When I first imagined the Winter book, I saw it mainly as a mix of recipes and activities for children. But while working on the recipe for Chocolate Christmas Trees, a new idea quietly appeared.
At first, Anastasiia drew a cozy scene: Mommy Bear decorating a cake with the little ones, while Daddy Bear was bringing home the Christmas tree. I decided to split this into two parts, and that simple step gave birth to a new page — Daddy Bear taking the cubs on a sled ride under the winter sky. On the page with the cake, Anastasiia later added Daddy Bear sitting in his armchair beside the decorated Christmas tree.
This change opened the door to something bigger: why not let the book also reflect the season itself? That’s how new winter pages with illustrations were born — showing ice skating, snowball fights, making a snow angel, catching and observing snowflakes, admiring the sparkle of icicles, and feeding the birds. These pages are not recipes or activities, but little seasonal moments that help children truly live winter.
And here’s another fun fact: the scene with Mommy Bear and the cubs decorating the cake with chocolate trees eventually became the cover of the Winter book.
So, from one illustration grew not just new pages, but a whole idea for the entire series: in every book, no matter the season, there will always be several pages dedicated to the season itself — encouraging children to truly live the season and find joy in its smallest details.
ICONIER Digital Agency