Renée Graef
Renée Graef is an illustrator who has worked with American Girl for multiple Historical Character books, designs, and items.
Biography
Renée Graef was born in Sheboygan and grew up in Greendale, a suburb of Milwaukee. She graduated from UW-Madison in 1980 with a degree in art. Much of Graef's work has a connection to her home state or nearby ones. Ms. Graef has illustrated several books for children, including newer Harper Collins editions of Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House series.
With American Girl
Ms. Graef was brought into the company design early in creation, sketching and designing book covers, multiple outfits, and items for the first three Historical characters: Kirsten Larson, Samantha Parkington, and Molly McIntire. These include designs for what would become Kirsten's meet outfit, Molly's Plaid Jumper and Blouse, Samantha's Buster Brown Dress and Middy Outfit, and each character's Nightclothes. Graef said, "I created about ten boards for each character, thirty total. One board featured a placeholder sketch of each doll. The other boards depicted the Meet, School, and Holiday doll outfits for each character, and a separate illustration showed a modern-day girl wearing the same outfit. Additional boards showcased the accessories designed for each ensemble."[1]
She was considered for the Molly series[1] but later selected to illustrate the Kirsten series, side vignettes in various books, and the Paper Dolls for multiple Historical Characters.
Illustrated Works for American Girl
Kirsten Series
- Meet Kirsten
- Kirsten Learns a Lesson
- Kirsten's Surprise
- Happy Birthday, Kirsten!
- Kirsten Saves the Day
- Changes for Kirsten
- Kirsten's Short Story Collection
Additional American Girl Works
- Multiple Paper Dolls (and items based on them such as Magnetic Mini Worlds)
- Minute Mysteries 2
- Josefina's Short Story Collection (vignettes)
- Kit's Short Story Collection (vignettes)
Other Works
- The Little House Series and additional books
- My Favorite Things
- The Nutcracker
- If Jesus Came to Visit Me
- If Jesus Walked Beside Me
- Our Big, Big God
- Everyday Prayers
- B Is For Bookworm: A Library Alphabet
- B Is for Badger: A Wisconsin Alphabet Book
- Are You Sleepy Yet, Petey?
- While You Were Away
- Paul Bunyan's Sweetheart
- 3-Minute Stories: Bedtime Tales
- I Am Good at Being Me
- Who Carved the Mountain?: The Story of Mount Rushmore
Links
- Website
- Etsy shop
- "Meet Madison": an article about her illustration work for American Girl.
References