GRANDPA AND JAKE is now a Dolly Parton Imagination Library Book!
☞ Look for The French edition of GRANDPA AND JAKE out now!
Publishers Weekly says, "Fortenberry aces Jake’s toddler-esque dialogue, but the story’s real charm is in its creaturely illustrations and sweet intergenerational bond."
Julie has an MFA from Hunter College. Her abstract paintings have been in the Whitney Museum of American Art . But for the last 16 years she’s been painting for preschoolers and kindergarteners. She illustrated Eve Bunting’s Pirate Boy, and a series of Sydney Taylor Notable books by Rabbi Jamie Korngold. She is the author/ illustrator of Grandpa and Jake, Darcy's First Sleepover, Pearl Goes to Preschool, The Artist and the King, and Lily’s Cat Mask which received a Kirkus starred review and was added to Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.
Represented by Steven Chudney
steven@thechudneyagency.com
Questions about author visits?
Click here!
To support your local bookseller visit Bookshop.org. Or visit Macmillan Publishers and Penguin Random House. For larger school and library orders, call Penguin at 800-733-3000. To order The Sadie Series, visit Kar Ben.

Grandpa & Jake's path through town
Julie's painting process

Julie's studio
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Watch a fascinating visit with William Steig
MORE INSPIRATION FROM STUDENTS...

Q and A
When did you became a children’s book author?
When I had my children.
I began illustrating for Highlights Magazine.
What is your favorite thing about storytelling?
Entering a new world. Creating a character and imaging what that character might do.
What makes a good children’s story?
Identifiable characters, relatable emotions, fun settings.
How do you connect the story with the illustrations?
I usually start with a character. Sometimes the character ends up in a completely different story than where they first started!


CHECK OUT JULIE'S ACTIVITY PAGE!

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