Book Birthday Blog with Kirbi Fagan

 

 

Welcome to SCBWI-MI's Book Birthday Blog!

Where we celebrate new books from Michigan's authors, illustrators and translators.

 

Congratulations to Kirbi Fagan on the release of A Horse Named Sky

 

You've created cover art for adult, YA, MG fiction and comic books and your first picture book, The Summer of the Tree Army, released in 2021. What inspires your illustrations?

My inspiration starts with the story and Rosanne writes an exciting one. I tapped into my animal-obsessed 10-year-old self, whom I know I would have devoured this book. Visuals came like wildfire. When you are working on a project that includes over 100 illustrations, it can be challenging to stay in the game but I truly felt (and still feel!) I am buzzing with inspiration from start to finish line.
 
I chose to do this book completely traditionally, something I’ve never done before. I hoped the traditional, chalky-looking mark-making would bring the reader to the West. I have two 18x24-inch folders full of artwork from the book… I physically cannot lift them.
 
This new challenge contributed to keeping the buzzing going. You may be familiar with the quote from David Bowie about always working a little out of your depth and I think it describes my experience.
 
“Always go a little further into the water than you feel you're capable of being in. Go a little bit out of your depth. And when you don't feel that your feet are quite touching the bottom, you're just about in the right place to do something exciting.”

What was the most challenging part of illustrating your recent book?

The sheer volume of illustrations and historical research was overwhelming at first, but I worked through the story one chunk at a time. I had multiple spreadsheets about locations, colors, sizes, and other traits for the many different horse characters that must remain consistent throughout. I charted seasons and weather. It was a lot to wrap my head around. Luckily Rosanne's meticulous research and the team at Greenwillow were an enormous help.
 
It’s not my first time working on a historical text so I anticipated that finding visual references may be difficult. The whole team on the book had to put our heads together to research and triple-check. Black-and-white pictures are available but usually, you can’t make out the details.
 
Astute readers will notice that as Sky travels, plant life and landscapes are drawn carefully and as accurately as possible to describe real-life landmarks. Illustrators often draw characters moving to the right of the page, to the motion of the page turn. The book doesn’t go the traditional route, the horses face and travel in the pictures relative to north, east, west, and south. Could be an exciting project for a classroom to track Sky’s route to follow on the map in the classroom?!

 

 

What is something you hope your readers will take away from your book?

A big hope for this book is about bringing these amazing creatures to readers. Though I loved horses growing up, that wasn’t something I had access to and I know that is true for many horse lovers like me.
 
I hope this book could inspire a young artist to take on the challenge of drawing horses. I encourage readers to dream up their very own wild Mustang and western terrain. A Horse Named Sky I think has the power to ignite new appreciation and inspire future generations to continue the important work of preserving our natural world. 

What are your marketing plans for the book and where can we find it? 

The book is published by Greenwillow/HarperCollins, available at most bookstores or online. 

Amazon 

What's next for you? 

I have a few book projects coming out in 2025 that have yet to be announced, one of the books, is not just illustrated by me, but written by me. My first author-illustrator project!

More about the book . . .

Young colt Sky was born with the urge to run. Alongside his band, he moves across the range searching for fresh water and abundant grazing. But humans have begun to encroach on Sky’s homelands. With fewer resources to share, Sky knows that he must leave if his family is to survive. He hopes that one day, he’ll be strong and brave enough to return and challenge the stallion to lead the herd.

Being a lone wild horse in a vast landscape is not easy, and things get even more dangerous when Sky is captured and forced to run for the Pony Express. Now, against all odds, Sky must find a way to escape and reunite with his family.

A Horse Named Sky is a stand-alone companion novel to Rosanne Parry’s New York Times bestsellers A Wolf Called Wander and A Whale of the Wild. Chronicling the perils of westward expansion and the grueling Pony Express from the perspective of a wild horse, A Horse Named Sky is a gripping animal survival story about family, courage, trust, leadership, and loyalty. Impeccably researched and illustrated in black-and-white throughout, A Horse Named Sky is an excellent read-aloud for parents and teachers, and a wonderful choice for fans of DreamWorks’s Spirit and Anna Sewell’s Black Beauty.

Includes black-and-white illustrations throughout, a map, and extensive backmatter about wild horses and their habitats. 

Publisher: Green Willow/Harper Collins

More about the author . . .

Kirbi Fagan is a Michigan-based illustrator who specializes in creating art for readers. She is recognized for her cover art in Adult, YA, and Middle-Grade fiction as well as her numerous covers for comic books on projects such as Black Panther/Shuri and Firefly. Kirbi’s first picture book The Summer of the Tree Army by Gloria Whelan was released in 2021. Her first author-illustrated picture book will debut in 2025.


Kirbi is driven to create books for readers like her. When she was growing up, arts and crafts were her lifeline as a way to cope with ongoing illness. Art quickly turned into her greatest passion and now, a career. Kirbi is traditionally trained as an oil painter, earning her bachelor’s degree in Illustration from Kendall College of Art and Design. Kirbi has visited many classrooms to talk about her illustrations and books. She is the former Co-Regional Illustrator Coordinator with the Society of Children’s Books Writers and Illustrators.


Represented by Kayla Cichello

https://kirbifagan.com/livingcanvas/2023/8/22/the-reins-let-loose 

Instagram: @kirbifagan