Ross MacDonald created this year’s Christmas cover for The Newtown Bee.Mr MacDonald, a professional illustrator, has lived in the Hattertown section of Newtown since October 1996.He collects and uses antique type in his illustration work, which appears frequently in major publications, including The New York Times, Vanity Fair, Forbes, Harper’s Magazine, and others. His Brightwork Press has been featured in Print Magazine, and he is a consultant and vintage prop creator for movies. He worked on Seabiscuit, National Treasure 2, and Van Helsing, among others.Mr MacDonald also writes and illustrates children’s books, including Another Perfect Day, Bad Baby, and Achoo! Bang! Crash! The Noisy Alphabet.Locally, Mr MacDonald was part of “Turning The Page, New Stories For Newtown,” an event that welcomed 27 prolific and illustrious authors and illustrators to Newtown’s schools during the course of a week, followed by a public event, in May 2013. This year Mr MacDonald was part of the planning committee for “New Stories For Newtown: Words and Images,” which invited residents ages 19 and under to create written works based on the theme “What Inspires Me.” Mr MacDonald also participated in the public “New Stories For Newtown” program in June.This is the third Newtown Bee Christmas cover Mr MacDonald has created. He also designed our annual illustration in 2007, which depicted Santa skating on Hawley Pond; and 2008, when he had Santa and his sleigh, pulled by reindeers, flying over The Bee Publishing Company building.