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! 🙂

Perfect Picture Book Friday – My Side Of The Car

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Happy PPBF everyone!  I’ve got such a good one today – I think you’re going to love it 🙂  And please stay tuned afterwards for the winner of the Lisa Thiesing giveaway, as well as the winner of the Puzzled By Pink giveaway!

OK.  Ready?  Fasten your seat belts because here we go! 🙂

My Side Of The Car
Written By: Kate Feiffer
Illustrated By: Jules Feiffer
Candlewick, April 2011, Fiction
Suitable For: ages 4-8

Themes/Topics: patience, imagination, father-daughter love, optimism

Opening:  “My dad and I are going to the zoo.  We’ve tried to go to the zoo before.  But we never get there.  Something always happens.”

Brief Synopsis:  Sadie and her dad are going to the zoo.  Their plans have been thwarted three previous times, but this time they’re really going.  Except… on the way… it starts to rain.  They can’t go to the zoo in the rain.  But Sadie’s not about to let the fact that her dad sees rain deter her.  “I look out my window, and the sun is shining on my side of the car. People are putting on their sunglasses and heading to zoos all over the world on my side of the car.” While her dad sees nothing but rain, Sadie sees people mowing their laws and eating ice cream.  Is it raining or not?  Will Sadie and her dad get to the zoo this time or will they have to wait for another day?

Links To Resources:  Fun Zoo-Related Activities, Zoo Lessons And Activities, a page in the back of the book tells the true story of what happened (which is always fun :))

Why I Like This Book:  Anyone who has lived with kids knows that their perception of reality is not necessarily the same as yours… especially when they really want something! 🙂  What’s wonderful about this book is both Sadie’s determined optimism and her father’s patience and his loving understanding of how she needs to cope with her disappointment.  This book is also delightful because it’s written and illustrated by a father-daughter team about an incident that actually happened.  I’m not going to tell you whether they get to the zoo or not, though.  You’ll have to go read the book 🙂

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

Now then!

I know you’ve all been holding your breath in anticipation of the winner announcements, so I won’t make you wait any longer 🙂

The winner of a signed copy of Lisa Thiesing’s wonderful book, A Dark And Noisy Night, is Catherine Johnson!  Catherine, come on down!  Pleas send me an email with your address and who you’d like the book signed to and Lisa and I will get right on the job of mailing it out to you!

And I want to extend a hearty thank you to everyone who tried to help me with my theme struggles.  I got quite a few good examples, and also discovered that I am not alone in my inability to articulate theme in a meaningful way, so all in all, it was a good exercise 🙂  And the winner of Puzzled By Pink is Beth!!!  Thank you ALL for your help! and Beth, you’d better email me your address…. 🙂

PPBF bloggers, please add your post-specific link to the list below so we can all come visit you 🙂

Have a great weekend everyone!

Would You Read It Wednesday – The 37th Pitch… And A Challenge!… With A Prize :)

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YIKES!

I moseyed on over to my blog to write today’s post and everything looks totally different and unfamiliar!  We’re not in Kansas anymore!

What happened to blogger?

I guess this is that new format they’ve been threatening and I’ve been avoiding.

Well.

Let’s just hope this post goes up the way it’s supposed to!

Harrumph!

First things first.  Your friend and mine, Phyllis, cutest and fuzziest of all groundhogs, is still on tour.  Wonderful, amazing, awesome people are still hosting her and putting up terrific posts about her visits.  So if you have a second, please hop over and see what kind of high jinx and shenanigans she got up to with Saba in Washington!

Next, I’d like to throw out a challenge to all of you – and this is for everyone because you don’t have to be a writer to do this.  In fact, some of you teachers might be really good at this!

It has come to my attention that I’m very bad at distilling picture books (or any other books for that matter) down to the nitty-gritty of their themes.  So for anyone who would like to take pity on me (and I’m guessing there are a fair number of others out there who could benefit from this as well :)) please be so kind as to give the title of a well-known picture book in the comments today along with a few words or a sentence that crystalize the theme of the book.  You may also do the plot if you want, but it’s really the theme I’m interested in.

So, for example, what the flinging’-flangin’ heck is the theme of Fancy Nancy?  Pinkalicious?  I Want My Hat Back?  I mean something like “love conquers all” or “if at first you don’t succeed, keep trying”… that kind of thing.  Gosh.  They sound like proverbs.  Is that how this works?  You can see I need help 🙂  So PLEASE help!  For every book you put with a theme in the comments below today or tomorrow, I will put one entry into random.org and then on Friday, during Perfect Picture Books, I will give one lucky winner a copy of the brand new and fabulous Puzzled By Pink (of which I also can’t state the theme) by Sarah Frances Hardy!!!

See how this works?  My desperation equals a great exercise for you and the possibility of an awesome book! 🙂  Nice, no?

Third, by popular demand, we will be doing one (or possibly a couple) of Q&A posts with editor Erin Molta, so if you have questions for her, please get them to me ASAP, either in the comments or by using that handy Email Me button over there on the right 🙂

Now then.  Time to get down to business.  Would You Read It business, that is.  Today’s pitch comes to us from Anna who has a background in teaching and strives to entertain and teach children about different cultures in her writing.  (I believe this book has been self-published, but Anna is still hoping to strengthen her pitch for marketing purposes.)

Ready?

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.

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 Anna 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!
Anna is looking forward to your thoughts on her pitch!
And I am looking forward to your succinct statements of picture book themes and your questions for Erin!
Have a happy Wednesday everyone! 🙂
Wait!  Stop the presses!  I forgot to say that if anyone hasn’t had a chance to read Monday’s interview with Lisa Thiesing and enter the awesome book giveaway, there is still time!  Hop on over!

Meet Lisa Thiesing Author/Illustrator!… And A Giveaway!

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I know.  It’s Monday.  It’s raining.  And if you’re like me you’ve eaten all of your black jelly beans.  Also the red and orange ones.  Also the yellow ones.  And you’re down to the reject colors like white and pink.  Seriously, does anyone like white jelly beans?  Why do they even make them?

But cheer up!  You’re here, among friends, in our happy little corner of the blogosphere!  And I have someone awesome for you to meet, AND you could get a present!

So tell me, doesn’t the day seem brighter already? 🙂

(Oh, but just one tiny thing before we get started.  Tina put up an awesome post on Phyllis’s visit to South Korea!  If you haven’t had a chance, please check it out!  And I heard a rumor that her visit to Corey in New Jersey might be up today… fingers crossed 🙂  Also, fabulous news, she will be visiting St. Lucia and maybe, hopefully Africa!!!  Okay!  Enough digression… :))

Today I am so excited to be introducing a fabulous author/illustrator to you all.  Please give a warm welcome to the wonderful and talented Lisa Thiesing!
Author/illustrator Lisa Thiesing

Hi Lisa!  Thanks so much for joining us today!!
Hi Susanna!  Thanks so much for inviting me!  I’m excited to be here!
SLH:  When did you first become interested in writing and/or illustrating?  Was it something you always did, or something you came to later in life?
LT:  I first became interested in children’s books when I was very little.  My mother always read to me and she was very excited about all the new books that were coming out at the time.  Things like the Little Bear books and Eloise were brand new!  Can you believe it?  Eloise was a character I particularly related to since I grew up in Manhattan, just a few blocks away from you!   We even had a mail chute by the elevator.  It was tempting but I never did pour water down it! Oh! and Harriet the Spy…. I often ran around the park pretending to be her. These characters seemed so real and were my friends.  My mother would also point out interesting things in the drawings, like how a certain expression on a character was just so perfect for the story.  She made books seem important and fun.  Also, this is probably bad, but she would let me stay home “sick” from school so that I could work on my tremendously original novel about Old Boy, a dog that was constantly saving his boy from falling down wells and other disasters.
SLH:  Were you encouraged by family/teachers?
     
      LT:  I was definitely encouraged by my mother.  I was VERY shy as a girl and I think she saw writing and drawing as my way of communicating.
SLH:  You are both an author and an illustrator.  Which comes first for you, the story or the art?
LT:  The story comes first.  When I write a story, what usually happens is that a certain phrase will keep repeating in my head.  Sometimes it’s the beginning of the story, sometimes it’s the ending.  When I wrote my first picture book, Me &You, my daughter was very little and she kept doing things that I used to do when I was that age.  So I kept saying to her that I used to do whatever it was, just like you!  That would be my beginning.  And I knew I wanted to end it with And when I grew up, I wanted to have a little girl…just like you!  I had a beginning and I had an ending.  I just needed to fill in the middle.  I had lots of photos of me and Katherine doing the same things but completely differently.  So that took care of the middle.  And with the photos for reference, I was able to tell the other part of the story – the differences in time, place, personality, attitude – through the illustrations.
                        
SLH:  Is there an author/illustrator who has been especially inspirational or instrumental in your own development as a writer/illustrator?
      LT:  I really like the early reader genre.  So people like Arnold Lobel, Syd Hoff and James Marshall are particularly inspirational.
      SLH:  What was your first published children’s book?  Tell us about the moment when you got your first offer!
      LT:  My first book assignment was The Ghosts of Hungryhouse Lane by Sam McBratney.  I had been taking my portfolio around to all the various publishing houses for a couple of years, with no luck.  I did keep working on my portfolio, showing it again and again, and kept sending out postcards to editors.  I was close to giving up when the phone rang and it was Brenda Bowen, then at Henry Holt!  She asked if I might be interested in illustrating a middle grade novel!  I nearly fell on the floor!  I thought to myself, “Are you kidding me?!?!”  But I was cool and instead shouted, “YES!!!!”  I got to go to her office, but now as an actual illustrator because I had a real book to do and we’d talk about our project!  It felt wonderful.
      SLH:  Where/when/how do you get your ideas?
      LT:  It seems I often get ideas for stories while driving.  I don’t know why that is.  Or doing the dishes.  My Peggy the Pig books were adaptations of stories I already knew.  The Viper is based on the old campfire scary joke.  The Aliens Are Coming!  is a variation on War of the Worlds.  A Dark and Noisy Night is a combination of The Tell Tale Heart and my cousin’s daughter’s fear that the tree branches scratching at her window were witches’ fingers!  And The Scarecrow’s New Clothes is from an old story a friend’s mother used to tell. 
      If I’m illustrating someone else’s story, then the ideas, of course, stem from the story.  Except that I do get to make the characters look how I want and set the scenes where I want.  It’s like being a movie director.  You get the story and then you can interpret it visually as you like.
SLH:  What has been the most challenging thing you have faced as an author/illustrator?
      LT:  The most challenging thing I have faced is the current climate of publishing in general.  It used to be that even if you were not a super star, bestselling author/illustrator you could still work and still publish books.  It seems that now you are given a small window of opportunity and if in that time you don’t produce a best seller, that’s it.  As Heidi Klum would say, “One day you’re in and the next day you’re out.”
SLH:  What has been the most wonderful thing that has happened to you as an author/illustrator?
      LT:  That’s a difficult question.  A couple of things come to mind.  A few parents have told me that their children actually learned to read with my All Better book. That is really gratifying.  There is a lot of repetition in that book and it was my goal to help kids learn to read and to enjoy it.  And they did!
      Also, the first time I saw my Two Silly Trolls in the front of the I Can Read display at Barnes & Noble.  I took a picture of that and then the sales person said I wasn’t allowed to do that.  And I said, “But that’s my book!”  And he said, “Well, it’s our policy, blah, blah, blah…”
      It’s also really wonderful at school visits when kids say, “I LOVE you!  You are the best writer and illustrator ever!  Don’t ever leave!!!”
SLH:  Do you do school visits?  Would you be kind enough to briefly describe your program/presentation?  What is your preferred age range and group size?  Do you have materials available for parents/teachers to go along with your books(s)?
kid’s drawing of Peggy 🙂
      LT:  So, yes, I do school visits.  I have a PowerPoint presentation of one of my books, complete with sound effects!  Currently I’m doing The Viper.  There’s also a little bit about printing and binding because I have found that kids really want to know how a book is actually made.  My books are geared toward K-4 and I prefer smaller groups.  After we do questions and answers, I also give a short drawing lesson.  I’ve been using basic shapes and have the kids follow me step by step. We draw Peggy and also do other animals or a scene.  All of them, even the youngest, have made beautiful, wonderful pictures which they are really excited about.  
SLH:  Can you give us any hints about what you’re working on now?
      LT:  This seems an unlikely turn of events.  But recently I was contacted by someone from The Guggenheim to work on a project with them!  I will be writing a narrative for children that will be performed at the end of the month for the museum’s Family Day.  It is part of the “still spotting” project, which finds different places in the city that inspire peace, quietness, “home”, transformation. This will be in Jackson Heights, Queens. http://stillspotting.guggenheim.org/about/
SLH:  Do you attend writer’s conferences?
      LT:  I have attended conferences.  I think they are valuable when you are starting out because they do provide a lot of information.  Sometimes there is a really great keynote speaker and that can be inspiring.
SLH:  What has been your best-selling book so far?  Which book’s sales (if any) did not do as well as expected?  Why do you think that might have been?  Have all your titles earned out?  Are they all still in print?  Have sales affected publishers’ willingness to do further projects in a good or bad way?
      LT:  My best-selling books so far have been the Two Silly Trolls books.  They were part of the HarperCollins I Can Read program, which is one of the best, most trusted and well-loved group of books ever.  So there is a built-in safety umbrella.  Both retail customers and educational outlets are going to buy books that are published by them.  That doesn’t happen with most books.
Lisa’s studio (nice, isn’t it?:))
      Most of my books have earned out and I’ve received royalties.  But ALL of my books should have sold better than they did and they are now out of print.  And that, of course, does affect publishers’ willingness to publish more.
SLH:  Where can we find you?

Website:           
www.lisathiesing.com
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/LisaThiesingBooks
Info on School Visits:
http://lisathiesingschoolvisits.blogspot.com/
I’ve started giving art lessons to kids in my studio!  It’s been really fun!
Info on Art Lessons:
http://lisa-coopstudios.blogspot.com/
Also, I’ll be participating in the Hudson Children’s Book Festival on May 5th.  I would love to see everyone there!  It’s a great opportunity for people who love children’s books to come out and meet some of their favorite authors and illustrators.  Bring the kids!
http://hudsonchildrensbookfestival.com/
Reader question:  how important is it to have a story?  Can you just entertain and make people think, or do you have to have a story to make a picture book?
LT:  A story is very important.  But I’m not sure what you mean by story.  Even a concept book about color, for example, is a story.  And I think it is tremendously important that a book be entertaining.  Reading is fun!  A silly book can also be thought provoking and that’s a challenge as a writer for children.
  
Just for fun quick questions:
Agented or not?  Not.
Traditionally or self-published?   Traditionally.
Hard copy or digital?   Hard Copy.
Apps or not?   Not.
Plotter or pantser?   Don’t even know what that means!
Laptop or desktop?   Desktop.
Mac or PC?   PC.
Day or night worker?   Day worker.
Coffee or tea?   Coffee!
Snack or not?   Not.
Salty or sweet?   Both.
Quiet or music?   Quiet for writing.  Music for drawing.
Cat or dog?   Dog.  (But I have 3 cats, too.)

Thanks for visiting everyone!  And now you have a chance to win a personalized signed copy of Lisa’s fun and popular book A Dark And Noisy Night!  (And I just want to say that I’m trying out Rafflecoptor for the very first time and pretty much just hoping it works!!! 🙂 – If you don’t’ see the Rafflecoptor widget, try hitting the comments button and see if it shows up!)


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Perfect Picture Book Friday – The Bear Went Over The Mountain

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Today I am thrilled to be showcasing a truly perfect picture book by one of my favorite author/illustrators!  It’s brand new, and if you haven’t had a chance to read it yet, rush right out because it’s wonderful and you’re going to love it 🙂

The Bear Went Over The Mountain
Written & Illustrated By:  Iza Trapani
Sky Pony Press, April 2012, Fiction

Suitable For:  ages 3-7

Themes/Topics: Animals, Language Fun, Nature, Seasons, 5 Senses

Opening:  “The bear went over the mountain,
The bear went over the mountain,
The bear went over the mountain
To see what he could see.
He saw a dragonfly,
A bluebird flitting by,
Three fuzzy rabbits skipping,
Five happy ducklings dipping…”

Brief Synopsis:  The bear goes over the mountain to see what he can see, hear, smell, touch, and taste, and he gets a few surprises while he’s at it! 🙂

Links To Resources:  Classroom Activities, Coloring Page, Maze, Connect-The-Dots, Word Search, Bookmarks.

Why I Like This Book:  This book, like all of Iza Trapani’s books, has impeccable, fun-to-read/sing aloud rhyme, a delightful child-friendly story, and gorgeous art that makes you want to crawl right into the pages and live there 🙂  The bear goes over the mountain and experiences nature through all five of his senses, some in rather unexpected ways.  Children will learn the song quickly because it’s a familiar tune, and they will delight in singing along to the bear’s adventures.  Perfect for bedtime, story time, preschoolers learning about the 5 senses, rides in the car – another winner from Iza!

Iza was kind enough to visit us here recently, and if you didn’t get to see her interview you can read it HERE.

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

Now, before we all rush off to read the other PPBs and enjoy our weekends, I have two three other things to tell you:

First, in case you haven’t had a chance to check it out, Phyllis visited Clar in Virginia, and Melissa in Australia.  She is currently flying home from England (I wonder if she’ll have an accent :)) and arrived in South Korea yesterday which was tomorrow over there at the time 🙂  She should be arriving at Saba’s in Washington today.  And this just in, she has been to see Alison in Georgia!

Second, by overwhelmingly popular demand, editor Erin Molta’s visit to our little corner of the blogosphere will be a Q&A, possibly divided into more than one post, so please check the comments from Wednesday’s post to see the questions currently on the table, and add any additional questions here when you think of them (or email me :))  There is not yet a set date for this extravaganza, but you can be sure I’ll let you know! 🙂

Finally, on Monday we will have a visit from the fabulous author/illustrator Lisa Thiesing!  Because I know people in high places (that would be me) I have already read her interview, and I can assure you it is really good!!!  So I hope you’ll all flock over here first thing Monday morning and show her some much-deserved love! 🙂

Now then.  PPB bloggers, please add your post-specific link below, and everyone have a super-fantastic fun-filled weekend!!!