Books
If You Hold A Seed…
Running Press, 2013. This is my first book!
Something magical happens when you plant a dream with a seed. With plenty of love, nurture, and patience, both can blossom into an extraordinary gift.
~ Available wherever books are sold ~
USA Amazon CAN Amazon
REVIEWS
Publisher’s Weekly – “A small boy first plants the seed, then watches the sapling grow as the seasons pass. With his yellow rubber raincoat and translucent umbrella on a rainy spring day, he looks as though he could have been cut from a vintage greeting card. Patterned and diaphanous papers add depth and texture—in winter, the boy gazes out at the snow from inside a cozy room lined with grapevine wallpaper; on a summer night, his tent is lit from within, the tree now big enough to tower over it. Eventually, the boy becomes a man and the sapling a full-fledged tree (“Season by season,/ Year by year…/ That tree will grow SO LARGE/ It will hold you”), cementing MacKay’s message about the value of persistence.”
Quill & Quire – Starred Review – “The sparely written text, about waiting, hope, and fulfillment, is richly elaborated by the pictures, which show the beauty of the changing seasons, the varieties of birds perching or nesting in the tree, and the developing interests of the boy as he studies a caterpillar, romps with friends, and reads in the tree’s shade. Each page promises many rewards through repeated viewings, and the book seems destined to become a classic.”
National Post (Mar. 2) – “…it’ll be time to return to the garden. Prepare with this first book by Elly Mackay, which follows a seed’s germination process through the seasons by photographing elaborate yupo paper dioramas. The results are ethereal and expressive, and look nothing like most children’s books.”
View the Book Trailer! If You Hold A Seed…
Shadow Chasers
Author and Illustrator. Out in 2013, also through Running Press.
This is the story of children playing with their shadows one night. They are surprised when the shadows take flight and rush out the door of the cottage and and into the moonlit garden.
Best Gifts
Out in 2013. I will also be illustrating a revised edition of the popular story The Best Gifts by Marsha Skrypuch, which follows the life of a girl named Sarah through the major events in her life. This book beautifully celebrates breast feeding and the nurturing quality of reading to your children. It will be published by Fitzhenry and Whiteside.
Fall Leaves
Out in 2014. This is a charmingly clever book by Loretta Holland that playfully explores the passage of autumn. It will be published by Houghton Mifflin Books for Children.
Margaret and the Moth Tree
By Kari and Brit Trojan, published by Kids Can Press, 2012. Cover illustration.
Also Published In
Papercraft 2
Through Gestalten Books:
Issue 4 of Ammo Magazine
Web
The Grand Giving Tree Facebook App and Interactive Website for Grand Marnier
I was a designer for this project, in collaboration with the Woo Agency.
From the Woo Agency: Grand Marnier wanted to spread some good cheer with its Facebook fans during the holiday season, and make some new friends along the way. So we created the Grand Giving Tree — a Facebook app and microsite that allowed users to select an ornament associated with the cause of their choice — Wildlife Fund, WaterAid or Cool Earth. Quickly Grand Marnier fans – and new fans – began trimming our tree in droves, and were rewarded by seeing their ornament proudly hung upon the Grand Giving Tree amidst a magical winter wonderland. The cause with the most ornaments at the end of the program received the “Grand Gift” — a sizeable charitable donation from Grand Marnier. The program won Grand Marnier its biggest monthly fan increase for the year, with users voluntarily choosing to like us. A merry outcome, indeed.
La Petite Magazine
Design for La Petite Magazine (below: collaborations with fashion photographer Jodi Palmer - Clothes: Jumina)
