Terri: It’s been beautiful! One of the things that always gets me is that they actually hug the book. It’s like a physical manifestation of what they’re thinking. “I love this and I have to show this book that I love it” And that just touches me. I was an avid reader as a child and I can’t remember ever hugging my books!
BOSSY: And what kind of reactions are you getting from the parents?
Terri: Oh the parents really love it. The pictures on the interior pages are a cartoon likeness, so it’s not like caricature or portraiture where I’m trying to get the nose just right. It’s a cartoon but it’s enough of their likeness and their style that it’s immediately recognizable as them. I mean, in everything from their hairstyle to down to the types of clothes that they like to express themselves with as individuals. My granddaughter, for instance, she always wears leggings, under dresses, shorts anything. That’s her thing. So I draw her in maybe a tutu, and brightly colored leggings.
I do that with all the children. On the order form, I ask for two quirks about your child. Now I’ve gotten all types of answers such as the child’s favorite toys and when I can, I’ve tried to incorporate that into the pages so they see something personal even outside of themselves. The parents have loved how much detail I put into the covers. I send them a sneak peek at the cover and a few interior pages before it ships and they are just blown away. Even though they’ve seen examples from the other books it just doesn’t ring the same until it’s your kid.