Perfect Picture Book Friday – Rocking Horse Christmas

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Hurray!  It’s Perfect Picture Book Friday!

Since I didn’t post a holiday book last week, and next week we’re doing our tribute to Universal Children’s Day, this may be my only holiday title for the year.  It’s a very special one.  I hope you like it 🙂
Rocking Horse Christmas
Written By: Mary Pope Osborne
Illustrated By: Ned Bittinger
Scholastic Press, 1997, Fiction
Suitable For: ages 3-8
Themes/Topics: beloved toy, Christmas, love, tradition
Opening: “The boy found the rocking horse under the tree.  He pushed it softly and made it rock.  “I’ll call you Shadow,” he said.  Then he climbed on Shadow’s back and they took off.“
Brief Synopsis: One Christmas, a boy found a rocking horse under the tree.  He named him Shadow, and together they had many wonderful adventures.  But the boy grew up, and Shadow was carried to the attic and forgotten.  From the attic window Shadow watched and waited for his boy…
Links To Resources: HERE are some images you can print out, color, and cut out to make ornaments; have kids draw a picture of their favorite toy, or write a letter to their favorite toy telling why they love it and what makes it so special.  Discuss: do they think they’ll ever outgrow the toy? forget it? why or why not?
Why I Like This Book: This is a story that embodies the spirit of Christmas.  It’s a story about love, a little bit reminiscent of The Velveteen Rabbit, about that special bond between a child and a toy that feels so real in childhood but grows vulnerable with maturity.  On that first Christmas, the boy is delighted with his horse.  He makes him a little stall beside his bed and feeds him hay, and for years they lasso outlaws, joust with knights, go on safari, and race in the Kentucky Derby.  “Every night, before sleep, the boy touched Shadow’s mane.  ‘Ride you tomorrow,’ he’d whisper.”  Doesn’t everyone remember the toys they had that felt like real friends?  But the boy grows up, and Shadow is put away in the attic.  “Year after year, the rocking horse stared out the window, looking for his boy.”  One Christmas Eve a blizzard knocks out the window.  Shadow is covered in snow and his spirit begins to fade… until he’s discovered by a boy.  “What is it, Dad?”  The man wipes the snow from Shadow’s head.  Shadow looks into his eyes and recognizes him at once.  “He’s my oldest friend in the world,” the man said.  I cannot get past this part without tearing up.  If you can, you’re made of sterner stuff than I 🙂  And so Shadow is brought downstairs to delight a new generation, not forgotten any longer.
For the complete list of books with resources, please visit Perfect Picture Books.
A quick reminder for anyone who might have missed the announcement: At the suggestion of Pat at Children’s Books Heal and Vivian at Positive Parental Participation, on Friday December 14, which is the anniversary of the date in 1954 that the UN General Assembly recommended there should be a Universal Children’s Day, we are going to be doing our part to raise awareness of the plight of children around the globe and to promote the welfare of children in the world by posting books which focus on multicultural/multiracial issues, human rights, and/or children who have helped to change the world in some way.  For example, Pat plans to post the picture book version of The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind.  Beatrice’s Goat and Wangari’s Trees Of Peace are other examples of books in this category (although they’re already on our list.)  Please join us if you’d like to!  But of course, if you’ve already got a book in mind and would like to post a regular PPB that is fine too – all picture books are for children 🙂

Also, due to the Holiday Contest (please click HERE for details so you can start writing your story :)) and the fact that we will all no doubt be insanely busy with the holidays, there will be no PPBF on Friday December 21 – instead the finalists for the Holiday Contest will be posted that day for you to vote on.

Before we go, I just want to thank Vivian at Positive Parental Participation for giving me the positive Parental Participation Blog Award.


This award means a great deal to me because it recognizes bloggers who “encourage children to love books and reading, believe young children need to play in order to learn, and support positive parental participation” and I am honored that she feels I fit in this category.  Thank you so much, Vivian!  Vivian’s blog, and her book Show Me How, are wonderful resources for parents, and I encourage anyone who isn’t familiar with her to go see all she has to offer!


I can’t wait to see what fabulous books everyone posts this week!  PPBF bloggers, please put your post-specific link below because ready or not, here we come 🙂

Have a great weekend everybody! 🙂

Would You Read It Wednesday #68 – Eddie Brick Visits The Aunts (PB) And The November Pitch Pick!

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Woo-hoo!  It’s Wednesday!  Time for everybody’s favorite program:  Would You Read It!

Let’s grab Something Chocolate, shall we?  We haven’t had donuts in a while… 🙂

photo copyright Stacy S. Jensen 2012, used by permission

Now that we’re all happily munching, let me mention The Holiday Contest (for anyone who missed Monday’s post, hop on over, see the rules, and start thinking up your story! :))

And now let’s move on to the November Pitch Pick.  All the pitches have been updated to reflect your helpful advice and comments, and I never tire of seeing how much writers seem to get out of this!  It’s great to look at the before and after versions!

Here they are.  Choose your favorite and vote for it in the poll below by, oh, let’s say Friday Dec. 7 at 11:50PM EST.  The winner’s pitch will be sent to editor Erin Molta for a read and comments!

#1 Heather
Banshee Birthday – PB – ages 4-8
Ailbe the Banshee’s birthday wish is to have the village girls over for an all night celebration full of moonlight, cake and nocturnal animals to visit. She just has to wait and see if any girls will be brave enough to ignore the old myth that Banshee bring bad luck. If they are, Ailbe might be lucky enough to make some new friends.

#2 Kim
How The Bull Lost His Feathers – PB – ages 4-8
Long, long ago in a faraway land, bulls actually had feathers.  And they were big, colorful peacock-like feathers at that!  Discover how one very stubborn yet lovable bull lost every one of his feathers– not only for himself, but for all the bulls born in the world after him. This fable-like tale also reveals why the color red will always make a bull’s temper flare!

#3 Larissa
Dim Sum Dog – PB – ages 4-8
With business dwindling, Chang and his family fear they will have to close their dim sum stand. But with the help of a special dim sum-loving dog who entertains customers, they may save the stand after all.

#4 Katie
A Colorful Surprise – PB – ages 3-7
On the long car ride to Grandma’s, Evan tries to keep himself busy. But after watching a movie, playing some games, and reading three books, Evan is completely bored. His family has run out of fun ideas too when they discover a sky filled with hot air balloons in bright colors and unique shapes. Suddenly, Evan’s mind is full of images that will keep him dreaming long after this trip is over.

Which is your favorite?

Now, onto today’s pitch which comes to us from the amazing and very forgiving Julie.  (Seriously, she was supposed to be on the WYRI list for August, and somehow I screwed up and forgot all about her, and she never made a word of complaint!  Clearly, in addition to her many other talents she is a saint.  Thank you for being so nice about my mistake, Julie!)  Anyway, a scribbler of children’s stories in between chores, Julie Rowan-Zoch has visited three continents, attempted to learn 4 languages, and has a 2-3-3-3-3 phalangeal formula in both of her hands and feet. (Though not yet able to get a good grip with her toes, she has been drawing with her hands since she exchanged a banana for a crayon.)  Please come visit her on her blog and view her beautiful artwork!

Here is her pitch:

Working Title: Eddie Brick Visits The Aunts
Age/Genre: Picture Book (ages 4-8)
The Pitch: Ellie and Effie Brick do everything together, but when their grandnephew Eddie arrives the security of their routine is altered. Eddie helps them see they already enjoy doing things differently, together.

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 Julie 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 February, so you have time to polish 🙂 for a chance for it to be read by editor Erin Molta!

Julie is looking forward to your thoughts on her pitch!  And I am looking forward to seconds on those donuts 🙂

Monday Short And Sweet AND The 2nd Annual Holiday Contest!!!

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I hope you’re ready because boy are we going to have fun today!

badge created by the uber-talented Loni Edwards

First off, we’ll be having birthday cake because we have a birthday in our family today 🙂  Happy Birthday, Justin!  Cake anyone?

Yum!  Now that we’re all supplied with a nutritious breakfast (why do you think I put strawberries on?), we’ll have a Short & Sweet to get our writerly gears turning for a week of exceptional productivity.

For today’s Short & Sweet we’re going super simple:

There’s been some kind of holiday mishap, mix-up, miscommunication, mistake, or potential disaster.  Write the newspaper headline (and a couple lines of the article if you like)!

(Admit it.  You didn’t think I could come up with anything that simple!  Well, I’m giving you a break after my very long-winded post on Friday 🙂  Also, my mouth is full of cake :))

Here are a couple examples 🙂

Santa’s Letters All Delivered To South Pole Penguins!  Postal service blames malfunctioning GPS.  The penguins only comment was, “Hrowrrk, Hrowrrk!”

Viking Delegation Arrives At Rockefeller Center.  “We thought you asked for a Norway Truce!” exclaims Harald V whose senior advisor is looking into new hearing aids for the king.

Monopoly Dispute May Ground Sleigh!  “I called first dibs on the shoe!” Dasher yelled as he was hauled off to time out.  Dancer was quoted as saying, “You poopy head!” which earned him a stint in time out as well.  A spokesman for the Clauses said, “This is trouble.  The sleigh won’t fly with only 6 reindeer!”

Post your headline (and as much article as you like :)) in the comments and hopefully yours or someone else’s will give you a great idea for a story!

And finally!!  The moment you’ve all been waiting for!!  Announcing….

The 2nd Annual Holiday Contest!!!
The Contest:  Write a children’s holiday story beginning with any version of “Dashing through the snow in a one horse open sleigh.”  You may use that actual opening, or you may change it to any similar version “[Verb of your choice]ing through the [any substance you choose] in a [conveyance of any kind].”  For example, “Dashing through the sand in a two-wheeled donkey cart” or “Sloshing through the swamp in a green and white canoe” or “Flying through the air in a striped hot air balloon…”  You get the idea, I’m sure 🙂  But “Dashing through the snow in a one horse open sleigh” is completely acceptable too – whatever works for you 🙂  Your story may be poetry or prose, silly or serious or sweet,  religious or not, based on Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa or whatever you celebrate, but is not to exceed 350 words (because I have to read them all in the week before Christmas! :))
Post:  Your entry should be posted on your blog between Saturday December 15 and Wednesday December 19 at 11:59 PM EST (no WYRI that day), and your post-specific link should be added to the link list on the official holiday contest post which will go up on my blog on Saturday December 15 and remain up through Wednesday December 19 (no new post on Monday December 17).  If you don’t have a blog but would like to enter, please copy and paste your entry into the comments on my December 15th post.  (If anyone has trouble commenting, which unfortunately happens, please email me and I’ll post your entry for you!)
The Judge:  My lovely assistant and I will narrow down the entrants to seven (or possibly a couple more :)) finalists which will be posted here on Friday December 21 (no PPBF that day) for you to vote on for a winner.  The vote will be closed on Christmas Eve and the winner(s) will be announced on Wednesday December 26 (no WYRI that day).  Whoever gets the most votes will be first and so on down to fifth place.
The Prizes!:  When I said the prizes were fantastic, I wasn’t kidding.  In the spirit of the holidays, winners will be named for 1st – 5th place, and will each receive a picture book manuscript critique AND a $20 Amazon gift card to spend on the reading material of your choice AND the incredible fame of being able to say you won (or placed in) the Pretty Much World Famous 2nd Annual Holiday Contest!  The critiques have been generously donated by the following fabulous children’s authors (in alphabetical order by first name :)):
Alison Hertz: author and illustrator of FLAP! (Magic Dreams Publishing, November 2012)
Amy Dixon: author of MARATHON MOUSE (Sky Pony Press, October 2012)
Corey Rosen Schwartz: author of Hop! Plop! (Walker Children’s Books, April 2006), THE THREE NINJA PIGS (Putnam Juvenile, September 2012), and the forthcoming GOLDIROCKS AND THE THREE BEARS and NINJA RED (both coming from Putnam).  Corey also writes the Meter Maids blog with Tiffany (below).
Sarah Frances Hardy: author and illustrator of PUZZLED BY PINK (Viking Juvenile, April 2012)
Tiffany Strelitz Haber: author of THE MONSTER WHO LOST HIS MEAN (Henry Holt, July 2012).  Tiffany also writes the Meter Maids blog with Corey (above).

Wow!  Would one of those critiques be an awesome prize to win or what?!  And $20 to spend on a book you wanted but didn’t get for the holidays?  Plus bragging rights?  So put on your thinking caps!  Sharpen your pencils!  Fire up your imagination!  And start writing those holiday stories 🙂  You’ve got 2 whole weeks! 🙂

Just to be clear, in case it wasn’t above, in the interest of leaving time and space for the contest and giving y’all time for the busy-ness of the holidays and all the things I know you have going on in your homes and lives at this time of year, my usual posting schedule will be in a complete shambles between Dec. 15 and 26.  I will have a special post on Saturday December 15 (not a usual posting day for me) to kick off the contest, there will be no new post on Monday Dec. 17 (so we can keep posting and reading each other’s stories), no WYRI on Wednesday Dec. 19 (so we can finish posting and reading each other’s stories), no PPBF on Friday Dec. 21 (so I can post the finalists and you can vote), no new post on Christmas Eve (because it’s Christmas Eve :)) and no WYRI on December 26 (so I can post the winners!)  Hopefully that will free you up to write, read all the wonderful entries I sincerely hope we’re going to get, because with 5 such fabulous prizes to give away it would be very sad if we only got 3 entries :(, vote, and still have time for your families 🙂  I think we got somewhere between 30 and 35 entries last year – I hope we can meet or exceed that this year so our critique donors will feel loved and appreciated 🙂

I can’t wait to read your Short & Sweet headlines :), and then I guess I’d better get to work on my sample entry for the holiday contest since I have absolutely no idea what I’m going to write! 🙂

Happy Monday, Everyone!  And please spread the word of the Holiday Contest to anyone you think might be interested.  It’s a chance for some writing fun, lots of blog visits, and maybe even a prize 🙂

Perfect Picture Book Friday – First Snow (And Some Other Odds And Ends!)

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Well, you guys are in for it today!

After several brief (for me) posts in a row, I’ve used up my ability to be short-winded and I have so much to tell you today I can’t even believe it.  I’ll try to be succinct 🙂

First, my Perfect Picture Book, because I like that to be at the top on Friday.

First Snow
Written & Illustrated By: Kim Lewis
Candlewick Press, 1993, Fiction
Suitable For: ages 4-8

Themes/Topics: kindness, helping others, friends, pets, farm life, beloved toy, loss

Opening: “Wake up, Sara,” whispered Mommy.  “Daddy’s not very well today.  I’m going to feed the sheep on the hill.  Would you and Teddy like to come?“

Brief Synopsis: To help Daddy, Mommy and Sara and Sara’s bear, Teddy, go up the hill to feed the sheep.  It’s a long climb, and while they’re up there, the first snow of the year begins to fall.  Hurrying to get home before they can’t find their way, no one notices that Sara’s beloved Teddy has been left behind.

Links To Resources: The Working Sheep Dog (video), Sheep Herding Demonstration (video), Fun Sheep Facts For Kids, Facts About Border Collies Talk about what you could do for someone that would be nice or help them in some way.

Why I Like This Book:  I love that whole story takes place because Sara and her mom are trying to do something nice for Daddy.  As they hike, you can feel the steepness of the hill, the cold air, the first tentative snowflakes followed by the real snow.  For children who may never have been out in the real country, the book gives them a taste of it.  The sense of wanting to get back to their cottage pulls the reader along, but on the whole it’s a fairly quiet book.  The art is gorgeous.  It’s drawn in colored pencil and the little cottage where Sara’s family lives is so warm and inviting, and the vistas of the English hills so lovely it makes you want to step right into the pages of the book.  The sheep are beautiful, the border collies exceptional.  But maybe the thing I love most about the book is the understanding it shows between a child and her pet.  It is not Mommy or Daddy or Sara who recovers Teddy 🙂

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

Next, two things that kind of go together.  When Beth asked to interview me about Perfect Picture Books I was happy to do it to raise awareness of this resource that we all work so hard on (and because Beth is nice and I like her :)) but I never in a million years expected the kind of response we got.  So I wanted to thank you all from the bottom of my heart for your wonderful comments.  They meant so much to me.  I really can’t find words to tell you how much… which is bad for a writer!  But it was an unexpected gift for which I am truly grateful, and it just makes me value this wonderful community even more.  I wasn’t kidding when I said I was going to print out that post and stick it on my wall to read on days when I feel low 🙂  So thank you.

In the same vein, Randy over at Author In Training very kindly gave me the Addictive Blog Award.

In addition to linking back to him (and I hope you’ll go visit him if you haven’t because he does great writing prods and is currently writing a YA novel that you get to read a bit of every Friday and just has an all around great blog!) I am supposed to list 10 blogs I am addicted to.  But I can’t list only 10.  Especially after being reminded Wednesday of just how wonderful you all are.  So consider yourselves all recipients, and feel free to take the award badge and post it on your blog!

The next item I wanted to mention is that tomorrow, December 1 (a Saturday so I don’t post) marks my 2nd Blogiversary!!!  I can’t believe it’s been 2 years.  I have had so much fun here, getting to know you all and dragging you into all my hair-brained schemes!  Anything that’s good about this blog is good because of you, so please give yourselves all a big pat on the back and a round of applause!  Some confetti would be nice, too.  And of course, I think we should serve Something Chocolate, even though it’s not Wednesday 🙂  I would also like to give you A PRESENT!  Of course, I’d really like to give you ALL a present, but I don’t have the resources, so two (that’s 2!) lucky random commenters today will receive a packet of 5 assorted hand-drawn greeting cards by our own superbly talented  Tracy Campbell!  Here’s a little sample:

copyright Tracy Campbell 2012 used by permission

copyright Tracy Campbell 2012 used by permission

copyright Tracy Campbell 2012 used by permission

Aren’t they gorgeous?  Please click on the link to her blog and explore and you can see many other cards!

Second to last (see? there’s a light at the end of the tunnel :)), I wanted to let you all know ahead of time about a special PPBF.  At the suggestion of Pat at Children’s Books Heal and Vivian at Positive Parental Participation, on Friday December 14, which is the anniversary of the date in 1954 that the UN General Assembly recommended there should be a Universal Children’s Day, we are going to be doing our part to raise awareness of the plight of children around the globe and to promote the welfare of children in the world by posting books which focus on multicultural/multiracial issues, human rights, and/or children who have helped to change the world in some way.  For example, Pat plans to post the picture book version of The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind.  Beatrice’s Goat and Wangari’s Trees Of Peace are other examples of books in this category (although they’re already on our list.)  Please join us if you’d like to!  But of course, if you’ve already got a book in mind and would like to post a regular PPB that is fine too – all picture books are for children 🙂

FINALLY (here we are! this is the end!) I’m hoping to post the rules for the Holiday Contest on Monday.  Of course, that will depend on whether I make up my mind about what it’s going to be by then 🙂  But here’s hoping 🙂

That’s it!  Go forth!  Run free!  Go see all the wonderful picture books that have been chosen this week!  And have a GREAT weekend! 🙂

(PPBF bloggers, please remember to add your post-specific link below!  And don’t forget, 2 lucky commenters will win beautiful cards, and the winners will be chosen totally by random.org and not at all based on how nice the things you say about me or my blog are :))

Would You Read It Wednesday #67 – Surprises Await (PB)

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Wait until you hear this!  I have reached new heights of fame!

Why, you ask?

Because today I am a guest at By Word Of Beth, the wonderful blog of the lovely Beth Stilborn.  I am so honored that she invited me, so I hope you all might find a minute or two to go and visit her!  (Just, if you go now, don’t forget to come back here and help Katie with her pitch – remember, we have chocolate over here :))

I don’t know about y’all, but after a festive Thanksgiving week, I find myself quite behind in my work!… and it only promises to get worse as Christmas approaches!  So I have decided not to fight it.  I’m going to go with the flow and do the best I can and not worry.  (Well, okay, if we’re being honest, that’s pretty much impossible – who do I think I’m kidding? 🙂 – but I’m hoping if I write it down maybe I’ll convince myself :))

How’s everyone else doing?  Are you all abreast of your work or are you like me – always playing catch up? 🙂

Just thinking about everything on my to-do list today is making me feel a little peaked.  I think it’s time for Something Chocolate!  May I offer you some chocolate turtle cookies?

photo copyright Stacy Jensen 2012 used by permission

And shall we have a look at our pitch?

Today’s pitch comes to us from Katie.  Katie writes picture books and MG novels, is a puppeteer! (how cool is that?!), and is a stay-at-home mom to her 2 yr. old daughter and 5 yr. old son.  She can be found at her Website, or at A Life Spent Reading, the blog she writes with her critique partner.

Here is her pitch:

Working Title: Surprises Await
Age/Genre: Picture Book (ages 3-7)
The Pitch: The trip to Grandma’s house takes forever. Time drags on, and there isn’t enough to do, until a seven-year-old boy discovers an amazing sight. Beautiful hot air balloons fill the sky. Suddenly, this trip may not be so boring after all.

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 Katie 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 January, so you have time to polish 🙂 for a chance for it to be read by editor Erin Molta!

Katie is looking forward to your thoughts on her pitch!  And I am looking forward to checking at least a few things off my to-do list!

Have a great day, everyone, and if you didn’t click over to Beth’s yet, take a cookie for the road and head on over 🙂

Oh Susanna – What About Copyright Infringement?

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Happy Monday, Everyone!

I hope you all had wonderful Thanksgiving weekends!  Did anyone get a Christmas tree yet?  I saw a surprising number of cars with trees up on their roof racks, and while I love having a Christmas tree I know better than to get one this early.  I have a bad habit of forgetting to put water in the the stand, so our trees have a tendency to dry up rather faster than one might hope.  If we got one a whole month head it would look exactly like that tree in How The Grinch Stole Christmas by December 25th… you know… a bare dried up brown thing with no needles whatsoever 🙂

So how exciting is this?  We’ve got an Oh Susanna question today!  It feels like it’s been ages!

Here’s the question of the day:

Oh, Susanna, lately there has been a lot of talk about bloggers putting pictures (not their own pictures that they have taken, but images found on sites like Google) on their blogs. But I have seen some picture books read in their entirety on YouTube with each spread visible. Isn’t this really chancy, too? Does this break copyright rules? Or does an author feel that this is a wonderful form of advertisement for their books?

I have to say, this is something I have wondered too, because I have also seen picture books on YouTube in this form and I simply can’t believe it.  My knowledge of law is not as extensive as you might think, given that you can’t swing a cat in my family without hitting a lawyer 🙂 (my grandfather, both my parents, and one of my brothers are all lawyers!)  I don’t think any of my contracts specifically say it is against copyright to read the book aloud and show all the pictures in a YouTube video, but the message of most contracts, whether they’re that specific or not, is quite clear.  The general idea is NOT to give away the book you worked so hard on and that the publisher spent a lot of time and money producing.

And make no mistake, that is what you’re doing.  If you read a picture book in its entirety and show all the pictures in a YouTube video you have given away your book (or someone else’s should you happen to be reading a book that’s not your own.)  Where is the incentive for anyone to buy the book if they can view it whenever they want for free?  I would think that was a serious copyright infringement, far worse than posting a single picture you don’t own.

By making a book available in this way, you are potentially taking away someone’s royalties and cutting into their sales numbers.  You are sharing something that isn’t yours to share.

In answer to the second part of your question, although I as an author would be flattered if someone liked one of my books enough to share it in this way, I would be very unhappy and hurt if someone were to do it.  The only entity that would have the right to do something like that is the publisher, and they would have no reason to.

I’d be very interested to hear from everyone, though, what you think about this.  Is it okay to make videos such as those described above?  Would you feel like you were doing the author/illustrator a favor, or celebrating the book, or helping in some way?  I’m looking forward to the discussion, because maybe I’m wrong…!

Have a great day, everyone! 🙂

Perfect Picture Book Friday – Gone Riding

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I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Mine was lovely, and since my kids are all out of school and I have family visiting, I am doing the unthinkable and taking the day off.  I know.  Shocking and shameless 🙂  But if you want me, this is where I’ll be:

Gone Riding 🙂
(yep that’s me and my borrowed steed, Velvet – thank you Nancie :))

Come join me if you like 🙂

Anyone who managed to get their PPBF post done in this hectic week, please add your post-specific link to the list below and we will all come visit.  Including me… as soon as I get off Velvet and give her a carrot… or two 🙂

Have a great weekend everyone! 🙂

Would You Read It Wednesday #66 – Dim Sum Dog (PB)

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Happy Day Before Thanksgiving, Everyone!

Given that even I am busy cleaning and cooking (I know – the mind reels at the concept because you all know how I feel about those “c” words :)), loving having my kids home, and preparing for more family on the morrow, I’m sure you are all very busy too, so we will keep today’s post very brief!

Although we normally indulge in Something Chocolate right about now, our lovely Stacy has prepared these delightful and festive Turkey Cookies (as in looks-like- a-turkey, not made-out-of-turkey because that would probably not taste very good :)) which seem very appropriate for Thanksgiving.  So grab a few…

photo copyright Stacy Jensen 2012 used by permission

… and something to wash them down with (cider sounds good, doesn’t it?), and let’s jump right into today’s Would You Read It!

Today’s pitch comes to us from Larissa, a writer in Hawaii, mother of two kids, college minister, and blogger at The Larissa Monologues (speaking of good recipes, which we weren’t exactly, but definitely go check it out! :))

Here is her pitch:

Working Title: Dim Sum Dog
Age/Genre: Picture Book (ages 4-8)
The Pitch: A man and his wife are about to close their beloved yet deserted dim sum stand. But when they discover a clever, dim sum-loving dog at their doorstep, maybe the stand can be saved after all.

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 Larissa 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 January, so you have time to polish 🙂 for a chance for it to be read by editor Erin Molta!

Larissa is looking forward to your thoughts on her pitch!  And I am looking forward to having so much of my family together over the next few days!  Remember, anyone who is too busy for Perfect Picture Books this week, don’t worry!  We’ll see you on the 30th 🙂

Happy Thanksgiving, Everyone!  I hope you all enjoy some lovely time with your families and have as much to be thankful for as I do 🙂

The Idea Behind The Story – Clara Bowman-Jahn Author Of Annie’s Special Day

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Happy Monday Everyone!

One quick thing before we get to our post: for anyone who participates in Perfect Picture Books on Friday, I know this is a busy week and lots of people (including me) will be busy with family Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.  PLEASE don’t feel like you have to participate this week if you’re too busy!  I have a feeling a lot of us are going to be in that boat, so have fun, enjoy your families, and don’t feel like you have to show up if you’re having a little time deliciously free of the internet! 🙂  We’ll all still be here next week 🙂

Okay!  That’s the business.  Now for the fun 🙂

Today we have a special guest post from Clara Bowman-Jahn.

Author Clara Bowman-Jahn

She is doing a mini blog tour, posting on different aspects of the writing and production of her debut picture book, Annie’s Special Day.

Annie’s Special Day is available at eTreasures and Amazon

And she’s going to share with us where she got the idea for the story!

So without further ado, here’s Clara!

How I got my idea: from idea to story.
I was lying in bed one day in May with a terrible fever, but the sounds of the birds were ones of beauty and magnificence.  From about four AM to Seven AM the birds just blew my mind. It seemed like every hour some different bird sang their song. Singing back and forth while courting their mates is so melodious and awe-inspiring I still get up and don both my hearing aids just so I can hear it.  And it was in all around sound. One further away would sing to one closer in and back again.

I wanted to record them somehow. I didn’t have a tape recorder. I thought of the character Annie and how a little girl heard something beautiful every hour like I did with the birds. First the crows then the more musical birds come, like chickadees and warblers, the smaller ones. They were right next door in the trees near my bed. I could hear them through the open window.

I figure it was one of the harder things I’ve done in my life to write down what I heard every hour that morning while sick and feverish, but it turned into a children’s book. And that is something pretty terrific.

The specific words “Annie heard (something) every hour” has been edited out of the book. The editor thought it slowed down the action and that it was passive writing so now there is just an activity, an adventure, every hour that Annie sees and does. “Annie’s Special Day” is a basic concept book about time and clocks with Annie having a birthday slumber party and staying up all night. It’s about family and friends. “Annie’s Special Day” is a cheerful read without much plot but a book of recorded enthusiastic activities and fun.

That fall I took a writing project class and finished my book. But the main person I can say supported me and taught me how to revise and rework my book was my kindergarten teacher sister.  She read over more rewrites than I can remember and showed me how to make something out of the book. Then the next person who made the book a beauty was my illustrator, Claudia Wolf. She really took the character of Annie and made a little girl from her. She brought the book to life.

Then the whole other story of what came after I got that contract was my husband who finished what the publisher couldn’t. Because when you are the first children’s book in a small press the story doesn’t end there. The entire format, the text embedding, and the size of the book have to be done for them.
My husband, my hero, did all that. He enlisted the help of a writer friend, who also holds a print shop, Sue Walls, to show him what needed to be done and which computer tools he needed, and he did it. He transcribed my e book to a print one. If anyone is interested I’ll send his written explanation of all he did to you. To me what he did is no small miracle.

And along with being my biggest support he does the grunt work for me. Without his effort there would not be a print book. And when he asks if it were worth it? He easily says yes. And so do I. I love my book and am having fun marketing it.

What has your process been? From idea to story? I would love to hear in the comments.

Thanks so much, Susanna for inviting me to be a guest on your blog. This post marks the end of my blog tour hosted by my blogging buddies. 


And I know you won’t want to miss any of the other posts, so… 🙂

At Pat Tilton’s Children’s Books Heal: a book review and Q&A with Clara about “Annie’s Special Day” on November 12th
At Joanna Marple’s Miss Marple’s Musings: the illustrator story from Clara’s side on November 14th
At Stacy Jensen’s Writing My Way Through Life: author Clara Bowman-Jahn’s publishing story on November 15th
And finishing up on Clar’s Blog: a post from “Annie’s Special Day”  illustrator, Claudia Wolf on November 20th 

Annie’s Special Day is available at eTreasures Publishing and Amazon.

Thank you so much, Clar, for joining us and sharing your inspiration.  Readers, if you have questions or comments, I know Clara will be checking in and will be sure to respond!

Author Clara Bowman-Jahn

Clara Bowman-Jahn worked as a registered nurse for thirty two years finally trading that job for her true love, writing. Clara’s short  stories have been published in the anthology of the “Campaigner’s Challenges 2011” Book.

When Clara is not writing, she does volunteer  work for a local elementary school and her church. She also likes taking long walks with her husband, blogging, and reading books. She is a member of the Society for Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, Pennwriters, Bethesda Writer’s Center and Round Hill Writer’s Group. She lives in rural Loudoun County, Virginia with her brilliant husband, and two cats. She is the proud mother of two wonderful grown sons and a grandmother to a delightful grandson. 


Perfect Picture Book Friday – The Pirate’s Parrot

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In case you’re wondering, I had a lovely chat with Santa on Wednesday at the Brick Church Holiday Fair in New York City and you are all on the Nice List!  (So you can breathe a sigh of relief – I know some of you were a little worried that all that chocolate might have tipped the scales, as it were, to the Naughty side, but you’re good :))
I also sat next to a pile of Jamie Lee Curtis’s books – but not, as it turned out, Jamie Lee.  (She probably heard she’d be sitting next to a groundhog and a sheep, not to mention a relatively unknown author, and that violates some clause of her appearance contract.)  But her illustrator, Laura Cornell, was happy to sit with us and she was delightful!  I was very glad to meet her and have her company for the three hours or so that we were in attendance.  I did not take any pictures because I wasn’t kidding when I told you this was a fair of epic proportions.  We’re talking Park Avenue glitz.  I was afraid you might sustain eye damage from all the glitter 🙂
Anyway, look how far down the page I am without a single mention of Perfect Picture Books!  That just proves how dazzled I was from that fair – I haven’t recovered my senses yet 🙂  But now… it’s time… for Perfect Picture Books!!!  (I’m feeling the need for theme music – anyone want to sing?)
The Pirate’s Parrot
Written By: Lyn Rossiter Mcfarland
Illustrated By: Jim Mcfarland
Tricycle Press, March 2004, Fiction
Suitable For: ages 5-8
Themes/Topics: pirates, doing a job well, defying the expected, being different
Opening: “When Captain Cur’s parrot died, he thud-thumped and tapped on his wooden leg all night long until his crew thought they’d go mad.
Then at dawn, he tap, tap, crunched!
“Mr. Bellows!” he roared.  “I’ve stepped on me monocle!”
Quartermaster Bellows rushed to his captain’s side.
“I have no bird,” snarled the Cur.  “I have no monocle.  Me near vision’s a blur, and me mood is bad and getting worse.  So what are you going to do about it?“

Brief Synopsis:  The First and Second Mate are dispatched to solve the problem, but they make a slight error… the parrot they bring back is actually a teddy bear.  Unwilling to face the Captain’s wrath, the crew tell him it’s a parrot (and without his monocle he can’t see well enough to tell the difference!) and they teach the bear to be a pirate’s parrot.  Not until they board the Sea Weasel, ship of the dreaded pirate Captain McDagger, do they find out what a good job they did!
Why I Like This Book:  To start with, it has pirates in it, and I love books with pirates 🙂  But beyond that, how can you not love a book where a scurvy crew puts one over on their Captain by giving him a teddy bear instead of a parrot because he can’t see well enough to tell the difference?  And then names said bear Barr and teaches it to swagger and squawk, swashbuckle and spit.  This book carries a message of believing you can do a job well even if you’re not the usual type of person (or animal or thing) to do it, but it’s also just plain, flat out fun!  And Barr’s got another secret as well… but you’ll have to read the book to find out what it is 🙂

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

Now, since last week’s Friday post was long, you are excused early today 🙂

Please join us Monday when Clara Bowman-Jahn shares the story of the idea behind her debut picture book – Annie’s Special Day!

And PPBF bloggers, please leave your post-specific link in the list below so we can all come see what fabulous books you’ve selected this week!

Have a GREAT weekend, everyone! 🙂