Carolyn Fisher’s illustrations have been commissioned by hundreds of
magazines and newspapers. She has written and illustrated stories for chickaDEE magazine. Of her children’s book, THE SNOW SHOW, The New York Times Book Review’s Paul Zelinsky said: “…visually arresting…one of the most gloriously exuberant, inventive displays of computer-created art that I have ever seen in a picture book.” When not illustrating and writing, Carolyn Fisher talks to kids and grown-ups about writing and art.

"Rowdy Reptiles", chickaDEE magazine, April 2010
"My Metric Pet", chickaDEE magazine, May 2009
The Snow Show, written and illustrated by Carolyn Fisher, Harcourt 2008
"Something Fishy", chickaDEE magazine, September 2007
Two Old Potatoes and Me, Reading Rainbow Episode for PBS TV, 2004
Two Old Potatoes and Me, written by John Coy, illustrated by Carolyn Fisher, Knopf, 2003
A Twisted Tale, written and illustrated by Carolyn Fisher, Knopf, 2002
The Best Friends’ Handbook, written by Erica Orloff and Alexa Milo, illustrated by Carolyn Fisher, Walker and Company, 2002
Fifty-Five Grandmas and a Llama, written by Lynn Manuel, illustrated by Carolyn Fisher, published by Gibbs Smith:1997


Carolyn Fisher has made a free downloadable activity kit to accompany her book The Snow Show. Get the activity kit here: http://www3.telus.net/public/carolynf/snowshow.html

Presentation Descriptions:

The Snow Show
Grade 1-Adult
Carolyn’s editor came to visit from California during a raging Alberta snowstorm. The temperature was –35C. The doors on the editor’s airplane luggage compartment froze shut.
“Hey,” Carolyn said to the editor. “Maybe I should write and illustrate a book about hot and cold!”
This presentation shows how you turn a very bad day into an idea, and then turn the idea into a book.

From Storyboard to Storybook: how a children’s book is made
Kindergarten-Adult
Carolyn shows slides of the illustration and writing processes from storyboard to storybook. Ideas look messy when they come out of Carolyn’s brain and usually need to be revised many times before they shine. Carolyn shows students how she collects thoughts and refines drawings and paintings in her sketchbook. Carolyn winds things up by showing kids some magic: how to draw a portrait WITHOUT using an eraser. She gets a student from the audience to be the model, and leaves the portrait with the school when she’s done.

Using Sketchbooks to Grow Ideas
Grades 4-Adult
Break out your sketchbook for a session of drawing and brainstorming! Carolyn talks about how she collects ideas in sketchbooks. She uses her sketchbooks to grow stories, pictures and comic strips. Students will use Carolyn’s brain tornado techniques to write a story or draw a picture of their own.

From Ugh to Wow: using drafts to fix your stories and drawings
Grades 4-Adult
Sometimes ideas look ugly and messy and slimy when you first write them on paper. Carolyn works with students to show it’s ok to try ideas 999,999 times just to see what they look like. Carolyn gives composition tricks and sketching techniques to help students make stronger pictures and stories.

Society of Illustrators New York,
Society of Illustrators Los Angeles,
American Illustration