A Book Trailer Premiere for A BIG SURPRISE FOR LITTLE CARD

Wow, Little Card feels like a movie star today with the red carpet treatment on All The Wonders! They're hosting the premiere of his book trailer for A BIG SURPRISE FOR LITTLE CARD, a new book by Charise Mericle Harper and me, published by the lovely folks at Candlewick Press which will be in stores on February 9th. There's also a short interview with us with a few behind-the-scenes tidbits.

If you've never visited All The Wonders before, you're in for a real treat. They've got all sorts of great information about everything going on in children's literature: interviews, crafts, videos, and so much more. Special thanks to Matthew Winner and Blake Hamilton for hosting Little Card for his big close up!

Happy Holidays from the Birds and Me

Wishing you and yours a happy holiday season and a terrific 2016!

You Are Not a Cat!—coming fall 2016

There's a special kind of jubilation an illustrator feels when they deliver final art for a book. And after months of churning out work on an accelerated schedule, I can finally unchain myself from my desk. Okay, so I was promptly slammed by a bad cold, but nevertheless I turned in illustrations this week for something I'm really excited about.

YOU ARE NOT A CAT! to be published late next year, is the first picture book written by Coretta Scott King Honor Award winner Sharon G. Flake, author of The Skin I'm In, and several other young adult novels. And it's hilarious! Of course, I can't show much of anything at this time, but if you've been following my Instagram, you might have seen an occasional tidbit.

I posted an image of the pattern above that I thought would be the endpapers, but in the end chose something else. So if you'd like some wallpaper or gift wrap, hit me up—this thing is available. :^)

So now I'm off to join the world of the living or at least find myself some chicken soup. 

Kirkus says "Check it out!"

The review from Kirkus of A BIG SURPRISE FOR LITTLE CARD is in, and it's worth jumping for joy:

"Harper’s addition to the intro-to-library canon, with its anthropomorphic card cast, is a goofy winner. Raff’s mixed-media collages, digitally colored, are a bright, perfect match for Little Card’s excitement about all things library. . . .Check it out!"

For more information about LITTLE CARD and where you can get a copy, click here.

Welcome to my new website!

Welcome to the new annaraff.com. I hope you find it fresh, crispy, and user-friendly. We all need a makeover every once in a while, and my site was long overdue. I have a couple of picture books coming out in early 2016, so it seemed like the right time. Right off the bat, you might notice a few organizational changes:

-BOOKS are all now in one section.
-I've expanded the section devoted to PERSONAL WORK.
-My editorial and institutional illustrations are now combined under PROJECTS.
-And welcome to my new NEWS blog (formerly on blogspot), now found here on this very page, to keep you up to date on what's happening on my drawing board.

I'm hoping you'll take the time to explore the site, and if you experience any bugs, or miss something that was on the old site, please let me know.