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| A Junior Library Guild Selection |
Soccer Team, by Susan Hood and Patthana Sornhiran.
Chicago Public Libraries Best of the Best 2019
2020 Best Stem Book Awards list from NSTA
2020 Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People, a cooperative project of the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) and the Children’s Book Council
Being chosen to illustrate this book was such an honor, and I am really happy with how it has turned out! It was the most difficult project I've worked on to date for many reasons:
- It is a once-in-a-lifetime, unprecedented story of the world coming together to save these boys, written so beautifully by award winning author Susan Hood and Thai reporter Patthana Sornhiran. I felt a great responsibility to do my part in bringing this story to children in the best possible form for kids all over the world.
- The technically tricky task of drawing nonfiction characters that look like their real life selves: all those boys! And the rescuers! More real life people than I've drawn for my prior book projects!
- The other technically tricky task of drawing accurate nonfiction details of clothing, scenery, etc.
- Most characters are male (and prior to this project, I mostly did not draw many men or boys! I just didn't).
- I'd say this is the most efficiently I've ever worked.
- I want my art to make Thai people proud!
- The very hardest part was that my father passed away while I was working on this project. He knew I was working on it; for this I am grateful. I know how proud he would've been to see the outcome.
