Suitcase of tasks

To win prizes this year in our Teen Summer Reading Program, instead of a reading log we are posting a collection of tasks the teens can do. They still include reading a book or writing a book review, but they can also do other things, like check out an e-audio book, try a new recipe, learn some phrases from another language on Mango Languages, and take a selfie with our library gnome to post on Facebook.

The task page is already made for us—we are co-opting the one the adult program used last year, since all the tasks are inside of tiny suitcases, which is perfect for our travel theme this year. But I needed a graphic to go with it, and I wanted it to be more than just an array of books, like I usually do for the reading log. César Garcia, one of our publicity people, inspired me with a graphic he created for the adult program last year, so I stole his concept and reworked it to suit ours.

His suitcase graphic had the Eiffel Tower, Big Ben, the Colosseum, a bunch of mountains, and some other popular travel destinations emerging from it. I copied his suitcase, and then "filled" it with things that symbolize our tasks checklist instead, and in the background I depicted (sort of like travel stickers) some of the prizes the kids can win for performing those tasks.

It's more or less a cartoon, so it was more an exercise in drawing and coloring in than showing any nuanced skill in watercolor, but it's bright and busy and I think it will perfectly suit our tasks page and our brochure. Thanks, César!