shark Baby is available in English and Spanish and can be purchased at Arbordale Publishing. 
About the book:

“Who am I?” wonders Shark Baby. When his “mermaid’s purse" egg case is torn loose in a storm, he finds himself on a journey through different ocean habitats: kelp forests, coral reefs, and seagrass meadows. He learns what kind of shark he isn’t, but not what kind he is. He needs to find the “mermaid" to learn where he belongs, but the ocean is big and full of dangers. Will he find out who he is—and what he can do—in time?

YAY!! Yay for Big Brothers! cover reveal

Just a quick post of the cover, and to let you know something new is coming! Releasing September 10, 2021, written by Janet Halfmann and published by Arbordale. Yay for Big Brothers! This is the 16th picture book I’ve illustrated for Arbordale Publishing, and my second Janet Halfmann book, the first being Home in the Cave. 

From Arbordale’s site:

Big brothers are amazing! Did you know that big brothers are important in animal families, too? Animal big brothers do many of the same things as kid big brothers. They play with their younger siblings, teach them new things, and help with their care. Sometimes animal big brothers even babysit when their parents leave to hunt for food. Are you a big brother or do you have a big brother?

Written by Janet Halfmann, Illustrated by Shennen Bersani
32 pg, 8.5 x 10, Ages 4 - 8, Grades K - 3

Preorder from Amazon here: Yay for Big Brothers!

The Eyeball Alphabet Book’s Kirkus Review

An excerpt from Kirkus’ review of The Eyeball Alphabet Book,

“Bersani follows up the spectacular illustrations in Not a Butterfly Alphabet Book (2019) with another set of equally bright, bold, and this time literally eye-catching close-ups to go with Pallotta’s alphabetical assortment of ocular animal facts.” Read the entire review over at Kirkus.com  Releasing May 11, preorder it here. 

Written by Jerry Pallotta, published by Charlesbridge.

It’s Tejas Star time! Yeehaw!

I was in heaven when Achoo! Why Pollen Counts earned this honor. Today I was equally thrilled to learn River Otter’s Adventure also made The Tejas Star Reading List. 

Tremendous joy for River Otter’s Adventure! The Spanish edition is on the 2021-2022 Tejas Star Reading List! Check it out: La aventura de la nutria de río (River Otter’s Adventure) by Linda Stanek, translated by Alejandra de la Torre y Javier Camacho Miranda, illustrated by Shennen Bersani (Arbordale Publishing, LLC, 2020)

*The Tejas Star Reading List (TSRL) provides a recommended reading list to encourage children ages 5-12 to explore multicultural books and to discover the cognitive and economic benefits of bilingualism and multilingualism. The Tejas Star Reading List is intended for recreational reading, not to support a specific curriculum.

https://txla.org/.../reading-lists/tejas-star/current-list/

You can buy a copy, in English and/or Spanish over at Arbordale:

https://arbordalepublishing.com/bookpage.php?id=465   

The Tejas Star Reading List is brought to you by the Texas Library Association.