MacKenzie Haley reading "Arlo" at Carmichael's Bookstore(Kriston Glasnovic / MacKenzie Haley)March is a time to reflect on the women shaping culture and creativity, and one Louisville illustrator is making her mark. MacKenzie Haley is a New York Times bestselling illustrator whose work is published by Macmillan, HarperCollins, Penguin Random House, Highlights and more.Her book “A Book for Bear” was selected for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, and she is also the illustrator of Dolly Parton’s “Billy the Kid” trilogy.LPM’s Ayisha Jaffer spoke with Haley about her work and how representation in children’s illustration is evolving.This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.Ayisha Jaffer: Let's start with the big picture. Children's illustration has not always reflected a wide range of voices or perspectives. How has the field evolved in recent years?MacKenzie Haley: I have only been involved in it for almost nine years now, but even since I've been involved, you see a lot more different ethnicities and nationalities, and there's just a wider range.I even did a book called “Sam Is My Sister”, and it's about a little boy who wants to dress and associates with the female. So there's just a huge, wide range now represented. I say huge, but it still has a lot of room for growth.AJ: How are women shaping what children see on the page today?MH: I do think women are better represented, but there's a little bit of a beef I have with when you see who wins the awards, it seems like it's still a lot of men that get the recognition and the really big book deals.But women are really present. And I don't want to make it sound like it's totally lopsided, but you can still see that.AJ: You have a creative partnership with one of the most iconic women in history, Dolly Parton, and recently completed the “Billy the Kid” children's book trilogy. How did this come about?MH: I got an email a few years ago from my agent saying, “Hey, there's a country music star who is interested in you illustrating their books.” And she didn't tell me right away. She just said, “I'm still talking to the publisher and the artist people, and I'll get back with you.”And my best friend from college said, “I'm going to freak out if this is Dolly.” Then a few days later, she came back with an email and it was her.AJ: And then your book, “A Book for Bear” was also selected for Dolly Parton's Imagination Library for the last couple of years. So what does it mean to be part of that program?MH: I was so excited because that meant the book got to reach so many children across the U.S. The only thing I was sad about is that “A Book for Bear” is the one book that I did where, when you take the book jacket off, there's a surprise case cover underneath. And in this story, they can't find Bear a book because he's not allowed in places like the school, the library, or the bookstore. So Ellen and Bear end up creating a book for him.When you take the cover off the actual book itself, the case cover looks like Bear’s book. So it's a surprise for little kids that they have this book, but they also feel like, in a way, they have Bear’s. But because the Imagination Library tries to get as many books as possible to kids, they do like a thick, paper version, and so that cover doesn't come off.So I was a little sad at that, but I was just glad that the book got out.AJ: What an amazing detail. I really love that you are thinking about this in such a tangible and also wondrous and mystical way, which as a kid that's how I lived through books.MH: Yes, they were gateways into other little worlds, and I really do think of each children's book as a little museum, a little work of art unto itself. ...read more read less