Reading in How to Make a Book (About My Dog) about how illustrator Sarah Horne drew my dog Ernie —

Sarah will read my text all the way through. Then she’ll reread it bit by bit, sketching as she goes.

Have I written something silly? She might use a wild style to reflect that. Are my words more thoughtful? She might take a calmer approach to match the mood of my writing.

To figure out what to show, Sarah uses her imagination, but she can also work from images or other guidance provided by the art director.

— is great and all, but wouldn’t you really like to learn how to draw him yourself? We thought so: