Chef's Kiss

December is here and I'm excited to share my latest book, *Chef's Kiss*, written by Jeffrey Burton and illustrated by me, published by Little Simon. Working on this book truly felt like a "chef's kiss," and I'd like to share my cover ideas with you this month.

If you're not already aware of my passion for baby board books, let me tell you. I genuinely enjoy working on these projects; they warm my heart and resonate deeply with me. I could happily create baby board books forever. What do I love about them? It could be the bright and playful illustrations. Or the fact that babies get to hold these! Or quite possibly that they are the perfect size to display as art on a bookshelf. The illustrations are also just really super fun to make. I truly love baby board books!

My goal for the cover of these board books is to sketch out various ideas for the publisher to explore. I consider the text from interior pages and think about how I can turn them into the cover image.

Here you can see my first round of thumbnails:

You might be thinking, Denise, none of these look like the actual cover! That’s because I was also illustrating a spot illustration on the back and the team thought one in particular might make the perfect cover. I agreed!

Once the cover sketch gets approved, I'm ready to begin sketching the interior pages. Having done most of the hard work at the start allows me to draw on my many ideas and sketches. And the process going forward ends up being a little easier.

The beauty of baby board books is that I get to illustrate adorable characters—whether humans, animals, or objects—using bright, playful colors.

*Chef's Kiss* is truly a delightful book filled with foodie love! Publication is tomorrow 12/3 and available wherever books are sold!

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I've started another newsletter called Storybook Sorcery, which focuses on discovering the magic in writing and illustrating children's picture books. This newsletter has no schedule of course, it’s whenever I find the time, but I have lots of fun ideas!

In it, I share my experiences as I learn to infuse a bit of magic into my work. Storybook Sorcery is a fun side project, and I would love for you to join!

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That’s all the news I have for this month. I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season and I’ll be back in the new year!

-Denise