As part of her WOW Blog Tour, author and illustrator Rachel Dillon joins us today to promote her gorgeous new children’s book, Through Endangered Eyes: A Poetic Journey into the Wild.  Her passion for animals and endangered species has led her to write about them in hopes that educating others will lead to a more conscientious treatment of these animals and their habitats.

Rachel was born and raised in Madison, Wisconsin, and earned her bachelor’s degree in art and graphic design from the University of Wisconsin Madison. She lives and works as an artist in the Southwest. Beyond design and fine art, Rachel holds a special interest in ecology, evolution, and extinction.

5% of all of her book and art profits are donated to the World Wildlife Fund and the Folsom Zoo Animal Sanctuary. You can purchase the original artwork, note cards and prints from the book at her website – Dillon Design, visit her blog, Children’s Book of Endangered Animals or see her work at Artists for Conservation.

Why a children’s book?

I asked her how her concern for animals prompt her to write a children’s book. Here’s Rachel’s reply:

I have always been an animal lover. I had cats, dogs, and horses growing up. My mom would just smile and laugh every time I brought a new cat home form the stables I kept my horses. I think animals became what I relied on for comfort. Often, growing up, I felt more connected to animals than I did to people. They were there for me to laugh with, cry on and talk to.

When I was around 16, my Aunt and Uncle from Australia sent me a book called “Endangered Animals of Australia.” I had already travelled twice to that country and loved it very much. To see a book of animals from Australia that were all endangered, really heightened my awareness of the issue.

I went in a creative direction for my degree at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Graphic Design and fine art projects allowed me freedom to focus on what I cared about. So, I painted animals, and my designs almost always featured nature.

In my last year of college, I had an independent study. My project choice was to photograph, research, write and design a book about the endangered species at the Henry Vilas Zoo, a free local zoo. I had no idea how big the project was and only completed a draft of the booklet. In the process of making the booklet, the zoo allowed me to get up close to some of the animals to photograph them. I climbed in the ringtail lemur’s cage; got hissed at by an angry lioness; felt the size and power of a tiger as I stood next to its cage; and quietly took a peak at a day-old giraffe baby. I treasure all the special moments I had and will never forget the feeling of awe I had for those incredible animals.

All of these experiences have molded and shaped my love for and desire to help animals. I feel such heartache when I hear of the problems so many animals face. When I became a mother, my passion for animals shifted to a question, “how can I help these animals, so my children can live in the same world as them?”

My daughter was just a baby when I started writing and painting my children’s book, Through Endangered Eyes. I didn’t even know I was starting a book when I sat down and wrote a poem about an elephant. That poem was so fun and lyrical, I decided to write one about the Green Sea Turtle, and then the process continued as I picked seven more species. I had already painted a Green Sea Turtle and Tiger and felt perhaps I had a real book shaping up.

I have hope when I look at children. They are filled with wonder and passion and immediately want to fix a problem when they hear it exists. It is hard to share with the children I read to about the issues endangered and threatened species face, but I don’t want to sugarcoat it either. I want children to know there are many things we need to change in our habits, or we will continue to create a more unbalanced planet.

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