Christmas Wrap - Illustrations by Mary Esch

The illustrations for Christmas Wrap were created by Mary Esch. Mary has created work previously for The Book of Bartholomew - Story #5: Bartholomew and Geraldine. Mary, once again, has created two wonderful images that capture the story.

In this first image, Mary captures a fight in one of the Christmas rooms. Two young men are struggling on the floor while
a dominating profile of The Nanny intrudes from the right. I like this image because The Nanny does dominate the lives of both of these young men. For one man, she is a nanny. He does what she says and she does not take any guff from him. He is obedient to her in a child-like manner. To other young man, she is a love interest, a guide and a friend. He does not realize it, but she will eventually lead him to a happy life. I also love the colors in this piece - they are very non-Christmas. Very different from the last story Mary illustrated.

This second illustration, on the other hand, has Christmas colors. I really enjoy the backdrop of a Christmas tree with ornaments. I especially appreciated it when doing the layout for the story, as I could use individual ornaments on the pages. There is a great sense of Christmas anticipation as the hand is just about to open the box. What present is in the box? You will have to read the story to find out.

Christmas Wrap! will be published on December 22, 2012 at The Book of Bartholomew.