Gianna Has Pink Eye

Project Overview

Gianna Has Pink Eye by Tanya Thompson-Badamosi takes on a subject that is simultaneously very common and almost entirely absent from children’s picture books: a minor but genuinely disruptive childhood illness. When Gianna wakes up with pink eye, the story follows her through the doctor’s visit and the practical steps she learns to prevent spreading it further. Tanya Thompson-Badamosi handles the topic with warmth and matter-of-factness, turning what could feel like a health pamphlet into a story about empathy and responsibility.

The illustration challenge was making Gianna’s experience feel relatable and sympathetic without making the illness itself look alarming — pink eye needed to be visible enough to be honest but portrayed with enough warmth that the book remained reassuring rather than worrying for young readers who might recognise their own experience in Gianna’s.

Role

Full book illustration covered the medical setting illustrated with warmth and reassurance, and visual storytelling across a health and recovery sequence, along with print-ready file preparation for Mascot Books.

The core challenge was making Gianna’s experience feel relatable and sympathetic without making the illness itself look alarming: pink eye needed to be visible enough to be honest but portrayed with enough warmth that the book stayed reassuring rather than worrying for young readers who might recognise their own experience in hers.

Process

Every project follows this same structured path, so you always know where we are and what comes next. You review and approve at the sketch stage and the line art stage — nothing moves to color until you’re happy. By the time the final spread is rendered, there are no surprises.