Mina Javaherbin was born in Iran and immigrated to the United States, where she is now a practicing architect. She lives in Southern California. This is her first picture book.
A. G. Ford is the illustrator of the New York Times bestseller BARACK by Jonah Winter and MICHELLE by Deborah Hopkinson. He also contributed to OUR CHILDREN CAN SOAR: A CELEBRATION OF ROSA, BARACK, AND THE PIONEERS OF CHANGE by Michelle Cook. He lives in The Colony, Texas.
I was born in Iran and moved to the United States many years ago. I live in Southern California with my husband, who has played soccer all his life and who nowadays volunteers as a coach at American Youth Soccer Organization. We have two children who also play soccer among many other sports. I believe that even though I studied architectural and write books, I seem to really be my children’s chauffer and “food manager,” a term they use to make me feel important and in charge! I like to add laundry manager, homework manager, and entertainment manager to the list as well.
Here are seven random facts about me; these facts may change, as thankfully we all grow and change. So be sure to visit my website and check my progress.
I am a lefty, but I can write with my right hand too. When I was in third grade my left hand was broken and in a cast, but my teacher expected me to get my homework done, so I learned how to write with my right hand.
I have not baked a thing since last year when I was baking a cake and almost burned down my house! I think the recipe was tampered with. I may have done the tampering.
I think I would like to have dogs and cats and maybe a few elephants, three dolphins, and two whales. For now we have gophers, rattlesnakes, and owls frequenting our backyard as they please.
I would rather read than do anything else in the world. Wait, I like eating and talking too.
I like doing annual bake sales for Halloween with my family and friends to raise money for UNICEF. I hope I’ll start baking again soon and put the you-know-what incident behind me.
My favorite colors are green and blue, and I love that if we look at our earth from space, green and blue are the colors of our planet. We truly have a beautiful planet.
I think global warming, hunger, poverty, and war are things we need to take care of as humans, or we’ll be like dinosaurs.
I grew up in Dallas, Texas, with two sisters and a brother. I had an active and creative mind-set from the very beginning. My hands were on everything from pencils, dirt, toys, basketballs, and bikes to whatever else I could find and explore. Busy my mind was, and still is. I honestly don’t think I ever had a choice to be an artist or an analytical thinker. My brain had already decided. I am sure to ponder the creative world endlessly.
My work usually involves people; drawing the figure is something that I enjoy very much. Some slight distortion is applied, only to set myself apart in terms of creating a style for myself. But my style evolves from project to project. My technique starts with acrylics to lay down dark and mid values. Then I lay oils on top to help create my lights. Oils can be vibrant with only one layer and dry true to their color, so I use this to my advantage when trying to work quickly. I paint on illustration board.
Three Things You Might Not Know About Me:
1. I’m a gym rat and I love to work out, go running, and be outdoors.
2. I love to cook, and I try a new recipe every Wednesday.
3. When I was little, I used to draw Ninja Turtles almost every day.
