EXTRACTS: Illustrators issue 13 © 2015 The Book Palace (96 PAGES in Full edition)

82 ABOVE: 'Tea Time'. Brooke's inventive use of props adds an extra layer of storytelling to her art. FACING PAGE 'Peter and the Deer'. PR: Did you find it difficult to break into illustration? BBH: There were definitely times that I felt very frustrated. In 2010 I was laid off from my day job as an historical illustrator, at which point my husband and I agreed that I would put all of my effort towards illustrating children’s books. I had joined the Society of Children’s Book Writer’s and Illustrators in 2005, had attended several of their conferences and had been building my portfolio so I felt like I was on the right track. We put a time line on it and said that if I didn’t have a book deal by a certain date, I would get a regular job. I didn’t meet the initial date, but I felt like I was getting closer, so we pushed the date back. Then we pushed it back over and over again, until, a day after having a long discussion with my husband about how maybe it really was time for me to take a step back from illustration so that I could get a day job and help pay the bills, I got a book deal. Funny how things work out that way. My husband was very patient and supportive. PR: What sort of work did you do to begin with? BBH: I think my first real, paid project was illustrating educational materials for the U.S. Department of State. I’m not sure that my illustrations were ever actually used, but I was paid enough to buy a nice scanner and printer that I used to put together a professional looking portfolio. PR: Did you always have a strong sense of the work you wanted to do?