Colleen Kong-Savage

Colleen Kong-Savage

@kongsavage.bsky.social

Write-handed Chinese-American illustrator in NYC. Picture books: PIANO WANTS TO PLAY, THE TURTLE SHIP. FORTUNE COOKIES FOR EVERYONE coming Oct 2025. And a Teaching Artist! CKongSavage.com

211 Followers 119 Following 132 Posts Joined Nov 2023
5 days ago
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Artist’s life is a never ending hustle. It’s exhausting. But how awesome that I get to point to this stuff and call it work.
#illustrator #teachingartist #muralist

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1 week ago
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PETITION: Don't Let the Federal Government Regulate Your Reading Not one country's freedom and liberty has ever been increased by banning books.

Here’s my birthday wish—that this country’s bigoted book banning be quashed. Please sign this petition. Don't let the American government decide what books you and your family are allowed to read.

action.everylibrary.org/hr_7661 via @everylibrary.bsky.social

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3 weeks ago
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How to make an Origami Fortune Cookie!

buff.ly/AoFiNIu @pragmaticmom @redcometpressbooks.bsky.social @kongsavage.bsky.social

#ReadYourWorld #picturebook #fortunecookie #origami #activity #AAPI #history #foodhistory

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3 weeks ago

Ohhhhh! Smart!! I didn’t even think of that!

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1 month ago

Thanks so much for sharing Melanie❣️

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1 month ago
"Success is not always what you see. Have a growth mindset." Image is an illustration by Kaz Windness of two potato plants. One has a large plant above the ground and one potato underground. The other has a small plant on top and a bunch of potatoes with eyes growing underground. Kaz Windness logo is a cute outline bat.

Let your EYE-deas grow in their own time. Sooner or TATER you'll see success.

How do I produce so much and work so fast? Years (and years!) of practice and figuring it out. Bloom late.

Share this with someone who needs some encouragement.

#inspirationalquotes #kidlit #encouragement #potatolove

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2 months ago
Cover of FORTUNE COOKIES FOR EVERYONE! by Mia Wenjen with art by Colleen Kong Savage. A grandmother sits at a table with her grandson on her left side and her granddaughter on her right side. A bowl of fortune cookies is on the table in front of them. The boy is reaching for a cookie. The grandmother is holding one in her hand. The girl has a cookie in one hand and a fortune in the other.

In FORTUNE COOKIES FOR EVERYONE! by @pragmaticmom.bsky.social w/art by @kongsavage.bsky.social, history of the fortune cookie is woven into a story shared by a grandmother over a family meal. Culture & cuisine collide in an entertaining & fact filled book.
@redcometpressbooks.bsky.social #kidlit 📚👍🏻

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2 months ago

Thanks so much for sharing Lori❣️

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3 months ago
Cover of Fortune Cookies for Everyone: The Surprising Story of the Tasty Treat We Love to Eat. Grandma and grandkids with bowl of fortune cookies sitting outside.

If you've ever been curious about how fortune cookies came to be, then may I suggest: FORTUNE COOKIES FOR EVERYONE by @pragmaticmom.bsky.social and @kongsavage.bsky.social! It's beautifully written and illustrated, and there were a lot of things that surprised me. Check it out! 🥠

#kidlit

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3 months ago

Thanks so much for the shout out Abi❤️

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4 months ago
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So delighted to present character design workshops to help kick off @qplnyc.bsky.social ‘s Dog Man Reading Challenge. Behold! A few heroes, villains, monsters concocted by kid artists!

#edusky #teachingartist

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4 months ago
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So delighted to present character design workshops to help kick off Queens Public Library’s Dog Man Reading Challenge. Behold! Heroes, villains, monsters concocted by kid artists!

#edusky

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4 months ago

(Aiyoh I think you have to read my replies from bottom to top. Sorry!) My mural partner and I know minimal ASL. Coming to Lexington is always a great excuse to work on it!

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4 months ago

(Sorry—still learning bsky. My replies are out of order😆) Brown Bear was our last minute save, but I love that it is simple, colorful, and classic. Preschoolers at Lexington are taught in both spoken and signed language. We used this mural as a way to learn colors and animals.

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4 months ago

So school chose 5 Little Monkeys, featuring monkeys characters playing around a big “5” hand, signing “monkey” “play” “brush teeth” “sleep,” etc. But references to monkeys are loaded these days, so that design got nixed in the 11th hour.

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4 months ago

The school gave me 5 titles to work from—The Snowy Day, 5 Little Monkeys, All Are Welcome Here, Brown Bear, & Lola at the Library. Not only did they want ASL (or DeVIA) featured in the mural, they also hoped to show diversity.

I had 2 designs—the one that referenced all titles looked too busy.

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4 months ago

How great! Picture books are so good for learning language!

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4 months ago
Horizontal mural of painted animals from Eric Carle’s book BROWN BEAR, WHAT DO YOU SEE? Purple cat, orange fish, green frog, blue horse, giant brown bear, white dog, yellow duck Artists pose with Lexington staff Two women crouched before outlines of mural, ready for volunteers to paint. Post image

Painted Eric Carle’s beloved BROWN BEAR, WHAT DO YOU SEE? into a mural at Lexington School for the Deaf? Thank you, Lexington, for welcoming Plushie and me w good vibes❤️.

Made possible thru Queens Arts Fund, presented by NYFA & NYC DCLA, & materials fr Thrive Collective. #edusky #kidlit

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4 months ago
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Today is My Book Birthday for FORTUNE COOKIES FOR EVERYONE! + 5 Signed Book GIVEAWAY!

buff.ly/mco1hAV via @pragmaticmom @redcometpressbooks.bsky.social @kongsavage.bsky.social

#ReadYourWorld #bookbirthday #giveaway #picturebook

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4 months ago

An interview w @pragmaticmom.bsky.social to mark the BOOK BIRTHDAY🎉 of our new title FORTUNE COOKIES FOR EVERYONE!

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4 months ago

Thanks for the interview, Mia❣️

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4 months ago

Happy Book Birthday 🎉 What a great time I’ve had with this baby!

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6 months ago
Artist stands in front of freestanding wall panels with collage of colorful buildings Post image Post image Post image

“At Home in the City” is up at Queens Public Library, Central! Me n my crew of 3-12 yo artists made this for ProjectArt at Forest Hills QPL. This is what my art looks like when I wear my 2 hats at same time—collage as kidlit illustrator, collaboration & big scale as community muralist.
#edusky

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6 months ago

👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼🌟

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8 months ago
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Welcome to your week. 🩰 #violetlemay #illustration #kidlitart #amwriting #kidlit #picturebook #ballet #dance #bunhead #mbartists #ballerina

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8 months ago
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Our annual summer corn picking with daycare friends 🌽
Freshly picked corn is so sweet you can eat it raw!
Even little boy (almost 2) couldn’t stop munching .
#kidlit #kidlitart #summerilluatration #illustration #summervibes

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8 months ago
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Brave
Girl
Practice
#kidlitart #kidlit

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8 months ago

😆 it IS empowering

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8 months ago
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First time i got a mural wall all to myself 😊 to paint whatever I wanna

Hester & Eldridge Streets in NYC

#mural

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11 months ago

😊💗hugs!

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