Children's Book Features Delightful Quilled Illustrations

I'm pleased to introduce an upcoming children's book, Just a Worm, by Marie Boyd. It's a charming story about a curious worm who chats with the creatures he meets while inching his way across a garden. The journey brings about an important realization for Worm - he is not just a worm - he has fine qualities too! 

 

Not only will children be introduced to animal life, but also paper art. Marie beautifully illustrated the entire book with original quilling. I'm positive young children will enjoy discovering the many details that she included in each picture. 

 

The appealing 32-page hardcover will be released by Greenwillow Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, on March 14, 2023. It is available for pre-order on Amazon [affiliate link]. Geared to children in preschool to grade three (ages 4-8) it includes a quilled butterfly tutorial and a page of earthworm facts.

 

A paper lover, Marie began quilling about ten years ago after spotting a selection of marked down supplies in a craft store. She wasn't familiar with quilling so Googled it on the spot, thought it would be fun to try and the rest is history.

This is Marie's first book. She is the mother of two young children and an associate professor at the University of South Carolina School of Law, yet finds time to quill while waiting at appointments and watching television in the evening. 

 

Marie was one of four artists to be selected for the Columbia Metropolitan Airport’s 2022-2023 Art in the Airport program, and recently exhibited her quilling at the Main Richland Library in Columbia, South Carolina where she resides. 

 

 

Her blog can be read via marieboyd.com where you will also find quilling video tutorials. She promises more are on the way to accompany the release of Just a Worm. One video that is available now features three ways for children to create a cute quilled snail, inspired by the one in the story.

 

  

 

Have you come across other books in which all of the illustrations are quilled? Just a Worm might be the first!

 

I recall featuring Ioana Stoian's board book Always Be You for which she made the paper that artist Dawn Cardona used to create paper cut illustrations. Also, collage artist Megan Coyle's book, Duck & Fish, featured pictures composed of magazine pages, while the front and back cover images of the young adult novel, Secrets of a Summer Village, were quilled by author Saskia Akyil.

 

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