In February of 2024, while scrolling through illustrators’ posts on Instagram, I ran across an announcement by Monty Lee for an upcoming illustration challenge called the Book Series Challenge. The challenge was to use any media of choice, excluding generative AI, and create illustrations for seven prompts taken from classic book excerpts. After completing my first three Book Series Challenge for Pinocchio, The Wind in the Willows, and Pete Pan, I was all in for more.
The next Book Series Challenge was in August of 2025. This time, the classic children’s book chosen was Mary Poppins. As with most of the previous challenges, I had not read the Mary Poppins book before and only had the classic Disney movie as a reference. Soon after reading the book and seeing the movie version, I concluded that both are very good, yet they are different entities entirely.
The seven prompts were released, and I jumped right in. I have to admit, this challenge was so much fun. The story is very visual, and I could let my imagination roam. I had fun sketching and planning because I actually gave myself the space and time to the challenge this time around. There was no mad scramble, well, not as much as a mad scramble as with previous challenges.
The Book Series Challenges have become a favorite of mine. They’re not easy. In my case, it forces me to first read a classic children’s book either for the first time or read it through my illustrator’s eyes. The Mary Poppins challenge was indeed a challenge, but a rewarding one. That’s what I think these kinds of events are all about. Pushing your creative chops and opening the brainspace to things you’ve closed out previously. That’s called growth, I think, so maybe I am finally growing up as I reach my early 60s. 🙂
Day One
Day Two
Day Three
Day Four
Day Five
Day Six
Day Seven
There you have it! The seven pieces for Mary Poppins. The one I like the best is the Day Six bears at night at the zoo. The struggle bus piece for this challenge was the Day Two merry-go-round piece, and trying to create a surreal environment while keeping Mary and Bert grounded in their reality. The night scene of Day Five was the happy accident piece of the series when my experimentation, when I was struggling, worked out. The POV in the Day One illustration took some work, but it was the image that popped into my head when I read the prompt, and it wouldn’t go away when I asked it to accept something easier.
Another huge positive of the Book Series Challenges that I think I’ve failed to mention is the community of participating illustrators on Instagram and beyond. It’s a great way to meet others and see their wonderful work. Just having that in my headspace makes life quite a bit brighter.
If you’re interested in joining the Book Series Challenge fun, keep an eye on Instagram and follow Monty Lee (@mosokje) for more information and the prompts.