Picture Book Show n' Tell

My Second Picture Book Illustration!

Tiny Sydney is shy and embarrassed that he doesn't know the right answers. Afterall, owls are wise, so he should have all the answers. Why should he try if he doesn't know what, why, or even who he is? When Sydney discovers that he IS caring, wise, and more importantly, all that he needs to do is be himself--he soars. This is the story in a nutshell due out next month from MeeGenius!, Wise Sydney, written by Courtney B. Strimel.

Copyright Lori Taylor

Copyright Lori Taylor

I wanted to share this tiny tale with you as sometimes all of us feel like Sydney. Unsure of the unknown. All it takes for any of us to soar is to believe in our wings. And it never hurts to have someone point out to us that others have flown this way before and that it can be done.

Copyright Lori Taylor

When I was offered to illustrate this story, I fondly remembered my encounter last summer when I sat calling screech owls on the front steps. These nightly visitors to my studio window, three of them, sang at dusk as they combed our catalpa tree snacking on caterpillars. Talking with them was fun and impressed my granddaughter that I could speak owl. They would answer me and come in closer bouncing on pine boughs, silhouetted against the purple sky.

Owls, particularly screech owls, have whinnied and floated into my life at various points of transition and life change. I've had many conversations with them through the years and know that when one shows up I need to pay attention and that things are about to change. And they do.

My office is filled with many owl carvings, images, and sculptures to remind me that they seem to know where to find me. And like Sydney, when I feel like I don't quite know what, why or who-o-o I am, that I will soon leap out into the dusk and find the answer on my own two wings.

Happy Soaring!
Lori

Copyright Lori Taylor