Retired couple and high school student work on children’s book together

When Daniel Bradford decided to publish his children’s story, he knew it needed more to bring his words to life. Rather than hiring an established illustrator, however, the Sturgeon Lake resident decided to hold a competition for area high school students. In the end, six students from Willow River, Barnum and Cloquet participated in the competition. Their task? To submit two drawings – one illustrating the first paragraph and the second illustrating any paragraph they chose – to visually depict Bradford’s retelling of the Christ child’s birth through the eyes of a spider. The prize? They would get to illustrate the entire book.

By: Jana Peterson, Pine Journal