Ep 116 | Meet Kiki & Jax Co-Author and Illustrator Salina Yoon

Kiki & Jax co-author and illustrator Salina Yoon joins us to discuss her collaboration with Marie Kondo, exploring the intersection of tidying and friendship for kids.

Salina Yoon is a Geisel Honor-winning author/illustrator of over a dozen picture books and nearly 200 innovative novelty and board books for young children, with over 4.5 million books sold worldwide. Today she will share insights about her latest release, Kiki and Jax, the life-changing magic of friendship, which is a picture book she co-authored and illustrated with bestselling author and queen of tidy, Marie Kondo.

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In this episode, you’ll enjoy:

• Salina's passion for art, which led her to creating books for young children and storytelling
• Why Salina's first book, Penguin and Pinecone, published in 2012, was so special and sparked her collaboration with Marie Kondo
• Saliina's favorite topics to explore
• How Salina navigates the challenge of translating big ideas like friendships and tidying up
• The reason behind choosing as owl and a squirrel as the main characters in Kiki & Jax
• Favorite easter eggs to look out for while you are exploring the illustration
• The challenge of illustrating clutter
• How Salina's childhood influenced some of the tidying activities represented in the book
• What it's like to collaborate and work with Marie Kondo
• How KonMari tidying has impacted the Yoon household

Salina's favorite tidying tip: Finding more gratitude for each item by having less.

What sparks joy for Salina: Her family and creating books that spark joy for other families.

To connect with Salina, visit salinayoon.com or follow her Twitter or Instagram.

Exclusively for Spark Joy listeners, Salina is giving away a copy of Kiki and Jax that is signed by herself and Marie Kondo! This special copy also includes a how to fold the KonMari way origami guide! To win this special edition, email contact@sparkjoypodcast.com by January 28, 2020 with Kiki & Jax Giveaway in the subject line. The first listener to email us receives this special gift that sparks so much joy!

Gems:

• "I think relationships are so important for the development of children's emotional being and social being."
• "I think friendships are vital for simply growing up."
• "Books can help build a child's self confidence, their self esteem, their social confidence."
• "Nothing sparks more joy than friendship."
• "Tidiness comes from the parents first."
• "This book has both her heart and mine combined."
• "Find the joy in each other more than from things alone."

You can find Karin Socci at The Serene Home
You can find Kristyn Ivey at For the Love of Tidy

Special Guest: Salina Yoon.