Apples and Pumpkins, the first book I collaborated on with my daughter Lizzy Rockwell back in 1989, has a beautiful new cover! So I asked Lizzy to guest-blog about it, and to share some of her test artwork.

From Lizzy:

"Here are scans of the tester paper used when I was getting ready to do the jacket for the revised version of Apples and Pumpkins. Having not worked in this style in 15 years or so, I needed to practice on some test sheets to make sure I had the right textured watercolor paper (T.H. Saunders 140 lb. cold press), the right watercolor pigments (Winsor & Newton Artist's colors) etc.  With the re-release of Apples and Pumpkins in hardbound, the publisher wanted to give the title a fresh package, but without looking like a different book.

"Last weekend I was at a book festival in Warwick, NY (apples and pumpkin territory!) and got to see the reactions of buyers first hand. I signed quite a few copies of Apples and Pumpkins to teachers and parents who were already familiar with the book. They did not seem to notice that it was a new jacket, but lots of people unfamiliar with the original were drawn to it too.

"It was great to revisit this style of artwork that I was using 20 years ago in my first children's book. This book was a challenge to illustrate at the time.  In 1988 I had been working for several years as a magazine and book jacket illustrator and my style was not quite suited to the children's market.  Apples and Pumpkins was fourth in a series already illustrated by Dad (Harlow Rockwell), with established characters and a definite illustrative style.  Also the book dummy was illustrated by Mom, so composition and emphasis were predetermined.  So this book was an apprenticeship for me, rather than a break out book by a new illustrator establishing and distinguishing her own style.  But like the great apprenticeships of the renaissance, I was given the exciting (and sometimes humbling) opportunity to work with master artists.  As in any learning experience, this gave me foundation and brought me closer to my own personal style and vision.  

"It was fun to revisit my Apples and Pumpkins style, especially since it meant that this book was getting a new life in hardbound, 20 years after its original debut.  The new book from Simon and Schuster, with its fresh scans and new typography, looks beautiful!  And of course the text didn't need to change one bit in order to seem fresh and fun to a new generation of readers."