Luke Flowers
| Luke Flowers | |
|---|---|
| Born | |
| 🏳️ Nationality | American |
| 💼 Occupation | Author, illustrator, musician |
| 📆 Years active | 2000s–present |
| Notable work | Moby Shinobi series; A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood: The Poetry of Mister Rogers; Labyrinth: The ABC Storybook |
| 🌐 Website | www |
Luke Flowers is an American author, illustrator and musician based in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He is best known for the early reader series Moby Shinobi for Scholastic and for illustrating the A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood: The Poetry of Mister Rogers collection, which reached the New York Times bestseller list.[1][2] He has illustrated more than fifty children's books and has written and illustrated multiple volumes in the Moby Shinobi series, which has sold over one million copies.[3]
Early life and education
Flowers grew up on a family farm near the Collegiate Peaks in the mountain town of Buena Vista, Colorado. As a child he spent much of his time reading and drawing, and early on decided that he wanted to be an artist and storyteller.[4][5]
He attended Buena Vista High School, where he played on the school's 1995 state championship basketball team before choosing to pursue art over athletics.[4] Flowers received a scholarship to study illustration at the Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design (RMCAD) in Lakewood, Colorado, graduating in 2000.[6]
Career
Young Life and Luke Flowers Creative
After graduating from RMCAD, Flowers joined the Christian youth organization Young Life in Colorado Springs, working for around a decade as a designer, illustrator and creative director in its creative services department.[6] During this period he also freelanced as an illustrator, producing album covers, T-shirt designs and other commercial artwork.[4]
In 2010 he left Young Life and founded his own studio, Luke Flowers Creative, with the stated goal of "illuminating the imagination" through illustration and storytelling.[6][7] From that point he focused primarily on children's publishing and related illustration work.
Children's books
Flowers began illustrating children's books professionally in the early 2010s. According to his publishers he has since illustrated more than fifty titles for a range of imprints, including Penguin Random House, Macmillan, Scholastic, Quirk Books and others.[1][3]
His author–illustrator debut came with Moby Shinobi, an easy-reader series for Scholastic about an enthusiastic ninja whose attempts to help often cause comic chaos before saving the day.[4][2] The original four-book series, launched in 2016 with Ninja on the Farm, grew into a five-book line and later a chapter-book spin-off; by the late 2010s it had sold more than one million copies.[3][6]
Alongside his own series, Flowers has illustrated numerous picture books and early readers written by other authors. In 2024 he illustrated Just Try It!, the first title in the A Phil & Lil Book picture-book series written by television producer and host Phil Rosenthal and his daughter Lily Rosenthal, and he returned as illustrator for the companion book Just Try It! Someplace New! for Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers.[8][9][10][11]
Notable collaborations include:
- A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood: The Poetry of Mister Rogers, a collection of lyrics by Fred Rogers that debuted at #2 on the New York Times bestseller list;[2]
- Disney's The Muppet Christmas Carol: The Illustrated Holiday Classic;[1]
- Labyrinth: The ABC Storybook, an alphabet book inspired by the 1986 film Labyrinth;[1]
- several "Unicorn" picture books written by Diana Murray, including Unicorn Day and its sequels;[12]
- Goodnight, Veggies by Diana Murray;[13]
- One More Dino on the Floor by Kelly Starling Lyons;[14]
- Phil Rosenthal and Lily Rosenthal's Just Try It! and Just Try It! Someplace New! in the A Phil & Lil Book series.[8][9]
Interviews and publisher biographies frequently cite his versatility in style and his interest in pop-culture references, puppetry and classic children's media such as Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, Jim Henson's work and 1980s cartoons.[2][15]
Illustration style, commercial work and exhibitions
Flowers' illustration style often combines dense detail, bright colour palettes and playful character design. His personal and gallery work frequently draws on 1980s pop culture, classic films and television, and retro poster design.[1][16]
His pop-culture-themed artwork has been featured in dozens of gallery shows in New York, Los Angeles and Colorado, and his publishers have noted that his gallery work helped to build his audience before his children's books gained national attention.[6][2] In Colorado Springs, his illustration and design work has also appeared on beer labels and branding for Bristol Brewing Company, including the "Beer with Character" and "Forgotten Genius" series.[4]
Music
Alongside his illustration career, Flowers writes and performs music. He has played in local bands in Colorado Springs, including the group Mighty Quinn, which performed at small venues around the city.[4] Under his own name and with collaborators he has released independent recordings, and maintains a separate website and online profiles for his musical projects.[17]
Selected bibliography
As author and illustrator
- Moby Shinobi: Ninja on the Farm (2016), Scholastic
- Moby Shinobi: Ninja at the Park (2017), Scholastic
- Moby Shinobi: Ninja in the Kitchen (2017), Scholastic
- Moby Shinobi: Ninja on the Job (2018), Scholastic
- Moby Shinobi: Ninja on the Playground and subsequent titles in the Moby Shinobi and Moby Shinobi and Toby chapter-book series, Scholastic[3]
As illustrator
- Kelly Starling Lyons, One More Dino on the Floor (2016), Albert Whitman & Company[18]
- Fred Rogers, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood: The Poetry of Mister Rogers (2019), Quirk Books[2]
- Disney's The Muppet Christmas Carol: The Illustrated Holiday Classic (2019), Disney/Quirk Books[1]
- Luke Flowers, Labyrinth: The ABC Storybook (2020), Macmillan Children's Publishing Group[1]
- Diana Murray, Unicorn Day, Unicorn Night, Unicorn Christmas and related titles, Sourcebooks Jabberwocky[19]
- Diana Murray, Goodnight Veggies, Little Bee Books[20]
- Phil Rosenthal and Lily Rosenthal, Just Try It! (2024), and Just Try It! Someplace New! (2025), A Phil & Lil Book series, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers[8][9]
This list is not exhaustive; Flowers has illustrated numerous other children's books, early readers and licensed tie-ins for a variety of publishers.[1][3]
Discography
Solo and collaborative releases
Flowers has also been credited as a performer or collaborator on various tracks with other artists, and his music has been distributed through online platforms such as Bandcamp and Apple Music.[17]
Personal life
Flowers lives in Colorado Springs with his wife and three children.[1][3] When he is not working, he has cited puppetry, playing the banjo, basketball and outdoor activities with his family as favourite pastimes.[1][2]
External links
- Official website
- Luke Flowers Music
- Luke Flowers on Bandcamp
- Luke Flowers on Apple Music
- Luke Flowers at Simon & Schuster
- Luke Flowers at Macmillan
- Luke Flowers at Little Bee Books
Category:American children's book illustrators Category:American children's writers Category:American male writers Category:Artists from Colorado Springs, Colorado Category:Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design alumni Category:Living people Category:Year of birth missing (living people)
References
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 "Luke Flowers". Macmillan. Macmillan Publishers. Retrieved 25 November 2025.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 Schulze, Bianca (18 April 2019). "Illustration Inspiration: Luke Flowers, Illustrator of A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood: The Poetry of Mister Rogers". The Children’s Book Review. Retrieved 25 November 2025.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 "Luke Flowers – About the author". Simon & Schuster. Retrieved 25 November 2025.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 Bergsten, Tim (24 May 2017). "Luke Flowers: Imagination Illuminated". Springs Magazine. Retrieved 25 November 2025.
- ↑ "Luke Flowers – Official Publisher Page". Simon & Schuster. Retrieved 25 November 2025.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 "Wayfinding with Luke Flowers (Alumni Edition)". Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design. 14 November 2019. Retrieved 25 November 2025.
- ↑ "Biography of Luke Flowers". AALBC.com. Retrieved 25 November 2025.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 "Just Try It! (A Phil & Lil Book)". Simon & Schuster. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. Retrieved 25 November 2025.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 "Just Try It! Someplace New! (A Phil & Lil Book)". Simon & Schuster. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. Retrieved 25 November 2025.
- ↑ "Just Try It! (A Phil & Lil Book) (Hardcover)". Harvard Book Store. 5 March 2024. Retrieved 25 November 2025.
- ↑ "Just Try It! Someplace New! – (A Phil & Lil Book)". Target. Retrieved 25 November 2025.
- ↑ Murray, Diana. "Diana Murray – Books". dianamurray.com. Retrieved 25 November 2025.
- ↑ "Goodnight Veggies". Little Bee Books. Retrieved 25 November 2025.
- ↑ "One More Dino on the Floor". AALBC.com. Retrieved 25 November 2025.
- ↑ "MR ROGERS – Luke Flowers Creative". Luke Flowers Creative. Retrieved 25 November 2025.
- ↑ "Luke Flowers Creative – Portfolio". Luke Flowers Creative. Retrieved 25 November 2025.
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 "Luke Flowers Music". lukeflowersmusic.com. Retrieved 25 November 2025.
- ↑ "Fall 2020 Backlist Catalog" (PDF). Albert Whitman & Company. Retrieved 25 November 2025.
- ↑ "Spring 2025 Children's Sneak Previews – Sourcebooks Jabberwocky". Publishers Weekly. 11 July 2024. Retrieved 25 November 2025.
- ↑ "Contributors – Luke Flowers". Little Bee Books. Retrieved 25 November 2025.
- ↑ "Sweet Recovery – Luke Flowers". Apple Music. Apple Inc. Retrieved 25 November 2025.
- ↑ "The Lake – Luke Flowers". Apple Music. Apple Inc. Retrieved 25 November 2025.
This article "Luke Flowers" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Luke Flowers. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.
