Stepping aside from the advice column for a moment, I want to use this space to share a personal win. I am thrilled to announce that my first self-published award winning graphic novel! The book has received 4 awards from 3 distinct indie-publishing award contests!
The accolades include:
- Top Education category with the Indie Reader Dischttps://indiereader.com/book_review/light-is-color/overy Awards
- Finalist in the Activity Book AND Children’s Picture Book categories with the Next Generation Indie Book Awards
- Honorable Mention in the Middle Reader category with the Eric Hoffer Awards!
The name of the book is Light is Color! The comic (and coloring and activity) guide to visible and invisible things. It was self-published by Kurtoonz Studios in 2020, written by Kevin Kurtz (no relation, seriously!) and illustrated by myself. You can find it on my Etsy shop and Amazon!
Inspiration
I was inspired to create this resource after a conversation I had with my brother, who teaches elementary level science to underserved populations in Cleveland, Ohio. He lamented the lack of quality science resources – especially ones that could help his students grasp complex and intangible concepts, like light waves. As an artist dedicated to using my skills to help others get the most out of their education, I knew I could assist.
Once we had a solid outline aligned to the 4-8 Next Generation Science Standards, I worked with Kevin Kurtz to flush out the details. And before you ask, no, there is seriously no relation! And no, I don’t have an exclusive deal to only work with folks whose last name is Kurtz!
Kevin is an amazing children’s book author and award winner many times over. We’ve worked together on previous educational animations and traveling science exhibits since 2013. Our love of science communication brought us individually to the International Ocean Discovery Program where we sailed as Outreach Officers on expeditions communicating the science onboard to classrooms around the world.
My quirky illustrations paired with Kevin’s off-beat writing create a jam-packed comic that jumps from topic to topic with an easy-to-follow connected flow.
Process Pics Along the Way
All told, it took a little over 2 years to finish this book. I remember meeting up with Kevin to discuss the idea at the very end of 2018. In 2019, he got to work on the script and I had every intention to finish it by the end of the year (who was I kidding!). Unfortunately an expedition to lead a science communication course at sea put a kink in my timeline.
At the start of 2020, I moved across the country with my husband. We moved into our new place the same weekend everyone went crazy for toilet paper…talk about timing. This delay, however, happened to be a good one. I was struggling with the thought of printing copies of this book that would eventually end up in a landfill. So, with all the time I had in quarantine I started tinkering around with a digital coloring book model!
So What’s the Book About?
How is a lightning bug’s light different from the light from the screen of an iPad? What does Betelgeuse have to do with an armpit? Why do rainbows always appear in the same colors? What does eating, breathing, and not dying have to do with plants being green? If sugar has solar energy, then why don’t you need to wear sunglasses when you look at a candy bar?
Discover the answers to these questions and more in this comic (and coloring and activity) guide to visible and invisible things!
Light is Color is a graphic novel accompanied with activities to test your knowledge on all things light. And, it can be used as a coloring book too! The pages are thick enough so crayon markings won’t show through to the next page.
Aligned to the 4th-8th Next Generation Science Standards, this book covers essential topics such as: absorption; transmission, reflection, and refraction of light waves; transparency, translucency, and opacity of materials; convex and concave lenses; the electromagnetic spectrum, prisms and wavelengths; additive and subtractive color in art; the transfer of heat energy; the process of photosynthesis. Readers can also explore different career opportunities utilizing this knowledge base.
Irreverent and informative, funny and functional, this book was created by a team of dedicated educators and science communicators.
Find it online!
From the informative writing style to the quick-witted illustrations, readers are sure to always notice something new with each read! The self-referential humor and cheeky diagrams make the process of learning about light entertaining and memorable.
If they ever made this book into an animated movie and we got to pick the voice actors playing the kid characters, we’d want J.B. Smoove to play Roy, Aparna Nancherla to play Gee, Will Forte to play Biv!
To celebrate these wins, use the offer code HOTDANG on Etsy to get $10 off your purchase. Offer valid through July 1, 2021. The listing on Amazon is also marked down for a limited time!!
