Sarah Lynn Baker Interview
Becca & Bubbe’s Bucket List

Becca and Bubbe’s Bucket List by Laura Gehl is an adorable new picture book about a youngster exploring new experiences with her grandma. I had a chance to interview both Laura and the book’s talented debut illustrator, Sarah Lynn Baker. You can read my interview with the author here.

About the Sarah Lynn Baker

Sarah Lynn Baker has just released her first picture book, Becca & Bubbe’s Bucket List, written by Laura Gehl, published by Rocky Pond Books/Penguin on May 19, 2026.

She loves to illustrate with dip pen and ink, pencil, gouache, and digital media. She is the Executive Director of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.

sarahlynnbaker.com   Instagram

Interview with Sarah Lynn Baker

Q. Sarah, congratulations on your debut picture book. I know that it can take a long time to break into the business. Tell me about getting the opportunity to illustrate this book.

A. Thank you so much, Julie! This opportunity came to me in a very unexpected way. I got an email from Lauri Hornik, publisher of Rocky Pond Books, asking if I’d like to illustrate Becca & Bubbe’s Bucket List, by Laura Gehl. I thought I was dreaming! The manuscript was attached and when I read it, it again felt surreal because I noticed these funny coincidences about details in the story that were very personal to me. My sister’s name is Becca, and my family had just discovered “Trash Can” flavor ice cream at our local seasonal ice cream stand in Catskill, NY. (Shout-out to Cone E Island!) I was at a point in my illustration career where I was simply trying to continue making illustrations for the love of it, even though I didn’t feel I had time to actively pursue it while also running SCBWI. But once I got the opportunity to illustrate this wonderful book, I made the time!

Q. What was your inspiration for how the characters look and for the way you drew the setting?

A. Developing the characters and the setting of Becca & Bubbe was such a joy . I spent a lot of time looking at photos of my grandmothers, who I called Nanny and Grandma, also my cousin, author Lore Segal, who was an incredible grandmother, and my own mom. This might sound strange, but I also took some inspiration for the Bubbe character from Maira Kalman, who I don’t know personally, but she just looks like she’d be a very cool Bubbe! For Becca, I looked at photos of me, my sister, and my daughter, Anarres, when we were all around 9 years old, and I spent a lot of time observing my daughter Elettra, who was nine at the time. I noticed that we all had these big, adorable front teeth and prominent ears at that age. I wanted the characters to have bodies that felt real. Soft, imperfect, and beautiful.

For the setting, I knew right away that I envisioned the Upper West Side in New York—Lore Segal’s neighborhood, and that Bubbe’s apartment would be inspired by her home. Lore’s apartment was one of my most favorite places growing up and as an adult, and with the mention of the rooftop sleepover, it felt right. I wanted to show the city through the windows of Bubbe’s apartment, and the rooftops with water towers that I loved to see from Lore’s home. Lore passed away before I finished the final artwork, but she knew I was illustrating my first book and that her home would be inspiring the settings, which felt incredibly meaningful for me. In the end, the setting of Becca & Bubbe was inspired by a combination of Lore’s home and neighborhood, and the illustrations from her book, Tell Me a Mitzi, by Harriet Pincus. They helped me achieve a lived-in, cozy, haimish look.

Q. Did you work closely with the author or art director?

A. I didn’t talk with Laura Gehl, the author, until after the book was finished, which is pretty normal for the picture book process. I did work closely with the art director, Jennifer Kelly, and the publisher, Lauri Hornik, who also edited the book. Jennifer and Lauri were incredible to work with. They were so supportive, friendly, and clear. Their feedback came to me so quickly, and it made me feel like they were both genuinely excited about the book and the way it was progressing. The best thing I did was ask Jennifer to meet with me towards the beginning—she spent a whole hour on a zoom with me and we got to know each other, so for the rest of the time, it was easy to ask questions and even admit when I was struggling or nervous about something. I’m incredibly fortunate that my first experience illustrating a book was with Lauri and Jennifer. And when the book was finished, and Laura and I started talking, it felt like we had known each other for years!

Q. What techniques and media did you use?

A. How to illustrate the final art for Becca & Bubbe was a big, scary question mark for me to be honest! Lauri and Jennifer shared two samples of my work that they liked, so I had an idea but I didn’t think either sample was actually a perfect fit, style and medium-wise, for Becca & Bubbe. I knew I wanted to create art that was in my voice, but with mediums I hadn’t necessarily used before. I tried a few pieces with ink, pencil, gouache, and colored pencil and they weren’t quite right. Finally, I spent some time looking at Tell Me a Mitzi, and it looked like ink with marker. I wound up drawing all the linework with dip pens and black ink (my absolute favorite medium) and drawing all the color in Photoshop with a Wacom tablet with digital markers called True Grit Monomania. They have a textured quality that feels like the marker tip is running out of ink a little bit, and I had to be very thoughtful about how I held the Wacom pen, to get just the right amount of pressure for that texture. When I finished the spread where Becca and Bubbe are walking down the street with their ice cream cones, I knew it was how I wanted to illustrate the entire book and it was thrilling.

Q. I find it interesting that a debut illustrator is president of the  Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. How did an unpublished illustrator end up in that position? How did the organization help you in your career?

A. I started attending SCBWI events at the very end of college, when I already knew I hoped to be a children’s book illustrator one day. About a year after graduating, I moved to New York and got a job at Penguin Young Readers Group as an art assistant, and became a children’s book Designer there. All the while, I continued attending SCBWI events and working on my illustrations. In 2011, I moved to Los Angeles and came to work at SCBWI as the Design and Illustration Manager. I was the first staff member there to focus entirely on illustrator members, Illustrator Coordinators (our illustration-focused Regional Team members), and I did all the graphic design and art direction. It was an incredible role, getting to advocate for illustrators, discover amazing talent, and working with legendary artists and members of the publishing industry. Over time my role changed and grew, and in 2022 I became executive director. I think spending so much time working for and running SCBWI as a pre-published illustrator has been an asset, because I truly understand the challenges, desires, and needs of so many of our members. Making children’s books is not an easy profession, and there are a lot of really talented people out there that aren’t published—YET!

Q. I love your work. Do you have any more books coming out soon?

A. Thank you! I’m working on some very fun ideas and new portfolio pieces, so hopefully soon I’ll have new book news!

About The Book

Becca helps her grandmother fulfill a lifelong dream during a vacation packed with "bucket list" fun in this endearing and lively summertime picture book.

After Becca learns the term “bucket list” from her grandmother, she decides to make her own summer bucket list, packed with everything from swimming in the ocean for the first time to baking turtle-shaped challah. But in between a water-balloon fight and a rooftop sleepover, she also has a plan to help Bubbe check an item off her bucket list.

Peppered with Yiddish and Hebrew words and full of affection, this is a joyful and inspiring story that's perfect for family sharing.

Storybook Lady
Review

Becca & Bubbe’s Bucket List

Becca & Bubbe’s Bucket List is a sweet story that reflects the love between a youngster and a grandparent. When Bubbe teaches Becca about bucket lists, instead of making a list of things that she would like to do sometime, she makes one for things that she wants to do this summer. But this youngster also asks her grandmother what is on her bucket list. The story shows their love in lots of little ways. When Becca is scared, Bubbe holds her hand and encourages her. They spend the summer doing things on Becca’s list, but the reader also sees Becca working with her friends on a surprise for Bubbe. The beautiful pastel pictures by debut illustrator, Sarah Lynn Baker, show scenes of Becca and Bubbe working through the list throughout the summer. Gehl uses a few Hebrew and Yiddish words which will delight Jewish readers. However she includes the glossary at the beginning of the story, making it accessible to everyone. Baker’s illustrations include a multicultural group of friends making this cute book about the love between generations perfect for any child.

Learn More about Sarah Lynn Baker

Find out more about the illustrator and see some of her illustrations at sarahlynnbaker.com

Want to read more of my reviews?

Read all my reviews of children’s books from board books to young adult on my Goodreads Children’s Books shelf.
Check out my reviews of many other Jewish Children’s books on my Goodreads Bubbe’s Bookshelf.