"Since it took two years to complete the illustrations for this book, I needed to find ways to stay involved and excited about the project over a long period of time.  There was a lot of freedom in this story to create a world and family from my own imagination. Falling in love with the characters also helps to mantain an interest. I concentrated on one double-page spread at a time, bringing the words to life through color and texture. It was my goal to have fun and play with this story, to maintain a freash, enjoyable attitude throughout the process of making the pictures."