Would You Read It #133 – Orville Wright’s Final Flight (NF PB) PLUS The April Pitch Pick

75 Comments

Golly! What a busy day!

By the time you read this (unless you’re a serious early bird or in Europe or something) I will be on my way to a school visit – the first of a two-day pair – so please forgive me if I’m a little behind in responding to you all today.  It’s Books Journey time again, so I’ll be off teaching writing workshops to 4th graders.  Luckily, since it’s Wednesday, I’ll be fortified with Something Chocolate!

And just LOOK at this gorgeous Something Chocolate!

http://www.jasonandshawnda.com/foodiebride/archives/13464/

Is it cake?  Is it pie?  Who knows?  Who cares?!  It looks so incredibly delicious it won’t be around long enough to debate 🙂  (And Julie, I hope you notice that I put raspberries there just for you since you’re a little more delicate than the rest of us about chocolate before 9 AM :))

Now that everyone except Julie is in a chocolate coma, it’s time for the April Pitch Pick!  Please read the following pitches, most of which have been revised based on your excellent feedback, and vote for the one you think most deserves a read and comments from editor Erin Molta.

#1 Frances – Peter and Asbury – Picture Book (ages 4-8) 
Peter is a shy, socially awkward six-year old boy whose best friend just happens to be an ancient oak tree he calls Asbury.  When Peter learns that Asbury will be cut down, he comes up with a plan to keep the memory of Asbury alive forever.  The unlikely bond that develops between boy and tree helps Peter discover a very special talent that he and Asbury will one day share with the whole world.  

#2 Morgan – Sammy Dougie Foxtrot: Look, Smile, Roar – Picture Book (ages 4-8)
Courage does not come easy to Sammy D. Foxtrot who must overcome his playground fears of dirt, race chairs, and insects! His playground adventure goes awry after his stuffed lion, PJ, gets stuck in a tree. With a Look, Smile, & Roar, Sammy D. Foxtrot discovers the true meaning of courage: that one can feel scared and brave at the same time. Will bravery prevail or will he leave his friend hanging?

#3 Charlotte – Roy G. Biv And The Amazing Castle Moat – Picture Book (ages 5-8)

When a sudden summer rainstorm spares their sand fortress, Sam and Sophie discover a swirl of colors and a surprise visitor, Roy G. Biv, in the castle moat. Sam thinks the arrival of the visitor, who speaks in rhyme, must be a trick. Sophie is delighted by it all. The siblings discover that the magic of Roy G. Biv is actually quite real.

#4 Sean – Todd’s Top Secret Dance Moves – Picture Book (ages 6-8)
His moves are smoother than a buttery bowling ball sliding over a field of silk tuxedos. And Todd is ready to reveal them all: the Fuzzy Banana, the Lunch Lady, the Frosty Snowman, and many more. Follow the footsteps of a dynamite dancer and try to resist tapping your feet. If you want to dance like Todd, the first secret is… 

#5 Janet – You’re A Pest, Betsy Thumbslurp (Early Chapter Book)

Betsy’s arrival turns poor Coco’s comfy world of cuddles and cake (all shapes, all sizes but preferably pink!) upside down. Her thumb sucking, pampered baby sister mixes up the familiar flavours of family life. Is  Coco really no longer the apple of her parents’ eyes and will she feel rotten when she serves up some just desserts?

Please vote for your favorite by Sunday May 18 at 9 PM EDT.  Many thanks! 🙂


Today’s pitch comes to us from Todd.  Todd is a 22 year veteran teacher/librarian/technology specialist who works teaches Kindergarten to fourth grade in Winnetka, IL.  Being a lover of children’s literature, he’s finally jumped into the literary world.  He is passionate about bringing history to life for children.

Here is his pitch:

Working Title: Orville Wright’s Final Flight
Age/Genre: Nonfiction Picture Book (ages 7-12)
The Pitch: When man’s first flight is mentioned, most of us can conjure up an image of that fragile craft lifting from the sands of Kitty Hawk.  Very few of us, however, know much about Orville Wright’s final flight.  That flight came at a pivotal point in World War II when the airplane had become the backbone of the United States military.  It must have been bittersweet for Orville to see he and Wilbur’s creation being used to cause such destruction.  That makes his final flight all the more meaningful.  The C-69 Constellation would move troops to the front and would help end the war.  It would also become the workhorse of the civilian aviation industry.  He must have been amazed at how far aviation had come in just over forty short years.  Orville didn’t know it at the time, but this would be his final flight.  

So what do you think?  Would You Read It?  YES, MAYBE or NO?

If your answer is YES, please feel free to tell us what you particularly liked and why the pitch piqued your interest.  If your answer is MAYBE or NO, please feel free to tell us what you think could be better in the spirit of helping Todd improve his pitch.  Helpful examples of possible alternate wordings are welcome.  (However, I must ask that comments be constructive and respectful.  I reserve the right not to publish comments that are mean because that is not what this is about.)
Todd is looking forward to your thoughts on his pitch!  I am looking forward to all those eager 4th graders!

Have a wonderful Wednesday, everyone!!! 🙂

Sharing The Fun

37 Comments

Happy Monday, my favorite folks!

I hope you all had wonderful Mother’s Day weekends!

Mine was very nice (thank you for asking).  The weather was gorgeous and perfect, and there was family and chocolate cake.  What could be better?  (Of course the cake was actually one I baked for my daughter’s birthday – not a Mother’s Day thing – but who cares?  Chocolate cake is chocolate cake no matter how you slice it :))

Also, did I tell you the hummingbirds are back?

Every year I am amazed by how punctual they are.  They show up the week of my daughter’s birthday without fail.  And they’re such cheerful little critters, it’s lovely to have them around!

Okay.  So, you know how when you write a blog sometimes you do favors for friends and relations who don’t have blogs?  This is one of those days.  But I’ll be very brief.  I promise.  (Stop laughing!  I am exceptionally keen of hearing and I can HEAR you!)

Allow me to introduce you to my husband.

Cute little fellow, isn’t he? 🙂

He’s a little older and taller than this now (although his outfit hasn’t changed much… his clothing of choice is still shorts and a tee shirt :))

Eric has been an elementary school teacher for a very long time.  He’s incredibly good at it and the kids all love him because he’s so much fun.  (If you happened to miss it a while back, he had the yearbook dedicated to him and I did a post about it HERE… which I believe has some pictures of him when he’s older than 4 :))

So anyway, after years of regaling family and students with the outrageous escapades of his childhood, he finally decided to put his train commute time to good use and write a book.  It took him about a year, but he did it and here it is in all it’s glory:

You really have to read this book to believe it.  Seriously, it’s kind of amazing he survived his childhood given the escapades he was continually involved in!  My childhood was so incredibly tame by comparison that I am jealous.  I could be writing great MG novels if I’d grown up doing the kind of stuff he did! 🙂

A lot of the book is very funny, but it’s more than that.  He managed in the end to learn some valuable lessons about life which come through beautifully in the telling.  The book has been available for about a month now, and a lot of the kids at his school have read it and loved it, so I think he hit the mark pretty well.  But I also know a lot of adults who have read it and loved it.  It really works equally well for both audiences.

Of course, I recognize that I could be a teensy bit biased 🙂  But I still think it’s a very fun book.  So if you need something entertaining to read, or you know someone, child or adult, who would enjoy reading about making Viking toast on the space heater, sticking darts into the playroom ceiling tiles, and trimming the backyard grass with scissors after an unfortunate episode with rubber cement, please give it a try and spread the word!

The book is available
for Kindle HERE $4.99
for Nook HERE &4.99
in paperback HERE $7.99 (or $6.63 for Amazon prime members)
and will be on Kobo, iBooks, and Smashwords soon.

Tweet: Fun for all ages! Read and share How To Stick A Dart In Your Head http://ctt.ec/qc0Pa+ @SusannaLHill @erichill_band

Thank you for your indulgence in letting me share Eric’s book.  I hope some of you will get to enjoy it!

Have a marvelous Monday, everyone!!! 🙂

Perfect Picture Book Friday – Charlie The Ranch Dog

44 Comments

Hurray!  It’s Perfect Picture Book Friday!

And how nice to be back after 2 weeks off for the illustration contest!

I hope you will like today’s book as much as I do 🙂

Title: Charlie The Ranch Dog
Written By: Ree Drummond
Illustrated By: Diane deGroat
HarperCollins, April 2011, Fiction

Suitable For Ages: 4-8

Themes/Topics: jobs/careers, working, perception, animals (dogs)

Opening: “Oh, hello.  My name is Charlie. I live in the country.  I’m a ranch dog.“

Brief Synopsis: Charlie is a ranch dog.  He fixes fences, works in the garden, and helps his family out on the range.  A ranch dog’s work is never done!  Or is it?

Links To Resources: Charlie Maze, and recipe for Charlie’s favorite lasagna; Lesson Plans for Charlie (please scroll down until you see the book title); a fun look at the creation of Charlie; interview with the illustrator; YouTube read aloud of the story by the author.

Why I Like This Book: Well, for starters, you know how I love dog books 🙂  And this one is so much fun I really can’t help myself 🙂  Charlie says he fixes fences, gardens, and helps his family out on the range, but in fact his friend Suzie is the one who does all the work while Charlie naps, and naps some more, and indulges his love of bacon 🙂  He does manage to help for real at the end – but I won’t tell you how, that would be spoiling it!  Kids will enjoy the contradiction between words and illustrations, and also love that there is a chipmunk hidden on every page.  This is not an action-packed thrill ride, but it’s sweet and cute and funny 🙂

For the complete list of books with resources, please visit Perfect Picture Books.

PPBF bloggers, please be sure to leave your post specific link in the list below so we can all come rave over your picks for this week and then descend on our local libraries!

Oh, and before we go, Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms among you! 🙂  If your house is like my house, it’s just possible that no one will offer to vacuum, do laundry, and cook on Sunday so that you can loll about eating bonbons on the couch, so here’s a little Mom’s day treat just for you 🙂

Now go have a wonderful weekend! 🙂

Would You Read It #132 – The Long Wait For Mom (PB) PLUS Straight From The Editor

67 Comments

Now don’t you fret, punkin’s!

I know you’re all feeling a little down because the Illustration Contest is over and it was so much fun, but never fear!  We have plenty to keep us busy today so you won’t have a moment to dwell on missing the illustrations!

And…

AND…

I have a scrumptious snack to cheer you and energize you!

One of the reasons I love you all is because you are so considerate – always thinking of me when you see Something Chocolate and making sure I know about it 🙂  Many’s the time when one of you dear folks stumble upon Something Deliciously Chocolate and think to yourselves, “Oh Susanna!” whereupon you immediately send me a Helpful Face Book Post or an Enlightening Tweet, sometimes even a High Priority Email!, calling my attention to that Something Scrumptiously Chocolate.  Thank you.  Truly.  From the bottom of my heart.  It is so imperative that I know where ALL the chocolate is! 🙂

Today’s Something Chocolate is a case in point.  The lovely Rene helpfully called my attention to this. . .

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Brownies by Recipe Girl
http://www.recipegirl.com/2011/06/02/chocolate-chip-cookie-dough-brownies/

. . . morsel of delectableness!!!  YUM!!!  And you are all the beneficiaries 🙂

Please enjoy!  (But maybe turn your head from the computer slightly so you don’t get too much drool in your keyboard :))

Now that you are thusly fortified, let’s get down to business.

First, we have Straight From The Editor for March.  You will recall that the March Pitch Pick was won by Ann with her pitch for Sk8r Boy.  Here is her pitch:

Working Title: Sk8r Boy
Age/Genre: Picture Book (ages 5-8)
The Pitch: Peter wants to be an ice skater but can’t because he’s homeless, and he doesn’t have the money for a pair of skates.  But when there’s a poetry contest at school with a small cash prize, he may be able to make his smooth words glide and spin so that he can buy the skates and win his classmates’ respect.

And here is what editor Erin Molta has to say about it:

This is nice. The only thing I would change is the end. I’d think that he’d want to buy the skates so that he can pursue his dream. You don’t want to equate being poor with having no respect. See what I added to the end.
Peter wants to be an ice skater but can’t because he’s homeless, and he doesn’t have the money for a pair of skates.  But when there’s a poetry contest at school with a small cash prize, he may be able to make his smooth words glide and spin so that he can buy the skates and win his classmates’ respect pursue his dream to glide and spin on the ice (or something to that effect . . .).
Nice job, Ann!  And great advice from Erin as always!

Now, it’s time for the April Pitch Pick.  Except we had a glitch and I didn’t hear back from one person because she apparently did not receive my revision email.  I am pretty much not speaking to my computer.  Well.  Actually.  It’s not the computer’s fault.  It’s the internet’s fault.  Our internet is temperamental, moody, unpredictable, and vindictive.  You think I’m joking?  Just come up on Blueberry Hill and try to get anything done efficiently online.  I am AGING, people!  But I digress.  The point is, you are off the voting hook until next week 🙂  Which kind of works out nicely since you’re probably all a little tired of voting after the incident from last week which we are not mentioning lest you become sad again after I just cheered you up with chocolate! 🙂

And now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for….

Today’s pitch comes to us from Vivian, whom we’ve met before with her pitches for The Tomato Turner (WYRI #49), Confessions Of The Tomato Turner (WYRI #58), and The Tomato Turner Gets A Job (WYRI #98).

Here is her pitch:

Working Title: The Long Wait For Mom
Age/Genre: Picture Book (ages 5 and up)
The Pitch: There is a huge aching hole in Sophie ‘s life when Mom is deployed. Sophie tries unsuccessfully to make spring come more quickly by keeping busy, but when she starts baking cookies for soldiers, she discovers that helping others is the best way to wait for the ones we love.

So what do you think?  Would You Read It?  YES, MAYBE or NO?

If your answer is YES, please feel free to tell us what you particularly liked and why the pitch piqued your interest.  If your answer is MAYBE or NO, please feel free to tell us what you think could be better in the spirit of helping Vivian improve her pitch.  Helpful examples of possible alternate wordings are welcome.  (However, I must ask that comments be constructive and respectful.  I reserve the right not to publish comments that are mean because that is not what this is about.)
Vivian is looking forward to your thoughts on her pitch!  I am looking forward to experimenting with that recipe above for the chocolate chip cookie dough brownies!  (And by experimenting of course I mean tasting :))

Ooh!  And one last thing before we go!  My friend Sarah Frances Hardy, author/illustrator of Puzzled By Pink, has a BRAND SPANKING NEW book out!  Really!  It just came out yesterday!  It’s called PAINT ME! and I encourage you all to go check it out 🙂

Have a wonderful Wednesday, everyone!!! 🙂

The First Ever Pretty Much World Famous Illustration Contest – WINNERS!!!

98 Comments

Good Monday, everyone!

(Doesn’t that sound so Shakespeare-y?  It’s like Good Morrow :))

I know none of you has gotten a minute of rest or a wink of sleep for days, what with the torturous anticipation of finding out who the winners of the contest are!

The First Ever Pretty–Much–World–Famous Illustration Contest!!!

You’ve probably gnawed all the erasers off your pencils, bitten your nails to the quick, and lost 5 pounds from being unable to contemplate the idea of sustenance whilst in such a heightened state of suspense!  (That’s okay, it means you can have triple helpings of chocolate on Wednesday when you stop by for Would You Read It :))

So I will not keep you in suspense any longer!

(I would not want to be responsible for one more brow wrinkle or gray hair of consternation and anxiety! :))

I just have one quick thing to say, which is that EVERYONE who entered this contest should be very proud of themselves.  You all showed up, put in the work, produced GORGEOUS book covers (which our authors are all so thrilled about!), followed guidelines, and worked to a deadline – all very important skills to practice when illustrating and/or writing is your profession 🙂  Even if you didn’t make the finals, be assured that your illustrations were greatly enjoyed by many upon many!  Seriously!  I am not making this up.  The contest post with all your links had around 3 thousand views, which means lots of people were visiting you, even if they didn’t all comment!  So we are giving you a round of thunderous applause – clapclapclapclapclap!!!!! – and you should pat yourselves on the back and have an extra slice of chocolate cake – you did good! 🙂

Also, I had a lovely time at the Hudson Children’s Book Festival on Saturday.  I got to see my dear friends Iza Trapani (she of illustrious judging fame :)) and Nancy Furstinger, and I had the honor of being placed at a signing table right next to none other than Jane O’Connor (you know, Fancy Nancy Jane O’Connor!)  I felt like I was very much in the wrong place next to all that famousness!

And then I spent all day Sunday driving to Boston…

What?

You don’t care?

That’s kind of rude, don’t you think?  When I was about to tell you about how I was forced encouraged to listen to Pink Floyd’s The Wall straight through from start to finish at the crack of dawn on Sunday morning?  Which is not the most uplifting set of tunes, let me tell you, even though there’s a lot of great music involved.  And I can tell you that by the end of the entire day of driving, certain parts of my anatomy were unComfortably Numb…

What?

Oh gosh!  Right!  I was supposed to be telling you about the winners!  Sorry.  My bad!

DDDDDRRRRRUUUUUMMMMM  RRRRROOOOOLLLLLLLLLL  PLEASE!!!!

The winner of the First Ever Pretty Much World Famous Illustration Contest and a portfolio critique by Michael Garland!!! is:

Julie Rowan-Zoch
with her stunning cover for Elliah Terry’s The Jackrabbit Who Cried Gila Monster!

Congratulations, Julie!  That is some cover!  It knocked a lot of socks off! 🙂

In second place, winner of a $50 gift certificate to Dick Blick Art Materials is

Donna Marie
with her bold and colorful cover for Mike Allegra’s Goldilockup

Congratulations, Donna Marie!  Your cover was absolutely fabulous!

In third place,*

Louis Davilla Wiyono
with his humorous cover for Mike Allegra’s Goldilockup

Congratulations, Louis!  Your cover was arresting! 🙂

In fourth place,*

Colleen Kosinski
with her winsome cover for Mike Allegra’s Goldilockup

Congratulations, Colleen!  Your sweet cover made us feel sorry for the naughty Goldi 🙂

In fifth place,*

Anne Mitchell
with her delightful cover for Jennifer Caritas’s The “Princess” And The Pete

Congratulations, Anne!  Your cover was so appealing!

In sixth place, winner of a Canson sketch pad and a small set of Derwent or Faber Castell colored pencils is

Tiemdow Phumiruk
with her mischievous cover for Elliah Terry’s The Jackrabbit Who Cried Gila Monster

Congratulations, Tiemdow!  Your cover was such fun!

* Third, fourth, and fifth place winners each have their choice of any one of the following books:

      – Writing With Pictures by Uri Shulevitz

Winners, please email me so we can talk details 🙂

Thank you again to all the illustrators who participated in this contest and treated us all to such beautiful artwork; to our wonderful judges, Iza Trapani and Lisa Thiesing, without whom we could not have done this!; and to all the readers and viewers who visited, commented, and voted to celebrate these talented artists!  It is all of you who make these contests fun and worthwhile!  Hear! Hear!  What the heck!  Even though it’s not Wednesday, let’s have a little chocolate all around! 🙂

Thank you, thank you, thank you, ALL!!!

Have a magnificent Monday, everyone! 🙂

The First Ever Pretty Much World Famous Illustration Contest Finalists! – Come Vote!!

107 Comments

O   H     M Y     G   O  O   D  N   E S   S !!!
O   H     M  Y     G  O   O  D   N     E  S S

(Sorry!  I can’t help jumping up and down!)

Do you know what time it is???

It’s time to announce the finalists for

The First Ever Pretty–Much–World–Famous Illustration Contest!!!

But first I have to say that I was thrilled with what a great turn out we got for a first-ever contest!  I was hoping we’d get 10, and really hoping we’d get 20, so how completely wonderful that we got 35 entries!!!

And they were all so beautiful and creative and well done!
There were 8 fabulous stories for the illustrators to choose from – stories that won the March Madness Writing Contest last month.  Happily, every single story inspired at least 2 illustrators, so all the stories were represented.  The entries broke down as follows:
1. The Three Wiggly Worms Bluff by Wendy Greenley – 6 illustrations
2. Goldilockup by Mike Allegra – 5 illustrations
3. Goldibawks And The Three Pairs by Dawn Young – 2 illustrations
4. The Sweetie Witch by Pen Avey – 4 illustrations
5. The Princess And The Stinky Cheese by Lauri Meyers – 9 illustrations
6. Mongoose’s Holi Party by Darshana Khiani – 2 illustrations
7. The “Princess” And The Pete by Jennifer Caritas – 3 illustrations
8. The Jackrabbit Who Cried Gila Monster by Elliah Terry – 4 illustrations
So a very nice spread!
And now, a few words from our illustrious judges, award-winning author/illustrators Iza Trapani and Lisa Thiesing:
Iza said, “Thank you everyone for the wonderful entries!  Lisa and I enjoyed them and regret that we could only pick 6 finalists. You all did a great job.  Keep up the good work!”

Lisa said, “We were so impressed with everyone’s enthusiasm and how much effort you all put in!”

I say, many thanks to our wonderful judges for donating their time and expertise to pore over all these entries, carefully weighing the merits of each until they could reach a consensus as to which ones should qualify for the finals.  Many thanks as well to all the very talented illustrators who took the time and care to produce such beautiful book covers for these original stories!  We have enjoyed your work so much, and it’s been different and fun to experience a competition for illustration instead of writing!

Please consider each of the following finalists carefully and vote for the one you think you’d be most likely to pluck off a bookshelf 🙂  Remember that the contest rules specifically asked for art only.  Some artists chose to include the title/author/illustrator anyway, but covers which do not show title/author/illustrator should not be penalized in your judgment.

Although there’s no real way to keep these anonymous, I will show the pictures only, no artist names for now (they will all be shown when I announce the winners on Monday May 5.)  I encourage you to share this post with your tribe – the more views these talented illustrators get the better – but I ask that you please not try to influence the vote by saying “Vote for #3!” or whatever.  Let’s let these gorgeous book covers speak for themselves.  It’s not supposed to be a contest about who has the most FB friends or whatnot.  Thank you all for playing fair.  Because many of the finalists are for the same stories, I have identified them with little notes in parentheses to help you remember which is which on the voting poll.

And now, without further ado, I am pleased to present the finalists!  Each cover is accompanied by a few words from the judges 🙂

#1.  Cover for The “Princess” And The Pete

Cover image for The “Princess” And The Pete


Judges comments:  This is a cool image and the illustrator has left plenty of space for a great type design.

# 2.  Cover image for Goldilockup (green border)

Cover image for Goldilockup

Judges comments:  The girl is sweet and nicely drawn.  The details and design elements were carefully thought out.




#3  Cover image for Goldilockup (black border)
Cover image for Goldilockup

Judges comments:  This illustration is very well done. It is a humorous, strong, eye-catching image.  It would be very appealing to a lot of young readers.



 #4.  Cover image for The Jackrabbit Who Cried Gila Monster (black background)

Cover image for The Jackrabbit Who Cried Gila Monster
Judges comments:  The character is funny, quirky, interesting and we wonder what he’s thinking. We would want to read this book. The whole design is great.


#5.  Cover image for The Jackrabbit Who Cried Gila Monster (3 beds)
Cover image for The Jackrabbit Who Cried Gila Monster

Judges comments: The bunny is cute, with an especially nice face. The picture makes us curious about the story. 



#6.  Cover image for Goldilockup (bears pointing thru bars)

Judges comments:  We thought this cover was a good drawing with a nice composition and colors. We could see it standing out on the Barnes & Noble book wall.

Ready, set, VOTE!

Please vote for your favorite by Sunday May 4 at 5PM EDT!
Boy oh boy is it going to be hard to wait until Monday to find out how these finalists finish up!
Have a great weekend, everyone! 🙂

Would You Read It #131 – You’re A Pest, Betsy Thumbslurp! (Early Ch.)

53 Comments

For all the links to the fantastic entries in the Illustration Contest, please go HERE!  Really!  Please go!

So here’s the thing.

As you well know, if you spend any time at all around this blog, I am prone to the occasional hare-brained scheme.

Sometimes these schemes get planned a bit in advance.  Other times they are done completely on the fly.  And still other times I THINK they’re planned and then I realize I’ve omitted a petite detail.

My current hare-brained scheme is the First Ever Pretty Much World Famous Illustration Contest and it falls into category #3:  I THOUGHT it was planned, but oops! there was that darned detail! – the detail being that WYRI is scheduled so far in advance that I already had people lined up through June when I thought up this particular harebrained scheme, so we’re having to take a little break from the contest today.

Therefore, even though we will all be intently focused on Janet’s pitch today, I want to make sure everyone keeps visiting the fabulously talented illustrators and encouraging all their friends and relations to do so as well even though that post is no longer at the top of the blog, okay?!!  Because they worked so hard, and did such an amazing job, and everyone should go admire their talent and creativity!

And now you may have Something Chocolate!!!  (That is not bribery, it’s just good sense.)

Recipe HERE at Rock Recipes

Today’s pitch comes to us from Janet who says, “Hi. My name is Janet Pamela Noble. I’m 49 years young, have 1 husband (so far), 2 cats, 3 children and have spent the last 20 or so years promoting a love of books and reading as a children’s librarian. When I’m not blogging about my favourite children’s books I love to write my own.”

Contact me at:
Twitter: @jampamnoble
Here is her pitch:

Working Title: You’re A Pest, Betsy Thumbslurp!
Age/Genre: Early Chapter Book (ages 6-8)
The Pitch: Poor Coco. Her comfy world of cuddles and cake (all shapes, all sizes but preferably pink!) is turned upside down by the arrival of her thumb sucking, slurping, burping, pooing, shrieking, pampered baby sister, Betsy…

So what do you think?  Would You Read It?  YES, MAYBE or NO?

If your answer is YES, please feel free to tell us what you particularly liked and why the pitch piqued your interest.  If your answer is MAYBE or NO, please feel free to tell us what you think could be better in the spirit of helping Janet improve her pitch.  Helpful examples of possible alternate wordings are welcome.  (However, I must ask that comments be constructive and respectful.  I reserve the right not to publish comments that are mean because that is not what this is about.)
Please send YOUR pitches for the coming weeks!  For rules and where to submit, click on this link Would You Read It or on the Would You Read It tab in the bar above.  There are openings in August so you’ve got a little time to polish up your pitches and send yours for your chance to be read by editor Erin Molta!

Janet is looking forward to your thoughts on her pitch!  I am looking forward to telling you all who the finalists for the illustration contest are tomorrow!  I can’t wait to spill the beans 🙂  And then you all will have the chance to vote for you favorite and we’ll see who wins!  So exciting!!!

Have a wonderful Wednesday, everyone!

The First Ever Pretty Much World Famous Illustration Contest for Children’s Illustrators!!!

132 Comments

Fasten your seat belts and prepare for take off!  It’s finally here!

The First Ever Pretty–Much–World–Famous Illustration Contest!!!
the fact that this particular illustrator resembles a female
is in no way meant to deter any male illustrators! 🙂

The Contest: Draw/Paint/Create a children’s picture book cover illustration (no text required – art only) for one of the following stories (which you will recognize as the top finishers in the March Madness Fractured Fairy Tale Writing Contest – a little extra surprise for those authors :)):

 – The Three Wiggly Worms Bluff by Wendy Greenley
 – Goldilockup by Mike Allegra
 – Goldibawks And The Three Pairs by Dawn Young
 – The Sweetie Witch by Pen Avey
 – The Princess And The Stinky Cheese by Lauri Meyers
 – Mongoose’s Holi Party by Darshana Khiani
 – The “Princess” And The Pete by Jennifer Caritas
 – The Jackrabbit Who Cried Gila Monster by Elliah Terry

Illustrations should be 8×10, horizontal or vertical, any medium, posted in jpg at least 72 px
All stories can be read on the March Madness Finalist Post HERE so you will know what to illustrate 🙂  Illustrators may enter more than one entry if they’re feeling ambitious enough to illustrate more than one book title 🙂
Post:  Your entry should be posted on your blog between right now this very second and Monday April 28 at 9 PM EDT (contest deadline!), and your post-specific link should be added to the link list below.  This post with the link list will remain up through Tuesday April 29 so that people can come visit and enjoy your gorgeous artwork!  (For regular blog followers, there will be no PPBF on Friday April 25, no new post on Monday April 28, but there will be a brief interruption for WYRI on Wednesday April 30 because I forgot to leave it open for the contest :)).  If you don’t have a blog but would like to enter, please copy and paste your entry into the comments below.  (If anyone has trouble commenting, which unfortunately happens, you may email me and I’ll post your entry for you!  Also, since this is the first time we’ve done an illustration contest, I’m not sure if you actually CAN paste your entry into the comments.  If this turns out to be a problem, email them to me and I’ll add them directly to this post.)

Judging:  entries will be judged by multi-talented, award-winning author/illustrators Iza Trapani, author and illustrator of over 20 gorgeous picture books, and Lisa Thiesing, author and illustrator of at least 16 beautiful and fun picture books and early readers!   Judging criteria to include:


 – is the picture readable to a young audience,
 – how well does it show the character(s) and
 – is the character(s) appealing (character development),
 – does it make you want to read the story,
 – originality
 – skill.


They will narrow down the entrants to 6 finalists (or possibly a couple more or less depending on the number of entries :)) which will be posted here on Thursday May 1 for you to vote on for a winner.  The vote will be closed at 5PM EST on Sunday May 4 and the winner will be announced on Monday May 5.  (No PPBF on Friday May 2.)


The Prizes!:  There will definitely be a 1st prize.  Whether we give prizes for 1st only, 1st-3rd, or 1st-6th will depend on how many entries we get.  We need at least 12 entries to place through 3rd, and at least 20 to place through 6th.

    First Prize is absolutely amazing!  A portfolio critique by celebrated author/illustrator Michael Garland, who has over 20 picture books to his credit!!!

 – Second Prize – a $50 gift certificate to Dick Blick Art Materials (which is online)
 – Third, Fourth & Fifth Prize will be winner’s choice of one of the following books:
      – Writing With Pictures by Uri Shulevitz

 – Sixth Prize – a Canson sketch pad and a small set of Derwent or Faber Castell colored pencils

I’m so excited to see what everyone comes up with!  As a person whose artistic ability is limited to stick figures, scribbling and relatively easy coloring books, I am in awe of anyone who can draw/paint/cause anything recognizable to appear on paper/canvas/computer screen 🙂  I hope we’ll get plenty of entries, and that there will be at least one attempt at every title!

Tweet: Enjoy the art! Enter yourself! Children’s Book Cover Illustration Contest @SusannaLHill http://ctt.ec/58ZUb+ #kidart #illustration

Let the artistic fun begin!!!  🙂

Don’t miss Laura’s entry for The Three Wiggly Worms Bluff in the comment section! (click HERE and be a little patient :))

And here’s Katie’s entry for Goldibawks And The Three Pairs! (click HERE and be a little patient :))

And here’s Laura’s entry for The Sweetie Witch! (click HERE and be a little patient :))

And here’s Angela’s entry for The Three Wiggly Worms Bluff! (click HERE and be a little patient :))

and here’s Suzy’s entry for The Three Wiggly Worms Bluff! (click HERE and be a little patient :))

Entry from Hilary Swann for The “Princess” And The Pete

Hilary Swann – The “Princess” And The Pete

Would You Read It Wednesday # 130 – Todd’s Top Secret Dance Moves (PB)

43 Comments

Well, the big news is that TOMORROW is the opening of the First Ever Pretty Much World Famous Illustration Contest!

Can you believe it?

It’s practically time!!!

I’m excited and also nervous!

I’m really hoping we’ll get some entries.  It would be so much fun to see the March Madness Contest winners’ stories brought to life in art!

The contestants will get to have a bunch of people come around and see their art, including the pretty much world famous Iza Trapani and Lisa Thiesing who will be judging.

They’ll get a chance to show their work to a boatload of authors who, in this day and age of self-publishing, might need an illustrator at some point – you never know! – as well as some teachers who might need a school visit from an illustrator at some point – you never know!

AND they get a chance at some awesome prizes, most especially a portfolio critique by the pretty much world famous Michael Garland!

And WE will get to see all their fabulous art!

So it’s all good in my book! 🙂

So much excitement is making me a little faint.  Quick! Something Chocolate!

I have a special treat for Coleen, who has been so very extremely helpful and nice about tweeting the illustration contest (even though I keep forgetting to!) that really, she should have her heart’s desire which just so happens to be peanut butter and chocolate.  So here is a choice, because I wasn’t sure which you’d all prefer 🙂

Gold Rush Peanut Butter Sundae
with homemade chocolate fudge and melted peanut butter!

Peanut Butter Brownie Sandwich – Scrumptious!!!

I feel fairly certain that either or both of those will be very helpful in fueling your creative spirit and/or your vacuuming, car pooling, shopping, or whatever else you have planned for the day.  Nothing like a little chocolate and sugar to get you going in the morning!  That’s what I always say! 🙂

Now then.  Ready for Would You Read It?

Today’s pitch comes to us from Sean who says, “I’m a writer at an advertising agency, and I love being creative. Writing picture books is my favorite creative outlet, and I hope kids will enjoy reading my books as much as I enjoy writing them. Beyond writing, I love to read, run, cook, eat, and watch Mad Men if there’s extra time to spare.”


Here’s the link to his Twitter page. He’s also on Facebook.

https://twitter.com/slamb05

Here is his pitch:

Working Title: Todd’s Top Secret Dance Moves
Age/Genre: Picture Book (ages 6-8)
The Pitch: His moves are smoother than a buttery bowling ball sliding over a field of silk tuxedos. And Todd is ready to reveal them all: the Fuzzy Banana, the Lunch Lady, the Frosty Snowman, and many more. Follow the footsteps of a dynamite dancer and try to resist tapping your feet. If you want to dance like Todd, the first secret is… 

So what do you think?  Would You Read It?  YES, MAYBE or NO?

If your answer is YES, please feel free to tell us what you particularly liked and why the pitch piqued your interest.  If your answer is MAYBE or NO, please feel free to tell us what you think could be better in the spirit of helping Sean improve his pitch.  Helpful examples of possible alternate wordings are welcome.  (However, I must ask that comments be constructive and respectful.  I reserve the right not to publish comments that are mean because that is not what this is about.)
Please send YOUR pitches for the coming weeks!  For rules and where to submit, click on this link Would You Read It or on the Would You Read It tab in the bar above.  There are openings in July so you’ve got a little time to polish up your pitches and send yours for your chance to be read by editor Erin Molta!

Sean is looking forward to your thoughts on his pitch!  I am looking forward to THE CONTEST!!!  Whoopee!  By this time tomorrow, we could have art up!  I can’t wait! 🙂

Have a wonderful Wednesday everyone! 🙂

And tune in tomorrow for the contest!!!

Oh, and P.S. let me take this opportunity to remind the PPBF bloggers that there will not be a PPBF this Friday (April 25) or next Friday (May 2) because of the contest.

Perfect Picture Book Friday – E-I-E-I-O How Old MacDonald Got His Farm [with a Little Help from a Hen]

55 Comments

Happy Friday, Folks!

While I was writing up this post, my ever-vigilant dogs suddenly roused themselves from a sound sleep to bark and snarl and hurl themselves at the french doors that look out on the back yard.  Assuming such behavior could only mean an invasion of some type, I went to investigate.  Was the bear up from his long winter’s nap?  Had a pack of hungry coyotes dared to breech The Perimeter?  Were we being attacked by giant meatball-headed spaghetti people from Mars?

Shockingly, no!

Here was the cause of the alarm:

One of last year’s babies, looking a little scruffy in between
winter and spring coats

My dogs take their duty as Protectresses of the Family Homestead a little too seriously sometimes 🙂

I did not let them out.  I figured this little miss could use some green grass after the long winter.  So she snacked and the Protectresses sulked and I went back to writing this post.

This is just a little sample of the kind of action-packed, emotionally-charged, wild and crazy life we live up here on Blueberry Hill 🙂

Although Tuesday night’s snow is still melting, I insist on believing it is spring and I have a fun, spring-appropriate title to share with you all today which is especially fitting in view of the wildlife on my lawn that makes this place feel like a farm (of sorts :))!  (And no jokes about the funny farm! :))

Title: E-I-E-I-O How old MacDonald Got His Farm [with a Little Help from a Hen]
Written By: Judy Sierra
Illustrated By: Matthew Myers
Candlewick, February 2014, Fiction

Suitable For Ages: 4-8

Themes/Topics: composting, gardening, perseverance, innovation

Opening: “Old MacDonald had a house E-I-E-I-O!  Around that house there was a yard MOW MOW MOW MOW MOW!  MacDonald said, “I love my yard, but mowing grass is mighty hard.”  So off he went to get a goat E-I-E-I-O!“

Brief Synopsis: In case anyone was wondering how Old MacDonald got his farm, it all started with too much mowing.  Old MacDonald’s solution? Get a goat.  But the goat only ate the edges and then chewed a hole in MacDonald’s hedges.  Luckily, a smart little red hen came along and taught Old MacDonald a thing or two about sustainable farming 🙂

Links To Resources: Do The Rot Thing: A Teacher’s Guide To Compost Activities, all about Worms, Recycling and Composting, How To Plant Seeds With Kids

Why I Like This Book:  I always love new twists on familiar stories.  Judy Sierra has taken Old MacDonald to a whole new level.  The story is humorous (and so is the art – be sure to read the hen’s diplomas and all the picket signs :)) and young readers will learn about composting and growing a garden right along with Old MacDonald.  This is a great story for spring, and a wonderfully fun way to introduce kids to the concept of green farming.

For the complete list of books with resources, please visit Perfect Picture Books.

PPBF peeps, please leave your post-specific links in the list below so we can all come see what fabulous books you’ve chosen this week!  And to all who celebrate, Happy Easter and a belated Happy Passover.

Have a great weekend, everyone!!! 🙂