No War for Children

I ❤️ SCBWI!

Rahele came to the United States in 2011 to pursue her dream of being a free international artist. She graduated with an MFA in Integrated Visual Arts from Iowa State University in 2015. She is now a full-time freelance picture book illustrator and teaches as a full-time assistant professor at the Department of Illustration at Kansas City Art Institute. 

She has been an active member of SCBWI since 2012 and has worked with Cricket Media and children's magazines since 2016. Her Illustration work was selected as a winner for the Bologna Illustartion Exhibition in 2023.

She has illustrated seven picture books published in Iran and twelve in the United States and Canada. Her books are translated worldwide into Vietnamese, French, Portuguese, and Spanish.

She is the recipient of the 2018 Illustration Mentorship Awards from We Need Diverse Books #WNDB. In August 2018, she won the portfolio showcase grand prize award at the SCBWI LA National Conference. She also won the 2018 SCBWI Social Media Mentorship for Illustrators at the LA National Conference. Laurent Linn and Debbie Ohi were her excellent mentors. 

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Rahele is originally from Iran and saw the war in her home country when she was just eight years old. Two things could make her black-and-white world colorful. One was all-night family gatherings at her Grandma and Grandpa’s house every Friday. Her Grandma would tell Rahele fairy tales told her by her mother that were told to her by her mother. Stories she has never found in any book. The other was traveling through books full of images of life and nature made by illustrators from all around the world, such as Zdeněk Miler, Fyodor Khitruk,  Bani Asadi, and Farshid Mesghali. She is happiest creating illustrations that make the imagination travel, take a new look at old ideas, and reaffirm the viewer of their natural place in this world. 

Christy Ewers represents Rahele at The Cat Agency.



Member of: 

SCBWI; Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators

USBBY; The United States Board on Books for Young People

Awards/ Honors

2024, Society of Illustrators, selected work for Illustrators 67th annual show and book, NYC

2024, Runner Up; Selected piece from the book; “Missing Momma,” Creative Quarterly 78

2024, Original Art Show, “ Missing Momma,” Picture Book, SOI, NYC

2024, Original Art Show, “ My Mother’s Tongues” Picture book, SOI, NYC

2023, Green Earth Book Award for To Change A Planet Picture Book.

2023, Winner of the 57th Bologna Illustrators Exhibition, Italy

2023, Original Art Show,” GIVE ” Picture Book, Society of Illustrators, New York

2022, Original Art Show, “The Treasure Box” Book, Society of Illustrators, New York

2021, Ezra Jack Keat Illustration Award Nominee

2020, Original Art Show, “ Our Favorite Day of the Year” picture Book, Society of Illustrators

 Interviews:

Many thanks to John Schu for interviewing about TO CHANGE A PLANET

Thank you, Mel, for inviting me to talk about Angry Me on Let’s Talk Picture Books

I am honored to be interviewed by Dr.Elizabeth Dulemba’s Blog.

12 questions for a picture book illustrator by Dave Keane

Many Thanks to Betsy for interviewing me on FUSE 8.

Many thanks to Matthew Winner for having me talk about Our Favorite Day of the Year Book. I’m a huge fan of Matthew Winner's podcasts, school librarian, author, and the host and creator of The Children's Book Podcast!

Illustrator Spotlight on KIDLIT 411

Thanks to Dorothia Rohner for having me on my favorite blog, Kidlit Artists. 

Illustrator Saturday: Thanks to Kathy for featuring my portfolio on her fantastic blog.

Thanks to Angela Cerrito for interviewing me about my work selected for the SCBWI Bologna Book Fair.

Thanks to Joanna Marple for interviewing me

Rahele’s Published Books:

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