“Bounce Bounce” … the accidental epic adventure of a super cute bug. This is the work of Irish artist / illustrator Brian Fitzgerald. I love his illustration style, but what I love even more is this email he sent me a few days ago:

… I’d like to share a little on the inner critic. In 2013 it was at its worst and I was about to give up on illustration having been one for forever. I spotted a Competition called the Silent Book Contest in Italy and decided to give illustrating one last go. I did however make some rules for myself before starting and stuck by them all the way. One of them was that Brian the child should write the story and Brian the adult wasn’t allowed to make any changes no matter what. I wrote the story that day and in the evening Brian the adult started to pick flaws in the story. Thanks to the rule, I never allowed Brian the adult to impose and I went ahead and won the Silent Book 2014 in the Bologna Children’s Book Fair. I guess my bully is Brian the adult and my creative is Brian the child. They get along thanks to the success and teamwork. Thanks for reading … Brian (the child)

I’m so glad that “Brian the adult” figured that out… and ended up on his very own epic adventure!

{And in case you’re wondering, “Can I buy this beautiful book!?” … yes, yes you can: buy it right here}