Maybe They'll Ban This Book Too
Maybe They'll Ban This Book Too
They say to write (draw) what you know so that's what I did
If you made it this far, thank you for reading the entirety of this. I may have shed a tear writing this out so I really appreciate it. Oh No, the Aunts Are Here hits shelves on May 23rd! If you haven’t already, you can preorder a signed copy of this book below:
We’ve received three different starred reviews from Kirkus, Booklist and Publisher’s Weekly which is amazing since I’ve never gotten that many before. Adam’s writing is absolute perfection and a joy to read out loud. This book also has one of my favorite front and back cover combinations I’ve ever done. I think it’s absolutely hilarious and I could not stop laughing after I sketched it out. I’m so happy it made it as the final jacket.
As you can tell, this book is near and dear to my heart. While the aunts themselves are a mash up of aunts I’ve met in my life, the main family in this book is based on part of Adam’s family. Here they are for comparison’s sake:
If you would like to meet the legendary Adam Rex and myself, we will be doing a reading and signing books at Powerhouse @ IC this Sunday May 21st at 1pm in Brooklyn! I hope to see some of you there :)
I’m out of things to say now so please enjoy some development sketches from early on in the process:
It is now late at night as I’m writing this, I’m listening to slow music and feeling very grateful about having such lovely loving folks in my life.
I hope you have a wonderful day today and hold your loved ones dear.
Maybe They'll Ban This Book Too
What an amazing post Lian! For everyone who is about to love this book in real life, it is important to know that you perfected this book from the very first delivery. I remember very vividly where I was when I opened the sketches, hurriedly texting our designer because my jaw was on the floor at how incredibly, perfectly you had created this world. It's a perfect book; I'm now going to use that word a third time, and I really appreciate you highlighting its importance here in this post. Often only serious books get considered important, and you make an exceptional case for the importance of reality, humor, and joy in the books we make for kids. The book could not be a better testament to that cause! I can't wait for it to be with new readers on Tuesday. congratulations, Lian!
All the YES on this post!! I've been thinking of the same issues as someone who does funny picture books, too! We need more books that are just hilarious, fun and sweet stories of POC and diverse characters. Representation matters especially now AND I'm always having to be aware of the white default..and I'm Tejana. Felicidades on this book, and excited for your future books!