Shropshire mother and daughter create book as author and illustrator team
An author from north Shropshire has released a new children’s book with help from her 11-year-old daughter to create youthful illustrations.
Lindzi Stewart, an author who previously worked in the police and education, enlisted the help of her daughter, Phoebe, to create illustrations for her new book, A Flying Visit.
The mother and daughter duo, from Wem, have teamed up to prove that children’s art may not be perfect, but it can still be valued.
Lindzi said she even left in the small mistakes and rubbed-out marks on the pictures Phoebe had drawn to show her it was OK that mistakes are made.
“When Phoebe asked me if she could draw the pictures for my book, it was lovely for two reasons,” Lindzi said.
“Firstly, it is lovely to have that relationship and secondly, there are so many times children become frustrated with art, saying I can’t do it and they feel like they can’t get it right.
“That sometimes prevents them from having a go.
“I can’t think of any times when I have been working in schools with books that children have done the illustrations.
“I thought what a good idea for a child to try and capture the emotions of the book.”
Lindzi, 42, and Phoebe, 11, would go through the book chapter by chapter, thinking of the perfect illustrations to go along with the story.
“The living room floor by the end of the summer holidays was full of her drawings,” Lindzi added.
“We had to go through them and pick the right ones. She is so excited and has loved being involved. We are very much a team.”
The book is fiction but is drawn on Lindzi’s experiences living in the Cayman Islands back in 2004, and is centred on the idea of feeling lost a long way from home.
