My newest illustrated book, Shy Me came out this past spring and I couldn’t be more proud. It was one of those rare projects where I could fully relate to the main character because — surprise, surprise — I was once a shy kid too!

Shy Me is the third book to come out in Sandra V. Feder’s bestselling Emotions and Me series published by Groundwood Books. The first two books in the series were illustrated by the wonderful Rahele Jomepour Bell.

I must admit, when Nan Froman from Groundwood first presented this project to me, I had major imposter syndrome and almost turned it down. I was very familiar with the outstanding work illustrator Rahele Jomepour Bell had put into the previous two books, Angry Me and Peaceful Me, and couldn’t shake the feeling that Groundwood had mistaken me for someone else. Thankfully Nan and the rest at Groundwood believed in me and nudged me to take it on. And I’m so glad I did.

Kirsten Brassard from Groundwood has put this really thoughtful blog post together where Rahele and I discuss our work on this series. We talk about our inspirations, our approaches and which character we relate to the most.

Here’s the link: https://houseofanansi.com/blogs/anansi/a-conversation-with-the-illustrators-of-the-emotions-and-me-series

To learn more about Shy Me, Click Here.