Eco Girl


Meet Eve. She lives on the edge of a big forest and loves trees, especially Baobabs.

This is the next book in a collection inspired by the Sustainability Development Goals, or SDGs. Let’s call them 17 promises that we grown-ups have made to future generations to leave the world a better place for them… although in 2022 it feels more like a set of broken promises. The first book was the award-winning Astro Girl. Here are some sketches and images that shaped the book.

The writing was very considered in this book. It was hard to think about how to follow Astro Girl, especially as it has a very strong and particular ending. Eco Girl needed to be distinctly different enough to stand on its own but still have a link to Astro Girl.

There are more books planned, and each of them will be a different child character learning how to make a difference to the world in their own way.

Eco Girl cover option. She is standing in a puddle of rainwater holding a small plant and smiling.
This was one of the options for the cover.
The first character sketch
The end papers worked hard to set the tone of the story.
The first double page page continued with the tone of rich green vegetation.
the sketch showing Eve and her Dad as she fed a bird.
the final art was flipped over so Eve is now on the right hand page.
Sketch: the family goes for a walk form a bird’s eye view.
Final art; the view point was lowered to be more familiar, to readers, like a height of a foot bridge or a first floor balcony.
Eve is a very happy child!
Ken's avatar

By Ken

I am a children's book illustrator and author. I trained as a graphic designer, and have worked in publishing for over thirty years. Nowadays I work at Harper Collins running an inclusive global imprint called Kumusha Books. I still write and illustrate children's books though and enjoy every minute immersed in publishing!

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