Rayleigh Leavitt - Author & Illustrator

09/05/2026

I added this “makes a great gift” sign to my grocery store table. Do you like how it’s pink and blue to match my books and table cloth? Or should I make it red and green to be more obviously Christmassy? Or should I do something different than a sign like wrap a book in wrapping paper?

09/05/2026

Stories like this make my heart so happy. Yesterday at my Fred Meyer book signing a young woman came up to my table and told me that she is very familiar with my book, Ellowyn’s Kitchen Chaos. She is an ADA therapist and her client, who is a little girl with autism, has been very resistant to reading books. But she loves my book and it’s the only book she will read. ❤️ I just love hearing stories about my book being cherished by children and how it has enriched family times.

09/03/2026

Hey Washington friends! I’ll be signing books in Vancouver this week and next at the Fred Meyer on NE 117th. September 3, 4, 5, 9, 11 and 12 from 2:00 to 6:00. Please invite your Washington friends to come see me!

09/01/2026

I love seeing my books “out in the wild.” It’s so rewarding seeing families enjoying them!

08/27/2026

This is a first: I’m doing a book signing and an employee of the venue stopped by to say hello and then said, “Well, I’m gonna go cut some cheese.” 💨 😆 I’ll be at Wilsonville Fred Meyer until 6:00 today and again on Saturday from 2:00-6:00.

08/27/2026

I’ll have a book signing table on Thursday and Saturday of this week at Fred Meyer in Wilsonville, OR. I plan to be there from 2:00-6:00, although I might leave early if it gets slow. Stop by and say hello if you are in the neighborhood!

08/22/2026

What do you think?

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/14qXweHyRpW/?mibextid=wwXIfr

AI is making it easier than ever to make a children’s book.

And I’m not convinced that’s always a good thing.

Not because I’m afraid of new technology. I remember tiny fish me at a SCBWI conference getting SOOO much flack because I did my art digitally. It’s true…. I wasn’t considered an illustrator at the time.

But even with digital art… easier does not automatically mean better.

A Tighty-Whitie Wind took me two years to illustrate.

Chicken Wig took me four years.

When I Caught You took me three years.

That last one was dedicated to my dad after he passed away, and there were pages that were genuinely hard for me to illustrate. That book became part of my grieving. Part of my healing. I sat and I wept as I illustrated that fishing book knowing my dad would never see it.

I poured myself into it.

And maybe that’s the part of this AI conversation that bothers me most.

Children’s books shouldn’t just be content.

They shouldn’t be something we rush through because a program can suddenly spit out 32 illustrations in an afternoon.

Kids deserve books that somebody wrestled with.

Books where the author changed a sentence 40 times.

Books where the illustrator stared at a page and thought… NOPE! That’s still not it.

Books that took months…

Sometimes years….

Books with fingerprints on them.

I’m not saying every book has to take four years to be worthy. And I’m not saying technology can’t have a place in the creative process.

But I am saying that being able to make something quickly isn’t the same as making something meaningful.

There are already enough sloppy books in the world.

I don’t think AI should give us permission to make more of them faster.

I want to know what you think:

Should readers care HOW a children’s book was made… or should the finished book be the only thing that matters?

08/21/2026

While at my Fred Meyer book signing table yesterday, I got to meet a lovely lady, Carole Ita White, who was a writer and actress for the Laverne and Shirley show in the 70’s, among many other things. She became a big fan of my books (and bought 3) and was so encouraging to me. She recommended a place to reach out to to find an agent if I want to get traditionally published. She was so fun to meet.

08/20/2026

Don’t mind me. Just hanging out by the cheese at Fred Meyer in Grants Pass. Haha! I’m here until 6:00. Unless I run out of books by then. I’ve been selling faster than I expected! Next time I’ll bring more. 😅

08/19/2026

Have you seen the super cute handmade felt cookies I get to sell along with my books? I’ve partnered with Channon Douglas of Moss and Maple Bakery who makes them for me. I love that her business name has Maple in it, even though that was a coincidence.