After a decade of capturing the awe-inspiring beauty of America’s national parks through hand-crafted posters, JP Boneyard and his team at the Fifty-Nine Parks Series are venturing into new territory with their first children’s book: Animals of the National Parks.

The book is a natural extension of Fifty-Nine Parks’ ethos of bringing park lovers into the world of art and art lovers into the world of parks. Its enchanting illustrations, created by painter Kim Smith along with Fifty-Nine Parks, are used to introduce a younger audience to an eclectic mix of creatures that call at least one of our 63 national parks home. 

From the moment Boneyard and the team began showing the final product, the feedback received has been nothing short of electric. 

"The reaction to the book in person is unlike anything we've seen," Boneyard said as he recalled the genuine sounds of delight that came out of readers young and old during a book event earlier this year. “It's possible this book may be the best thing we've made to date?" 

A bold statement from a collective known for stunning, one-of-a-kind designs. But the book’s ability to ignite excitement for both art and nature in yet another type of audience suggests they may be onto something special.

KINUTE caught up with Boneyard just in time for the book's release on May 6. Follow along to learn all there is to know about Animals of the National Parks, and why the project has marked a thrilling new chapter for the Fifty-Nine Parks Series.

(Photo: Fifty-Nine Parks)

Why sparked the idea for a children’s book? 

After finishing the main posters series we made a book of all our work. That planted the seed for ideas for other books. We also want to do work that is interesting and meaningful to us. 

Shifting our focus to inspiring young readers felt like an exciting direction to go!

The Art of National Parks cover, released in 2021. (Photo: Fifty-Nine Parks)

How does the book align with the Fifty-Nine Parks mission?

Our mission with Fifty-Nine Parks has always been to get park enthusiasts into posters and poster enthusiasts into the parks. The essence of this book is very similar. 

We'd love to help foster reverence for art and nature with children. The idea is always to help bring some positivity and inspiration into people's lives. We hope the children's book can do that in a small way, too. 

Our publishers at Random House & Ten Speed Press have talked about how the book will be in classrooms around the country. That is super exciting to us! 

Doing meaningful work is always at the heart of what inspires us.

Supplemental titles for the book are also underway to be used as teaching aids in the classroom (Photo: Fifty-Nine Parks)

What do you want young readers to take away from the book, and how does it advocate for the protection of the parks?

We'd love for young readers to come away with enthusiasm—and reverence—for art and nature. Helping see the value of nature at such a young age may be something that sticks with children for the rest of their lives. To have the opportunity to play a role in that experience is really special. 

Our hope is that children can see themselves in the animals to some degree and see how we're all connected. 

A page for the moose, the largest member of the deer family and often spotted in places like Glacier National Park, Yellowstone, and the Tetons. (Photo: Fifty-Nine Parks)

How did you decide on what animals to feature?

That was such a tough puzzle to solve! 

First we need compelling animals. Then we need to make sure we represent the iconic ones. Then we need to make sure we have a diverse representation of animals, parks, and regions of the country. 

The puzzle gets tricky when you really want to include an animal but you already have a letter locked in. Changing one letter often has a ripple effect where it means two or more other letters have to change. 

Some animals like American Bison were a given. They're basically the mascots of the parks. Then unique animals, like flying squirrels, feel like a fun way to introduce new animals to kids. 

The flying squirrel, a rodent with superpower. They call many national parks home such as Acadia National Park, Blue Ridge Parkway, Great Smoky Mountains National Park and more. (Artwork by Kim Smith | Fifty-Nine Parks) 

Another animal that made the cut: the Northern river otter, found in the aquatic habitats of our parks. (Artwork by Kim Smith | Fifty-Nine Parks) 

What was the creative process like, and what makes the chosen illustrators such a good fit?

Kim Smith is the primary illustrator for this book. We've always admired Kim's work and love working with her on the Parks poster series. Kim is also a prolific children's book illustrator. She felt like the perfect collaborator for this book (which really started off as an alphabet print series of animals). The idea was always for the prints to be turned into a book though. 

The jackrabbit, usually found in the dryer regions of North America. (Photo: Fifty-Nine Parks)

Do you really think the children's book could be the best thing Fifty Nine Parks has made to date?

Well, I'm a little embarrassed that I said that. I believe in the work that we do but I don't usually talk up the work like that. This was a gut feeling. A sense of excitement that kept coming up. 

We'd review a draft of the layout. Quietly take it in and someone would say "Gosh, this may be the best thing we've ever worked on." And not in a self-congratulatory way... in a way that just felt like we collectively (it's a team effort of half a dozen people) made something that feels new, yet timeless. It feels fun and meaningful. 

We'd have peers in the art and design world review the work and they would often say the same thing: "this is the best thing you've ever made.” That's no knock on all of the work we've done before. In the moment, this just felt fresh, exciting, and meaningful. It feels like the beginning of a new chapter.

Fun facts about elk. (Photo: Fifty-Nine Parks)

Can you share some of the reactions to the book? 

Yes! That's part of what has us feeling like this may be one of the best things we've worked on in recent years. 

We've done hundreds of shows around the country. We've put our work in front of hundreds of thousands of people. We've heard so many kind words from "they're all so different but so cohesive" to "this is like a national treasure!" Those are super kind words, especially coming from people we've just met at events. 

Still, we've never heard people squeal with joy upon seeing our work. The children's book has evoked that response for some people. 

I think it's because Kim Smith did such great work on the illustrations—the whole thing feels timeless and adorable. Brian Buccaroni helped dig into the research and ideation. Our editor Ginee Seo also shared so much of her expertise to help the book be the best it can be. 

We've seen countless people at shows hug the book and say, "I love this so much!" That means the world to us. It suggests we may be on the right path. 

A common sighting: the Snowy Egret, particularly in parks along the coasts of North and South America. (Artwork by Kim Smith | Fifty-Nine Parks)

Are there any facts in the book that you wish you learned as a child?

Almost all of them! A peregrine falcon can dive up to 240 mph!? Flying squirrels can glide the length of a football field!? Gray wolves can hear sounds up to five miles away!? Horned Puffins can dive up to 250 in the ocean? Red foxes use the Earth's magnetic field to find food? Stop it... 

And that's just one fact about each animal. We had dozens for each animal listed in our research. What an inspiring set of gifts each animal has. We really are a part of a remarkable world! 

The largest wild canid species, gray wolves can hear sounds up to five miles away. (Artwork by Glenn Thomas | Fifty-Nine Parks)

What’s next?

It's our 10-year anniversary this year so we're going to be working on a few new posters to celebrate that moment. 

We're also hard at work on our second children's book! Which should be out between May and September 2026. We also have fun memory matching and card games in the works.

We're so excited to share more in the future!

A sneak peak of the next children’s book for the Series, to be released in 2026. (Artwork by Glenn Thomas | Fifty-Nine Parks)

For more information, visit https://59parks.net or https://instagram.com/fiftynineparks.