Christine Sykes has been juggling careers as an educator, illustrator, and author for twenty-four plus years. She is now retired from teaching high school in Plymouth, MA and is focusing all her time on illustrating and writing for children. "It is like coming home when I illustrate a picture book," she says, "because the many images of beauty and imagination found in children's literature have captivated my own artistic passion since childhood." Christine has a huge collection of picture books, and as part of her thesis for her Masters Degree in Illustration from Syracuse University, she analyzed some of the Caldecott, award-winning picture books of her youth.
Emma and the Mashed Potato Monster
by Sarah Armenteros
illustrated by Christine Sykes
Page Count: 36
Edition: First
ISBN: 978-1-59092-384-9
$16.99
Size: 8.0x8.0 trade paperback
Orchard House Press
Emma and the Mashed Potato Monster is sure to delight all with its entertaining story about an imaginative mealtime. Have you ever had a monster in your mashed potatoes or a platypusasaurus hidng in your peas?
I Love You With My Heart
by Donna Giffune
Illustrator: Christine Sykes
Page Count: 32
Edition: First
ISBN: 978-1-59092-391-7
$16.99
Size: 8x8 trade paperback
Orchard House Press
I Love You with My Heart is a parent’s message to his/her child. Written in the style of Dr. Seuss, the repetitive verses and rhyming words create a lyrical story. Giffune's morning farewell, "I love you with my heart," sparked the idea for the book. Involving all the senses, the book teaches as well as impresses a sense of love.
I'm Nocturnal, How About You?
By Jennifer Sy Heger
Artwork by Christine Sykes
22 pages
ISBN 978-1-59092-064-0
$16.99
Picture book with audio CD and read-a-long e-book version
Christine's latest illustrated picture book, I'm Nocturnal, How About You? by Jennifer Sy Heger is released by Windstorm Creative Press. This quiet story is a beautiful introduction to the life of nocturnal animals. Follow a badger, rabbit, owl, opossum, porcupine, bat, mouse and cat from dusk to dawn, as they forage for food and go about their busy lives. Lumber slowly, soar through the night sky. Take a journey through the night with all these gentle nocturnal animals and, at the end of the book, see who is awake to welcome the day.
Christine's previous illustrated picture book, Flamingos Fly was released by Windstorm Creative Press. Spend an incredible starry night with a flock of extraordinary flamingos. The Wonders of the World have never been so brilliantly and magically showcased. Piano's sincere and joyful rhymes are perfectly complimented by Sykes' captivating illustrations.
When Flamingos Fly
32 pages * First edition
ISBN 1590923650
$16.99
3-in-1 Edition: paperback, audio book, eBook
By Maureen Piano
Artwork by Christine Sykes
Her first published picture book, When I Met You: A Story of Russian Adoption, by Adrienne Ehlert Bashista, was released by DRT Press in spring, 2005. Although Christine is not an adoptive parent, she was attracted to the project because of her interest in and support of adoptive families. She did a great deal of research on Russia, adoption, and the Russian language to create the illustrations for the book." DRT Press/www.drtpress.com.
