For the past 8 months I was working on another picture book illustration project… this one titled, The Kid from Diamond Street. It’s my 22nd picture book thus far in my career… and the second time illustrating a story by author Audrey Vernick. (our first collaboration together was on her previous baseball themed picture book, Brothers at Bat -which was named a New York Times Book Review Notable Picture Book (2012), and also won the prestigiousCalifornia Young Reader Medal in Picture Books (2015).
Posted here is a sneak peek (cropped view) of the cover. This picture book will be released in 2016 by Clarion Books/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
The Kid from Diamond Street is the true story of remarkable Philadelphia girl Edith Houghton… who became a professional baseball player at age ten, playing for the Philadelphia Bobbies, and at age thirteen (in 1925) Edith was star player on an all-female USA team that toured Japan and competed against that country’s college-level male baseball teams. As an adult Edith went on to become the first female scout in all of Major League baseball.
The period illustrations I created for this picture book capture the essence of this talented and spirited young woman, as well as the look and feel of the 1920′s era… Flapper fashions, automobiles, ocean liners, etc… It is a lovely picture book, a compelling true story that girls, boys and adults will all enjoy.
Look for The Kid from Diamond Street in spring 2016!
Visit my illustration web site stevensalerno.com to see the many picture books I have illustrated, as well as to view my portfolios for advertising and editorial projects…
In 2015, I have two other picture books being released:
WILD CHILD (written & illustrated by Steven Salerno -August 2015, Abrams Books for Young Readers) It’s a story about a new kind of wild creature that dominates the jungle, and how all the other animals try and tame it to restore peace and quiet. But nothing they try works. The wild creature just getswilder… until the clever Gorilla finally figures out a way.
The Fantastic Ferris Wheel (written by Betsy Harvey Kraft, illustrated bySteven Salerno -October 2015, Christy Ottaviano Books) It’s the true life account of American engineer George Washington Ferris, inventor of the giant observation wheel built for the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, and dubbed the “Ferris Wheel”.
