Recently, I was visiting the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, MA, where the current exhibit was the Society of Illustrators’ Hall of Fame show. What a "Who’s Who " of a show it was! While admiring a Pyle, I overheard a docent casually say to a visitor, "So many of these works leave you wondering…(like illustration is meant to)…so you’ll go ahead and read the story." Now isn’t that the truth!

The word and the visual are a team in children’s book publishing. It’s a 50/50 partnership to tell a story, and to tell a story well is to give an experience to a child/person. Each can stand alone, but they are much more far reaching and effective together. That IS the magic in a memorable picture book.

Perfect team potential is what art buyers and editors are always searching for. Once they have a manuscript, they want to find the artist who can fill in the spaces. The images need to be informational, accurate and flow well with the story line, but the magic of the art is in implying or showing MORE than what the text describes. Obvious answers are not required. The audience needs to actively assert its imagination, faith and wonder to travel the story with the author. The illustrator should propel it’s audience onto this journey visually.

Well executed, conceptual imagery can tell art buyers what they long to know. Samples must show strong character development, interaction between characters, real space, interesting perspectives, mood changes, unusual palette, and consistency of style. The buyer can then be confident in what can be expected from this artist, and is more likely to be impressed, remember the artist, and be able to match the artist with a manuscript to create a winning team. These qualities, plus a receptive personality and meeting deadlines, will keep the buyer calling back. Even a single piece of art can catch the viewer’s attention, tell a story, and "leave you wondering…"