January 21, 2020

Ep 116 | Meet Kiki & Jax Co-Author and Illustrator Salina Yoon

28 minutes

Kiki & Jax co-author and illustrator Salina Yoon joins us to discuss her collaboration with Marie Kondo, exploring the intersection of tidying and friendship for kids.

Salina Yoon is a Geisel Honor-winning author/illustrator of over a dozen picture books and nearly 200 innovative novelty and board books for young children, with over 4.5 million books sold worldwide. Today she will share insights about her latest release, Kiki and Jax, the life-changing magic of friendship, which is a picture book she co-authored and illustrated with bestselling author and queen of tidy, Marie Kondo.

We want to hear from you! Tell us your burning tidying questions or share stories about how KonMari has impacted your life. Find us at www.sparkjoypodcast.com and click “Ask Spark Joy” to leave a question or comment for a chance to be featured on next week’s show.

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In this episode, you’ll enjoy:

Salina's passion for art, which led her to creating books for young children and storytelling

Why Salina's first book, Penguin and Pinecone, published in 2012, was so special and sparked her collaboration with Marie Kondo

Saliina's favorite topics to explore

How Salina navigates the challenge of translating big ideas like friendships and tidying up

The reason behind choosing as owl and a squirrel as the main characters in Kiki & Jax

Favorite easter eggs to look out for while you are exploring the illustration

The challenge of illustrating clutter

How Salina's childhood influenced some of the tidying activities represented in the book

What it's like to collaborate and work with Marie Kondo

How KonMari tidying has impacted the Yoon household

Salina's favorite tidying tip: Finding more gratitude for each item by having less.

What sparks joy for Salina: Her family and creating books that spark joy for other families.

To connect with Salina, visit salinayoon.com or follow her Twitter or Instagram.

Exclusively for Spark Joy listeners, Salina is giving away a copy of Kiki and Jax that is signed by herself and Marie Kondo! This special copy also includes a how to fold the KonMari way origami guide! To win this special edition, email [email protected] by January 28, 2020 with Kiki & Jax Giveaway in the subject line. The first listener to email us receives this special gift that sparks so much joy!

Gems:

"I think relationships are so important for the development of children's emotional being and social being."

"I think friendships are vital for simply growing up."

"Books can help build a child's self confidence, their self esteem, their social confidence."

"Nothing sparks more joy than friendship."

"Tidiness comes from the parents first."

"This book has both her heart and mine combined."

"Find the joy in each other more than from things alone."

You can find Karin Socci at The Serene Home

You can find Kristyn Ivey at For the Love of Tidy

Special Guest: Salina Yoon.

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By Kristyn Ivey and Karin Socci

4.6

329329 ratings