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Katie arranged everything Local author and illustrator, Katie Vernon, publishes a new book for kids Camille Sipple ince she was young, Katie Vernon was always arranging things, from her entire bedroom, to bouquets of flowers; however, after working as a florist for years, Vernon found she had a knack—and a passion—for illustration. “I’ve always loved creating work that is beautiful but also a little bit weird,” Vernon said. “And I’ve been able to do that in a lot of different illustration markets, such as greeting cards, home décor and editorial.” At first, Vernon said she had shied away from illustrating or creating picture books, simply because she had kept them up on a pedestal for so long, she doubted her ability to live up to them. Eventually, however, she said she decided it was time to try her hand at picture books and tackle being an author/ illustrator. “Typically, for me, a story starts with an image, so it was really exciting to finally kind of face that pedestal and put the words and pictures together,” Vernon said. As a nod to her own tendencies, Vernon wrote and illustrated a picture book entitled “Ari Arranges Everything.” The book follows a young child named Ari who loves arranging things. “[Ari’s arrangements] start off small, but then it builds and builds until it gets a bit out of hand,” Vernon said. “In the end, they [Ari] learn to find some balance between their passion and how it affects those around them.” In creating the book, Vernon said that a couple of her absolute favorite scenes include Ari’s massive flower arrangement, because of the sheer artistic detail she was
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8 | flaglive.com | Thursday, April 6, 2023
“Ari Arranges Everything,” Katie Vernon’s new book, is about a kid who has a penchant for... well, arranging things.