Abstract
Avery and the Fairy Circle is a 40 page middle grade graphic novel with picture book elements. Set in the Pacific Northwest, the story follows a young girl named Avery, who stumbles into a magic fairy circle while on a quest to pick huckleberries in the forest one day. Shrunken by the circle to the size of a blade of grass, she must get the help of a young fairy named Birch to find the berries she sought and get back home. But Birch is on a quest of her own and she only agrees if Avery will help her with her plant gathering duties in return.
A fantastical and educational journey of friendship, magic, and botany follows as they traverse the now vast forest together. They overcome their differences and find a true friend in one another, all while interacting with and learning about the plants around them.
Avery and the Fairy circle has 30 pages of comic with 4 and a half finished pages and a completed cover. The rest of the book is rendered in toned sketches with 3 pages of educational backmatter. The work includes 2 handbuilt books and is made to be pitched to agents and publishers as a completed book dummy.
Artist Statement
Rowan is an Illustrator based in Portland, OR, but born and raised in the rainy countryside outside of Seattle, WA. She is an illustrator, author, and maker with a passion for creating things full of wonder, warmth, and whimsy. Whether she is breaking out the paints or working digitally, she loves to make playful images of people, plants, and animals that can bring a little more beauty into the world. In her work, she tells stories that fill people with warmth and elevate mundane moments into the memorable and magical.
Rowan received her BFA in illustration from the Pacific Northwest College of Art in Fall 2021. Her past clients and exhibitions include Random House Children’s Books, Nucleus Portland, Society of Illustrators Student Scholarship Competition 2020, and the PNCA 2020 + 2021 BFA Juried Exhibition.
When she isn’t creating she is probably cooking up too many sweets in the kitchen, reading, or trying to find the nearest cat to bother.