I BELIEVE I CAN & I AM ENOUGH: Interview with Keturah Bobo (+ Giveaway)

Artist Keturah Bobo is here to talk with us about her beautiful picture books. With a sweet, rhyming text by actress Grace Byers and gorgeous illustrations by Keturah, I BELIEVE I CAN was published in March 2020 by Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins.

This empowering book features positive messages of self-love – with a variety of relatable activities shown on each spread.

Let’s hear from Keturah!

What was your book creation process like for I BELIEVE I CAN?

I BELIEVE I CAN is basically a sequel to I AM ENOUGH, so I wanted to maintain some consistency with the two books. However, I still wanted I BELIEVE I CAN to have a unique look. Instead of using a chalk outline to streamline the background in the illustrations, I used more of a watercolor texture for the props the characters were interacting with. I also decided to zoom in a bit to bring some of the characters closer to the viewer. All illustrations start out with a rough sketch and then move to being hand painted with acrylic, scanned in, and placed within the space digitally where the background and props are added.

From I BELIEVE I CAN:

And here I will share the lovely cover of your first book, I AM ENOUGH, which hit #1 on the New York Times Bestseller’s list in July 2020!! – about two years after the book launched in 2018. This book celebrates loving who you are and respecting others.

Tell us about your experience working on I BELIEVE I CAN with the author, editor, art director….

This was our second book together so things were pretty straightforward. Grace and I had already met and bonded in person at a book signing event we both attended. This is when I actually found out we were going to be doing another book together. The editor contacted me shortly after and things went from there.

I worked very closely with the art director on both books especially because I AM ENOUGH was my first published book. She kind of showed me the ropes in the beginning, which was cool because it inspired me to produce some of my favorite illustrations in that book.

How did you get into illustrating picture books and what are some other picture books you have illustrated?  

I have been approached to illustrate children’s books since I was in college, but early on nothing really worked out. I also illustrated a number of self-published books for various individuals while working on my own paintings and posting my images online.

Publishing companies began to approach me when my work started to gain popularity on social media. HarperCollins was the first one to work out, and I was absolutely thrilled to work with them.

Shortly after working with them, Penguin contacted me and I illustrated THE NIGHT IS YOURS, a beautifully written bedtime story. Then I worked with the Smithsonian to produce illustrations for A IS FOR ALL THE THINGS YOU ARE, A JOYFUL ABC BOOK. That was a busy year because I worked on I BELIEVE I CAN in that same time frame. Every book I’ve illustrated is an ode to diversity, empowering, and self-love, which I think is absolutely awesome because that is what my work is about.

What are your top tips for illustrating picture books?

  • Set a schedule.
  • Have good sketches.
  • Communicate with the art director and author if you can.
  • Know your target audience — develop the style/layout based on that because you want the children to be engaged with each page.
  • Don’t work on multiple projects at once.
  • Pace yourself.
  • Check for consistency within characters if they’re illustrated throughout the book.


What can we look forward to next? I have another book with Penguin coming up, as well as a pretty exciting project that I cannot speak on as of yet. Recently, I was commissioned to do free downloadable coloring pages for Hewlett Packard (HP) discussing race and diversity. This was an amazing project. It’s out now and available on HP’s Print, Play, Learn website. I think it’s great especially during this time where many kids are at home and parents are always looking for activities to do. 

Thank you for joining us at Picture Book Builders. This image of an adorable young reader holding your book brings me such joy.

Visit Keturah’s website

I BELIEVE I CAN Activity Guide

I AM ENOUGH Activity Guide

***GIVEAWAY***

For a chance to win a copy of I BELIEVE I CAN, leave a comment by October 23. I’ll announce the randomly selected winner in my November post.

Happy reading to all & see you next time!

-Michelle

Michelle Meadows

Michelle Meadows is the author of many acclaimed books for children. She loves dreaming up new projects and telling stories with heart. Connection, compassion, and family are common themes in her work. Michelle's books include FLYING HIGH: The Story of Gymnastics Champion Simone Biles and BRAVE BALLERINA: The Story of Janet Collins. Michelle also contributed to BLACK BALLERINAS: My Journey to Our Legacy by Misty Copeland. Michelle graduated from Syracuse University with a dual degree in journalism and literature. Michelle is represented by literary agent Rosemary Stimola of the Stimola Literary Studio. Michelle grew up in Washington, D.C. and now lives near the beach in Delaware with her husband. To learn more about Michelle's books, visit her website: michellemeadows.com

37 Comments:

  1. Beautiful! Love the cover and the young girl holding the book is too adorable! Congrats!

  2. Love so much here:
    1. The gorgeous illustrations
    2. “an ode to diversity, empowering, and self-love”
    3. The target audience and one book at a time tips.
    Thanks!

  3. Debra Kempf Shumaker

    Oh my. So gorgeous!

  4. This sounds beautiful! Congrats!!

  5. Danielle Hammelef

    Your books carry such important messages to inspire and uplift readers. The covers are beautiful.

  6. Love these books!

  7. Love this! Thanks for sharing!

  8. Great to meet Keturah and learn about her process. Congrats on all the lovely books and thanks, Michelle!

  9. This is amazing selection of books! Thank you for the chance!

  10. Katherine M Adlam

    I love the cover for I Am Enough. You’ve captured the vulnerability of the young child, yet her strength.

  11. Jilanne Hoffmann

    Really beautiful work! Your kids are filled with so much personality.

  12. Sheri Delgado Preston

    What lovely and lively illustrations! I love the diversity. Every child needs to see themselves in stories. Thank you for your creativity and dedication to your art and children.

  13. What a beautiful cover, Keturah–congratulations on your books! Love their messages about positivity and empowerment!

  14. I wish there was a book like this when I was little.

  15. Beautiful books.

  16. I love books that have a positive message for children. The illustrations are beautiful.

  17. Your art work is so realistic. I feel like I know the child you create! Way to go to persevere.

  18. I love the little girl dressed like the girl on the cover! Heroine!

  19. I love your name and the beautiful books! Congratulations!!!

  20. Keturah, I love your art and your philosophy of spreading confidence! Sounds like you’ve arrived! Best of luck.

  21. These are both such amazing books for Social and Emotional Learning. Thank you so much for sharing this interview with us.

  22. Congrats, Keturah and Grace! This book looks like it’ll really help empower kids.

  23. Simply Beautiful. Congratulations!

  24. Thank you for the chance to win this amazing book! Can’t wait to share this with my students.

  25. Beautiful books! Congratulations!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *