DWU graduate teams up with grandmother to illustrate second children's book

May 9—RAPID CITY, S.D. — Displeased with her first children's book nearly a decade ago, South Dakota author Joyce Wheeler teamed up with her granddaughter to revise and republish the book. Their collaboration wasn't solely about creating a book.

It was also about spreading joy and creativity within their family.

"The Countries of Whine and Roses," was written by Wheeler, of Philip, while her granddaughter, Justena Amiotte, of Rapid City, illustrated it.

"It's always a pleasure to work with positive and passionate individuals," Wheeler said. "It's extra special when I get to work with my granddaughter."

The 40-page book follows the story of a character named King of Roses, who rules his joy-filled and happy kingdom with his obedient son, the Prince of Roses. King of Roses also loves the people in the neighboring country of Whine. But some of the people in Whine don't want to hear about the kind king and his son and would rather complain and follow silly rules. The King refuses to give up on them and comes up with a plan that brings him and the prince great sadness.

The people of both Whine and Roses learn just how much their king and prince are willing to give up for them. With the help of the invisible HS, the people of both towns see that the king and prince are even prepared to take the ultimate risk.

Wheeler said she came up with the idea while teaching a group of third-graders about the Holy Trinity.

"It's an enchanting allegory filled with adventure and emotion," Wheeler said. "It's meant to be a fun and engaging resource for introducing children to God's great love and mercy."

Primarily a novelist, Wheeler hesitated to venture into the world of children's literature. Encouraged by her daughters, she decided to take the plunge. Wheeler knew the illustrations for her story would be an integral part of the book.

"Before children can read, it's the pictures that they truly connect with in books," Wheeler said.

Originally released in May 2015 by Tate Publishing and Enterprises, the book's illustrations were outsourced to an artist in the Philippines. Despite ongoing communication with the publisher, the illustrator's images never fully matched with Wheeler's vision.

"I never talked directly with the illustrator. The style and color were never quite what I imagined. Being that the illustrator was from another country, basic things like physical traits were always wrong," Wheeler said. "But eventually just to get the book finished and to print I just gave them the go ahead."

Wheeler always hoped to republish the book with delightful roses and illustrations. She also wanted to make it available in hard cover.

Everything fell into place in 2022. Wheeler had a break between writing projects, and Amiotte had just graduated from Dakota Wesleyan with a degree in Digital Media and Design along with a minor in Entrepreneurial Leadership.

"Justena was done with her studies and had more time on her hand," Wheeler said. "So I asked and she agreed!"

Amiotte designed all the illustrations in the story portion of the book, as well as its cover.

"The drawings are very whimsical," Amiotte said. "The previous version was more cartoony. This one is more classic with brighter and bolder colors."

Prior to teaming up with her grandma, Amiotte worked as a concept artist at Robot Entertainment, where she created designs for video games.

It took Wheeler and Amiotte a little over a year to get the book ready for publication. For this project, Amiotte said she created the illustrations digitally with the drawings having a watercolor texture to them.

"It was so fun to work with her and see her ideas for different scenes," Wheeler said.

There were a few minor bumps along the way though, Wheeler said. She explained that it took about five to six scenes in the book before they were on the same page regarding their visions for the illustrations.

"I had to give her feedback on some of the graphics. Like the people's hands were too clunky or the horse's back were too slanted," Wheeler said. "Grandma can be picky!"

But Amiotte was always open to feedback and collaborating back and forth was an enjoyable and bonding experience.

"It was super fun to work on this with my grandma," Amiotte said. "We had a lot of the same ideas."

This was the second children's book Amiotte has illustrated. She teamed up with Mitchell resident Tracy Kay Davis in 2021 to illustrate a book titled "Pawflection."

Amiotte continues to work at Robot Entertainment full-time but hopes to illustrate more children's books in the future.

"I really enjoy illustrating children's books. They are always super fun and colorful," Amiotte said.

Wheeler is already thinking about future projects and hopes to collaborate with Amiotte again.

"I'm a little biased, I think she's a wonderful artist," Wheeler said. "But I also know as she makes a name for herself she will get busier so if I want to work with her again I better hurry up."