Below are some of the original pen and ink wash illustrations that my wife, artist Deborah Mills, created for the interior of The Choir Boats.
A tea bowl from Sally's favorite Indigo Pheasant china pattern.
© 2009 Deborah A. Mills, all rights reserved.
The McDoon residence Dolphin Doorknocker.
© 2009 Deborah A. Mills, all rights reserved.
The drum with eyes that Maggie sees in her vision (Prologue).
© 2009 Deborah A. Mills, all rights reserved.
Indigo died Ukara Cloth with nsibidi, a secret language of symbols used by the Ibo (Igbo) and their descendants -- like Maggie, whose mother calls her "Leopard Woman."
© 2009 Deborah A. Mills, all rights reserved.
The Moon Stealer
© 2009 Deborah A. Mills, all rights reserved.
The front cover of The Choir Boats features "Whale" from Deborah Mills's "Here There Be" series of carved sea monsters (inspired by maps that would certainly be found in the McDoon library) - click on the image to see the framed carving, and here to see the entire series.
Photographed by our friend, the marvelous photographer Shira Weinberger.
Strix Tender Wurm, the giant swallow-tailed owl who haunts Maggie and Sally -- and imprisons Yount.
© 2009 Deborah A. Mills, all rights reserved.
DANIEL A. RABUZZI
author of
The Choir Boats & The Indigo Pheasant
