Dream Animals

EMILY WINFIELD MARTIN sketches, paints, and stitches to create imaginary worlds and characters. She is the author/illustrator of The Black Apple's Paper Doll Primer. Her store, The Black Apple, has been featured in national publications and on TV shows, including the New York Times and The Martha Stewart Show. The inspiration for Oddfellow's Orphanage, Emily's first book for children, came from the real I.O.O.F. (Independent Order of Oddfellows), dancing bears, ragtime music, and magic and mysterium of all sorts. Originally, Emily painted portraits of the children and adults at the imaginary orphanage, and from the portraits the stories emerged—enough to fill a book! Emily lives among the giant fir trees of Portland, Oregon, with her fellow adventurer, Josiah, and their cat Miette.

"A rare, enchanting mixture of graceful rhyming verse and adorable, Hummel-sweet illustrations... Martin’s paintings, in rich, creamy opaque colors, have a retro look that recalls early Golden Books, but with more brush-stroke texture. They’re so nursery-worthy you may be tempted to snip a few out and frame them." --The New York Times"Enchanting...Little ones won't mind curling up, thanks to the lovely whimsical illustrations." --Parents Magazine"Tender and dark, this brings to mind the dark and wooded world of classic fairy tales — but with a refreshingly quirky twist." --The Atlantic Wire"It's a perfect bedtime book as it creates a feeling of security and comfort paired with the endless possibilities for exploration and adventure that dreams bring. The illustrations are rich and sumptuous, yet delicate and ethereal. It's a lovely book, one that you'll want to hold onto for years to come." --Apartment Therapy"This new bedtime book will lull your little one to sleep with its whimsical rhymes and low-lit illustrations. The book has a slightly vintage-feel, making it an instant classic and your child will be looking forward to his or her own sweet dreams after reading about the ones in the book." --Metro US"These stunning, full-color illustrations rely on polished brush strokes, midnight blue backgrounds and ethereal light to produce an almost surreal atmosphere in which children quietly ride their dream animals to fantastical venues, silently suggesting the infinite possibility of dreams. A visually elegant and textually cadenced bedtime treat." --Kirkus Reviews"The minimalist ink-sketched bedrooms of each dreamer give way to luxuriant fairy-tale images rendered in dense, subtly radiant colors, which are reminiscent of classic European illustration...Will take firm grip of readers’ imaginations as they make their own ways to dreamland." --Publishers Weekly"Whether taking tea with mermaids in pale green waters, flying over a prehistoric world on a winged bicycle, or painting the stars while resting on the moon, these dreams suggest delightful and fantastical experiences. Martin sketches the sleeping children in black and white and renders the enchanting scenes of their dreams in vivid color. A sweet and lyrical bedtime story." --Booklist