This young artist is making her mark by illustrating children’s book

A 15-year-old sophomore at Mariposa County High School is dipping her toe into the world of literary illustration.
Kylie Wright says she thinks she has been drawing since she was about four years old. “I used to make little paper books with I was a kid, just making whatever came to mind,” Kylie explained. She hasn’t stopped since. “It’s a creative outlet. I wanted to come up with different ways to create art, it’s just my own little style,” she added.
Her artistic talent was noticed by entrepreneur Dan Brown of Chowchilla, who started a published company for a book he penned entitled “The Magic North Pole Pinecone.” As an acquaintance of the Wrights, he was keenly aware of Kylie’s artistic ability, and he approached her about illustrating his children’s book.
“People don’t realize how much work goes into a book, especially an illustrated children’s book,” said Kylie’s mother Dawn.
In the midst of the Covid 19 Pandemic, Kylie began creating the artwork for Brown’s book. She started illustrating the work in early 2021 and finished in late 2022. “He (Brown) would write a page and then have her come up with the concept drawing for that page. She would send it back to him for redesign suggestions, and he always was saying ‘add more Christmas,’” explained Dawn.
That’s pretty much standard practice in illustrating a children’s book. The author creates the text, and the artist develops a concept that matches that portion of the story. They review and redesign until they agree on moving to the next task.
“When he first called and they had their first meeting, we were so proud of the way she did it on he own; working with him,” Dawn said. “He would offer ideas and she would say ‘well how about this.’” This was Kylie’ first attempt at illustrating a book.
Instead of being paid for her illustration work, Kylie opted to own a share of the new company. “It’s just a to be fair with it. I had to make a lot of changes and it was a long process, so it’s a way for me to get what I put into it,” Kylie said.
The publishing company placed its first order for 2,500 copies. It just became available a couple of months ago, but just in to for Christmas this year. “Just getting the word out there is really the tough part, said Dawn. He has delivered books to schools and spent money on social media influencers trying to promote it.”
Now that’s she’s completed the illustration of The Magic North Pole Pinecone, Kylie is “just working on my own stuff for right now. Some of his family is trying to get another book done and I might be the illustrator for that book.”
Kylie plans to pursue a career in animation. “I use an app and kind of just teach myself or look up tutorials. I’m trying to get better in the future while I’m looking for a college that offers that type of specialization, Kylie added. “This has been a good experience that will help me decide if I want to do this in the future.”
It’s a hardcopy book and comes packaged with a pinecone. “The final product, packaging and everything is remarkable,” explained Dawn. The book is available from the website at themagicnorthpolepinecone.com.
Kylie’s mother grew up in Hornitos and graduated from MCHS. “We moved up here so she could have animals,” Dawn said. Kylie has an older brother and sister, and is now surrounded by two cats, one dog, five goats and a mini pig. They moved to Mariposa County from Merced in 2016.
“We’re just so proud of her,” said Dawn, and her husband Matt. “She a really good kid and we know she has a really bright future in front of her.”