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In my very last blog post, I would like to share a few photos from the launch of my debut picture book 'I Love You, Bunny' (Lincoln Children's Books) and the beautiful 'Yellow Kayak' writen by Nina Laden and illustrated by Melissa Castrillon. It was held on the 28th of February at the wonderful Heffers bookshop in Cambridge, UK. Sadly, Nicola Kent could not attend the event due to the snow and freezing weather, but her lovely debut book 'The Strongest Mum' was there with us! 

Please look out for these picture books in your local bookshop in the UK and the US. You can also order them online. Thanks so much for following my journey! You can still find me on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. 

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I am very excited to have a book launch with the wonderful @melissa.castrillon and @nicolakent on 28 Feb @childrenheffers in Cambridge, UK! Melissa is launching her second picture book with @nina.laden 'Yellow Kayak' while Nicola and I are celebrating the publication of our debut picture books, 'The Strongest Mum' and 'I Love You, Bunny'. ❤ Many thanks to Nicola for such a nice flyer. Looking forward to this very special triple book launch! 😊 #alinasurnaite #melissacastrillon #nicolakent #booklaunch #childrensbooks #picturebooks #debutbooks #ILoveYouBunny #YellowKayak #TheStrongestMum

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Here's an interesting creature spotted at Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences in Cambridge. Missplelled the name as it was too long, but Procynosuchus means 'before dog crocodile' in Greek. #alinasurnaite #sketch #sketchbook #museumsketch #museum #observationaldrawing #sedgwickmuseum #SCBWI #scrawlcrawl

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More of my sketches from Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences in Cambridge. The place was full of children with parents and lots of inspiration for children's book writers and illustrators. #alinasurnaite #sketch #sketchbook #museumsketch #museum #observationaldrawing #sedgwickmuseum #SCBWI #scrawlcrawl

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Loved returning to Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences in Cambridge for some fun sketching with a very nice group of children's book writers and illustrators. I'm glad the SCBWI Scrawl Crawl is growing bigger each time and am looking forward to organising the next one (in spring)! 😊 #alinasurnaite #sketch #sketchbook #museumsketch #museum #observationaldrawing #sedgwickmuseum #SCBWI #scrawlcrawl

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Here is one of the final and favourite spreads from my recently published debut picture book with Lincoln Children's Books. "I Love You, Bunny" is a bedtime story about overcoming the fear of darkness. More info here: http://www.alinasurnaite.com/portfolio/i-love-bunny

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Happy Book Birthday to "I Love You, Bunny"!!!

I am very grateful to my publisher Lincoln Children's Books and the fantastic team of editors and designers I was lucky to work with.

You can order your copy from the UK: https://www.quartoknows.com/…/9781847…/I-Love-You-Bunny.html

and the US: https://www.quartoknows.com/…/9781786…/I-Love-You-Bunny.html

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She laid Bunny carefully on the ground. "Meeeow," she said. Very excited that my debut picture book 'I Love You, Bunny' will be published tomorrow by Lincoln Children's Books. Misty and Bunny are waiting patiently.

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It crept up to the bed and quietly disappeared. Suzy yawned, "Is it morning yet, Bunny?" 

Many thanks to the wonderful picture book writer Karlin Gray, who very kindly invited me to share the journey of creating my debut picture book in this interview.

 'I Love You, Bunny' will be published by Lincoln Children's Books on 1 Feb!

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Softly, slowly, a big shadow approached Suzy and Bunny... 

5 days left until 'I Love You, Bunny' is published by Lincoln Children's Books.

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Overcoming obstacles and fears

Happy New Year, dear Big Little Tales readers! 

This is going to be a very exciting year for Suzy, the little girl from my debut picture book I Love You, Bunny with Lincoln Children’s Books, which is out in only 10 days! Suzy might be a bit shy, but proves to be very brave and determined to overcome her fear of darkness when her best friend Bunny goes missing at dawn! 

I had to overcome a few challenges as well while making this picture book. The biggest obstacle was my tendency to draw creepy creatures and make things darker than necessary. I was creating a picture book, but did not want to limit my audience to small children, therefore, my first dummy book looked quite scary now that I look at it three years later. 

The story developed as I was finishing the MA in Children’s Book Illutration at Cambridge School of Art and experimenting with the picture book format. The project started with strange-looking night creatures that slowly turned into real but creepy animals such as bats. In the end, a mysterious shadow monster proved to be a clever solution as it leaves more space for reader’s imagination. 

Another challenge was more technical, trying to balance the darkness and lightness so the book can be read during bedtime for children who are afraid of the dark. I tried working with soft pastels and a limited colour palette, but the artwork did not have the same depth and warmth as my illustrations drawn in charcoal and coloured digitally. I learned a lot when editing this book with my publisher and appreciate their great patience and support.

To build up the anticipation before the publication of I Love You, Bunny, I would like to share some pages from my sketchbook and the actual picture book with the scene where Suzy has to make a big decision and gather all of her courage to face her fear of darkness…

Suzy heard a strange, scratchy sound behind her, but what did she see when she turned around? 

I will not reveal what comes next in this bedtime story just yet. I Love You, Bunny will be available in the British, American and Australian stores from 1 Feb 2018. It will also be published in Japanese by Toyokan Books on 8 March 2018.

Thanks for visiting Big Little Tales and reading this post. Have a lovely week!

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"I love you, Suzy! I love you, Bunny!" said Mummy with a kiss. "I love you, Mummy!" said Suzy. "But please don't go! What if a monster comes when I'm sleeping?" Two weeks left until "I Love You, Bunny" is published by Lincoln Children's Books! https://www.quartoknows.com/books/9781847808752/I-Love-You-Bunny.html

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Mum and Dad were chatting and sharing apples and pears with their neighbours. Meanwhile, Ellie and Maggie were inspecting the raspberry bush.

“No Ginger in here, Maggie!” said Ellie.

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Sketching for my picture book about the twins Ellie and Maggie and their missing kitten.

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A nice New Year surprise from Quarto Group! ‘I Love You, Bunny’ has been translated into Japanese language. It will be published in Japan by Toyokan Books on 8 March 2018 and is available to pre-order. I’m very pleased with the design of this book and the playfulness of the cover.

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Happy New Year, everyone! I took a break from social media for a week, but it's nice to be back. I selected a few highlights from 2017. I visited book fairs in London and Bologna, which I plan to come back to this year. I enjoyed meeting new and familiar people at these events and being surrounded by so many inspiring books. Thanks to the wonderful Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators (SCBWI), I organised two Scrawl Crawls in Cambridge. I look forward to making this a seasonal event for both writers and illustrators. 2017 was also the year I saw my debut picture book 'I Love You, Bunny' come to life. Big thanks to the brilliant Lincoln Children's Books who will publish this beautiful book next month!

I worked on two new picture book stories. If you followed my first Inktober, you've probably met Ryan and Moon, the big Maine Coon. The twins Ellie and Maggie had an especially good year and can't wait to have lots more fun and mischief this year!

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Yuletide Greetings from all of us at BigLittleTales!

It’s the end of another year and as always the promise of a new year in front of us and the wrapping up of the year before is so exciting. All the stresses of the year before just seems to fall away in the season of good will to all peoples everywhere! The dream is that all times is the time for respect, compassion and love for all beings. 

Snuggles, presents and cats with cozy smiley faces under Christmas tree greetings from Alina Surnaite.

Just taking a reprieve from midwinter photo sessions in the snowy woods with fox and wren by Anne-Marie Perks.

Great flamingo greetings from Shana Nieberg-Suschitzky.

Our other blog buddies will follow up with their Holiday Season images very soon!