Photo by Katie Stewart.
Michelle Hazelwood illustrates Night, Night Birmingham children's book
Homewood resident Michelle Hazelwood Hyde illustrated Night, Night Birmingham.
You can now say, “Night, night” to all your favorite Birmingham places in the city’s children’s book, Night, Night Birmingham.
On each page landmarks such as Vulcan, Railroad Park and the Alabama Theater come to life thanks to illustrator and Homewood resident Michelle Hazelwood Hyde. Through the whimsical images in her first children’s book, she captured Birmingham through the eyes of a child.
“It’s great because most of the children know these sites,” Hyde said. “However, now when driving around they can remember the sites’ names from the book.”
The idea for the book came to the Philadelphia native when she was pregnant. A friend gave her Good Night Philadelphia at a baby shower where author Laurel Mills was also present.
“We looked through it, and we both were thinking, ‘We can do this,’” Hyde said. “And Birmingham didn’t have anything like it.”
Mills and Hyde published the story without any outside help.
“We felt like Birmingham was a small enough place that we shouldn’t have to go through a publisher,” Hyde said. “We both have strong work ethics, so we were able to finish it in our own timeline.”
Her design background in magazines played into how she and Mills told the story. “I like when the words and images are one entity,” she said. “I wanted to accomplish that in Night, Night as well.”
Through the book Hyde hopes to share her great pride in Birmingham with the city’s next generation.
Night, Night Birmingham is available at The Little Professor, Smith’s Variety and Once Upon a Time. The book can also be ordered online at www.mynightnight.com/buy-the-book.html.
