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 We Are the Scrappy Ones

 

You've created cover art for adult, YA, MG fiction and comic books, the picture book, The Summer of the Tree Army, and the middle grade novel, A Horse Named Sky. Describe your creative process and what inspires you. 

We Are the Scrappy Ones was a unique project. Living with an invisible illness since I was little, I knew first hand that capturing the heart of the scrappy ones is more than symptoms, diagnoses and wheelchairs. Inspiration for the illustrations came from every direction, the scrappy friends I've made along my journey, the team at Lerner and everyone involved in the making of the book. I hope my interpretations challenge the reader's assumptions about disability in every page turn.

What was the most challenging part of illustrating the book? 

The book is illustrated in a lot of different mediums. Pastel, crayons, colored pencils. There was a tremendous amount of scanning and digitally collaging involved to make the pages. Some areas of the text were also illustrated. The technical side of working traditionally is always an effort, but the overall scrappy style feels worth it in the end.  

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

I hope this book has the power to stir classrooms and bring new language to readers. The historical and impactful heroes is a great place of inspiration for readers to dig in.  

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

Scrappy Ones will be sold wherever books are sold! Check my website and facebook for videos and scrappy bonus material.  

What's next for you? 

This fall I'm going to be celebrating a new book with Lerner again but this time as an author-illustrator. The title is called, The Big Empty: A Sagebrush Survival Story.



People passing by call this land the big empty. / But I call it home.



In spare, poetic text written from the point of view of big sagebrush, readers are transported to the vast landscape of western North America. This incredibly resilient plant, which can live as long as one hundred years, provides food and shelter as well as shadows to conceal both predators and prey. After a wildfire passes through, it grows again and will thrive once more. Author and illustrator Kirbi Fagan captures the beauty of this essential plant in her lyrical words and richly detailed illustrations.

More about the book . . . 

We are the scrappy ones. / We live, we adapt, we defy. / Made of stardust and grit, we are spectacular.

Children with disabilities experience the world in all kinds of ways. Yet one thing they share is navigating a world that doesn’t always make space for them as they are. Existing on the edges can feel unfair—and downright exhausting. And at the exact same time, it can also foster creativity, resourcefulness, and adaptability. In a word, scrappiness.

Author and disability advocate Rebekah Taussig has written a groundbreaking anthem of belonging that celebrates the wide range of disabled children and affirms their worth, just as they are. Luminous illustrations by Kirbi Fagan portray a diverse cast of characters living, learning, and playing. A warm, joy-filled book for disabled and non-disabled readers alike.

Publisher: Lerner/Carolrhoda

More about the author . . . 

Kirbi Fagan is a Michigan based, New York Best Selling illustrator. Her work includes the picture book The Summer of the Tree Army by Gloria Whelan (2021), We Are the Scrappy Ones by Rebekah Taussig (2025), A Horse Named Sky by Rosanne Parry (2023) as well as cover art in adult, YA, middle-grade, and comic books. 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. Kirbi is traditionally trained as an oil painter, earning her bachelor's degree in Illustration from Kendall College of Art and Design. Her first author-illustrator project will debut fall 2025. 

For more about me and my work please visit: https://kirbifagan.com/