Comments
Of
all the books I've done, I think this one has the best cover.
Technically and conceptually, and as a summary image of the story, I
think it functions well. Originally, I wasn't going to show the
boy on the cover, and I was only going to show a few of the butterflies,
but Michael Stearns, my editor, talked me out of it. (Thank You
Michael!) His idea was to illustrate the moment before the "Butterfly
Man" picture. I got his point and redrew the sketch which
he approved. Privately, I imagined this is from the second
year the butterflies come back for him. This time he knows what is
going to happen.
Painting
The Return, which was the last painting
completed for the book, I consciously tried to echo this painting, to
give the book a kind of completion.