I Paint My World

In this gentle story about how we respond to events in the world around us, a young child discovers that his feelings can color the way he experiences everyday ups and downs.

Much like a painter selecting from a colorful palette, we all have power to choose how we react to the world around us.

From spring rain to summer heat, autumn winds and winter snow, there can be a wide range of emotions. The same sun that melts ice cream warms the ocean water. The rain that cancels a baseball game helps the flowers to grow. Joy and sadness, beauty and disappointment--our feelings are shaped by our inner power, coloring our response to the world around us.

Bold, vibrant artwork by award-winning illustrator Susan Gal brings color and movement to this emotion-centered debut picture book by Esther Novak.

STARRED REVIEW "It's an unabashedly uplifting message--a flexible attitude makes its own weather--delivered with frown-fixing verve." --Publisher's Weekly

STARRED REVIEW "An affirming exploration of emotional awareness, resilience, and personal perspective." --Booklist

"This gentle, visually engaging title will resonate when supporting discussions about feelings, resilience, and mindset." --School Library Journal

"Original, exceptional, and a fun read from start to finish." --Midwest Book Review

Esther Novak is a copywriter, freelance writer, and mom to four amazing boys. She earned a Bachelors of Science in Business Management and Finance at Brooklyn College. This is her first book. She lives in Woodmere, New York.

Susan Gal began her illustration career as a poster and calendar artist in Los Angeles. Her love of drawing energetic and lively characters earned her an internship with Walt Disney Feature Animation and she became a member of the original animation team at the Disney MGM Studios in Orlando, Florida. Although she loved the Disney years in Florida, Susan returned to her native California to follow her true passion of writing and illustrating children's picture books.

In recent years Susan's work has been recognized with a Sydney Taylor Award, a National Jewish Book Award, the Russell Freedman Non-Fiction Award for a Better World, and several publishing, library, and editors' choice lists. Some of her titles include The Tower of Life: How Yaffa Eliach Rebuilt Her Town in Stories and Photographs, New Shoes for Leo, Joyful Song: A Naming Story, and Welcoming Elijah: A Passover Tale with a Tale. Susan's work has also been celebrated in the New York Times, American Illustration, Creative Quarterly, 3×3, and the Society of Illustrators Original Art Show.

Susan lives in Berkeley, California.