S3Ep38: Little Pilgrims Progress

This episode Amy and Mike chat with illustrator Joe Stuphin and creative director Erik Peterson about the new book, Little Pilgrims Progress. Perceiving the need for a simpler version of a timeless classic, Helen Taylor faithfully adapted John Bunyan’s allegory of the Christian life, The Pilgrim’s Progress, for young readers—hoping to bring its treasury of wisdom nearer to children’s hearts and minds. That version has sold over 800,000 copies! It preserves the original plotlines of Bunyan’s classic while telling the story of Little Christian and Christiana in a way that kids can understand. In this fresh, imaginative new edition, bestselling illustrator Joe Sutphin portrays the characters of Bunyan’s tale as furry creatures living in a woodland realm. Children will delight in the lavish illustrations, reading alongside their parents or interacting on their own with the timeless words and beautiful imagery that they discover on every page. This book will help children see the trials and triumphs of faithfulness with fresh eyes, leading them to declare along with Christian, “I am going to the King!” Joe Sutphin is an illustrator of books for kids such as Andrew Peterson’s beloved Wingfeather Saga, the New York Times bestselling Word Of Mouse by James Patterson, the official graphic novel adaptation of Richard Adams’s timeless classic, Watership Down (Ten Speed, 2022), and the newly envisioned edition of Little Pilgrim's Progress (Moody Publishers, Aug 2021). His love of nature, and of the living creatures in the fields and woods around his home, has informed his art for much of his life. Joe lives in a barn in Ohio with his wife Gina and a bunch of cats. Erik M. Peterson has been a designer/art director of books for over twenty years, working on jackets, interior layout, typesetting, and promotional material. It’s great fun. From time to time he works on other types of design projects but always come back to books. He currently leads a small creative team at Moody Publishers in Chicago, and occasionally gets in over his head with special projects, such as Little Pilgrim’s Progress: Illustrated Edition (in collaboration with illustrator Joe Sutphin) and The Pursuit of God: A 31-Day Experience (a unique visual layout of A. W. Tozer’s classic work).