Olga Fadeeva is a talented and imaginative children’s book author whose stories have captured the hearts and minds of young readers around the world. With a passion for storytelling and a deep understanding of a child’s perspective, Fadeeva has crafted enchanting tales that spark curiosity, inspire imagination, and impart valuable life lessons. Her books are known for their engaging narratives, relatable characters, and lyrical prose, which seamlessly transport readers into imaginative worlds filled with adventure and discovery. Fadeeva’s stories often touch upon themes of friendship, resilience, and embracing one’s uniqueness, providing young readers with important messages wrapped in the joy of storytelling. With her delightful stories and captivating storytelling style, Olga Fadeeva has become a cherished author among children and parents alike, igniting a love for reading that will last a lifetime.
What made you decide to write and illustrate books?
I graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts and dreamed of illustrating children’s books. But there were almost no children’s book illustrations in my portfolio. I could not choose what to illustrate and decided to write the story myself. I was afraid that I would not succeed, but one of my first fairy tales became the finalist of the literary competition with over 2,000 participants. And I believed in myself. Now I have twenty books where I am both the author and illustrator.
Where do the ideas for your books come from?
Ideas come from everywhere. I have a fairy tale that I made up when I was putting my little daughter to bed. Now I am writing a story that I dreamed.
As for Wind, I thought about the fact that we meet the wind almost every day, but we know very little about it. That’s how the idea for this book came about.
Do you have a favorite medium or style?
I love watercolor, acrylic, and collage.
Who has been a major influence on your illustrating style?
One of my favorite artist is Andrew Wyeth. But now I’m more inspired by book illustrators: Mark Martin, Mark Jansen, Rebecca Dautremer, Victoria Semykina.
Where do you find your inspiration for new stories and characters?
I am inspired by nature, illustrations, films, children and animals. I also love the sea, fog, fields, cows and orange trees. It always inspires and makes me happy.
What would you say is your most used art supply or tool?
I mostly paint with acrylics and watercolors and only do a little reworking digitally. I like to paint with big brushes on large paper.
Do you have a favorite place you go to create and illustrate?
My favorite place to create is my workplace at home.
Is there a particular art spread in Wind that is your favorite, or maybe challenged you the most while creating it?
This is my first nonfiction book and I’ll be honest, I had a hard time working on it. I wanted the book to be different from the usual encyclopedia. I wanted to explore the subject through illustrations, but of course to explain the most important about the wind.
I like the two spreads where I talk about wind speed scale. The image goes from spread to spread and we can watch as the weather changes and the hurricane begins. On the second spread, I purposely did not draw people, so that none of them would be hurt by the hurricane.
I also like how the reader goes higher and higher from plants and animals to birds, planes, and then flying into space.
Were there any pieces that almost made the cut but didn’t make it into the final book?
Sometimes I make several versions of the same illustration until I get a good result. So it was with the first illustration in this book.
Do you each have a favorite moment in the book? A piece of art or particular phrasing?
There are so many interesting facts in the book. The most surprising thing for me was the information about the sand grains of the Sahara Desert that can cross the Atlantic Ocean and reach the North American coast. It is impossible to imagine.
I there anything else you feel we should know about Wind or yourself?
The main character in this book is the wind. But there is also a grandfather and a granddaughter. We can see their story on the pages of the book. They travel and study the wind. That’s me and my grandfather. He was a sailor. That’s probably why I love the sea, too. I dedicated this book to him.
Wind
Discovering Air in Motion
Written and illustrated by Olga Fadeeva
Translated by Lena Traer
Ages 8-14
HARDCOVER; Releases: 4/10/2023
Order this book from:
ChristianBook.com | IndieBound | Barnes and Noble | Amazon
If your hair has ever blown back on a breezy day, you’ve noticed the wind at work. But what causes the wind? Are there different types of wind? How do we measure and name them? How does the wind shape our ecosystems, plants, and animals? What about people: how have human beings used the wind in the past and the present? Can you really sail into the wind, and would a tailwind help or hurt your plane’s takeoff? Up, up beyond the clouds, does the wind affect other planets, too?
Created with help from a meteorologist, this beautiful book is a fascinating exploration of the wind’s role in world history and earth science. Playful prose and colorful illustrations invite children to bring their questions along as they learn more about this powerful—but sometimes overlooked—natural element.
