Great Reviews for my Children's Book App!

I am so happy to see the great reviews that the 12 Days of Christmas, children's book app, I illustrated for Polk Street Press got! 

Featured in Kirkus Reviews and Publishers Weekly – This Week in Apps

★★★★ from Common Sense Media and SmartAppsForKids.com

“Polk Street Press has taken its turn with the old chestnut, providing cute animated vignettes to go along with the lyrics. Withrow’s colorful and charming illustrations are animated just enough to keep little eyes engaged.” – Kirkus Reviews

“The video recording that kids can create of themselves singing along with the song is a fun, holiday-spirit option to share with grandparents or friends” – Common Sense Media

Christmas Box Cards

Recently, I had the pleasure of working on two sets of Christmas boxed cards for Gartner Greetings. They were so much fun to design and paint. I cannot wait to see them printed!

©Gartner Greeting - greeting card rights

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday and best wishes from my house to yours!

12 Days of Christmas: Children's Book Holiday App

Polk Street Press has a wonderful video about the children's book/holiday app I illustrated for them. It's great to see a child using it and having so much fun!

12 Days of Christmas children's book app published by Polk Street Press -aka- My first children's book app!

I am excited to announce that I have illustrated my first children's book app called Sing along with 12 Days of Christmas, published by Polk Street Press. Polk Street Press is a new publisher that is focusing on creating innovative digital experiences for kids. I enjoyed working with them on this project and am thrilled to see my art come to life!

My partridge art animated. A sneak peek of one of the animations in this fun children's book/holiday app (p.s.-this is low resolution)

12 Days of Christmas children's book app. Published by Polk Street Press, illustrated by Lesley Breen Withrow

My app in the apple iTunes store!

Here's some my art that you can see in this children's book app. It's fun to watch the characters move!

Lastly, here's some information about this app.

Sing along with 12 Days of Christmas

This innovative take on the Christmas classic is sure to get you into the holiday spirit! Create your own Christmas videos as you sing along to this original arrangement. Play along to practice counting down from 12 as you discover each gift from your true love. Gorgeously illustrated and fun, 12 Days of Christmas will delight children ages 4 to 104!

FEATURES

• Create your own holiday recordings to share with friends and family
  iPad2 users can create videos of their singalongs to easily share via facebook or email. All users can record their own audio versions to personalize the singalong. Share the excitement of the season with everyone you know!
• Gorgeous animated illustrations by award-winning artist Lesley Breen Withrow
  Sing along as turtle doves snuggle, ladies dance and pipers play. There’s always more to enjoy in every scene.
• Play along while reinforcing counting skills
  Practice counting down from twelve as you tap along with each verse. Can you get it right every time?
  
  
  What a great way to get into the holiday mood!

Library of the Early Mind available to purchase

(art by Jason May)

My husband, Steven Withrow, is co-producer of a film called Library of the Early Mind, which explores the world of children's books. Before now you could only see the film at designated screenings. It is now available to purchase! Yay!

If you would like to see the film, you have two options. You can purchase the hard copies which will be available on December 1st, or you can view the film as a digital download. To find out more about how to purchase/view the film click here: How to view/purchase Library of the Early Mind.

In this film you will see some children's book greats, like Chris Van Allsburg ('Polar Express'), Jerry Pinkney ('The Lion and the Mouse'), Daniel Handler (aka 'Lemony Snicket'), Lois Lowry ('The Giver'), R.L. Stine ('Goosebumps'), Jeff Kinney ('Diary of a Wimpy Kid'), Mo Willems (Knuffle Bunny'), Jane Yolen (author of more than 300 books), Norton Juster ('The Phantom Tollbooth'), Peter H. Reynolds ('Someday'), Brian Selznick ('Hugo Cabret'), Jack Gantos ('Rotton Ralph') and many, many more!

I am very proud of Steve for all the hard work he has put into this film. I was lucky to be able to help out with it here and there and to meet some of these wonderful children's book author's and illustrators. My daughter and I even got to be in the film! It's a true labor of love. So, if you love children's books, this is a must see!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

©Gartner Greetings (greeting card rights)

Understanding Intellectual Property

(click on picture to read article on Design Sponge site)

My sisiter-in-law, Kelli Proia, who is the Pricipal attorney at IP in Focus in Massachusetts wrote this wonderful article for Design Sponge called Understanding Intellectual Property. It's a must read, loaded with lots of great information... especially for those of us trying to understand contracts. Enjoy!

Happy Halloween!!!

I hope you all had a wonderful Halloween!

©Gartner Greetings (greeting card rights)

Under the Sea

©Gartner Greeting - (greeting card rights)

It has busy around here lately. My daughter just started Kindergarten and now it's almost Halloween!!! Where has the time gone? Here's one of my favorite cards that recently illustrated for Gartner Greetings. Who wouldn't love painting fish and kids and submarines all day!

Take time for something sweet

©Gartner Greetings

It's been a fun and busy summer for me! Hard to believe it's almost over. Unfortunately, I haven't been posting to my blog as often as I'd like. Tisk, tisk! Here's to a new start.

Memory Match Catch - innovative KIDS

Memory Match Catch - A game I illustrated for innovative KIDS

Here's a video about a children's game I illustrated for innovative KIDS called 'Memory Match Catch'. It's a part of their Soft Shapes line. This match game is for bath time and has 20 colorful fish with 10 different patterns and a net for kids to catch them with. They can match the patterns and collect them in the supplied mesh bag or stick them on the tub wall. We just got the game and my 5 year old daughter loves it! She even likes to use it outside of the tub. It's so fun to illustrate a toy and then see my daughter playing with it! And, I've always been a big memory match game fan, so I am having fun playing it with her too.

Trip to NYC Stationary and Surtex Show

I went to the Stationary and Surtex show in New York City a couple of weeks ago and had a great time. I haven't been to the show in a quite a few years, so it was nice to go again. I really enjoyed looking at the booths, trends, and it was great to see some familiar faces too! I was happy to see my book, Tooth Fairy Tales - My record of each lost tooth at the Potter Style Booth, and it was also very cool to see my snail notecards at the Papyrus store on 5th Avenue! 

My Book is in the middle of the second shelf up from the bottom.

It was so fun to see my notecards there!

Baby Boy Card- Elephant and Bird

©Gartner Greetings

I went to a friends baby shower this weekend, which was really fun. It's always exciting to welcome a new little life into the world! Here's a card I illustrated a little while ago that is fitting for the occasion. I can't wait to meet their little boy, who'll be arriving at the end of May or early June.

Little Bird

©Gartner Greetings

Here's a bird that enjoyed painting for a greeting card I recently illustrated. I've noticed lately that I just love painting birds! 

Birthday Fun!

©Gartner Greetings

My 5 year old daughter got invited to a friends birthday party this weekend. Lots of of crafts, dressing up as princesses and strawberry cupcakes. Nothing can put a smile on my face as fast as little kids giggling. It was fun!

Little Friends Book -Oxford University Press

I recently got samples for an educational book and flash cards that I illustrated for Oxford University Press UK. The book is called 'Little Friends', and it's being published world wide. Little Friends is a British English course for very young children who do not read and write yet. My illustrations are interspersed throughout the book along with another illustrators'. Here's a sampling of some of my art that's in the book. It's great to see it in print!

©Oxford University Press 

Happy March!

Here's a couple of birds to wish you a happy March! 

©Lesley Breen Withrow

Bear with Balloons

It's a beautiful day today. Sunny and warm, a nice change from all the snow and ice we've been having all winter. Hopefully Spring is on the way!

©Gartner Greetings

Poe and Lovecraft Meet in Providence, 1909

Here's an illustration I did of Edgar Allen Poe (one of my favorite writers). My husband, Steve, wrote a poem to go along with it. It was nice to collaborate. Hope you enjoy!

©Lesley Breen Withrow

Poe and Lovecraft Meet in Providence, 1909

By Steven Withrow

The Athenaeum’s doors were locked 

For after hours. The idled ghosts

Of Model T’s at hitching posts

Resembled resting mares. They’d walked

Down separate steps, from different gates,

Alarumed out of iron sleep

By bells, an interview to keep,

A night’s commingling of their fates.

The Athenaeum’s reading room

Was dark, the hooded lamps lit low,

And Lovecraft, young still, begged of Poe,

“What eldritch summoning of doom,

What cosmic rite, has fetched you here?

I’d passed out, my new poem complete,

And soon awoke on Angell Street!”

He leaned in, offered Poe his ear.

The pale anachronism shook

His wild-haired—was it eyeless?—head,

A forceful gesture for the dead,

And fingered toward a black-bound book

That lingered on a higher shelf,

Its spine read Necronomicon,

And Lovecraft stood, but Poe was gone.

He’d face the grimoire by himself.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day!!!!

©Gartner Greetings

My cat loves Valentines' Day!

©Lesley Breen Withrow

I found my cat Desi, playing with my daughter's Valentine's Day hearts. Guess she's excited about the holiday too! 

Almost Valentine's Day!

Less than a week until Valentines Day!

Baby Giraffe

Here's a recent illustration I really enjoyed creating!

©Gartner Greetings

Butterflies

Here's a snippit of some butterflies I illustrated for a greeting card. It makes me feel like Spring is in the air, even when we had 10 inches of snow last night. A girl can dream!

©Gartner Greetings

Mice watering flowers

©Gartner Greetings

Here's a snippet of some cute little mice I drew for a greeting card last year. Reminds me of a Spring day!