Stacey Schuett

Biography
Stacey Schuett received a degree in Fine Art from the University of California, Davis. She worked as a graphic artist and sign painter before becoming a full-time author and illustrator. In addition to doing advertising and editorial illustration, she has illustrated more than 20 picture books and early readers for children, and her critically acclaimed illustrations have been exhibited nationally. She lives in Sebastopol, California, with her family.

Stacey writes: "My favorite occupations as a child were reading and making pictures. So illustrating books when I grew up would seem a natural choice. But somehow, I never even thought about becoming an illustrator… I wanted to be a veterinarian or a rancher or a wildlife biologist instead. Then, while I was working as a sign painter, the chance came to illustrate a children's book, and I found out how fun it is to put words and pictures together to tell a story. Now as a full-time illustrator and author, I draw ideas for my paintings from research, memory, imagination, and just plain making stuff up. The best thing, for me, about being an illustrator is that I get to live so many lives, and be in so many places, through the stories that I work on. There are always endless possibilities."

Honorarium
$1,100 per full-day school visit

Program description
Presentations last from 30 minutes to one hour, depending on the age group. I present a slideshow relating how I became an illustrator, including work I did as a child, how I work now, what my studio is like, and where to find ideas. I outline the process from idea to sketch to final illustration to finished book. I emphasize for the kids the importance of trusting one's own imagination and creative ideas, as well as the need for practice, reworking, and rewriting to produce the best work. A question-and-answer period follows, and if time allows, I have the group help me come up with a character and scene and do a quick illustration. I bring a sample piece or bookmark for the kids to take, if they wish.

Size and number of groups
I prefer to work with groups of 40 to no more than 120 students at one time. I like to speak in a room or auditorium that can be darkened for the showing of slides.

Number and length of presentations
Three sessions constitutes a full day during a school visit, and most sessions are 30 minutes to 1 hour, depending on the age of the group.

Age or grades of groups I prefer to work with
Kindergarten to fifth grade

Equipment needs

• Screen for slides
• Slide projector
• Tables to display books and art

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How to Order Books for a Visit
Order from this booklist 

Selected Titles

Alex and the Wednesday Chess Club
by Janet S. Wong
Illustrated by Stacey Schuett
(Simon & Schuster, 2004)

Alex first learned to play chess when he was four years old. He loved it. He loved it until he played a chess game with moldy old Uncle Hooya...and lost. Then Alex decided to give up chess for good.Until third grade, when Alex decides to give chess another try.

America Is…
by Louise Borden
Illustrated by Stacey Schuett
(Simon & Schuster, 2002)

This is a salute to our great country, the land of freedom for us and for people all over the world. "As the text travels from New England to the Pacific Northwest, from Niagara Falls to Western rodeos, Schuett's stirring illustrations take full advantage of the sweeping scope. Her mixed-media paintings offer expansive vistas as well as focused vignettes, all peopled with a multicultural cast."—Publishers Weekly

• A Children's Book-of-the-Month Club Main Selection

Are Trees Alive?
by Debbie Miller
Illustrated by Stacey Schuett
(Walker and Company, 2002)

From this poetic comparison of plants and humans, readers will learn how trees live, grow, and get their food. They will see, through Schuett's exquisite art, that trees come in all shapes and sizes—just like people—and provide a home to many different animals.

Day Light, Night Light
by Franklyn Mansfield Branley
Illustrated by Stacey Schuett
(HarperCollins, 1998)

Franklyn M. Branley and Stacey Schuett have teamed up to shed some light on the question of how we can see even when it's dark. You'll learn how the sun's light reaches us and how your nightlight works.

• American Association for the Advancement of Science, Best Books for Children

Halloween Howls
selected by Lee Bennett Hopkins
Illustrated by Stacey Schuett
(HarperCollins, 2005)

A crisp wind blows. A voice howls. Masked figures dance by moonlight. And the taste of chocolate is in everyone's mouth. It's Halloween! Lee Bennett Hopkins captures the spirit of everyone's favorite holiday in this sweet and spooky collection of poems for beginning readers, spookily illustrated by Stacey Schuett.

Little Wolf and the Moon
by Marjorie Dennis Murray
Illustrated by Stacey Schuett
(Marshall Cavendish, 2002)

Little Wolf is bursting with wonder and questions about the moon. Awestruck by its beauty, Little Wolf sometimes feels small and insignificant in comparison. But little does he know that the moon, too, is full of wonder and questions...about the mysterious, dreaming moonwolf.

Nathan's Wish: A Story about Cerebral Palsy
by Laurie Lears Albert
Illustrated by Stacey Schuett
( Whitman, 2005)

Nathan is confined to his wheelchair because of cerebral palsy. He lives next door to Miss Sandy, a raptor rehabilitator who cares for injured birds of prey. When an owl with a broken wing comes to Miss Sandy, Nathan desperately searches for a way to help it.

Oh, Theodore!: Guinea Pig Poems
by Susan Katz
(Houghton Mifflin, 2007)

Theodore is a plump, fuzzy guinea pig with a big appetite, a lot to say, and a personality all his own. These short, funny, and accessible poems create a vivid first impression of a popular pet and include information on caring for an animal.

Papa's Latkes
by Michelle Edwards
Illustrated by Stacey Schuett
(Candlewick, 2004)

A family prepares to celebrate their first Chanukah without their late mother in this heartfelt, bittersweet tale that will resonate with anyone who has ever faced an empty chair at the holiday table.

Pleasing the Ghost
by Sharon Creech
Illustrated by Stacey Schuett
(HarperCollins, 1996)

Ever since Dennis' father died, a parade of friendly ghosts has been passing through his bedroom. So he isn't surprised when the ghost of his Uncle Arvie shows up. But Arvie seems to want something from Dennis. How Dennis figures out how to please his ghost is a funny yet touching story of love, loss, confusion, and understanding.

Prairie Friends
by Nancy Smiler Levinson
Illustrated by Stacey Schuett
(HarperCollins, 2003)

Betsy and her family live on the wide Nebraska prairie. Homesteads are few and far between, and Betsy longs for a friend to visit with. Schuett's warm, rich art illuminates this gentle portrait of 19th-century prairie life, community, and friendship.

Purple Mountain Majesties
by Barbara Younger
Illustrated by Stacey Schuett
(Penguin Putnam, 1998)

An 1893 train ride westward inspired Katherine Lee Bates to write "America the Beautiful," which has inspired generations ever since.

"Using original sources, Younger makes a living character out of Bates…Schuett's illustrations, with their slightly exaggerated forms and saturated colors capture not only the 'fruited plains' and 'alabaster cities,' but vistas of Bates' hometown of Falmouth, and intimate scenes of her cozy bedside table, and parlor where she welcomed guests."—Kirkus Reviews, pointer review

Somewhere in the World Right Now
Written and Illustrated by Stacey Schuett
(Random House, 1995)

"Somewhere in the world right now, it's deepest night…" Elephants sleep in the African darkness. A London baker bakes bread. In Madagascar, a little girl dreams of tomorrow. "But somewhere else, tomorrow is already here." Filled with lush paintings, a gentle text and a multitude of maps, this book takes the mystery out of time zones, while showing children the varied richness of the world they live in.

• Reading Rainbow Selection

A Tree Is a Plant
by Clyde Robert Bulla
Illustrated by Stacey Schuett
(HarperCollins, 2001)

A tree is the biggest plant that grows. Clyde Robert Bulla's simple text and Schuett's lush illustrations follow a tree's continuous life cycle through spring, summer, winter, and fall.

"Schuett's colorful paintings clearly illustrate topics explained in the text, while their pleasing colors, rounded forms, and small playful animals will help keep children involved in the topic."—Booklist

This Little Light of Mine
by Raffi
Illustrated by Stacey Schuett
(Random House, 2006)

Raffi's version of this traditional favorite song is perfectly paired with Stacey Schuett's adorable illustrations as a shy young star prepares to take center stage in a school play so she can let her own light shine.

When Turtle Grew Feathers: A Tale from the Choctaw Nation
by Tim Tingle
(August House Publishers, 2007)

Maybe you think you know the story of the big race between Rabbit and Turtle. Think again! In this story from the Choctaw People, Tim Tingle shows that it was not being slow and steady that won Turtle the big race, it was those feathers!!!

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