Birthday Contest For Children’s Writers!!!

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Monday May 21 – The contest is going strong!  11 links so far, plus 4 or 5 entries in the comment section below!  Read!  Enjoy!  Enter 🙂

Woo-hoo!  It’s finally here!  The Birthday Contest!  Although, due to the busy-ness of April we had to push the contest back to a month that is no longer my birthday, surely someone is celebrating! 🙂  Let the games begin!

For anyone who hasn’t seen the rules, here they are:

The contest is to write a children’s story about a very creative and/or unique birthday celebration in 300 words or less.  Poetry or prose, your choice.
Entries must be posted on your blog (or in the comment section of this post if you don’t have a blog) between right now this very minute and 11:59 PM EDT Tuesday May 22.  Please add your entry-specific link to the list below (or, as mentioned, if you don’t have a blog and want to enter, just copy and paste your entry in the comment section below.)
If there are fewer than 20 entries there will be one prize.  If there are more than 20 entries there will be 1st, 2nd, and 3rd prizes!  Finalists will be chosen by me and my assistant judge and will be posted for you to vote on Monday May 28.  (I’m trying not to skip Would You Read It or Perfect Picture Books, or overload you with extra posts, hence the wait til Monday the 28th, which I realize is Memorial Day so the voting will stay up throughout Tuesday May 29!)
If there are fewer than 20 entries, and therefore one winner, the winner may have his or her choice of the following 4 options.  If there are more than 20 entries, and therefore a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place, 1st place will get 1st choice, 2nd place will get 2nd choice, and 3rd place will get 3rd choice of the following 4 options:
#1- a PB ms critique by me
#2 – a 3 pack of Perfect Picture Books including Chloe, My Side Of The Car, and Z Is For Moose
#4 – a $15 gift certificate to Merritt Bookstore.
So now, to get the party started, I will share a sample entry.  As I mentioned yesterday, my original idea did not pan out and I was VERY pressed for time this week, so don’t expect literary brilliance.  And what I mean by that is please don’t throw rotten tomatoes at me!

Hoppy Birthday!
(206 words)
Joey said, “My birthday’s coming!  I can hardly wait!
Here’s an invitation.  I sure hope you’ll save the date!
We’ll have silly hats, and blowers that make noise like a kazoo!
Balloons – at least a hundred! – orange, yellow, red and blue!
We’ll play games like Duck Duck Moose and Pin The Tail On Cousin Fred.
We’ll have contests to see who can stand the longest on their head!
If you happen to like water we’ve got lots of room to swim!
But if you’d rather climb and hang then try the jungle (gym).
I’m just hopping with excitement for my party – how ’bout you?
After all it isn’t every day that you turn 2!
Mom will make a birthday cake like you have never seen!
Seven luscious layers filled with icing in between!
All my friends will sing the Happy Birthday song to me.
I’ll make a wish and blow out all my candles – one, two, three!
We’ll serve up cake and ice cream by the gallon and the ton.
We’re going to need a LOT to have enough for everyone!
So won’t you please come join your little friend the kangaroo
For my Hoppy Birthday Party at the San Diego Zoo?
So now that you’re filled with confidence about how good your entry is compared to that! 🙂 please add your entry-specific post link to the list below, or copy and paste your entry into the comments.  I can’t wait to read them!

Perfect Picture Book Friday – Chloe

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I LOVE school visits.  Almost without fail, someone, at some point, makes me laugh!

Yesterday I visited with about 100 first graders.  They were a lively crew and we had tons of fun.

photo credit Pam Lawrence

Somewhere along in the proceedings, one alert audience member piped up with, “How old are you?” (a favorite question!)  “How old do you think I am?” I asked him.  Now, usually the answer to this question ranges from 20 to I-don’t-know, but this boy tipped his head to one side, considering, and then guessed – I kid you not! – “80?”

So apparently I look nearly twice my actual age 🙂

I think these kids thought 80 was a wild guess too 🙂
photo credit Pam Lawrence

I am so excited to share today’s book with you!  It is by one of my favorite author/illustrators and it was just released on Tuesday so it’s only 4 days old!  (Nowhere near 80 :))

If any of you have had the pleasure of reading Henry In Love, you will recognize young Chloe as the object of Henry’s affection and the recipient of the coveted blueberry muffin 🙂

Chloe
Written & Illustrated By: Peter McCarty
Balzer & Bray, May 15, 2012, Fiction
Suitable For: ages 2-8

Themes/Topics: family, imagination, love

Opening:  “Chloe loved the end of the day, when her whole family was together.  She called it family fun time.“

Brief Synopsis:  Chloe has 10 older brothers and sisters and 10 younger brothers and sisters.  She loves being in the middle.  But one night Dad brings home a surprise – a new TV! – and Chloe finds that she is no longer in the middle as everyone gathers around the TV instead.  Luckily it doesn’t take Chloe long to get everyone back on the right track!

Links To Resources:  The Five Best Toys Of All Time (so funny that it’s worth it just to read :)) puts “Box” at number 2.  Give your kids any of the items on this list and watch their imaginations soar as they come up with innumerable ways to play with these simple things.  In this day and age of specialty toys and electronic gadgets, there is nothing better than letting your kids (or students) take a box and turn it into a rocket ship, a castle, or a fort, and themselves into astronauts, princesses, or cowboys!

Why I Like This Book:  First of all, is it even possible to look at this art without feeling happy?  There is such exuberance in these bunnies, each with his or her own special details!  I think it’s something about the ears 🙂  But I also love the story.  I love that the rest of the family initially succumbs to the lure of the new TV, but Chloe and baby Bridget have no use for it.  Instead, they discover the bubble wrap in the box, and pretty soon the other kids are losing interest in the TV and coming over to Pop! Bip! Pap!  Next thing you know, they’ve found an entertaining use for the box, putting on their own TV show.  The message that family fun time can be family fun time without a TV is refreshing 🙂  I won’t give away the very last page, but it’s a hoot and you should get a copy of the book and see it for yourself! 🙂

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

Before we all head off to read all the other PPBs, I’d like to take this opportunity to remind everyone that the Birthday Contest is just hours away!!!  (I’m feeling a mite panicky, actually, because I don’t yet have a sample entry prepared.  I thought I had an idea, but it didn’t pan out.  In the midst of this hectic week, I haven’t had time to work on a new one, so I’m seriously down to the wire and not hopeful for anything brilliant!)

Anyhoo, even though Saturday is not a usual posting day, please come on over tomorrow to start the Birthday Contest fun.  The link list will be up so that as people’s entries are ready they can put in their post specific links or, if you want to enter and don’t have your own blog, you can copy and paste your entry in the comment section.  That post will stay up until midnight Tuesday night (no new post Monday) so everyone can add their links and come back and read everyone else’s.  It will be a party 🙂  (Just make sure you’re linking on Saturday’s Birthday Contest post.  I don’t want anyone to get confused and link on PPBF – we’ll miss it!)

If you have any questions because I’m not being clear in my current fog of fatigue, please email or ask in the comments! 🙂

PPBF bloggers, please add your post-specific links to today’s link list so we can all come visit!

Looking forward to seeing you all tomorrow, and starting in on reading what I’m sure will be fantastic contest entries!  Happy Weekend, Everyone!

Would You Read It Wednesday – The 40th Pitch and Book’s Journey

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Happy Wednesday, amigos!

I am eyebrow deep in a week of school visits and having tons of fun!

This is the week I get to participate in what I consider to be one of the best programs for kids there is.  It’s called Book’s Journey, and it is the brainchild of Pat Sexton who is a passionate advocate of Arts in Education.  I think every school should do this, so I’m hoping if I tell you all about it, maybe the word will get out and some other schools will give it a try 🙂

Here’s what the kids get to do:

The program is for 4th grade (although I think it could easily be done with 5th or 6th grade too.)

They begin with visits from an author, an illustrator, and an author/illustrator who talk about the creative spark (basically where they get their ideas from) and show and tell a little bit about how they work.

Then each child is given a notebook/journal to draft his or her story in.  Over the next two weeks or so, the kids work on their stories in selected class periods and as much as they want on their own.

Then I come in right at the point where they’re all getting stuck and aren’t sure what to do 🙂  We talk about the elements of story – what things you need to make a story work – character, setting, problem/goal etc. – and what you can do to get your story going again if it has stalled out.

A week after my visit, a professional editor comes in to help them edit their stories.

This is followed by a book cover designer who teaches them basics of making an attention-grabbing cover.

Finally a marketing specialist comes in and talks to them about various ways to market books.

Illustrations are created on separate pages so they can be easily put into the finished book, which will be handmade by each child.

They finish the whole spring project with a book fair to which parents and all the rest of the students in the school are invited.  Each book is displayed for everyone to view and read.

Doesn’t that just sound amazing?  I wish my school had had a program like that when I was in 4th grade (or ever!)!  I think it’s such a valuable experience for the kids to get that much hands-on learning from professionals in the field of writing and publishing, and to have the opportunity to create and display their own work.  They come away from the experience feeling that writing and illustrating are possibilities, not just pipe dreams, and that has to be a boost to their creative spirits.

So please, go forth and spread the word! 🙂

Now then, grab a donut!  It’s time for everybody’s favorite Wednesday feature, Would You Read It!

This week’s pitch comes to us from Jarm, a freelance writer for Women & Children.  She has been published three times in Thriving Family Magazine.  Her passion is to make the Bible and history come alive for children.  Feel free to check out her blog.

Here is her pitch:

Working Title:  Waiting For An Idea
Age/Genre:  PB (ages 6-11)
The Pitch:  Jerry is waiting for an idea to come.  He walks his dog, swings in his backyard, and even goes inside for milk and cookies. hoping to coax one into his head.  But, alas, it’s not until he opens Aunt Polly’s gift that an idea… well… an avalanche of ideas, spill forth!

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 Jarm 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 have time to polish 🙂 for a chance for it to be read by editor Erin Molta!
Jarm is looking forward to your thoughts on her pitch!
And I am off to another day of school visiting 🙂

Oh Susanna – Are There Taboo Subjects In Picture Books?

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OK.  Twitter?

Here’s the problem:

I could spend ALL DAY there!!!

Seriously!

Everybody posts all these awesome links to fascinating, must-read articles and blogs and photos and etc. etc. etc. and no sooner am I done with one there are 20 more I’m dying to check out.

How do y’all get any work done?

Twitter is the Anti-Work!

Clearly there are going to have to be some strict ground rules or there’s going to be some world-class time-frittering going on over here 🙂

So which one of you self-disciplined types is going to lay the rules out for me?

And enforce them?! 🙂

Alrighty then.  Now that that’s out of the way, I hope you all had wonderful Mother’s Days however you may have celebrated!  I spent mine like this:

(Well, not really, but I would have if I could have :))

I hope you’re all as excited as I am about the Birthday Contest coming up at the end of this week!!!

And I must apologize in advance if I’m a little behind in visiting you all this week.  I have three days of back-to-back school visits, so my time will be limited.  But be assured that even if I don’t have time to comment I will be reading!  (I am abysmal at trying to comment from my phone… whilst driving… and trying to listen to my GPS… also the police frown on such multitasking and it is of course illegal so I would never do it… even if I was coordinated enough. :))

So stop encouraging me to break the law and let’s get onto today’s Oh Susanna question.

I have actually chosen two questions which I will address together because I think they are related.

First is Saba’s question:  Are there any subjects that are considered taboo in the picture book industry that children’s writers should stay away from?

And second is Catherine’s question (which I’m paraphrasing slightly): [In my story] Cheeku the Cheeky Chinese Chicken… I took out the chef because someone said kids can’t think about chickens going to be killed… The motivation for Cheeku to run away was so as not to be eaten. I had to change it to he didn’t want to be cooped up forever, but although it’s fun, it has no story as such. Do you think i should put the chef stuff back in?

These are interesting and related questions, I think.

Saba, I’m sure you aren’t referring to things like graphic violence, murder, torture, what I will refer to as “adult topics”, and things of that nature.  I don’t think any of us would ever consider writing a picture book about a subject that was so obviously inappropriate for children.  I think what you might mean is what I would call sensitive topics.  For example, is it appropriate to write a picture book about a family with same sex parents, or a picture book about war, death, or serious illness?

And that is a question that I think different people might give you different answers for.  Some would say those topics should be avoided – that they’re not appropriate.

But I think most would say that picture books are badly needed on those topics, because children who are experiencing those situations have just as much need (possibly more) to explore their feelings and feel validated, understood, comforted, and reassured as children who read books about being scared of the dark or getting a new sibling.

One glance at the Perfect Picture Book list will show you that there ARE picture books about war, poverty, illiteracy, death, illness, disability, non-traditional families, slavery, and a host of other sensitive and difficult topics.

To a large degree, I don’t think it’s the topic that is the issue, but more how it’s addressed.  Pretty much any topic – even a story about bears – can be written so it’s not appropriate for the picture book audience.  But by the same token, pretty much any topic can be written about in a sensitive and careful way so that it is not only appropriate, but valuable for this age.  For example, a book like Beatrice’s Goat most certainly addresses poverty, but in a way that is very palatable to children and filled with hope.

It all depends on how it’s written.

This is not to say that every book is appropriate for every child.  What’s right for one family may not be right for another.  Parents, teachers, and librarians must use their discretion.  While a book about a child losing his mother (as a very powerful example, I would cite the picture book The Scar by Charlotte Moundlic) might be terribly upsetting to many children, it might be just exactly what a boy or girl who has just lost a parent might need to hear to feel that they are understood in their grief and loneliness, that others have gone through this, and to help give voice to their emotions.  And while some families might welcome a book that addresses where babies come from in a very exact way (for example, Where Did I Come From? by Peter Mayle) others families might prefer to preserve the mystery a little 🙂

As writers, we want to reach all children, the ones that struggle with the hard things as well as the “every day” things (and I put “every day” in quotes because nothing feels every day to a person who is going through it, but as adults we know that there are some experiences that are normal and common for childhood and others you hope no child will ever have to bear, yet some of them do.)

Catherine’s question about her manuscript I think ties into this discussion.  Is it appropriate to write about a chicken who is afraid of being eaten?  I think it can be if it’s done right.  If there is humor, if the emphasis is more on the escape then the reality of being eaten, if it ends happily, and if there is a level at which it relates to common childhood experience – perhaps having to do something you don’t want to do, or needing to find a better way to do something, or finding your place in the world – then I think it can work.  There are certainly a host of fairy tales where some pretty scary stuff goes down if you think about it too carefully (Red Riding Hood, anyone?!) but that hasn’t stopped parents from reading them or children from enjoying them.  And anyone who has seen Disney’s Little Mermaid has seen the chef singing “les poissons, les poissons” merrily preparing to cook Sebastian the crab and I think most kids find that scene deliciously fun 🙂  So again, I think it’s all about how it’s written.  And again, depending on how it comes out, it might be a story that is not be appropriate for every child (perhaps more sensitive children would be better steering clear) and that parents, teachers and librarians might want to be selective about.

Saba and Catherine, I hope that answers your questions.  If not, please feel free to clarify or ask follow-ups in the comments!

Everyone else, Saba, Catherine and I are all VERY interested in your thoughts on this matter.  Are there subjects that are taboo in picture books?  Or that should be?  Should a writer stay away from the topic of a chicken who is afraid of being eaten?

I will look forward to your thoughts!  Especially if you have first-hand experience with having a story turned down by traditional publishers only because of topic.

Have a wonderful day! 🙂

Perfect Picture Book Friday – The Way Home

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Wow!  What a week it has been!

Joanna’s book Snow Games was published, as was Miranda’s book Fly With Kai.  Ruth has an agent – woo-hoo! – and I have joined twitter!

(OK.  So maybe that last part isn’t in quite the same category of awesomeness.  But it gave me a good excuse to mention how happy I am for my friends 🙂  Feel free to hop over and do the happy dance with them and buy their books but then please come back for PPBF! :))

(And please stay tuned for a few important announcements after the picture book, including the April Pitch Winner!)

Now, at first glance, this book might not seem to have anything to do with spring or Mother’s Day.  That is because it is about geese migrating in the fall.  But Canada Geese mate for life, which is kind of peripherally related to Mother’s Day, and although they fly south in the fall, they come back in the spring.  And although I usually like to tease you about the endings so you’ll read the book, I’m going to tell this one so you get it 🙂

The Way Home
Written & Illustrated By: Nan Parson Rossiter
Dutton Children’s Books, 1999
Suitable For: ages 5-9

Themes/Topics: animals, seasons, migration, helping others, kindness, responsibility

Opening: “It was late in the October afternoon when Samuel and his father finished the day’s chores at the farm and set out for a walk with Ben, their yellow Lab. The sun was already behind the hills, but they had just enough time to walk around the pond before it got dark.”

Brief Synopsis:  On their walk, Samuel finds an injured goose, and he and his father take her back to the farm, hoping she will heal.  But even if she does, will she be strong enough to make the long flight south for the winter?  And will she and her mate make it in time?

Links To Resources:  National Geographic Creature Feature: Canada Geese, Kidzone – Canada Geese, Kid Video – Canada Geese, Canada Goose Coloring Page.  This story is a nice opening to discussion about disposing of trash responsibly, caring for animals, and allowing wild animals to be free.

Why I Like This Book:  Although this isn’t a true story, it almost could be.  An animal injured because of human carelessness is helped back to health by a kind, responsible family.  But they don’t try to keep her. When she’s well, they let her go back to her wild life, even though they are sad to see her go and will miss her.  Although the book’s ending would most probably not happen in real life, it is a lovely ending that brings the story full circle for child readers and will leave them feeling happy and satisfied.  The geese return to the pond in the spring, and Ben finds them, complete with a brand new family of goslings (that’s the marginally Mother’s Day part :))  The art is painted in the warm reds and golds of autumn – very appealing.  And the longer text makes it a satisfying read for older children or children with a longer attention span.

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

And now, I am pleased to announce that the winner of the April Pitch Pick, whose pitch will be sent to editor Erin Molta for review and comment, is none other than the fabulous Rebecca with her pitch for Broomstick Rodeo!  Congratulations, Rebecca!  And congratulations and thank you to all our brave pitchers – I wish you could all win!

Before we all go off to read all the other PPBs and cruise on into the weekend, let me remind you that the Birthday Contest is just over a week away (which I hope means everyone is writing busily!)

Also!!!  Phyllis terrorized had a fabulous visit to Italy, and if you haven’t had a chance to see it, it’s a must read!  Hop on over to Renee’s at NoWaterRiver!  You haven’t lived until you’ve seen Phyllis as Juliet 🙂

PPBF bloggers, please leave your post-specific links below.

And Happy Mother’s Day to all you moms, grandmoms, step-moms, new moms, moms-to-be, like-moms, etc. out there.  These are for you 🙂

because you make the world a better place 🙂

Would You Read It Wednesday – The 39th Pitch

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Big news.

It’s official.

(And you’re probably going to want to sit down for this.)

After all this time I have finally become…

duh duh duh duh….

… a twit.

You heard right.  After all that kicking and screaming I joined the masses.

(For those of you who already thought I was a twit, well, I guess you can’t argue with the evidence :))

I’d like to tell you my handle so you could all come join me in my confused wanderings, but I have no idea what it is.  I’ll let you know as soon as I figure it out.*  I abandoned my twitterings in mid-twit late yesterday afternoon to bake birthday cake (the answer is chocolate – I have exceptionally keen hearing) and then help my birthday girl eat it 🙂 so I have yet to actually make a nest or whatever y’all do in lieu of profiles over there 🙂

So that’s my big news for the day.

When you’ve finished reeling from shock, grab a donut and have a gander at today’s Would You Read It pitch.

By way of introduction to the pitcher…

Beware of the fiery haired writer who calls herself Rena J. Traxel. She lives in the middle of the nowhere in the province of Alberta, creating stories and poems for children. Death of Sleeping Beauty is book one in her fantasy series. Please visit her blog, On The Way To Somewhere, and read an excerpt from her book HERE.

Here is her pitch!

Working Title:  Death Of Sleeping Beauty
Age/Genre:  MG Fantasy
The Pitch:  Alivia Fair stumbles upon a seemingly harmless book that is full of gruesome fairy tales. Now the book is missing and strange things begin to happen. She is cursed by a man with a blue beard and finds herself trapped inside an enchanted castle, in which she comes face-to-face with the legendary, Sleeping Beauty. Too bad Alivia is destined to kill her, but with a little help Alivia might be able to stop the DEATH OF SLEEPING BEAUTY.

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 Rena 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 have time to polish 🙂 for a chance for it to be read by editor Erin Molta!
Rena is looking forward to your thoughts on her pitch!
* And although I don’t know exactly where you’ll find me on twitter, if you’re interested in looking try Susanna Leonard Hill or SusannaLHill.  If I manage to get my birdhouse in order you might find me there later today 🙂  Anyone who wants to share twitter advice for the terminally witless, please feel free 🙂
Oh and P.S. if you haven’t had a chance to vote for your favorite April pitch yet, please go HERE.  You have until the witching hour 🙂
Have a lovely day, everyone 🙂

April Pitch Pick and Oh Susanna – Can I Acquire Illustrations To Help An Editor Understand My Intent?

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Good Monday, everyone!  (Doesn’t that sound like something Shakespeare would say?)

I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling the need for an extra dose of cuteness this morning, since things have not been going according to plan of late, so how about this?

and this…

…and this

Ah!

I feel much better now!  You?

I could do this all day, but that would probably not be considered productive 🙂

Now then, I hope you’re all going to take note of how efficient and brief I am today, so that I can get to work finishing my gakawful mss for NaPiBoWriWee.  Ready?  GO!

First, it’s time for the April Pitch Pick.

Here’s the refresher:

#1 Delores

Working Title:  Dustin The Dragon
Age/Genre:  Early PB (3-6)
The Pitch:  April’s room is VERY dusty but what can you expect when a dust breathing dragon lives in your closet?  Too bad April’s mom doesn’t believe in dragons, that is, not until Dustin catches a cold.

#2 Rebecca C

Working Title:  Broomstick Rodeo
Age/Genre:  Picture Book (4-7)
The Pitch:  The Thistlegulch Sisters have thirteen trophies between them and they’re determined to win another. They practice for the rodeo until they’re chapped under their chaps and have calluses on their warts. But when a buckin’ broomstick charges towards their youngest sister, Myrna, they realize there are more important things in life than winning trophies.

#3 Kirsten

Working Title:  Out Of This World Opposites
Age/Genre: Non-Fiction PB for ages 5+
The Pitch:  Space is a place of opposites. Burning stars and icy comets. Roaring rockets and silent stillness. An ancient universe and newborn planets. Everyday scientists discover something old, new, near, far, wet, dry, dark or light as they learn more about the cosmos. Come along and explore our amazing universe.

#4 Anna

Working Title:  A Bug Who Needs A Hug
Age/Genre: Picture Books (ages 2-7)
The Pitch:  A Bug Who Needs A Hug is about a fuzzy little bug that goes out into the forest looking for someone to hug. The vivid and colorful illustrations in the book emphasize the importance of friendship and leave a positive message for children at the end of the story.

Please vote below for your favorite by Wednesday May 9 at 11:59 PM EDT:

The winner’s pitch will go to editor Erin Molta for helpful comments 🙂

Now then, today’s Oh Susanna question comes to us from Tracy and actually has a couple of layers to address.

Here is her question:

My children’s book manuscript (early reader) is one where the characters are kids who also happen to be food. (You may remember this from my Would You Read It pitch in October). There’s Pizza, Juice Box, Cake, Waffle, Cereal, Bratwurst (he’s a bully), Lemon Chiffon (fashionista with an attitude), Cinnamon, and Apple. I’m working with a book coach who is suggesting that I grab pictures of food to include with the MS so that an editor understands that this is not a joke and takes my submission seriously. I looked online and I don’t like any of the illustrations and while I still need to look in magazines, those images will not have arms and legs and look like kids. My question is: I’d like to sent out a tweet or blog post request to illustrators in my online community and ask if anyone wanted to make some rough sketches. I can’t promise or offer any compensation or even promise that those comps would be used in final production. Is it fair to ask illustrators to help?

In answer to the main question, “Is it fair to ask illustrators to help?” I would say, yes, it is fair to ask as long as you are up front with potential illustrators about what the project is and exactly what is involved.  I think you might have a hard time getting anyone to do it, though.  If an illustrator is going to work for you, she/he should be paid for their talent, expertise, and time – it’s not professional to ask them to work for free.  If by helping you out their work is going to be seen by an editor, potentially opening some doors for them, that might be enough payment for some, or it might help reduce the payment for others.  But I think if you want someone to provide you with the kind of custom illustrations that are going to help  you sell your work, you should offer to pay them something.  It can be work-for-hire, you can make an agreement as to who owns the rights, but I think you should at least offer some payment.  (Please see Oh Susanna – How Do You Find And Pay For Illustrators? for a further discussion of getting illustrations.)

That said, your question raises some other questions for me:

First, why wouldn’t an editor take your work seriously in the first place?  If you’ve done a good job writing your story, it should be clear that you’ve personified food as characters.  Your dialogue and story problem should help make it clear that the food characters are children.  Editors have good imaginations.  They read picture book and early reader manuscripts all the time and they are accustomed to visualizing what illustrations would be like.  If your story is strong, the editor shouldn’t need visual cues.  If it’s not strong enough, visual cues won’t save it.

In addition, unless you are a professional illustrator yourself, I think you’ll find that most editors react negatively to an author sending art with their manuscript.  To my knowledge, editors want to read your manuscript and envision the type of art they think would suit it, and then choose the illustrator themselves.

I’m not a book coach, but I’m not really sure what you would accomplish by following this suggestion.

I think you would be better off writing the best story you can write, trusting your editor’s intelligence and judgment, and letting your submission stand on it’s own merit.  If you feel your story is strong but it’s still not clear, put a brief explanation in your cover letter.

I would really like to hear from readers, though, as to what they think about this issue.  Do you agree with the book coach, or with me, or do you think something else all together?  Collectively, there is a lot of experience with submission in this readership, so please share your thoughts to help Tracy out with her dilemma!

Have a great day, everyone!

Perfect Picture Book Friday – The Camel Who Took A Walk, And The April PPBF Prize

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Happy Friday, everyone!  Would anyone care for a donut?

Please!  Help yourselves!

For those of you who expressed concern, thank you, my sprained pancreas appears to be on the mend 🙂  But there will be no more interpretive dance for a while… 🙂

I’ve been trying to resist posting today’s Perfect Picture Book for a while because it is out of print.  But it is one of my all time favorite books ever, and since I got notification this week that one of my books is going out of print, I thought this would be a nice time to celebrate books that don’t always get as much recognition as one might hope.  This is a story my parents read to me, and that I read to my kids.  It was always a favorite in our house.  I hope you’ll be able to find a copy at your local library, or get a used one through some channel or other.  It’s really wonderful!

The Camel Who Took A Walk
Written By: Jack Tworkov
Illustrated By: Roger Duvoisin
Aladdin Books, 1951

Suitable For: ages 4-8

Themes/Topics: expectation/suspense, cause & effect/chain reaction, unexpected outcomes

Opening:  “The forest was dark and very quiet.
Not a creature was stirring.
Even the wind had stopped breathing.
Not a leaf was falling, not a blade of grass was moving.
And do you know why this was so?
Because
it was just the time between night and day,
when night was ending
and day was about to begin.”

Brief Synopsis:  A very beautiful camel goes for a walk in the forest.  Unbeknownst to her, a tiger waits hidden “by leaves, flowers, vines and grasses.  He was hidden also by the darkness.”  But the tiger is not the only one waiting and watching.  Each of the creatures hidden in the forest has its own secret plan.  What will happen to the very beautiful camel?

Links To Resources: Camel Coloring Pages, Tiger Coloring Pages, Monkey Coloring Pages, discuss cause and effect, read other books where one thing leads to another, like If You Give A Pig A Pancake or Stuck.

Why I Like This Book:  For starters, the language is lyrical.  Just read that opening aloud to yourself and hear the music of those words!  The whole book is like this – simply a delight to read aloud because of the rhythm of the language.  For writers, it’s a great example of how to do language really well.  The description is also beautiful, and not the kind of thing we find so much in PBs these days:
“Night in the forest is very dark, and it creeps away slowly.”
“Suddenly the first glimmer of light trembled in the sky.“
“Her nose smelled the early morning sweetness, and her eyes took in all the blue and pink colors of the sky.”
Isn’t is beautiful?  But aside from the exquisite language, I love the way the book builds tension.  The camel approaches the hidden tiger.  She comes closer… and closer… and you just have to wonder, how will she get out of this?  The ending is deliciously unexpected!

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

Also, as you know, I like to thank all the wonderful participants in PPBF for their hard work each month by randomly selecting a blogger to receive a prize!  The winner for April is and the prize is JOANNA!!!  (And lest there be any confusion, as there was with Beth Doozenfloofer, that’s Joanna Marple :))  Please email me, Joanna, and let me know which you would like for your prize: *rummaging in my bag of goodies…* let’s see… your choice of The Writer’s Guide To Crafting Stories For Children by Nancy Lamb, Chloe by Peter McCarty (which I will be posting on PPBF next week or the week after – it doesn’t come out until May 15 but it’s really good!), or a $15 gift certificate to Merritt Bookstore (my own beloved local indie :))

Phyllis is still traveling – I hope you’ve all had a chance to keep up!  There should be posts from North Carolina and Italy, and maybe another from St, Lucia coming up soon!

I also hope you’re all hard at work on your Birthday Contest entries!  I am mulling… and hoping I’ve come up with an idea for the sample… but it remains to be seen 🙂

For those of you interested in Would You Read It (or simply in learning how to write a good pitch) there was an excellent post on Cheryl’s blog: How To Pitch Your Book.  The post uses a novel as an example, but it can easily be applied to picture books.  If you follow the basics rules, it will help you come up with a beautiful 3 sentence pitch.  Just right!

And as for NaPiBoWriWee, I’m happy to report that I’m technically ahead of schedule since as of this writing (on Thursday evening) I have already completed 4 PBs (which means I’m up-to-date until bedtime Saturday when I should have a fifth… which heaven knows how I will get written Saturday… Sunday either… hmm… maybe I’d better stay up a little longer!)  But RIGHT THIS SECOND, I’m ahead of the curve!

Now off you go to hop around the blogosphere and see all the Perfect Picture Books posted today.  PPB bloggers, please add your post-specific link to the list below.

Have a supercalifragilisticexpialidocious weekend everyone!  (I’m allowed to say that because Beth has dubbed me Susanna Poppins! :))

Would You Read It Wednesday – The 38th Pitch

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In case you haven’t had your coffee yet, it’s Wednesday May 2, which means, in addition to being a Would You Read It day, it is Day 2 of NaPiBoWriWee.

Day 1 did not go well for me.

I have decided NaPiBoWriWee looks like this:

And apparently one of us got up on the wrong side of the bed yesterday!

Picture this:

Morning on Blueberry Hill.  A gentle rain is falling.  The lilac buds are trembling on the edge of blossoming.  The baby finches are a jumble of feathers crowded in the nest under the front entry way, getting close to trying their wings.  And I am poised to embark on my NaPiBoWriWee journey.

(Hey!  I hear you snickering!  What.  You think me and poised in the same sentence is oxymoronic?  Well, OK.  I’ll give you that 🙂  But anyway, to continue my riveting tale…)

I sit down before my faithful computer, steaming cup of coffee beside me, and place my fingers on the keyboard.

*imagine music swelling in the background*

*…swelling some more…*

*… and a little more…*

Nothing.

I take my fingers off the keyboard and sip my coffee.

OK.  I can do this.

*more music*

Once upon a time, I type.

Another sip of coffee.

Delete delete delete delete delete…..

Herbert was not like the other hedgehogs, I type.

Wait a minute.

That sounds a little too familiar 🙂

Delete, delete, delete, delete, delete…..

Herbert wanted a dog, I type.

Delete, delete, delete, delete, delete…

Herbert had a problem, I type.

Delete, delete, delete, delete, delete…

I reach for my coffee.  It’s cold.

As I get up to microwave it back to an acceptable temperature, I notice a dust puppy under the edge of the cabinet.  Hmmm… I think.  Maybe I should vacuum.

It is a bad sign when housecleaning starts to sound like a good way to spend time!

Perhaps some interpretive dance would waken the muse…

Oof!  Ouch!  I think I sprained my pancreas!

Thank goodness you didn’t see that.

OK.  Scratch the interpretive dance.

Anyway, I’ll spare you the agonizing details, but I ended up with 4 starts, three of them maybe with potential and 1 of them almost definitely hopeless, but no finishes.  Day 2 and I’m already playing catch-up.

Arrgghh!

But never fear.  It’s a new day! 🙂

On a much more inspiring note, however, Phyllis is in St. Lucia!!!  Hop on over and check it out!  She also had a brief visit to Rosalind’s in Leicester, England, in case you didn’t get to see that yet.  She also visited Margaret in California.  And if you want to see the cutest thing EVER you must check out Phyllis at Pam’s Preschool Prom!

And now, even better, let’s get down to Would You Read It!

Today’s pitch comes to us from the lovely Darshana.  Her special talents by day are solving engineering problems, creating activities for her kids, and concocting ways to spend time with her husband. By night she reads and writes picture books, so one day she can realize her dream of becoming a published author. Check out her book reviews at Flowering Minds, and keep up to date on the latest in the kidlit world by “Liking” her onFaceBook.

Here is her pitch:

Title: Jay’s Big Day
Age/Genre: Picture Book (ages 4-8)
Pitch: Jay’s super-sniffer dashes his dreams of becoming a Police Bird, but his special talent opens up another heroic opportunity.

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 Darshana 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 early July – not that far away! – so go ahead and send your pitch for a chance for it to be read by editor Erin Molta!
Darshana is looking forward to your thoughts on her pitch!

And I am off to do better on my mss today.  Look out, NaPiBoWriWee!

Oh Susanna – How To Explain Your Vision Of Marketing Strategy To A Publisher That Requests It?

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Wow!  That was such a long title I feel like I’ve already written the post! 🙂

How is everyone this morning?  Feeling bright-eyed and bushy-tailed?  I will readily confess to “bright-eyed”, but I’m not sure I’m up for discussing the rest of that question at this hour on a Monday morning 🙂  (Who thought up that question anyway?  I have a feeling it was a member of the marmot family…

… not that I’m mentioning any names…. :))

So anyway, being as how it’s Monday, which means the first day of May is on a Tuesday when I don’t post, I wanted to take this opportunity to remind you all, so that you’ll have plenty of time to work on it, that we’re having a contest this month!!!  I’m so excited, because we haven’t had a contest since the Valentines one which was AGES ago and I miss them! 🙂  I do so hope someone will want to enter! 🙂

The contest is to write a children’s story about a very creative and/or unique birthday celebration in 300 words or less.  Poetry or prose, your choice.

Entries must be posted on your blog (or in the comment section of my contest blog post on May 19 if you don’t have a blog) between Saturday May 19 and 11:59 PM EDT Tuesday May 22.  Add your entry-specific link to the list that will go up with my special post that Saturday.  I will not post on Monday May 21 so the list will stay up.)  I’m still picking out prizes, but there will be prizes and they will be good and they will include things like a 3 pack of Perfect Picture Books, a duo of craft books, and/or a PB MS Critique by Yours Truly, or maybe something else awesome that I haven’t thought of yet… 🙂  (You are invited to suggest prizes if there’s something your little hearts especially desire :))  If there are fewer than 20 entries there will be one prize.  If there are more than 20 entries there will be 1st, 2nd, and 3rd prizes!)  Finalists will be chosen by me and my assistant judge and will be posted for you to vote on Monday May 28.  (I’m trying not to skip Would You Read It or Perfect Picture Books or overload you with extra posts, hence the wait til Monday the 28th, which I realize is Memorial Day so the voting will stay up throughout Tuesday!)
I hope we’ll have lots of enthusiastic participants!  Remember, 12 X 12ers, this can do double duty as your May MS! 🙂
I would also like to take this opportunity to announce that I’m planning on taking a stab at NaPiBoWriWee this week… anyone else a glutton for punishment feeling motivated?
Also, Phyllis had an awesome Visit to Seattle where she made friends with A-Wall (gorgeous!) and saw the Space Needle 🙂  Please hop on over to Saba’s and read all about it!  And, if all goes according to plan, there will be a post up tomorrow (Tuesday May 1) about Phyllis’s Visit to Rosalind in England! (But it’s not there yet because she’s finishing A To Z!)
Now then!  Onto today’s Oh Susanna question, which comes to us from the lovely Jen:
“Submission guidelines to Sylvan Dell Publishing request that you include an explanation for how you envision the marketing of your book.  Besides stating that your marketing strategy would consist of book signings, blog tours, using various social media, and press releases, how else would you state on a query letter how you would envision the marketing of your book? Also, I’m not sure how to go about targeting an audience for my “platform” part of marketing my book. Any suggestions?”
Well, Jen, as to the first part of your question, I think you’ve covered most of what they would be looking for.  Certainly you would want to mention book signings, blog tours, social media, and press releases.
I would also mention school and library visits if you plan to do those.
But I think they’re looking for you to go a little further than that.  The publishing world is in a state of flux these days.  No one is anxious to take too much of a risk.  If possible, they’d like to know who exactly you think is going to buy your book – in other words, where you think the market is.
Identify the themes/topics/subjects of your story and present them in terms of market.
Is your story about a new baby?  Then it will appeal to parents who are expecting a second or subsequent child, be useful to preschool teachers, and make a great gift for relatives and friends to give to new big siblings.
Is your story about a very hungry caterpillar?  Then it will be useful in preschool and early elementary curriculum units on science, insects, metamorphosis, nutrition, and basic concepts like color and food types.
Is your story about a child in a non-traditional family?  Then it will be valuable to non-traditional families where children will be helped by knowing they aren’t alone, useful in curriculum units on family or acceptance/tolerance/difference, and helpful to traditional families who want to expand their children’s understanding of what makes a family.
Think about who your book would appeal to AND think specifically about the types of books this publisher tends to publish and where they market other books on their list.  Are they a big publisher with traditional marketing, or are they a smaller publisher who might only publish books about Maine (like Down East) or who might sell their books in zoo or museum gift shops, or other types of niches?  Make sure you’re directing your helpful marketing ideas in the right area.  A niche publisher might be thrilled to know that your book will appeal to everyone who has ever spent time on Monhegan Island, but a big six publisher isn’t going to want that book unless the setting is more incidental to a story with a much broader theme and appeal, in which case you would emphasize the broader theme rather than the niche setting… if that makes sense.
As to the second part of your question, about targeting an audience for your platform, that is something I think a lot of writers struggle with.
Writers tend to gravitate toward other writers.  If you’re a writer who writes a blog, chances are high that the vast majority of your followers are other writers, and a significant portion of the blogs you follow are also writing blogs.  Many of these people may also be parents or teachers or librarians or grandparents or others who have children in their lives for whom they buy books, but they may just as easily be people who don’t have kids yet, or whose kids have grown past the picture book age, or who aren’t around kids much.  I think it’s hard, as a writer, to get a huge following of your target audience in this instance which is, bluntly put, consumers.
The easier answer is for people who write non-fiction.  In that case, you always have a topic.  You are something of an expert on that topic (because hopefully you did your research well :)) so people may seek you out and you can also look for blogs and groups who are interested in that topic and get to know people there so you can eventually spread word of your book about butterflies, Martin Luther King Jr., saving wetlands, or whatever you happen to be writing about.
But for those of us who write children’s fiction, it’s much harder.  Our target audience is two-fold: the kids we write for who, unless we write upper middle grade or YA, are most likely not online, and the parents/teachers/librarians who buy books for them and read to them and who may or may not have much time in their busy days to be online.
It is great to connect with teachers and librarians who blog, as well as with mommy bloggers out there, but it is hard to do and it takes a lot of time – time to research which blogs might fit with your personality/style/books, time to forge relationships with those blogs, and time to see if and when a review of your book might fit into those blogs’ schedules.  And it can be hard to find that kind of time and still have time to write.  It’s a work in progress for most of us, I think.
I hope that answers your questions, Jen!  If you have any follow-up questions, please ask below.  As always, I would be thrilled if readers with experience in these areas would chime in with their thoughts – please comment!  It takes a village 🙂 and that’s one of the nicest things about the writing community – we are a village! 🙂