CHILDREN'S PUBLISHING · ILLUSTRATION · BOOK DESIGN
How Not to Build a Birdhouse
A playful children’s book created for the Wordie Bird Tales series, transforming an existing story into a colorful, fully illustrated, print-ready reading experience.
The
Project
What happens when a simple birdhouse project doesn’t go exactly according to plan?
How Not to Build a Birdhouse follows Gertie and Bertie as their building project becomes a series of crooked boards, misplaced tools, unexpected mistakes, and playful lessons.
I illustrated and designed the book as part of the Wordie Bird Tales series, translating the existing story and characters into a cohesive visual reading experience.
My work included character illustration, environments, page composition, typography, cover design, interior layout, and final print-production preparation.
Sometimes the best stories
start with a little
chaos.
Cover
Design
The cover introduces the humor of the story before the reader even opens the book.
Gertie and Bertie are surrounded by the aftermath of their birdhouse project: tools, nails, wood, glue, dirt, and a birdhouse that has clearly seen better days.
Their expressive poses, the outdoor setting, playful title treatment, and bright color palette establish the lighthearted tone while staying visually connected to the rest of the Wordie Bird Tales series.
FRONT COVER
BACK COVER
Building the
Visual World
Storytelling
Each scene and environmental detail supports the story instead of functioning as decoration alone.
Expression
Character poses, reactions, and expressions help communicate the humor and frustration of each tiny disaster.
Play
Tools, wood scraps, nails, glue, and building mistakes become recurring visual jokes throughout the book.
Inside
the Book
A look at selected illustrated spreads and moments from the story.
From Illustration to Print.
Finishing the illustrations wasn’t the end of the project.
Preparing the final book required adapting artwork and document specifications for professional printing.
I worked through bleed, margins, image resolution, transparency, color, page positioning, and PDF export requirements while preparing files for Amazon KDP and Lulu.
The production process strengthened my understanding of publishing beyond illustration and taught me how important communication, troubleshooting, and collaboration are when preparing work for final print.
PROJECT SCOPE
Built with a few nails,
a lot of illustration,
and just a little
chaos.