Author/Illustrator Courtney Pippin-Mathur creates humorous and heartfelt books for kids, including Maya was Grumpy (Flashlight, 2013), Dragons Rule, Princesses Drool (Little Simon, 2017) and Happy Diwali (co/author with Sanyukta Mathur Ottaviano/Holt, 2021) She lives in Northern Virginia with a knight, a princess and two dragons which leads to many exciting adventures.
“I made a goal to complete a picture book I have been working on for 5 years, maybe even more I will admit, and I accomplished that goal with help from this course, and the amazing instruction from Courtney [Pippin-Mathur] and Kelly [Light].”
“Having the opportunity to learn more about children’s book illustration under the direction of a professional illustrator who works in the field was an invaluable experience. Courtney Pippin [Mathur] provided a wealth of resources and advice.”
“Courtney Pippin-Mathur is an enthusiastic, upbeat and encouraging instructor. I appreciated her many examples, from her own work and from published children’s books from her own library.”
“Courtney Pippin-Mathur was consistently prepared, on target and kind and forward moving with her critique. I so appreciated the way she highlighted positive aspects of each work and identified areas for improvement without sugarcoating and with tips on next steps.”
“Courtney was clear in her directions and very encouraging. She was a real cheerleader and at this stage of our development I think that was appropriate. I learned a ton. The exercise of going through the book dummy process and getting good guidance with examples and foundational information was really excellent. I know a lot more now than I did at the beginning of the class.”
“…Courtney really taught the class to every level of artist/writer there. I learned so much and ended up with a book dummy I am proud of and can’t wait to try and get published. Courtney was so generous with her knowledge sharing real life info about the children’s book industry.”
“[Courtney was] super prepared. Tons of examples from her own and others’ work. Transparent about her process.”
