TAX DAY tomorrow!

Posted here are a couple recent drawings I created reflecting on TAX DAY -the annual (and usually depressing) payment to a host of various taxes… Chin up!

TAX DAY -The Letting of Your Financial Blood illustration by Steven Salerno

TAX DAY -Like Losing an Arm and a Leg illustration by Steven Salerno

On the Corner of Chocolate Avenue -How Milton Hershey Brought Milk Chocolate to America... the new picture book from publisher Clarion Books/Harper Collins is released today!

My latest illustrated picture book, ON THE CORNER OF CHOCOLATE AVENUE is available starting today from publisher Clarion Books/Harper Collins. It's the inspiring life story of Milton Hershey -the chocolate king who brought milk chocolate to America. Wonderfully written by Tziporah Cohen & illustrated by Steven Salerno.

And here is the direct link to the podcast, The Happy Writer... hosted by NY Times bestselling author Marissa Meyer. In this latest episode Marissa chats with Tziporah Cohen and Steven Salerno about their new picture book - ON THE CORNER OF CHOCOLATE AVENUE: HOW MILTON HERSHEY BROUGHT MILK CHOCOLATE TO AMERICA - as well as the process and timeline of a picture book, from manuscript and revisions to artist selection, preliminary sketches, and beyond; the vast amounts of research that go into the creation of a nonfiction picture book, for both the prose and the illustrations; why its important for writers to leave room for the illustrator to bring their own ideas and interpretations to the story; how so often rejection is a result of poor timing, not necessary the quality of the work; having the confidence to identify as a writer; and a few different inspiring stories of perseverance - from chocolate makers to writers!

http://www.marissameyer.com/podcast

And here is the link to my illustration web site where you can view some of the illustrations from ON THE CORNER OF CHOCOLATE AVENUE

https://www.stevensalerno.com/on-the-corner-of-chocolate-ave

illustrator & children's book author STEVEN SALERNO -bio update

illustrator & children’s book author Steven Salerno (photo 2019) -visit stevensalerno.com

STEVEN SALERNO has illustrated 37 picture books for major publishers -with 5 of these titles being both the author & illustrator: Little Tumbo (Marshall Cavendish Children’s Books), Coco the Carrot (Marshall Cavendish Children’s Books), Harry Hungry (Harcourt Children’s Books), Wild Child (Abrams Books for Young Readers), and his most recent author/illustrator title is Tim’s Goodbye (Farrar Straus Giroux 2018).

Steven Salerno lives and works in Manhattan (NYC) and is a graduate of Parsons School of Design. (Note: while a student at Parsons his instructor for a year long picture book illustration course was the famed author/illustrator Maurice Sendak, creator of Where the Wild Things Are.) Over Steven’s long freelance illustration career, in addition to the 37 picture books he has illustrated thus far, he also creates illustrations for magazines, newspapers, print & web advertising, publishing, packaging, and retail graphics.

visit stevensalerno.com to view many samples of his editorial and advertising illustrations -and click here to see a list of all his picture books published through 2023.

Steven Salerno has illustrated 37 picture books to date, and is both the author & illustrator for 5 of these titles (shown above) -visit stevensalerno.com

Steven Salerno working on an illustration for the picture book, BOOM! -published by Hyperion Books/Disney. -visit stevensalerno.com

---

LATEST PICTURE BOOK NEWS

In December 2022 Steven’s most recent illustrated picture book was released, On the Corner of Chocolate Avenue -How Milton Hershey Brought Milk Chocolate to America (nonfiction) written by Tziporah Cohen and illustrated by Steven Salerno, published by Clarion Books/Harper Collins. The true story of the poor kid from Pennsylvania, Milton Hershey, who first introduced his innovative HERSHEY’S milk chocolate candy bar back in 1905 -and went on to create his massive chocolate empire, becoming one of the largest chocolate candy producers in the world.

COVER: On the Corner of Chocolate Avenue -How Milton Hershey Brought Milk Chocolate to America (nonfiction) written by Tziporah Cohen and illustrated by Steven Salerno, published by Clarion Books/Harper Collins 2022. (A Junior Library Guild GOLD STANDARD selection for 2022) -visit stevensalerno.com

one of the inside of book illustrations from On the Corner of Chocolate Avenue -How Milton Hershey Brought Milk Chocolate to America (nonfiction) written by Tziporah Cohen and illustrated by Steven Salerno, published by Clarion Books/Harper Collins 2022. (A Junior Library Guild GOLD STANDARD selection for 2022) -visit stevensalerno.com

---

Steven Salerno also has been working on a very special picture book project for VIKING -an imprint of Penguin Random House. In 2019 the publisher had asked Steven if he would illustrate 5 new MADELINE picture books written by John Marciano Bemelmans, the grandson of famed Ludwig Bemelmans (b.1896 - d.1962) who was the author/illustrator creator of the five original classic MADELINE picture books which were released from 1939 through 1961. Yes, THAT Madeline! The brave little girl in the yellow hat living in a Paris boarding school along with eleven other young girls, all under the watchful gaze of the towering Miss Clavel. This special project request meant that Steven wasrequired to create the illustrations for these 5 new MADELINE picture books in the recognizable drawing stye of Ludwig Bemelmans! Thus far Steven has competed the first 4 titles in this 5 book series:

1) Love from Madeline (this book was released in January 2022)

2) Madeline’s ABCs (this book was released in June 2022)

3) Madeline’s 123s (this book was released in November 2022)

4) Madeline’s SEASONS (this book was released in Spring 2023)

5) the 5th picture book in the series is still in development.

above: the new mini-hardcover picture book, LOVE From Madeline -written by John Marciano Bemelmans & illustrated by Steven Salerno, released in January 2022 by VIKING (imprint of Penguin Random House) -visit stevensalerno.com

above: detail of the Title Page from the new mini-hardcover picture book, LOVE From Madeline -written by John Marciano Bemelmans & illustrated by Steven Salerno, released in January 2022 by VIKING (imprint of Penguin Random House) -visit stevensalerno.com

above: detail of the one of the interior illustration spreads from the new mini-hardcover picture book, LOVE From Madeline -written by John Marciano Bemelmans & illustrated by Steven Salerno, released in January 2022 by VIKING (imprint of Penguin Random House) -visit stevensalerno.com

---

AWARD NEWS

In 2019 The Crayon Man -The True Story of the Invention of Crayola Crayons (nonfiction) written by Natascha Biebow & illustrated by Steven Salerno was released by publisher Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. It’s the story of Edwin Binney, who loved color, but his chemical manufacturing company in the late 1800’s only produced black ink, black crayons, black powder, and black dyes… until the day in 1903 when Edwin finally came up with just the right recipe for making color crayons especially for school children, which he and his wife named CRAYOLA CRAYONS… This wonderful picture book not only was a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection, but in 2020 it also won the prestigious Irma Black Award for Excellence in Children’s Literature, voted for by children all around the world.

COVER: The Crayon Man -The True Story of the Invention of Crayola Crayons (nonfiction) written by Natascha Bibow and illustrated by Steven Salerno, published by Houghton Mifflin 2019. (A Junior Library Guild GOLD STANDARD selection for 2020 and winner of The Irma Black Award for Excellence in Children’s Literature in 2020) -visit stevensalerno.com

Heat Wave -drawing by Steven Salerno

“Heat Wave” drawing by Steven Salerno (placed into a mock-cover design of The New Yorker magazine)

This is one of my recent drawings (digital) -created in response to news of ever increasing temperatures being recorded around the globe, due to climate change -represented by the earth as a scoop of ice cream atop a cone, and rapidly melting under the hot sun.

Many years ago some of my drawings appeared on the inside pages of a few The New Yorker magazine issues… but never on the cover. When I created this drawing of the melting “earth” ice cream I had the thought that it would make for a provocative New Yorker magazine cover, so just for the fun of it placed within the mock-design of the magazine’s iconic cover design. (To be clear, my drawing posted here was not created for The New Yorker magazine nor published by the magazine.)

"The Crayon Man" picture book wins the 2020 Irma Black Award for Excellence in Children's Literature!

^ cover of The Crayon Man -The True Story of the Invention of Crayola Crayons …winner of the 2020 Irma Black Award for Excellence in Children’s Literature.

WINNER OF THE 2020 IRMA BLACK AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN CHILDREN’S LITERATURE

The Crayon Man -The True Story of the Invention of Crayola Crayons (nonfiction) written by Natascha Biebow & illustrated by Steven Salerno -published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt 2019.

The Irma Simonton Black and James H. Black Award for Excellence in Children’s Literature (Irma Black Award) goes to an outstanding book for young children—a book in which text and illustrations are inseparable, each enhancing and enlarging on the other to produce a singular whole. The Irma Black Award is unusual in that children are the final judges of the winning book. Thousands of children in the United States, Canada, Europe, Asia and the United Arab Emirates participated in the voting process. Sadly, this year, the award ceremony scheduled for Thursday, May 14th 2020 was canceled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

See the illustrations from The Crayon Man, illustrated by Steven Salerno

See how the illustrations for The Crayon Man were created by Steven Salerno