Did you know that ‘Beato Goes To’ books have a young, energetic and diverse team behind them? We are all-female author and illustrators in our 20’s and 30’s. This happened totally by chance.
When I searched for an illustrator for my first book ‘Beato Goes To Greenland‘ in 2015, I interviewed people from all over the world. There were talented illustrators from Brazil, USA, Philippines and many more places that I connected with online. Ultimately, I loved the sample produced by a young girl in Romania, called Alexandra, who was represented by Deveo Media Studio.
Alexandra Abigao or Allesia lives in Cluj, Romania. She graduated from the University of Art and Design and is currently a professional illustrator. Allesia has been deaf since birth, and doesn’t speak either, but she can communicate using writing and some signs. She actually did not learn ASL either because that’s not common in eastern Europe. Growing up, Allesia was impacted by Walt Disney and her favorite thing to draw were cheetahs. She found drawing animals a great way to express herself, as she couldn’t otherwise, and did her first book at only 24 years of age, which was ‘Beato Goes To Greenland.’ Now, Allesia has illustrated all four of Beato’s books, Fram and others too!
Allesia did her first ever public appearance and book signing at the BookFest Bucharest this summer with me! She traveled to Bucharest with her mom as a birthday present.
Oana Cocheci loves horses. She loves to ride them draw them and color them. She too graduated from Universitatea de Artă şi Design in Cluj-Napoca, Romania and works at the same office as the other illustrators. Oana is responsible for bringing ‘Beato Goes To’ pages to life with vivid and realistic colors to capture the young reader’s attention.
Oana Adina (aka Oana Vaida) is also a freelance artist and illustrator in her 20’s. She studied illustration at the University of Arts and Design in Cluj-Napoca. Oana likes to color comic books, children’s books, magazines, greeting cards and more. She recently joined our team when Oana Cocheci fell ill and worked on ‘Beato Goes To Japan.’ Oana fills in every little detail on ‘Beato Goes To’ pages so it looks like something between a picture book and comic book.
I recently met the 3 super talented ladies when I visited Romania. After working on 4 books and 1 app, this is the first time we actually met in person! We instantly bonded over our love for Beato and it was wonderful to have everyone sign each other’s books.
When I envisioned the concept of ‘Beato Goes To’ I really wanted to create a book that was not just an ordinary picture book about caterpillars and rabbits. I wanted something fun and entertaining, yet educational and real. After looking at the books out in the children’s bookstores and libraries, I decided my illustrations would be highly detailed and professional, almost like a cartoon show that can come to life! I’m really proud of our team of all young and inspiring international women who have come together to create such an important series of books that teach kids about the world. Pick up a book yourself and see the pages come to life with our words and illustrations.