Willow Dawson facts for kids

Willow Dawson is a Canadian cartoonist and illustrator. She is well-known for her work on graphic novels, picture books, and illustrated fairy tale collections.

Early Life and Art

Willow Dawson was born in Vancouver, Canada. When she was a child, Willow faced serious health challenges. She had severe asthma, and the medicine she took affected her kidneys. Doctors were worried she might not live past her teenage years. Because of her health, she spent a lot of time drawing. Her father was also an artist, which helped her learn about different kinds of art. She later studied at the Ontario College of Art & Design in Toronto and finished her studies in 2006.

Amazing Graphic Novels

Willow Dawson has created many interesting graphic novels and comics. One of her works was for a superhero comic book called Girls Who Bite Back: Witches, Mutants, Slayers and Freaks. She also worked on a comic called Mother May I, which explores important challenges young people face.

She illustrated Violet Miranda: Girl Pirate, a graphic novel by Emily Pohl-Weary. This story was told in four parts. The first part, published in 2005, was praised for its "beautifully illustrated black and white saga."

In 2008, Willow illustrated No Girls Allowed, a graphic novel by author Susan Hughes. This book tells the stories of different women throughout history who dressed up as men. Willow used ink and acrylic paint on cardboard to make strong black-and-white pictures of these historical women. The book was liked by many reviewers, including Boing Boing and the School Library Journal.

Books About History and Nature

Willow Dawson also illustrated The Big Green Book of the Big Blue Sea in 2012. This book teaches children about the ocean ecosystem. It includes fun science experiments and activities for younger students.

Penguin Canada asked Willow to create a historical graphic novel about Nellie McClung. Nellie McClung was an important Canadian woman who worked for women's rights. This led to the book Hyena in Petticoats. Nellie McClung believed that farm life helped her become successful. So, Willow designed the pages with borders that looked like old farming catalogs from the 1900s. She also added tiny, moving animals that matched the theme of each chapter.

In 2015, Willow's picture book, The Wolf-Birds, was released. A reviewer from School Library Journal called it a "stellar introduction to forest ecology." The book was also reviewed by Publishers Weekly and Kirkus Reviews. It was a finalist for the TD Canadian Children's Literature Award in 2016 and the Blue Spruce Award in 2017.

She drew the black-and-white comic panels for Frieda Wishinsky's children's book Avis Dolphin (2015). This book is a fictional story about a 12-year-old girl named Avis Dolphin. She survived the sinking of the RMS Lusitania ship in 1915. Willow also contributed illustrations to My Girlfriend's Pregnant! A Teen's Guide to Becoming a Dad by Chloe Shantz-Hilkes (2015).

Fairy Tale Illustrations

In 2018, a new translation of White as Milk, Red as Blood was published by Knopf Canada. This book is a collection of 19th-century fairy tales by Franz Xaver von Schönwerth. These tales were found in Germany in 2009. Willow Dawson illustrated this book, making it the "very first fully illustrated, full-colour edition" of the collection, according to CBC Books.