Big Bike, Little Bike Cover Reveal
As many people come to find out, one of the weirder quirks of the publishing industry to outsiders is that there is very little contact, if at all, between the author and illustrator. The publishing team acquires a book manuscript and then they find the best illustrator to do the illustrating. We don’t talk until it’s time to market the book.
For Kellie DuBay Gillis and I, it started in earnest this last week1 as we contemplated how to roll out the cover reveal for our new book, BIG BIKE, LITTLE BIKE (Harper Collins, Feb ’25). It is beyond delightful to find that the person behind the words is as cool as you think they might be. Kellie is incredible! She also had the fantastic idea of interviewing me as we reveal our cover. Without further ado…
Drumroll…
Kellie: As you know, BIG BIKE, LITTLE BIKE is the first picture book that my agent sold for me, so it's the first one that made me an official picture book author. The whole process with BIKE has been a first for me — including seeing the very first cover for the very first time! I've been journaling about the process so I'd remember how I felt during these milestones. This is what I wrote in my journal when Luana sent me your cover art for BIKE on April 1st. "I love it so much! Jacob did a fantastic job. It is FUN and BRIGHT and JOYFUL! My heart is so happy!" When you set out to create the cover, what were the vibes on your list that you wanted the cover to capture?
Jacob: Covers are weird things! They are a bit of a teaser and synopsis at the same time. The goal often is more about enticing someone to pick it up off of a bookstore or library shelf, rather than the story itself. (That’s the thing that makes them pick it up over and over again!) There’s an art to it all.
For BIKE, I wanted it to be fun, memorable, feature our main character (the bike!) and not give too much away. I think it works!
Kellie: I played a game in my head called "How is Jacob going to approach the cover for BIKE?" I really only ever imagined the bike being on the cover but I wasn't sure what other elements you'd incorporate. How many other approaches did you play with before you landed on this cover and what were they like? How did you know when it was "the one"?
Jacob: As soon as I drew the rhino on the bike in the sketch phase, I was very partial to it for the cover. It makes me laugh, this big giant rhino on this little bike. My initial sketches featured both the rhino and the bird, but I couldn’t figure out how to have them both on the bike. So I punted.
Dana Fritz, the fabulous art director for BIKE had the idea to place the bird on the rhino’s head while they were riding the bike. Boom! It came together really quickly from there!
Kellie: Another aspect of the cover that I adore is the title. I love how the words Big and Little change and the word Bike stays the same. It's so perfect for the entire concept of the story. What was the process like for deciding how to handle the appearance of the title? Was that you or Dana or a combination?
Jacob: I was a graphic designer for many years and played with the title treatment for a while. I often offer ideas in the sketch stage but remember that it’s collaborative with the team at Harper and marketing is a dark art. I absolutely love the work Dana has done with the font selections and she had me modify the type itself to have some texture to it. Character!
Kellie: When in the process of illustrating did you start thinking about the cover for BIKE? Is this consistent with your process for your other books?
Jacob: Every book is different! I prefer how we did it here. While the final art work is done and in review, the art director asks me for cover ideas. This allows the story to be my primary focus and the cover to flow out from that work. Like I said, BIKE was special because I had a hunch our rhino would be front and center as I was drawing it in the very beginning.
Kellie: What was the most challenging aspect of creating the cover for BIKE?
Jacob: Hmmm. I wanted to hint at the central conceit without handing over the whole plot. In this case, that limits what is possible quite a bit. I also held firm on keeping the bike the same exact size throughout the whole book. I can’t say more without giving away the plot now lol!
Kellie: I feel like there are still so many art secrets related to BIKE that I don't know about yet....like end papers. Any clues or hints on what to expect and how they do/don't relate to the cover? (See I'm trying to get information by making it sound like it is a cover-related question...I'm not real smooth here...ha!)
Jacob: So it’s 100% the coolest idea and I want to tell you about it. I do. But this tandem bike has reached its destination and we’ve run out of time!
Kellie: Ha! I tried! I'm so grateful that you said YES to becoming the illustrator for BIG BIKE, LITTLE BIKE! Your illustrations are beyond what I could have imagined — on the cover and on all the pages in between! It is the perfect picture book ride!
Talk soon!
Jacob: Truly! I’m grateful to have been chosen. It’s the most fun I’ve ever had on a book and think it’s really something kids will adore. You did a fabulous job of writing a very, very fun book.
(ps. I’ll share the end pages next marketing meeting! 😉 🚴🏼…………… ✨)
The very best way to support Kellie and I and this book is to pre-order it! We’d be honored.
We had talked a bit on social media before, but all very respectful of the process. And she subscribes to this newsletter, which made dropping hints and sneak peeks a lot more devious, BWAHAHA enjoyable:
Awesome! I need more bike books so I can't wait.
Jacob, your cover art is fantastic! Love it! How do you create your artwork? Is it done in photoshop?