Meet Deborah Marcero, One of the 2020 PB Stars

​Deborah Marcero grew up in Michigan’s farm country. From the time she was little, she loved to draw, write and read. After high school she went to the University of Michigan and got a BFA in drawing, printmaking, and photography. A BFA is a Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Arts.

Deborah went onto get an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, in writing and poetry. She also picked up a teaching certificate from Northwestern. Deborah began teaching in the Chicago Public Schools as a literacy specialist. It was when she was teaching her fifth graders a unit on young authors that she realized that she wanted to write and create books for kids,

Today Deborah is back in northern Michigan where she lives, draws, and writes. She became an artist and author. She also returned to teaching. She joined the faculty at the Vermont College for Fine Arts in October of 2019.

If you want to hear from Deborah herself, click on the podcast below. You’ll find out how she went from farmer’s daughter to an author/illustrator. She’ll also tell you how she got the idea for her newest book.     
                            Link: IN A JAR: Podcast, Picturebooking with Nick Patton - January 2020
​                         If you want to visit Deborah, here's website at: https://deborahmarcero.com/
​                                           But if you really want to get to know her, check out her books:                                       

Deborah’s first came out in July 2015. She was the illustrator for a trio of books ‘starring 3 young girls and a mysterious visitor.’

This is Book 1. Have your friends ever left you behind? Sadie’s did. Her two best friends went on vacation together. How will Sadie ever survive without them? With a little help from the witch who appears in her old playhouse, and, she’s willing to use a little magic.

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​ This is Deborah’s 2nd book. It came out on April Fool’s Day in 2016. Really! She wrote AND did the illustrations! I love the cover and the blurb for her book. Here’s what Deborah wrote:

“One night Ursa had an idea.
An amazing idea.
A wild idea
She was going to fly!

It was such a crazy idea that no one believed she could do it. She was a bear, for goodness sake, and bears don't fly! Or do they . . . ?”
If you want to find out, you’ll have to read it yourself! Plus, isn’t Ursa a great name? I wonder where Deborah found it.

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This is Deborah’s 3rd book. It came out in July of 2016, just 2 months after Ursa. It’s the 2nd book in the Backyard Witch series.

Jess is the star of this story. She’s a sports superstar, but a mess in the kitchen. Her chef mom just doesn’t understand why her daughter can’t cook. When mom gets a job in a famous kitchen, the three friends try to help out, but somehow, their work goes up in flames. Never fear! Ms. M is here, and she knows how to give the girls a magical helping hand!

Don’t stop till you reach the end! There’s a recipe, plus information about cooking and gardening! Sounds delish!

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​Deborah was on a roll! Her 4th book came out in March of 2017, one she’d written and illustrated. Rosie’s ‘crayon’ wasn’t the kind of crayon I expected, the kind you use in a coloring book. Her Crayon was a puppy, and the two grew up together. They shared seasons together until Crayon grew too old and said goodbye. After years of color, Rosie’s world became black and white. Read along and find out how Rosie grows through grief and opens her heart again.                                            

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​Three months later in June of 2017, Deborah’s 5th book came out with her illustrations for the final Backyard Witch story. It’s Maya’s turn, and she’s been preparing for the school spelling bee F-O-R-E-V-E-R! She spells every unusual word she hears, and her two best friends, Sadie and Jess, are in it to help Maya win it. Then the worst thing ever happens – Maya loses – to Sadie. Can Ms. M help? I’ll give you a hint . . .  it involves Ms. M as the substitute librarian, a poltergeist who appears in the library, and an imaginary chicken.  You’ll have to read the final Backyard Witch to find out what happened in the library.    

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​In September of 2018 Deborah’s 6th book came out, illustrations only. I’ve heard of this one, it’s one of those books that other writers talk about as a mentor text, for fractured fairy tales. Can you guess which one?
The author smushed two ideas together – a set of twins and Cinderella. The best part, they share the work. The worst part – there’s only one prince. OH MY! What are a set of twins to do? You really can’t share a prince, really! You’ll have to read the book to find out if the twin-derellas get their happily ever after!

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A mere two months later in November of 2018, Deborah’s 7th book came out. She wrote and illustrated this one too.

Her main character, Rosie, is determined to discover something new so she sets off on a fantastic voyage, bounding from one world to another. Her only guide – a set of maps from her own imagination and her heart’s desire. It sounds like an incredible journey, an incredible book!                 

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Here’s book #8. Its book birthday . . .  January 21, 2020. THIS YEAR! BOW-WOW-WOW! That’s 8 books in 5 years or 1.6 books a year. That’s an incredible body of work! Congratulations to Deborah and her 8 books!