“Age 14” Book Cover

In the young adult novel, Age 14, by Geert Spillebeen, a fourteen year-old working class Irish boy impersonates his older brother to enlist in the army in World War I. Before long, he is sent to the front lines in Belgium, where the nightmarish reality of life (and death) in the trenches quickly obliterates any romantic fantasies of military glory.

Below are the initial sketches shown. The client chose the last sketch, with the only request being to change the helmets to hats. The author pointed out that at the time of story, 1915, the soldiers were not yet wearing helmets. It was only after huge numbers of shrapnel head injuries occurred early in the war, that helmets were then provided. Thanks to the excellent reference provided by the author, I was able to closely approximate the exact uniform the Irish soldiers wore.





CLIENT: HOUGHTON MIFFLIN
ART DIRECTOR: SCOTT MAGOON