WEBSITE HAS MOVED!

You can find the new website here: http://www.suzannemcg.com all images copyright Suzanne F. McGinness

Artist in Residence : Suzanne McGinness _DDR Corporate Social Responsibility

My Residency is coming to an end with DDR. Click the link to watch a video for some behind the scenes : http://csr.ddr.com/community/stories/artist-in-residence-suzanne-mcginness

all images copyright Suzanne F. McGinness

Studio Happenings

currently moved into my new studio one month ago... here is what is happening...........................................

for the foxes and for those that tame us

"to me you shall be unique in all the world". all images copyright Suzanne F. McGinness

Shortlisted Most Promising Talent

http://www.juniormagazine.co.uk/childrens-book-awards/shortlisted-most-promising-new-talent-2012---my-bear-griz-by-suzanne-mcginnes/13382.html

if you can dream it, you can achieve it

all images copyright Suzanne F. McGinness

graphite

all images copyright Suzanne F. McGinness

Happenings in the new studio

all images copyright Suzanne F. McGinness

White Raven Award 2012

I am very pleased to announce that My Bear Griz has been honored at this year's Bologna Children's Book Fair with a White Raven Award. Throughout each year, the language specialists (Lektoren) at the Internationale Jugendbibliothek (International Youth Library / IYL) select recently published books that they consider especially noteworthy. This »premium label« is given to books of international interest that deserve a wider reception on account of their universal theme and/or their exceptional and often innovative artistic and literary style and design.

Here is the review on Griz:

McGinness, Suzanne (text/illus.)
My bear Griz
London: Frances Lincoln Children’s Books, 2011. – [26] p.
ISBN 978-1-84780-113-5
(Janetta Otter-Barry books)
Friendship – Imagination
Billy and Griz do everything together: When they go exploring, the boy rides proudly on the grizzly bear’s back; when they play hide-and-seek, Griz couldn’t be more conspicuous curling himself around a ridiculously thin tree trunk; and when they take an afternoon nap, the boy snuggles comfortably against his massive friend’s furry body. Suzanne McGinness’s stunning debut, with its sparse text chronicling the activities of the slightly unusual pair of friends, describes the joys of friendship – nothing new there. However, it is the way in which the impressive biro-and-watercolour illustrations portray the towering reddish-brown grizzly next to the tiny boy that make this book such a convincing and enchanting fare for young and old readers alike – with a delightful twist at the end. (Age: 3+)

more info can be found here at white raven

Cassander Eeeftinck Schattenkerk

so lovely.

Wishing to see more clouds like this about now.

for more work : http://www.berndnaut.nl/images/cumulusklein.jpg

Book Signing at Apple Tree

Shop at local book stores, its the only way to go!
A Huge thank you for Apple Tree Books and Night Town for hosting a wonderful book signing!
all images copyright Suzanne F. McGinness

In the end,
The treasure of life is missed by those who hold on
and gained by those who let go.

all images copyright Suzanne F. McGinness

The New York Times Reviews 'My Bear Griz'

New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/25/books/in-the-company-of-bears.html

In “My Bear Griz,” the first book written and illustrated by Suzanne McGinness, a young boy wearing a paper crown declares, “My name is Billy and I love bears” in immense text that mirrors the size of Griz, a grizzly, of course, and the bear he loves best. He goes on to describe the ins and outs of their friendship –- they like to eat peanut butter and honey sandwiches, snuggle up for naps and stargaze in tandem. The sequence feels like a warmhearted coda to Jez Alborough’s “Eddy and the Bear” series.

There is no story here to speak of, but it’s a sweet portrait of an imaginary friendship. The book’s strength is the illustration, which combines a scratchy, colorful Paul Galdone-like bear along with mixed media images: the boy with a collaged hat, intervals of childish penciled handwriting, watercolor washes and pen-and-ink drawings.

Why I love being a Children's Book Illustrator

all images copyright Suzanne F. McGinness

Smells Like Snow

New Headphones and new winter playlist

Seven Impossible things before breakfast....

Great review at seven impossible things
"My Bear Griz (Frances Lincoln Children’s Books, August 2011) is a story without a problem. It’s a tribute to the imagination of children, simply chronicling one day in the life of young Billy, who loves bears and whose bear’s name is Griz, “because he is a Grizzly Bear.” They explore, snack, play hide-and-go-seek, share secrets, nap, and much more. In the final spread, we see proof that this boy’s imagination is as big as his imaginary friend, though discerning readers will notice other clues before the closing illustration.

Publishers Weekly calls McGinness “a talent worth watching,” and the Kirkus review calls this a “visually distinctive debut.” And that’s just it exactly: McGinness’s art, particularly of this big grizzly bear, is visually striking, and I very much look forward to what she brings us next. The over-sized book format is a nice fit for this beautifully-rendered (and ginormous) bear, who looms from each page, yet still manages to communicate warmth and friendship to young readers.

Here are two more spreads. Enjoy."

all images copyright Suzanne F. McGinness

Book Signing Barnes and Noble

Review from Publishing Group West:
My Bear Griz
Suzanne McGinniss. Frances Lincoln (PGW, dist.), $17.95 (28p) ISBN 978-1-84780-113-5
Newcomer McGinniss spins a fantasy about a boy’s ideal pet: a docile and obliging grizzly bear. McGinniss draws Griz in all his furry, naturalistic majesty, his warm coat a mass of scratchy brown ink lines, his heavy head as big as his owner Billy’s whole body. Griz dominates most of the spreads, his bulk echoed in the book’s extra-large type. His body warms Billy as they sleep together (“Griz is great for taking naps”), and his massive claws grasp a slender tree trunk that does nothing to disguise him in a game of hide-and-seek. “I usually win,” Billy says. Billy confides in Griz, too (“I am scared of the dark,” reads wobbly childlike letters scribbled on the page between Billy and Griz. “Sometimes I pick my nose”). Despite his small size, it’s Billy who’s in charge, an impression bolstered by his newspaper crown. The discovery on the last page that Griz is really Billy’s regulation-size teddy bear isn’t a big surprise, but this visually playful ode to the strength of a child’s imagination establishes McGinniss as a talent worth watching. Ages 2–6. (Nov.)

all images copyright Suzanne F. McGinness

Events

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My Bear Griz has arrived!!

First edition, hot off the press!!!
all images copyright Suzanne F. McGinness

Pre Order Today!

At Borders