September 2025 | Volume XLIII, Issue 3 »
The Creative Journey of Hatem Aly
September 2, 2025
Becca Boland, Illinois Library Association
From the bustling streets of Cairo to the quiet corners of New Brunswick, Canada, illustrator Hatem Aly has navigated a path as dynamic and expressive as the artwork he creates. Born and raised in Egypt’s capital, Aly moved to Canada in 2007 and brought with him a passion for visual storytelling that has since flourished in the world of children’s literature.
“I’ve been drawing and making up stories–mostly comics–since I can remember,” Aly says. Despite a lifelong interest in art, he didn’t always see illustration as his destined career. “It didn’t feel like a calling. I was still figuring out what I could do in life.”
He studied fine arts but remained unsure of where it would lead. Although he didn’t grow up with picture books, comic books deeply influenced his understanding of visual storytelling. Over time, small illustration projects and personal experimentation sparked a deeper love for the craft. “That’s when I fell in love with it and wanted to do more. Yes, please.”
Relocating to Canada from Egypt meant starting his career over. Aly sent countless emails, postcards, and agent submissions, with limited success. “My income was so low that I began to consider something other than illustration,” he recalls. But finally, his persistence paid off.
He attended the Bologna Children’s Book Fair with a group of fellow Arab illustrators, an experience that would lead to more visibility and, eventually, representation by his current agent. A turning point came when he was selected to illustrate the 2017 Newbery honor title–The Inquisitor’s Tale by Adam Gidwitz. “Everything came together,” he says. "The rest came naturally.”
Aly’s creative process begins with ideas–many at once that are often scribbled hastily. “There’s a lot of thinking and problem-solving required to make the illustration work,” he explains. Rough sketches on paper are transferred to digital platforms for refinement. He incorporates scanned art and textures to give his illustrations an organic, tactile feel.
Aly tries to make art almost every day. “I draw most days,” he states, though not all sessions are productive. “Some days I want to, but nothing good comes from it. Other days, I’m frustrated–and then I discover something that works.” His go-to personal materials include pen and ink, but he’s increasingly experimenting with watercolor, gouache, and mixed media-some of which you can see explored in his art for iREAD.
Aly’s illustrative work includes The Proudest Blue, The Unicorn Rescue Society, Yasmin, and You Are a Star, Jane Goodall; his range is impressive. But there’s no rigid formula for choosing or approaching a new project. “The most basic reaction I want is to be excited to work on the book.” He reads deeply into character-driven stories and lets emotion guide his choices.
Each new book requires discovering the style that suits it best. “Sometimes your go-to style feels like listening to your own recorded voice,” he laughs. “So I try to change things up depending on the tone.”
In 2022, Aly served as a mentor in the Highlights Foundation’s Muslim Storytellers Fellowship–an experience he hadn’t anticipated. “I applied hoping to be mentored,” he remarks, “and instead I was invited to be a mentor myself!” The opportunity was deeply meaningful. Living in a small Canadian town, Aly sometimes struggles to find an artistic community who fully understands his perspective. The fellowship provided a space for shared experience and mutual support. “Having a safe space to just be–and a sense of community where we can grow together–is so important.” As a result, he continues to keep in touch with the people he met during the fellowship.
Aly’s recent work for iREAD’s 2026 program Plant a Seed, Read allowed him to explore themes of community, nourishment, and imagination. “Books, farming, food, growing veggies and plants, and of course animals!” he says of the concept. “I wanted to convey mutual generosity–a sense of feeding, reading, and community, all with a touch of mild fantasy.”
What would his dream project be? To write and illustrate his own books. “That is the dream!” he states, though balancing work, family, and life is no small task. “I’m working on better self-management, and I hope it won’t be long.”
Aly has fond memories of libraries in Cairo, even if summer reading programs were unfamiliar. He reminisces, "Libraries have this magical vibe–I could stay there for hours.” A few early encounters stand out, including a librarian gently correcting his pronunciation of a book title and a challenge from a young child about reading English novels.
As a kid, Aly loved Arabic folktales, including Kalila and Dimna, 101 Nights, as well as the stories of Hans Christian Andersen. Today, his reading spans children’s books and adult nonfiction, from Tasting the Sky by Ibtisam Barakat to The Grammar of Fantasy by Gianni Rodari.
Aly’s bio mentions “more pets than people”–a fact he confirms. The family shares their home with three cats, two rabbits, two birds, and three fish tanks. “They keep us busy for sure,” he says, “but they’re sweet after all–and could be inspiring!”
Aly hopes to keep evolving. “I want to create and work to get better with every project,” he says. And someday soon, he hopes to write and illustrate multiple books–maybe even a graphic novel.
To fellow creators and artists, Aly offers a parting note of encouragement: “Please leave some window for frustration. It’s absolutely normal and will pass. Just keep living, creating, and caring.”
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