The Book From Far Away Book Launch!
The heart pounding experience of having your first children's book come out
Hello Sketchbugs! Happy Book Launch Day to The Book From Far Away (2023) a wordless picture book based off of the manuscript of author Bruce Handy about an alien and human child meeting and exchanging a love of reading! Get a copy where books are sold or BUY ONLINE HERE!
First off, I would like to thank author Bruce Handy, whose manuscript fueled this entire story, Amelia Mack, who first considered me for this project, and editors Maria Russo and Octavia Saenz for their encouragement and feedback! Big shoutout to my agent Rebecca Sherman for setting this all up and Minerva for being such an amazing publisher. Also huge shout out to Linette and Deborah for helping set up marketing plans and book events.
Which reminds me…. WE WILL BE DOING BOOK EVENTS ALL AROUND THE MID ATLANTIC! As the paper below says, if you would like us to speak at your local bookstore/ school please notify dsloan@astrapublishinghouse.com for more information! (We would love to expand to other areas of the country if you’d have us!)
UPCOMING EVENTS
Here are some upcoming events we will be doing in the next few months! These presentations include signings, readings, showing off concept art and talking about how the book came together!
11:30AM September 10th, 2023
The Blue Marble
551 Carpenter Ln, Philadelphia, PA 191199:30 AM September 17th, 2023
People’s Book
7014 Westmoreland Ave Suite A, Takoma Park, MD 209121 PM September 24th, 2023
Books of Wonder
42 West 17th St., New York NY 100111 PM October 8th, 2023
Children’s Book World
17 Haverford Station Rd, Haverford, PA 19041
WITH MORE TO COME!
Here’s some photos of our adventures signing books in bookstores around New York City. If you want to BUY SIGNED BOOKS in Brooklyn look to The BookMark Shoppe, located at 8415 3rd Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11209 or if you want an (unsigned) copy of the book and a place to get the best salted cookies, check out The Center for Fiction, located at 15 Lafayette Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11217
Signed books will also be available at Books of Wonder , located at 42 West 17th St., New York NY 10011 at our event on September 30th and after.
Local booksellers are the nicest people ever! You don’t even have to support our book, just support your local bookstores!
The saga of illustrating this book was certainly an interesting one. I went into detail about some of the process in this interview with the amazing Let’s Talk Picture Books Blog hosted by the lovely Mel Schuit. Find the interview HERE
I got to share some concept art for the book and talk about the challenges that went into molding the world and all the design choices that went into it.
I will have a more in depth newsletter about my process for illustrating this book later in the month! It might be my first paid subscription option for this account, so look out for that! You can learn why I made the choices that I did and the references that I used.
Overall, Bruce, the Minerva team and I put our hearts into making this book! We’re so excited for all of you to be able to read it and see the adventures of this alien and human child. If you’re wondering who this book might be for, here’s some of the people who would enjoy it:
Children 4 and up
Adults
Teenagers
Elders
People who like aliens, spaceships and gadgets
People who like nature, alien dogs, and earth cats
People who enjoy reading, strolling, and picnicking
People who fancy cloud ice cream and moon frisbee
People who love frogs and frog backpacks
And MORE…
Here’s what critics are already saying about the book!
“A magical, wordless tribute to the universal power of reading.” — We Are Teachers
“This wordless tale speaks volumes…..emphasizes that kids understand kids, no matter their origin, and that books have universal appeal—literally. Readers will love poring over the clearly composed artwork’s luminous, wondrously imaginative, interplanetary details.” — Kirkus Reviews
“Intriguing….Benbassat’s distinctive renderings of the outer space family and its belongings exude charm.”— Publishers Weekly
OH, and we received a blurb from the legendary David Wiesner (3 time Caldecott Winner and author/illustrator of acclaimed world less picture books such as Tuesday and Flotsam! To be included in the world-less picture book canon along with him is an honor of its own. Here is the blurb:
"Amazing! Bruce and Julie have created a wonderful addition to the wordless book canon. Julie’s beautiful art is rich with detail and visual invention. She shows everyday and otherworldly incidents through flowing, organic compositions that carry the reader on a delightfully strange, compelling, and heartwarming adventure. — David Wiesner, 3-time winner of the Caldecott Medal
So…if you’re looking for a fun wordless adventure filled with fantastical aliens, inquisitive forest life, the bonds of friendship, and a mysterious alien book, please consider buying The Book from Far Away at your local bookstores or BUYING IT ONLINE HERE
Can't wait to get my copy. Thanks for sharing your process!
So exciting that it's out in the world and I can't wait to read!!!!!