We talk to the illustrator behind this impressive new series of books designed especially for babies and toddlers.
She’s won illustration awards, she’s collaborated with A-list children’s author Julia Donaldson, and now London-based artist Sharon King-Chai is riding high with an innovative series of her own. Mirror Magic has been created for infants and toddlers, but these gorgeous little books are so sparkly that it’s hard for anyone to resist picking them up.
Hello Sun and Hello Fish have just come out, joining Hello Bunny and Hello Bee on the children’s bookshelf, and six more are on the way. The concept is stunningly simple, and the outcome is simply stunning. Sharon creates tactile, textured imagery of all kinds of creatures and characters, which is printed on mirror board pages. When a child looks inside, a three-dimensional scene is created with a mirror panel reflecting environmental imagery on the facing page.
“As a child, I was fascinated by mirrors. I used to carry one around, tilting it to reflect the ceiling and imagining I was walking through an upside-down world,” says Sharon. “That memory stuck with me, and this felt like the idea I really wanted to bring to life.”
The illustration style is similar to Sharon’s earlier books, such as Counting Creatures and the Animalphabet, but with greater emphasis on bold shapes and colours. There’s contrast and depth, too, which is augmented by the mirror background on each page. As children look at a bunny, bee or fish, they can see themselves and their own environment reflected in the background and come to feel part of the scene.
“I always begin my process with pencil and paper, exploring shapes and pushing the composition. Once I’m happy, I bring the sketch to life using black brush pens. I scan the piece and move into Photoshop, where I experiment with colour and refine the palette,” explains Sharon.
She continues: “I love being quite experimental here and trying unexpected combinations. Photoshop allows you to play quite easily, and I embrace happy accidents. With the shapes and colours in place, I start layering in textures sourced from the real world to add depth, integrity and authenticity.”
While developing the series, Sharon experimented with the typography, too, creating her own cut foam lettering and carrying out print tests. In the end, she opted for bespoke characters drawn in Adobe Illustrator, with cleaner lines that stand out well in books already replete with natural textures.
A wonderful discovery for Sharon has been that her Mirror Magic books are truly connecting with children with visual impairments and special needs. “A friend whose son is blind shared with me it’s the first book he’s had that he can visually experience,” says Sharon.
“I was also touched to receive a voice note from a friend who runs Urban Forest Tribe, an inclusive community interest company. She was going to run a Forest school session at a local SEN school for children with severe learning difficulties and/or autism. She left Hello Bee behind for the children to discover. The children gravitated towards it, and a nine-year-old girl just simply wouldn’t let go of the book for hours. It really provided her sanctuary in her own little world.”
Later this year, Hello Santa will be published, and next year’s planned releases include Hello Train, Hello T-Rex, Hello Unicorn, Hello Tiger and a yet-to-be-titled Halloween edition.
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