Deirdre Gill

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Outside Gets a Starred Review in Kirkus!

October 19, 2014 by Deirdre Gill

A little boy’s imagination creates a beautiful, mysterious, snowy world outside his home.

Expressive oils on paper are equally adept at showing the snow’s softness and a little boy’s changing moods. The wraparound cover art immediately draws readers in, and the quotation from Yeats opposite the dedication sets the tone: “The world is full of magic things, / patiently waiting / for our senses to grow sharper.” The first double-page spread shows an isolated, wooden house in steadily falling snow with these words: “Outside, snow falls silently on the house.” The next two pages illustrate the sentence, “Inside, a boy has nothing to do.” When the boy goes outside, his mood begins to lift, despite his disappointment at an older brother’s refusal to join him. By the end of the boy’s time outside, an enchanting, magical world of castles and snow creatures has elevated his spirits—and will have a similar effect on readers. The palette moves through the colors of a perfect winter’s day in New England, from the blue-grays of falling snow to the golden-pink tones of sunset—ideal colors for the boy’s dragon ride—to the deeper blues of approaching evening. The double-page spread that introduces the dragon is especially enthralling.

Readers will want to reread the simple but meaningful text and bask again in the glorious illustrations of this splendid debut. (Picture book. 3-8)

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Prints from Outside and Trains Don’t Sleep now available for sale!

October 9, 2017 By Deirdre Gill

Signed prints from Trains Don’t Sleep and Outside are now available on Etsy. I can print almost any illustration from my books, so please let me know if you would like one that is not listed.  

Trains Don’t Sleep gets great review in the New York Times Book Review

May 15, 2017 By Deirdre Gill

From the May 14, 2017 edition of the New York Times Book Review:  “The murmur of a lazy river may calm one’s nerves, but the distant sound of “wheels on steel” has always been an invitation to wonder. Where has that train been? Where is it going? Moving from dark forest to frozen tundra, from […]

Trains Don’t Sleep is out!

May 5, 2017 By Deirdre Gill

Trains Don’t Sleep, written by Andria Rosenbaum and illustrated by yours truly, is officially out in stores! You can find it online or at your local bookseller (search Indie Bound) or get a signed copy from the Vermont Bookshop. Critical reviews: “…truly transporting…” —New York Times Book Review “A well-crafted tribute to trains.” —Booklist

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Prints from Outside and Trains Don’t Sleep now available for sale!

October 9, 2017 By Deirdre Gill

Signed prints from Trains Don’t Sleep and Outside are now available on Etsy. I can print almost any illustration from my books, so please let me know if you would like one that is not listed.  

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