I’m very pleased to welcome author/illustrator Phillip Maiwald to Frog on a Blog. I’ve invited him to tell you a bit about his new picture book Mawee Wawee. You will be charmed by this clever children’s picture book, as well as the story of how the extraordinary illustrations were created. 

First of all, I’d like to say thank you to Lauri Fortino for giving me
the opportunity to introduce to you my first picture book which is
called Mawee Wawee.

Just like an old and gnarled tree is growing very slowly, my first
picture book took some time to come along. Now it’s here, and I’m glad
to see it printed. When I started writing the story of Mawee Wawee and doing the first sketches and illustrations, I was living with my 3 year old daughter Liseli in a beautiful wild garden without running water. That’s why the pictures were made of gouache colors with rainwater, or during the wintertime with melted snow. It was a great time for five years-living in a small and peaceful cabin with a fireplace, nearly like Henry David Thoreau in his famous Walden cabin.

The story of Mawee Wawee is simple: it’s about a little twig named
Mawee, who broke himself off his branch with a snap-and ran away.
Unusual? Not for him!

During the day, Mawee wandered about, and when evening fell he began looking for a mouse hole or a bed of moss in which to spend the night. He explored the world by foot, on the water and through the air. He made lots of friendships and although he had no arms and short legs, for him there was no mountain high enough, no valley deep enough and no river wide enough. At last he found a beautiful woodmaid on a small island in the Pacific Ocean where he settled and put down roots; he started a curious, wooden family. So enjoy seeing the world through a little twig’s eyes-I’m sure you’ll like it!

The book is financed by a Crowdfunding campaign and printed with eco colors on FSC paper. It’s also produced in a carbon neutral way in a
small edition of 300 German and 200 English books. Check it out on
www.phillipmaiwald.de and take a look here on Frog on a Blog!

More of Phillip’s beautiful artwork from Mawee Wawee:

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Phillip Maiwald was born 1975. He lives and works in Braunschweig/Germany. 
He studied Art at the Hochschule für Bildende Künste/ School of Fine Art, Braunschweig.
He has two children, Liseli and Lois.

For more information about Phillip Maiwald, his book Mawee Wawee, and his art, please click here.