The True Gift

The way I was raised, the Christmas decorations don’t come out until after Thanksgiving — I’m talking to you, CVS — so I haven’t mentioned until now a book I was glad to have the chance to illustrate that came out in October, The True Gift: A Christmas Story, by Patricia MacLachlan. I did a cover painting for the book and eight pencil and graphite drawings for the interior. Here’s the School Library Journal review:

“Lily and her younger brother go to their grandparents’ farm for Christmas, as always. This year something is different; White Cow is the only animal in the field. Liam, certain that she is lonely, sacrifices his beloved books to buy her a calf companion, and Lily overcomes her fear of the large animal. The simple, elegant prose tells a warm family story with a classic holiday theme. Floca’s graphite and ebony pencil drawings are lush with evocative detail and perfectly complement this lovely offering.”

The drawings were done with a feeling similar to those in Avi’s Poppy books. It was nice to make drawings in that vein featuring people, something I haven’t had the chance to do before now for a book. On my web site there’s more about the book here and images from it here. Happy holidays!