To Purchase on Amazon: https://a.co/d/9F39iW2
Synopsis
Buffalo on the Ridge, a fun and educational adventure book for young readers, will help parents teach their children about animals and the environment. A full color book!
Elementary age students will love the trials and tribulations of Bo, a young Buffalo, and his prairie dog friend, Pete, who venture outside of their home in Custer State park, South Dakota.
Parents and educators will appreciate the field guide and accurate historical details.
Creating Buffalo on the Ridge
Buffalo on the Ridge was inspired by a stop in South Dakota during a cross-country trek in 2008. My husband and I were spending time in Custer State Park. A bison who was using its head to crash into a tree caught my eye and gave me a laugh. When we got home I decided I’d like to use the experience in Custer as the premise for a children’s book. Initially it was planned as being simply a portfolio piece. However it eventually made it’s way from news reports in my hometown to the shelves of the gift shops at Custer and Mount Rushmore parks.
“Pete” was based on actual sassy prairie dogs who barked at our car in Custer State Park, South Dakota. I imagined him with this little bolero and western hat, but with a James Cagney kind of voice.
Deanna Meyer
The book took me two years to create. A lot of research was done to be sure the flora and fauna were all correct for the area. Once, I even called a South Dakota exterminating company because I needed some information about insects in the region. He was a very friendly fellow.
Creating the characters took time as well, and learning to draw them from different angles and with varying facial expressions was fun.
I received a lot of help and recognition from the state, including the governor at the time, which was so fulfilling.
“Pete” was based on actual sassy prairie dogs who barked at our car in Custer State Park, South Dakota. I imagined him with this little bolero and western hat, but with a James Cagney kind of voice.
Bo was meant to be sort of a soft, gentle creature who’s a bit naive. Carl the cowbird is a very direct Jiminy Cricket influence/homage. He’s the voice of reason. The fish are named for a friend, and my husband.
A double page spread before the text was added in.
A lot happened around the time I wrote this book. My husband and I moved, I became pregnant, and I had a bout of optic neuritis, too. As a person who has Multiple Sclerosis thoughts immediately went to that, but fortunately it was not an MS flare, and it passed quickly although for a brief time I lost some vision in my right eye, making everything look as though a gray veil were over it. Thankfully all the illustrations were basically finished by that point!
About the Artist
Hello, I’m Deanna. Creating little worlds is all I want to do.
I spend my days in my illustration studio, surrounded by herbs and antique curiosities, in rural Pennsylvania. I enjoy many interesting adventures with my husband, daughter, and Shmoop, the “Office Cat.”
Since I was a young child, I’ve been creating. Some of my earliest memories are of drawing historic clothing, making fairy tale paper dolls, and designing my own “book covers.”
The work I make is influenced heavily by my affinity for historic eras: Color palettes, patterns, textures, architecture, typography – the list goes on. From Medieval to Mid-Century, I love it all.
If you don’t want to miss anything, follow IG: #deannameyer for illustration and vintage musings. I’m an artist, herbalist, and mother with Multiple Sclerosis & Endometriosis.
I’m also an official artist of the Brooklyn Art Library’s Sketchbook Project.
— Deanna
