Children's Book Illustration...a new adventure

So I really want to be a children's book illustrator.  Last week I met a really awesome artist, and a supporter, Ryan Hipp who has been giving me a lot of pointers.  I joined the Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators and am headed to a conference in Lansing, MI in a few weeks.  I am working on building my portfolio and there are a few things that I really need to improve on.  I need to make my work more narrative, and this adventure has been really fun.  I also need to show that I can paint children, and people.  These paintings are what I have been working on in the studio to improve these things.

This is part of a full spread illustration.