Writer, artist and SVA Admissions Director Matthew Farina (MFA 2014 Art Writing and Criticism) grew up as the son of an arborist, an upbringing that inspired his children's book, Lawrence in the Fall, released earlier this year by Disney-Hyperion. Illustrated by fellow alumnus Doug Salati (MFA 2014 Illustration as Visual Essay; faculty, Pre-College and English and the Visual Arts), Lawrence tells the story of a young fox who collects leaves with his dad for a class show-and-tell, and includes a leaf-identification guide as an interactive element for kids and their parents. Available in hardcover and e-book versions, as well as forthcoming Chinese, Dutch and German editions, it is Farina's first book and Salati's second (his first, In a Small Kingdom, came out in 2018).

"The story is loosely based on my experience collecting leaves in Wisconsin as a child," Farina says. "My dad's knowledge of trees and leaves felt very important to me—not every kid gets the chance to learn about forest ecology!"

In the book, the young fox protagonist Lawrence finds himself struggling with self-doubt as he considers his show-and-tell assignment. In its starred review, Publisher's Weekly praised the book's "emotional landscape," with the story and pacing "lingering just enough on anxious moments that Lawrence's newfound confidence feels like a big reward."

After a few failed attempts, through guidance from his dad, young Lawrence manages to create a one-of-a-kind leaf collection to share with his classmates, letting his natural sense of wonder and curiosity serve as his guiding principle. "Nature becomes a space of inquiry that helps him solve his problem," Farina says.

Farina began writing picture-book manuscripts while a student in the MFA Art Writing program at SVA. From its start, the story that became Lawrence in the Fall was written with then-fellow student Salati in mind as its illustrator. "I was drawn to his adept pencil rendering and the atmosphere he creates drawing foliage," Farina says. "The style was well suited to my manuscript, which, in a sense, is a modern fable with a lot of forest scenery. Doug imbued animal characters with dynamic expressions and a range of emotions–worry, sadness, fear, delight—that made the work more dynamic."

Lawrence in the Fall has already been used in the classroom as a way to connect children with nature-focused assignments; become a Junior Library Guild selection, sent to thousands of elementary school libraries across the country; and received praise from media outlets including Booklist, Today, Kirkus, School Library Journal and the Wall Street Journal.

A version of this story appears in the fall/winter 2019 Visual Arts Journal.