Amplify ELA: Summer of the Mariposas
Bringing a magical journey to life
Client: Amplify ELA
Role: Illustrator & Visual Storyteller
Art Director: Tory Novikova
Scope: Concept Development, Illustration, Supplemental Graphics
Amplify creates ELA (English Language Arts) interactive curriculum that inspires students to read more deeply, write more vividly, and think more critically.
For this unit based on Guadalupe García McCall's magical-realist novel, Summer of the Mariposas, I created a visual world for the coming-of-age adventures of five sisters, where the ordinary and the supernatural intertwine.
Working with the Art Director and Amplify's curriculum designers, I developed a visual approach that could move fluidly between the sisters' everyday world and the supernatural elements woven throughout the story.
The project included 26 hero illustrations (one for each sub-unit), as well as supplemental illustrations and explanatory graphics used within specific lessons.
Because the novel moves fluidly between the real and supernatural, the visual world needed to do the same.
Drawing inspiration from contemporary folk art, Mexican folklore, and textile patterns, I developed a layered, graphic approach that combines stylized realism with bold shapes, patterns, and textures.
This approach allowed the illustrations to shift between the ordinary and the supernatural while maintaining a cohesive visual world.
One journey, many story moments
Each sub-unit focuses on a different part of the novel, with a hero illustration introducing the lessons built around those chapters.
For each hero image, I reviewed the relevant chapters and identified moments, characters, and settings that could translate into an illustration. I developed rough concepts for several possible scenes, which my art director and the curriculum writers reviewed together to determine which direction best supported the lessons and learning standards. Once a direction was selected, I developed the sketch into final artwork, incorporating feedback from the team throughout the process.
While the illustrations shift between everyday and supernatural moments, the recurring visual language connects them as part of a larger narrative.
Selected hero illustrations from the series:
Extending the story through graphics
In addition to the hero illustrations, I created supporting graphics for specific lessons throughout the curriculum.
For these assets, the curriculum designers provided detailed descriptions of the information and references that needed to be communicated visually. I translated those requirements into visual form, adapting the established illustration style to fit the purpose of each graphic.
These included a map tracing the sisters' journey through Mexico and a lotería card designed for use within a specific lesson. Though different in format and function, each graphic was designed to support the lesson while remaining connected to the larger visual world of the unit.
The finished illustrations and supporting graphics are integrated throughout Amplify ELA's interactive lessons, helping establish setting and atmosphere, introduce key moments in the story, and give students another way into the world of the novel.
