Introduction
Kim Doner was left by Gypsies on the front porch of Betty and Otto Doner on July 21, 1955 (at least, that was always their claim). As a small child, her favorite day was Saturday and her favorite activity on that day was to rise early (the only phase in her entire lifetime to have such a requirement) and watch “Jungle Theater”. This usually afforded her a weekly fix of a favorite character, Tarzan of the Apes (the only true Tarzan being the actor Johnny Weissmuller). She, too, wanted to live in a jungle treehouse and call elephants for taxi rides when she grew up.
Kim had big dreams of becoming a Ballerina Veterinarian Artist as an adult, and although she has not evolved in such concrete terms, she actually DOES perform on stage, rescue animals and create books! She is a Big Supporter of nurturing dreams, and is not shy about encouraging anyone and everyone to do the same.
Background
Kim snuck in the back door of publishing when, several years ago, a Tulsa-based small press approached her to illustrate their first picture book venture. She waffled her way into a contract, busted her fanny to learn all she could about the business, and has not looked back since. Always one for a good story, Kim realized her place in life was to become an illustrator and writer. She is, and always will be, in the process of that “becoming”.
Books
Besides making life-sized paper dolls, decorating 7’ tall penguins for the Tulsa zoo, spending 80 hours on her knees to create faux marble floors, designing puzzles and jingles and song lyrics and clip art for schools and libraries, painting portraits, rescuing and raising and photographing wild animal babies, firing dichroic glass jewelry and wine bottle trays, drawing storyboards and thumbnail ideas, and learning to play the djembe, one might ask what else Kim Doner does.
Thank you for asking. She imagines, researches, sketches, notes, plans, writes and rewrites and draws and redraws then illustrates children’s books. Then, she makes school visits to talk about it.
On top of CD covers and magazine articles and educational text, Kim has illustrated numerous picture books, several of which she has written. Some of her awards include numerous rounds as a finalist in the Oklahoma Book Award list, plus the Oklahoma Book Award for illustration, Foreword Magazine’s Best Children’s Book, Publisher’s West Best Children’s Book runner-up, and Bookbinder’s West Best Children’s Interior book. Her award-winning artwork has been featured in museum shows and even traveled around the world, representing Oklahoma in a two-year tour of children’s book illustrations.
Speaking
Usually, this is not a problem. The problem is getting her to shut up! Okay, on a more serious level (since you ARE sitting there, reading this, and probably for a purpose), Kim has presented to organizations all across America to the other side of the pond and down the road... actually, on a road... in Africa. Her latest book focuses on a day in the life of a wild animal rehabilitator who happens to contribute her time at the Nairobi Animal Orphanage in Kenya. After nearly a month with dynamo Chryssee Perry Martin, aka “Mama Orphanage” - her official title in Kenya, Kim returned to Tulsa with inspiration for her latest picturebook, On a Road in Africa. Her current presentations include a number of demonstrations that tie drawing and writing to math and science as well as her core material titled, “From Idea to Reality: How a Book Becomes a Book”. Here she elaborates on the development of On a Road in Africa and performs the story with digital slides and an African drum.
Website & Contact Information
Website: www.kimdoner.com
Brochure: kim.brochure
Email: Kim@kimdoner.com
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