We are so excited to host the cover reveal of Zombies Don’t Eat Veggies!

First, here’s the official description of the debut picture book by Megan and Jorge Lacera, which releases with Lee & Low on April 2, 2019.

Mo Romero is a zombie who loves nothing more than growing, cooking, and eating vegetables. Tomatoes? Tantalizing. Peppers? Pure perfection The problem? Mo’s parents insist that their niño eat only zombie cuisine, like arm-panadas and finger foods. They tell Mo over and over that zombies don’t eat veggies. But Mo can’t imagine a lifetime of just eating zombie food and giving up his veggies. As he questions his own zombie identity, Mo tries his best to convince his parents to give peas a chance.

Super duo Megan and Jorge Lacera make their picture-book debut with this sweet story about family, self-discovery, and the power of acceptance. It’s a delectable tale that zombie and nonzombie fans alike will devour.

We love this description so much, it left us craving more. (See what we did there?)

Next, we have insights from the illustrator, Jorge Lacera, about how the cover was created…

The cover for ZOMBIES DON’T EAT VEGGIES! was a creative collaboration between Lee and Low editor Jessica Echeverria, our art director Ashley Halsey, my wife Megan, and myself. I knew I wanted to capture the spirit of the book without directly referencing a specific moment or scene. A big influence for Megan and me is our love of 80’s horror movies. As a kid, I vividly remember slowly walking down the aisles of my local video rental store (remember those?!), drinking in all of the movie posters and box covers, wondering what in the world the stories could be. I’d go home wishing I could rent all of them at once. I wanted to evoke a similar feeling and sense of intrigue for when kids saw our cover.

I also knew I wanted a visual pun to play off of the zombie’s fear and mistrust of veggies. Megan and I brainstormed ideas and then pitched the team at Lee and Low several different concepts for the cover.

With Jessica and Ashley’s feedback we landed on this one. The concept is also an homage to the poster for the horror movie “The Evil Dead”– a classic! There are several nods to other movies in the book—we’ll have to share more about them when it’s out!

Once the thumbnail was approved, it didn’t take long to create the art, about two full days and then of course some time for tweaks. We’re pumped that the Spanish edition (¡Los Zombies No Comen Venduras!) of the book releases simultaneously with the English–I hand-lettered the title in both languages, which was more work but absolutely worth it. Once the main cover illustration was complete, Jessica asked if I could do a portrait Illustration of Megan, our son Kai, and I as zombies instead of the usual author photos for the jacket. The only answer was YES. We are really lucky that Jessica gets and enhances our vision so well. Finally, Ashley added the finishing touches with the graphic design and jacket copy layout to bring the whole thing together. We love it and hope you all do, too!

Are you ready? Here’s the cover:

*

*

*

*

Keep scrolling…

*

*

*

*

We promise it’s worth the wait. Go on….

*

*

*

*

Ta-da!

Zombies Don’t Eat Veggies! is available for pre-order, and you can find Megan and Jorge online at their website and on Twitter: @MeganLacera  @JLacera