SATA

PERSONAL

Born March 28, 1963, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada; married; husband’s name Guy.

ADDRESS

• Home - Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

CAREER

Author, illustrator, and editorial cartoonist. Worked in libraries for ten years; former desktop publisher and graphic designer; freelance artist and cartoonist, beginning c. 2002. Presenter and performer at schools, libraries, and festivals.

AVOCATIONS:

Singing, painting, gardening.

MEMBER:

Canadian Society of Children’s Authors, Illustrators, and Performers, Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, Canadian Children’s Book Centre, National Cartoonists Society, Association of Canadian Editorial Cartoonists, Writer’s Union of Canada.

AWARDS:

Best Book for Kids and Teens designation, Canadian Children’s Book Centre, 2008, for 13 Ghosts of Halloween by Robin Muller; Cartoon of the Year Award, Ontario Community Newspapers Association Better Newspaper Awards, 2008; Best Bets for Children and Young Adults, Ontario Library Association, 2011, for Snowy Science: 25 Cool Experiments by Shar Levine and Leslie Johnstone.

WRITINGS

• SELF-ILLUSTRATED
• You’re My Guy Because … (cartoons), Red Rock Press (New York, NY), 2008
• The Pirate and the Penguin, Owlkids (Berkeley, CA), 2009
• Never Let You Go (picture book), Skyhorse (New York, NY), 2018
• (With husband, Guy Storms) Moon Wishes, illustrated by Milan Pavlovic, Groundwood Books (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), 2019
• ILLUSTRATOR
• Jack Booth, Fifty Little Penguins, Harcourt Canada (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), 2004
• Beth Crichley Charlton, A Sticky Mess, Scholastic Canada (Markham, Ontario, Canada), 2005
• R.J. Frampton, Room 2B, AEON Institute of Language Education, 2006
• Mary McHugh, Good Granny/Bad Granny, Chronicle Books (New York, NY), 2007
• Robin Muller, 13 Ghosts of Halloween, Scholastic Canada (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), 2007
• Liam O’Donnell, Democracy, Capstone Press (Mankato, MN), 2008
• Barbara Todd, Edward and the Eureka Lucky Wish Company, Kids Can Press, 2009
• Diana R. Jenkins, Saints of Note: The Comic Collection, Pauline Books & Media (Boston, MA), 2009
• Shar Levine and Leslie Johnstone, Snowy Science: 25 Cool Experiments, Scholastic Canada (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), 2011
• Monte Montgomery, Kid Confidential: An Insider’s Guide to Grown-Ups, Walker Childrens (New York, NY), 2012
• Chrissy Bozik, The Ghosts Go Spooking, Scholastic Canada (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), , published as The Ghosts Go Scaring, Sky Pony Press (New York, NY), 2015
• Jennifer Lanthier, By the Time You Read This … , Clockwise Press (Keswick, Ontario, Canada), 2017
• Chrissy Bozik, If You’re Thankful and You Know It, Scholastic (New York, NY), 2017
• OTHER
• The Dog’s Gardener, illustrated by Nathalie Dion, Groundwood Books (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), 2021
• Sun Wishes, illustrated by Milan Pavlović, Groundwood Books (Toronto, ON), 2022

Contributor of illustrations to periodicals, including Chickadee, Chronicle of Higher Education, City Bites, Dogs in Canada, First for Women, Funny Times, National Lampoon, National Post, Saturday Evening Post, London Times, and Woman’s World.

SIDELIGHTS

Canadian illustrator Patricia Storms has always enjoyed drawing funny pictures, so much so that cartooning was her part time job while she worked in libraries, as a desktop publisher, and as a graphic designer. In the early 2000s, Storms decided to invest all her time in developing her artistic career, and she has since become an established illustrator and cartoonist. Her work, which has been published in magazines and newspapers in both Canada and the United States, sometimes in the form of editorial cartoons, has also made its way into several picture books by other writers.

Storms created the original, self-illustrated picture book The Pirate and the Penguin, which School Library Journal contributor Meg Smith dubbed an “offbeat selection” that features “outlandish elements within the zany pages.” In her humorous tale, a penguin hoping to escape the frigid weather of the South Pole and find adventure, jumps on a floating piece of ice and soon collides with a pirate ship. The pirate captain expresses envy for the penguin’s uneventful life, and when the two switch places each finds what he has been looking for. Noting the appeal of Storms’s “lowbrow take on [Mark Twain’s novel] The Prince and the Pauper,” a Kirkus Reviews writer also praised the “wonderfully expressive faces” of the story’s cartoon characters, while Gwyneth Evans noted that “Storms’ cartooning background is evident in the liveliness she achieves with simple lines and few colours.” “Visual humor abounds in this oddball tale,” maintained a Publishers Weekly contributor in a review of The Pirate and the Penguin.

Illustrating Chrissy Bozik’s The Ghosts Go Scaring, which was also published as The Ghosts Go Spooking, the tale is set to the rhythm of the counting song “The Animals Went In.” A range of cartoonish ghosts are dressing up for Halloween in a number of different costumes. Writing in Resource Links, Sharon Armstrong said that the book is “highly recommended for whole class engagement at Halloween and at home.”

Storms illustrated Jennifer Lanthier’s By the Time You Read This… in 2017. Young Oscar sets out to dismantle or destroy a number of projects, ranging from the Scientific Experiment of Glorious Doom to the Epic Battle of Giant Robots Versus Alien Insects. He repeats the titular refrain with each act of destruction. He is unable to prevent other kids from playing on the playground or using the elevator though. It is not until the end of the story that readers learn what has put Oscar in such a foul mood. A contributor to Children’s Bookwatch called it “an original and engaging picture book story … that is engagingly written.” A contributor to Kirkus Reviews lamented that “the delay in connecting the dots is too long here, and readers may tire of it.” However, the same reviewer mentioned that “Storms’ merry, color-drenched artwork is so upbeat.”

Also in 2017, Storms illustrated Chrissy Bozik’s If You’re Thankful and You Know It. The rhythm of the text mirrors that of the song with the same refrain. In it a number of images to be thankful for appear on the pages, from ducks flying in a “V” shape to the experience of baking a pumpkin pie. Writing in Resource Links, Ana Malespin pointed out that Storms and Bozik “develop a strong sense of community through the text and illustrations.”

Storms published the picture book Never Let You Go in 2018. A mother penguin expresses her love for her baby with encouraging and loving words and actions. She hugs frequently and is always there for her baby as it matures over time. The message is clear that the young penguin has the reassurance that it always has its mother’s support. A contributor to Kirkus Reviews claimed that the book is “just fine for an extra reading hug at bedtime.” Writing in Resource Links, Tanva Botufreau lauded that “this is an excellent book to share with toddlers and preschoolers.” In a review in Quill & Quire, Gwyneth Evans noted that “Storms utilizes a limited but vivid palette and an array of textures.” Evans remarked that “wry humour imbues both text and art.”

 

With her husband, Guy, Storms published Moon Wishes, illustrated by Milan Pavlovic. An unnamed narrator presents a number of wishes that only the moon could grant by starting with the phrase “If I were the moon.” The narrator offers a range of artistic wishes before concluding that its bright light represents love. A contributor to Kirkus Reviews observed that “vibrant illustrations done in mixed media, including drawing inks and colored pencils, provide visual grounding for the abstract text.”

Released in 2021, The Dog’s Gardener is the first book for which Storms serves as author but not illustrator. The volume features drawings by Nathalie Dion. It follows a dog named Dutch, who accompanies his owner, a young woman, as she tends her flower beds. The story begins in the morning, as Dutch goes with his owner from the house to the garden shed and then to the garden itself. He watches her as she plants new flowers. At the end of the day, Dutch at the woman make their way back to the house.

In an interview with a contributor to the Open Book website, Storms explained that the inspiration for the book came from observing a man while on a walk with her husband in Port Hope, Ontario. She stated: “He was tall and lanky, his long hair completely white, tied back into a ponytail. His movements were calm and slow—I found myself drawn to the peaceful rhythm of his walk. Then my eye began to notice something behind him—a large white retriever bounding with joy. The rhythm of both their movements was mesmerizing. Being a curious and overly imaginative person, I began to wonder about the life of this gardener.” Storms initially thought of writing a book from the gardener’s perspective, but after some consideration, she decided she would write from the dog’s point of view. She described The Dog’s Gardener as “a simple, loving tale about the day in the life of a dog, and his beloved gardener. So really it is a story about love. I enjoy writing humorous stories, but I feel the most fulfilled when I write about love.” A Kirkus Reviews writer offered a mixed assessment of the book, stating: “This gentle story has peace and soothing ambiance on its side. What it does not have, however, is a riveting storyline.” However, Lucinda Whitehurst, contributor to Booklist, praised the volume’s “soothing narrative.”

[OPEN NEW]

Sun Wishes is Storm’s follow-up to Moon Wishes, and again Milan Pavlovic contributes the illustrations. This outing is a celebration of the sun as it travels across the sky, from when it wakes “my slumbering friends” until it sets for a peaceful rest. Along the way, it brightens gloomy days and celebrates the bounty and diversity of the world. The reviewer for Children’s Bookwatch wrote that Sun Wishes is “beautiful, imaginative, and just pure fun.” The reviewer for Kirkus Reviews had a contrary take, calling the book “well-meaning” but arguing that the story is “disappointingly disjointed” and that it “fails to shine” despite the “consistently uplifting” illustrations.

[CLOSE NEW]

BIOCRIT

PERIODICALS

• Booklist, May 1, 2021, Lucinda Whitehurst, review of The Dog’s Gardener, p. 50.

• Canadian Review of Materials, December 21, 2007, Dave Jenkinson, review of Good Granny/Bad Granny.

• Children’s Bookwatch, January, 2023, review of Sun Wishes.

• Kirkus Reviews, August 15, 2009, review of The Pirate and the Penguin; July 15, 2017, review of By the Time You Read This … ; August 15, 2018, review of Never Let You Go; January 15, 2019, review of Moon Wishes; March 15, 2021, review of The Dog’s Gardener; March 1, 2022, review of Sun Wishes.

• Publishers Weekly, October 12, 2009, review of The Pirate and the Penguin, p. 49.

• Quill & Quire, June 1, 2009, Chelsea Donaldson, review of Edward and the Eureka Lucky Wish Company; November 1, 2009, Gwyneth Evans, review of The Pirate and the Penguin; September 1, 2013, Gwyneth Evans, review of Never Let You Go.

• Resource Links, December 1, 2013, Tanva Botufreau, review of Never Let You Go, p. 10; October 1, 2015, Sharon Armstrong, review of The Ghosts Go Spooking, p. 3; June 1, 2017, Tanya Boudreau, review of By the Time You Read This … , p. 5; December 1, 2017, Ana Malespin, review of If You’re Thankful and You Know It, p. 2.

• School Library Journal, August 1, 2009, Martha Simpson, review of Edward and the Eureka Lucky Wish Company, p. 86; November 1, 2009, Meg Smith, review of The Pirate and the Penguin p. 90.

ONLINE

• Canadian Authors, http://www.canadianauthors.net/ (May 31, 2010), author profile.

• One Word at a Time, https://claudiaosmond.wordpress.com/ (June 29, 2010), author interview.

• Open Book, http://open-book.ca/ (April 6, 2021), author interview.

• Patricia Storms website, http://stormsillustration.com (April 27, 2019).

• Writers’ Union of Canada, https://www.writersunion.ca/ (August 23, 2021), author profile.*