December 2015

Born Beneath the Moon
Digital Painting 
from the book Jack Frost
by William Joyce

Shreveport writer, artist, and illustrator William Joyce is the author of more than fifty children’s picture books. His latest, the third in his Guardians of Childhood series, tells the story of Jack Frost, who defends the Man In the Moon from attack by Pitch, the Nightmare King, in the process becoming the only Guardian who is himself a child. This image depicts the first time the Man in the Moon and Jack are reunited after Jack saves his life. “It is the sacrifice, the selflessness, that makes the character a Guardian,” said Joyce. “But it’s our belief in them that maintains their power.”

William Joyce is the author of books including George Shrinks, A Day with Wilbur Robinson, The Numberlys, The Mischievians, and The Leaf Men and the Brave, Good Bugs, which was adapted by DreamWorks Animation to make the 2013 film Epic. He creates covers for The New Yorker magazine and won an Academy Award with Moonbot Studios co-founder Brandon Oldenburg for the 2012 film The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore. 

For the illustrations in Jack Frost, Joyce collaborated with illustrator Andrew Theophilopoulos. Read more about the art, books, and animated films of William Joyce, in the profile here.