6+ Randomly Random Facts (And An Announcement) About JUST ONE FLAKE

Just One Flake (my author/illustrator debut) arrives today. I hope you get a chance to read it (it makes a great read aloud). The book thinks it deserves a VOGUE photo shoot, but I disagree:
It received starred reviews from School Library Journal and Publishers Weekly:
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Jenna Bush Hager called it her family favorite picture book of the year, and said “This book celebrates the uniqueness in all of us. Hal laughed out loud.”

I talked about the book with Colby Sharp on The Yarn podcast:
It even has a book trailer:
You can find it at these locations:
McLean & Eakin | Bookshop | Amazon
Just for fun, here are some random facts about the book:
- The idea for Just One Flake came from this drawing I made on February 6th, 2021:

- My first sketch of the cover ended up being very close to the final:

- The cover for Just One Flake was inspired by William Steig’s Pete’s a Pizza:

- I used a Pentel Color Brush on watercolor paper to make the lines in the book. I used the Procreate app on an iPad to add the digital watercolors. The snowflake in the book is drawn using one of Wilson “Snowflake” Bentley’s photos as a reference:


- Once I knew I was going to illustrate a book, I made a list of things I wanted the book to have (the one I’m most weirdly happy about is drawing the Abrams logo on the spine):

- Sadly, it was not chosen for Joan’s Book Club (even though Leslie Knope tried to convince Joan):

(This one is a joke for fellow Parks & Rec fans)
Oh, and I figure now is a good time to share . . .

. . . there will be a Just One Flake sequel! It’s an ode to Lake Michigan called Just One Wave.
Filed under: Articles
About Travis Jonker
Travis Jonker is an elementary school librarian in Michigan. He writes reviews (and the occasional article or two) for School Library Journal and is a member of the 2014 Caldecott committee. You can email Travis at scopenotes@gmail.com, or follow him on Twitter: @100scopenotes.
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Yay! Congratulations on the “series” announcement! What an exciting time for you!