Congratulations, Alyssa!! Lucha and Lola just hit the 1000 mark! 1000 children in Philadelphia have read this beautiful story and been inspired by its message of friendship and adventure. Go, Liss!
Morning Circle Media Illustrators:
Alyssa Kreilick
Alyssa Kreilick is a graduate of the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in Philadelphia. She has illustrated three Morning Circle Media books to date: Slide!; Lucha and Lola; and Baker Bear Bakes a Cake. Her newest book, The Rise and Fall of Sandcastle Town, debuts in 2017.
In addition to illustrating children’s picture books, Alyssa works for Kreilick Conservation, LLC as an historic preservationist.
Frito Bastien
Frito Bastien was born in 1954 in Jacmel, a town on Haiti's southern peninsula. He started his painting career at thirteen. Frito fled Haiti in 1991, without his wife or children, due to threats by the military under Francois "Papa Doc" Duvalier. His colorful murals can be seen on buildings and factories all over Philadelphia.
Frito's first book with Morning Circle Media is The Whispering Benches, in English and Haitian-Kreyol.
Mohammed Ahmed
Philadelphia artist, Mohammed Ahmed, created the beautiful watercolor illustrations for Morning Circle Media's first Arabic/English book, Let's Cook For Ramadan!
Mohammed earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Industrial Design from the University of Sudan. He lives with his wife and three daughters in Philadelphia.
Esperanta Delmat
Esperanta Delmat was born in Haiti in 1993. Self-taught, her artwork has roots in both realism and the naif style. Esperanta is passionate about painting, graffiti and Reggae. She speaks of art as an intimate "meeting" between artist and viewer.
Esperanta illustrated many of the images in Morning Circle Media's first Haitian-Kreyol book, The Whispering Benches.
Laura Eyring
Laura Kaderabek Eyring is a graduate of the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in Philadelphia. She received her BFA from the University of Pennsylvania, cum laude. In 2001 she received her BS in chemistry from Drexel University (abandoning her career as a waitress). She now works as an analytical chemist for the Philadelphia Water Department and draws late at night when her husband and two children are asleep. Freeing the Birds is her first children’s picture book.
Laura and MCM President Cynthia Kreilick are collaborating on another children's book, The Lighthouse, due out in 2018.
