Wednesday, October 19, 2016

Grandpa Cacao

More and more, over the past twelve years or so, I've wondered to myself every time I take a bite of a piece of chocolate: "What if the chocolate in this bar came from my own grandfather's cacao plantation?" I first had this thought during my sophomore year at RISD in one of my illustration class assignments. I interviewed my dad about his childhood in the Ivory Coast, and created an artist's book based on his memories. The page that stuck with me the most in my artist's book was the illustration of my father walking through a cacao tree plantation with his mother and brother.


My father shared more and more memories with me about his father's cacao and coffee plantation in the Ivory Coast. I became more and more obsessed with chocolate and cacao beans and the cacao fruit and the cacao-harvesting process, that cacao or chocolate became the centerpiece of many of my projects during my junior and senior years and RISD. (Sorry, professors!)

I lived in the Ivory Coast until I was twelve years old, but never visited the plantation (which my father had taken over) and never saw a cacao tree in real life. My family and I ate (and still eat) plenty of chocolate though! I never had a stronger desire to walk through a lush field of cacao trees and pluck a ripe, red cacao pod from a branch, until now that I've lived in the United States for almost twenty years! Mind you, the Ivory Coast is the world's top producer of cacao and coffee, so it's in my blood!

We consume so much chocolate here, but I'm not sure that children know where chocolate actually comes from... so I decided the subject of chocolate would be a great picture book! The first version of my chocolate picture book was my senior year illustration project at RISD, and I'm very happy to say, ten years and many changes later, with the push from my fabulous agent Lori Nowicki at Painted Words, and the faith of editor Mary Kate Castellani, that my little chocolate story will be published by Bloomsbury Books!!!! Wohooo!!!!!!!! 
I'm an Author/Illustrator!!!!! 


I'm calling it Grandpa Cacao, and it is set to be released in May 2019!


...Grandpa Cacao will be illustrated with paint, collage and silk-screen...


I am very very grateful and proud to have illustrated nine books in the past eight years or so, all written by a very talented, generous and diverse group of children's book authors. I look forward to continuing to bring to life others' stories, as well as embarking on the journey of bringing to life my own. My Grandpa Cacao, who passed on way before I was born, and whom I've imagined, whom I respect and hope to be like one day, is my first story.

7 comments:

  1. I'm thrilled for you and can't wait to read it. We all need to know Grandpa Cacao.

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    1. Thank you, Joy! I think we have all wondered about family members we've never met. This book is my attempt to bring my Grandpa Cacao to life!

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  2. Wonderful. I look forward to sharing this work of art with my children, once it is published.

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    1. Thank you David! I hope they (and you) enjoy it! This story has been many years in the making.

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  4. Amazing to hear, well done, lovely illustrations looking forward to reading this book

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    1. Thank you, Lotika! I've had a lot of fun researching and dreaming about cacao and chocolate! :)

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