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Little House on the Prairie

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Illustrating Little House

December 10, 2018 By Renée Graef
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In the early 1990s, HarperCollins Publishers launched the My First Little House Books program to introduce toddlers and young children to the world of Laura Ingalls Wilder. They began a search for an illustrator who had a similar style to that of the beloved illustrator, Garth Williams.

Illustrating Little House, by Renée Graef, an award-winning illustrator of over 80 books for children, including the Kirsten series in the American Girl collection and many of the My First Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder.

My illustration agent, Merial Cornell, was showing art portfolios to the HarperCollins creative director at the time when he noticed my work. I was asked to do a sample piece to see if it was the right fit. It was, and two double-page spreads were requested. After these were approved, I was offered a contract for eight picture books based on Laura Ingalls Wilder’s writings. All of this was very exciting, as you can imagine!

 

I lived in Milwaukee at the time and flew to New York to meet with the editors, art directors, and my agent to discuss the vision and details of the program. It was a wonderful experience to be a part of such an amazing creative team.

Approximately one year later, after we had illustrated a couple of the picture books, HarperCollins approached us about expanding the program to include paper dolls, board books, baby books, chapter books and other items. I became a creative consultant/director for the next five years, art directing another 35 books. I went to New York for meetings every four months to brainstorm and discuss the particulars of the program.

Illustrating Little House, by Renée Graef, an award-winning illustrator of over 80 books for children, including the Kirsten series in the American Girl collection and many of the My First Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder.

Illustration by Renée Graef

I worked with illustrators Doris Ettlinger, Jody Wheeler and Cathy Holly to create a cohesive look for the program. Doris worked extensively on picture books, chapter books, board books, covers and other items. Jody Wheeler worked primarily on the Farmer Boy picture books. Cathy Holly was instrumental in helping me at my Milwaukee studio. She cut friskets, airbrushed, sketched, cut boards and did many other duties. It was so much fun to work with other illustrators!

During this time, I illustrated many of the books in the program and others for HarperCollins, including The Nutcracker and My Favorite Things. My two children were the primary models in My Favorite Things and my sister modeled as the mother in the book. My daughter, Maggie, would sometimes model as Laura for the Little House books. Friends and neighbors were the models for Santa Comes to Little House (out-of-print), the only one of the picture books that was painted in a more realistic style.

I also illustrated The Martha Years novels, Little House in the Highlands, The Far Side of the Loch, Down to the Bonny Glen, and Beyond Heather Hills. These novels were based on Laura Ingalls Wilder’s grandmother’s childhood in Scotland.

Illustrating Little House, by Renée Graef, an award-winning illustrator of over 80 books for children, including the Kirsten series in the American Girl collection and many of the My First Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder.

Illustration by Renée Graef

Research was one of my favorite parts of the Little House experience. I have visited all of the Laura Ingalls Wilder locations and met so many people who were passionate about Laura and her life. I traveled with my two young children (at the time) and my sister, to many of the Little House homesites. There is something magical about being in the exact place where Laura stood! We also stopped at all of the train museums along the way.

Illustrating Little House, by Renée Graef, an award-winning illustrator of over 80 books for children, including the Kirsten series in the American Girl collection and many of the My First Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder.

Illustration by Renée Graef

Illustrating a Little House book starts with Laura’s words, of course. We all have images that come to mind while reading. My job is to capture those pictures to tell the story. Small thumbnail sketches read like a storyboard for a movie. I try to make sure that images move back and forth between close-up and far away while keeping in mind the emotion of the words.

Step One:

The thumbnail sketches are drawn on thick tracing paper called vellum. After the general design is scribbled, I place it under another piece of vellum to clean it up. Here are all of the thumbnails for Going to Town.

Illustrating Little House, by Renée Graef, an award-winning illustrator of over 80 books for children, including the Kirsten series in the American Girl collection and many of the My First Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder.

Thumbnail sketches by Renée Graef for the picture book, Going to Town.

Step Two:

The editor looks at all of the thumbnail sketches for feedback. Here is the preliminary thumbnail for the wagon ride in the picture book, Prairie Day.

Illustrating Little House, by Renée Graef, an award-winning illustrator of over 80 books for children, including the Kirsten series in the American Girl collection and many of the My First Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder.

Preliminary thumbnail sketch by Renée Graef for the picture book, Prairie Day.

And here’s the final thumbnail.

Illustrating Little House, by Renée Graef, an award-winning illustrator of over 80 books for children, including the Kirsten series in the American Girl collection and many of the My First Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder.

Final thumbnail sketch by Renée Graef for the picture book, Prairie Day.

Step Three:

Once the thumbnail is approved, I move on to a larger sketch. This is the point where most of the research is done and photos are taken for reference. Again, I will re-sketch a number of times to keep refining and adding more details to the sketch.

Illustrating Little House, by Renée Graef, an award-winning illustrator of over 80 books for children, including the Kirsten series in the American Girl collection and many of the My First Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder.

Larger sketch by Renée Graef for the picture book, Prairie Day.

Here is the final sketch that is sent to the editor for approval.

Illustrating Little House, by Renée Graef, an award-winning illustrator of over 80 books for children, including the Kirsten series in the American Girl collection and many of the My First Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder.

Final larger sketch by Renée Graef for the picture book, Prairie Day.

Step Four:

After sketch approval, the enlarged sketch is transferred onto coquille board with the use of a lightbox.

I draw a line drawing using sepia and black colored pencils. The color is laid down using an airbrush.

Illustrating Little House, by Renée Graef, an award-winning illustrator of over 80 books for children, including the Kirsten series in the American Girl collection and many of the My First Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder.

Renée Graef – Process of Illustration

Step Five:

Colored pencil, watercolor, and gouache are used for detailing. This is the part that takes up the most time. And here is the final wagon ride illustration!

Illustrating Little House, by Renée Graef, an award-winning illustrator of over 80 books for children, including the Kirsten series in the American Girl collection and many of the My First Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder.

Final wagon ride illustration by Renée Graef for the picture book, Prairie Day.

I will leave you with the sketches and final painting of Pa giving Laura a big bear hug from Christmas in the Big Woods.

Illustrating Little House, by Renée Graef, an award-winning illustrator of over 80 books for children, including the Kirsten series in the American Girl collection and many of the My First Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder.

Sketch by Renée Graef for Christmas in the Big Woods.

It has been so nice to revisit my Laura years with you!

Illustrating Little House, by Renée Graef, an award-winning illustrator of over 80 books for children, including the Kirsten series in the American Girl collection and many of the My First Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder.

Final illustration by Renée Graef from Christmas in the Big Woods.

We think you will enjoy all of the Little House books that Renee Graef illustrated.

My First Little House Books

  • Christmas in the Big Woods
  • Dance at Grandpa’s
  • The Deer in the Wood
  • A Farmer Boy Birthday
  • Going to Town
  • Going West
  • A Little House Birthday
  • A Little Prairie House
  • Prairie Day
  • Sugar Snow
  • Summertime in the Big Woods
  • Winter Days in the Big Woods
  • Winter on the Farm
  • Winter Tales – My First Little House Collection (contains Winter Days in the Big Woods, Christmas in the Big Woods, and Dance at Grandpa’s)

Little House: The Martha Years

  • Little House in the Highlands
  • The Far Side of the Loch
  • Down to the Bonny Glen
  • Beyond the Heather Hills

Comments from the Website Editors

These beautiful illustrations bring Laura’s stories to life for young children. For more great book selections, please see our recommended reading lists for children and adults.

You may also be interested in Renée’s newest book, Thèrése Makes a Tapestry, published by Getty Publications.

Do you have a story to share about what Laura and her stories have meant to you? Share them with us here and be sure to subscribe to our newsletter for future exclusive stories!

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Renée Graef

Renée Graef is an award-winning illustrator of over 80 books for children, including many of the "My First Little House Books" by Laura Ingalls Wilder and the "Kirsten" series in the American Girl collection. Renée worked as creative director for the "Little House" program at HarperCollins for five years and enjoyed traveling to the Laura Ingalls Wilder sites. Her works include a tapestry book for the Getty Museum and books for Mount Rushmore. Her latest book is "Everybody's Tree" by Barbara Joosse.
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Latest posts by Renée Graef (see all)

  • Create Your Own Little House in the Big Woods Diorama - October 14, 2021
  • Illustrating Little House - December 10, 2018

Filed Under: Community, Recommended Reading, Your Stories Tagged With: Illustrating, Little House Books, Little House on the Prairie, My First Little House Book, Recommended Reading

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Comments

  1. Julie says

    September 18, 2019 at 11:05 am

    My daughter loves Little House on the Prairie. We planned quite a few vacations around her desire to see where things in the books happened! In her early 20s she decided to collect all the different series. So our hunt began. I still had the original books as a start to her collection. She has almost all of the books now except a few that are out of print. She has read all the book series numerous times. She’s now 24 and still asks for newer books written like Pioneer Girl and others.

    Reply
  2. Amanda Lynn Richardson says

    August 13, 2018 at 5:11 pm

    Dose the program still exist as a kid from the 90s i would love for my daughter to share that experience.

    Reply
  3. Connie in Colorado says

    October 5, 2016 at 11:45 am

    Dear Reneé,
    Thank you for demonstrating your step-by-step artwork on the Little House picture books. It’s inspiring for kids (and this “big” kid) to see the sketches, research and tools that are used to create the rich atmospheric pioneer world of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s stories. When these books first came out I was thrilled to share them in my school libraries with our youngest readers in Kindergarten and First Grade, connecting them to the original novels chapter by chapter….and still do so!
    By the way, now I know what an airbrush art tool looks like!
    Thank you again for sharing your beautiful artwork in the “Little House” world.

    Reply
  4. Leslie Harvath says

    October 1, 2016 at 5:01 pm

    Ms. Graef, Your books were our daughter’s first encounter with LHOP, which began at about age 3. She is now 11 years old and has long since read and reread Mrs. Wilder’s books countless times. I love that she has never given up your books, and she still pulls out the whole collection to read at least once a month. Your illustrations sparked a flame that have never waned in its brilliance. Many other books from early childhood have made way for new titles, but yours have found a forever home.

    Reply
  5. Ed says

    September 30, 2016 at 5:43 pm

    Wow – your work is so warm!! I really enjoyed the sneak-peek into your creative process. As a web designer, I find it so refreshing to see hand drawn/sketched work. It just seems to be more “from the heart”. I really miss the pencil drawing I was able to do in my youth. You may have inspired me to return to drawing in my free time! Thanks again, Renee. Keep up the awesome work.

    Reply
  6. Sarah says

    September 13, 2016 at 9:16 am

    Your illustrations are so beautiful and truly capture the charm of the “Little House” books! My two year old daughter simply adores this series of picture books, they are her favorites! I cannot tell you how many times I have read them. : ) She will often want me to read the same story twice in one sitting. They are a treasure and joy to our family! Thank you for sharing your amazing talent!

    Reply
    • Renee Graef says

      September 26, 2016 at 7:34 pm

      Thank you so much for your kind words, Sarah!! I loved being
      in the world of Laura Ingalls Wilder to illustrate her picture books. I can see in my mind’s eye the two of you sitting close while you read to her. A treasured moment indeed!

      I plan to start a newsletter with coloring pages if you are interested. You can sign up on my website: http://www.reneegraef.com

      Enjoy!

      Reply

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