It’s a DOUBLE publication day for Poonam Mistry.
Her first solo picture book, the stunning How the Stars Came to Be is published today by Tate, featuring her distinctive illustrations with a strong message at its heart…
Have you ever wondered how the stars came to be?
The Fisherman’s Daughter loved to dance in the Sunlight, and bathe in the glow of the Moon, but when the moon would disappear for a few nights each month, she would worry about her father and how he would find his way home from sea in the deep darkness.
When the sun finds her sobbing one night, he takes one of his rays and smashes it onto the ground, creating the stars and giving the girl the task of putting them into the dark night sky.
And for her second publication, Poonam’s equally stunning picture book, You’re Strong With Me, is published today by Lantana.
Written by Chitra Soundar, and illustrated by the hugely talented Poonam, this is the third picture book published by the duo. Their second book, You’re Snug With Me, was named as one of Kirkus Reviews Picture Books of the Year, and Poonam was shortlisted for the prestigious Kate Greenaway Medal at the CILIP Carnegie & Kate Greenaway Children’s Book Awards 2019 for her first picture book, You’re Safe With Me.
You’re Safe With Me, garnered a starred review from Kirkus Reviews, one of four starred reviews for the book and was longlisted for the Klaus Flugge Prize – awarded annually to an illustrator of a debut picture book.
The third picture book in the series, You’re Strong With Me, features baby giraffe…
The rain clouds are long gone and the dry season scorches the land.
Everything is new for the baby giraffe. As she bounds ahead and lags behind, her mother patiently explains the ways of the grasslands.
And until she grows a little taller, older, and wiser, her mother reminds her: “You’re strong with me.”
Poonam Mistry is a freelance illustrator living in the UK and graduated in 2010 with a degree in Graphic Design and Illustration at the University of Hertfordshire.
Her style incorporates her love of nature and her Indian roots and explores the relationships between pattern, shapes and colour. Poonam’s upbringing and childhood have heavily influenced her work, in particular being surrounded by Indian fabrics, paintings and ornaments. She loves folklore tales and stories of Hindu Gods and Goddesses and these have been a rich source of inspiration in a number of her illustrations.
