The Nina, The Pinta, and the Guidelines for the 8th Annual Halloweensie Contest!!!

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Happy Columbus Day, Everyone!

As usual on this day, it’s time for a special message from our sponsors.

Remember how on a dark and stormy night in 1492 (I think it was Thursday) our good ole buddy Chris, involved in a heated discussion with his crew about what the 5 Little Pumpkins were doing on a gate in the first place instead of being home in bed where they belonged, accidentally sailed the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria into an island in the Bahamas for which he was credited with discovering America even though he missed the entire coast from Maine to the Florida Keys?  (And incidentally never figured out why the 5 Little Pumpkins were on that gate.  I don’t think Thursdays are his day.)

Anyway, the point is, thanks to his navigational shortcomings, we all have the day off!

And what better way to celebrate poor navigation skills and a day off than by warming up our writing utensils and setting forth to win a contest?

That’s right! (Or should I say, that’s write?!)

(Yeah.  Okay.  Sorry 🙂 )

ANYway…

In case you haven’t guessed…

It’s time to announce the guidelines for…

The 8TH Annual HALLOWEENSIE CONTEST!!!

halloweensie-pumpkin

~ for children’s writers ~

 

The Contest: write a 100 word Halloween story appropriate for children (children here defined as 12 and under) (title not included in the 100 words), using the words shiver, cauldron, and howl.  Your story can be scary, funny, sweet, or anything in between, poetry or prose, but it will only count for the contest if it includes those 3 words and is 100 words (you can go under, but not over!)  Get it?  Halloweensie – because it’s not very long and it’s for little people 🙂  (And yes, I know 100 words is short, but that’s part of the fun and the challenge!  We got 235 fantastic entries last year, so I know you can do it!)  Also, you may use the words in any form – e.g. shivered, shivery, cauldrons, howled, howling, whathaveyou 🙂  NO ILLUSTRATION NOTES PLEASE! (And yes, you may submit more than one entry if you’re so inclined 🙂 )

Post: your story on your blog between 12:00 AM EDT Saturday October 27th and Wednesday October 31st by 11:59 PM EDT and add your post-specific link to the list that will accompany my special October 27th post.  There will be no Perfect Picture Book or Would You Read It posts for the duration of the contest so the links will stay up for everyone to visit and enjoy.  If you don’t have a blog and would like to enter, you can simply copy and paste your entry in the comments section of my October 27th post once it’s up (please include your byline if your posting handle is something like AwesomeWriter92 so I can identify you.)  If you have difficulty posting in the comments, which unfortunately sometimes happens, you may email your entry to me at susanna[at]susannahill[dot]com and I’ll post it for you.  Please place your entry in the body of the email including your title and byline at the top – NO ATTACHMENTS!  And please do not submit entries before the start of the contest!

The Judging: in a grueling marathon over the following days, my devoted assistants and I will narrow down the entrants to 3 top choices (hee hee hee – you know how much trouble I have with only 3, so we’ll see) which will be posted here and voted on for a winner on Monday November 5th (if the judging takes longer than we expect if could be later…but we will do our best!)  The winner will be announced on Thursday November 8th (good lord willin’ and the creek don’t rise 🙂 ) If we get more than 25 entries, I will post 6 finalists and give prizes for 1st – 3rd.  If by some chance we get the kind of turnout we’ve had the past couple years, I may post as many as 10-12 finalists and I’ll probably end up giving everyone a prize 🙂  But we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it!

Judging criteria will be as follows:

  • 1. Kid-appeal! – These stories are intended for a young audience (ages 12 and under), so we’re looking for stories that children will enjoy and relate to.
  • 2.  Halloweeniness – the rules state a Halloween story, so it must be crystal clear that the story is about Halloween, not just some random spooky night.
  • 3. Quality of story – entries must tell a story, including a main character of some kind and a true story arc even if it’s tiny 🙂  Entries must not be merely descriptions or mood pieces.
  • 4. Quality of Writing: check your spelling, grammar, punctuation etc.  If you’re going to rhyme, give us your best 🙂  Overall writing quality and use of language are also important.
  • 5. Originality and creativity – because that is often what sets one story above another.

The Prizes:  as usual, I’m still working on the prizes 🙂  Feel free to chime in in the comments if there’s something you’d particularly like to win! 🙂  Or if you have something awesome to offer!  I’d be very grateful if anyone could put me in touch with an agent or editor who would be willing to be the big prize because I’m not having good luck with that so far!!!  But for starters, prizes will include:

– several picture book manuscript critiques from amazing critiquers (details to come – I need to spread my generous volunteers out over 3 contests, so, planning…)

 – 2-Pack of Personalized Signed Picture Books by the lovely and talented Tania Guarino, author of MEET THE QUACKERS (Spork, 2017) and GARDEN PARTY: A COUNTING ADVENTURE (Spork, 2018)
tania-guarino_1_orig Quackers Garden Party

– a personalized signed copy of NOT SO SCARY JERRY by the wonderful and gifted Shelley Kinder

shelley-kinder_orig   Jerry

– Bundle Of Books – assorted PBs, MGs, YAs (details to come) – generously donated by KidLit411

– an e-pub or PDF copy (winner’s choice) of Linda Ashman‘s Nuts And Bolts Guide To Writing Picture Books. OR paperback of Ann Whitford Paul’s Writing Picture Books: A Hands-On Guide from Story Creation to Publication.

 

Plus stay tuned because other great stuff is coming! 🙂

I hope those fantabulous prizes will at least whet your appetite for the contest!

Many, many thanks to Tania, KidLit411, and the PB MS critiquers for their very generous prize offerings!

So sharpen your pencils!

Get your butt in that chair!

See what amazing, knock-your-socks-off story you can dream up!

It’s a chance to hone your writing skills, practice your craft, write to specifications and a deadline, win amazing prizes, AND get to read and enjoy the wonderful stories written by all your fellows 🙂

I am SO looking forward to seeing what you all come up with!!!

Have a Marvelous Monday everyone! 🙂

Perfect Picture Book Friday – Love Is Kind with a GIVEAWAY!

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Today is a special day!

Not only is it Perfect Picture Book Friday, it’s the day author Laura Sassi is stopping at my little blog on her blog tour!  (Thanks so much for joining us, Laura, and including us in the launch of this wonderful book!)

As a result, we have a great book to share as well as FANTASTIC activities from the author herself!

Let’s get right to it, shall we? 🙂

thumbnail_loveiskindcover

Title: Love Is Kind

WrittenBy: Laura Sassi

Illustrated By: Lison Chaperon

Zonderkidz, August 2018, fiction

Suitable For Ages: 4-8

Themes/Topics: love, kindness, doing the right thing

Opening: “Little Owl jingled the coins in his pocket.  It was Grammy’s birthday.  And, finally, he had enough money to buy her something special – a heart-shaped box of chocolates.
He took out the coins – so shiny and new – and ready to spend.  But then. . .”

Brief Synopsis: Little Owl has planned a special gift for Grammy’s birthday, but one thing after another goes wrong.  He perseveres, doing the right thing even when it is difficult, and ends up giving Grammy an unplanned but even more wonderful gift.

Links To Resources: Today we have wonderful, special resources straight from the author!  Take it away, Laura! 🙂

(With apologies from me that the text is so crunched together – I  could not get this to format properly no matter what I did!)

Little Owl’s Tea Party: FIVE TIPS for Pairing Picture Books with a Tasty Treat
by Laura Sassi
Today I’m delighted to share with you a sweet baking activity created by French illustrator Lison Chaperon, with a little collaboration from the author (me!) to adapt the recipe to US measurements. Click HERE to download a high quality at scale version for better printing. I hope you enjoy it!
 
thumbnail_Little Owl Tea Party 1
thumbnail_Little Owl Tea Party 2
In addition to being absolutely delicious, this LOVE IS KIND-inspired baking activity has gotten me thinking about how wonderful it is when we pair picture books with a tasty book-themed treat. In doing so, not only are we giving our kids the opportunity to learn some baking/cooking skills, we are helping them to connect to the story in a new and fun way.  As we nibble and chat about the book, we’re also instilling in them a framework to talk about the stories we read and an opportunity to think about how picture books relate to our lives and the world. Finally, we’re fostering good critical thinking skills as we converse with our little ones about what treat would be best paired with a particular picture book.
With all these benefits in mind, here are FIVE tips for PAIRING PICTURE BOOKS with TASTY TREATS.

1. Pick any picture book.  (Better yet, let your child pick the book.)

2. Pre-read the story so you can gather your ingredients. Once you’ve selected your picture book, take a few minutes a day or two ahead of time so that you can anticipate what types of treats you and your child might want to create to pair with the story.  This way you can be sure to have the ingredients in stock for a seamless and tasty brainstorming to baking to eating experience. 
3. As you read with your child, ponder the treat-making possibilities. It’s most beneficial (and engaging) to your budding critical thinkers if you include them in the process of deciding what book-themed treat to create, though it’s perfectly acceptable, in my opinion, to gently lead them towards the ingredients you have on hand (see step two). As you are pondering, the treat might be obvious. For example, in my third book DIVA DELORES AND THE OPERA HOUSE MOUSE, Fernando the mouse loves gumdrops, popcorn, and cheese on try toast, so those would be obvious picks. 
But…
4. Sometimes you will have to be creative!  Some picture books, however, won’t have such obvious choices. My recommendation, in these instances, is to pick a character or a defining element of the story and create a treat inspired by that.  For example, on her blog, Easy Elegant Entertaining™, trained chef and cookbook author (and mom to an adorable young budding reader), Addie Gundry, uses the concept of tails in GOODNIGHT, ARK to create an adorable book-themed treat. http://addiegundry.com/theblog/2018/3/21/tails-on-the-ark-two-by-two 
You can also create character-based cookies for almost any book, as my daughter did for Tara Lazar’s THE MONSTORE and my GOODNIGHT, ARK.
thumbnail_loveiskindcookies

Tiger Cookies for Goodnight Ark

5. Have fun!  (Need I say more?) 

 

Thank you, Laura!  What a fun activity!

Why I Like This Book: The story is sweet with a beautiful message about what love really is (from 1.Corinthians.13). While the story unfolds, the lovely words from the Bible verse appear in dreamy lettering in the background – on the breeze, in a rainbow, etc.  Not at all heavy-handed, but beautifully woven into the story.  Little Owl’s behavior and reactions are realistic and believable – frustration, disappointment, envy, sadness – but he doesn’t give in to his negative emotions, choosing instead to be a good person.  He shows up at Grammy’s empty-handed and unhappy, only to find that by being himself he has given her the best gift of all.  The art is warm and appealing, and Little Owl is adorable 🙂

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do 🙂

Here’s the book trailer in case you’d like a further glimpse of the book!

Laura Sassi with Sunflowers

Children’s Author Laura Sassi

Laura Sassi
Children’s book author and poet
GOODNIGHT, ARK (Zonderkidz, August ’14)
GOODNIGHT, MANGER (Zonderkidz, October ’15)
DIVA DELORES AND THE OPERA HOUSE MOUSE (Sterling, Spring ’18)
LOVE IS KIND (Zonderkidz, Fall  ’18)

twitter.com/laurasassitales

The publisher has generously offered a giveaway of one copy of LOVE IS KIND to one of our readers. To qualify, you must be a U.S. resident with a street address (as opposed to a P.O. Box) and at least 18 years old to enter.  If you wish to be considered, please leave a comment below indicating your interest by Monday October 8 at 9PM Eastern and we will randomly select a lucky winner!

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

PPBF folks, please add your titles and post-specific links (and any other info you feel like filling out 🙂 ) to the form below so we can all come see what fabulous picture books you’ve chosen to share this week!

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!!! 🙂

(And don’t forget to enter the giveaway if you’re interested!)

Would You Read It Wednesday #300 – The Night There Was No Bedtime (PB) PLUS The June Pitch Pick PLUS The May Pitch Pick Winner!

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Woo hoo!  It’s another fun-filled edition of Would You Read It Wednesday!

Not only that, it’s the 300th WYRI!  Can you believe it?  Apparently we’ve been doing this for awhile 🙂 I think that calls for a celebration!  So I’m going to give away a book to one random commenter today!

This is an interesting week on Blueberry Hill.  I had a new book out yesterday which was a kind of a first for me.  I was hired to write the first-ever picture book version of the well-known movie, Miracle on 34th Street for Sourcebooks and the Valentine Davies estate.  A pretty cool project to be part of!

Miracle Updated Cover

 

As any of you know who have seen the movie, it is LONG to condense into a picture book, and has elements (drunkenness, being committed to an asylum, etc) which are not necessarily picture book friendly 🙂 So it was an interesting challenge!  I think it came out pretty well, although, due to trying to keep the word count down there are a few places where some of the niceties of language and transition in my original manuscript had to be cut in the interest of space.  But it tells the story, and the art is beautiful and perfectly suited to the era of the tale.  I think it will make a lovely holiday time read.

Since it’s brand new and hot off the presses, and we’re celebrating the 300th WYRI, I will give a copy of Miracle On 34th Street to a randomly selected commenter on today’s post!  I’ll even sign it for you if you want since I wrote this particular version, even though the original story belongs to Valentine Davies 🙂

Anyway, we’d better get down to business!

For starters, the winner of the May Pitch Pick was Jackie with her nonfiction picture book pitch for One Smart Cookie: The Story of Ruth Wakefield and the Invention of the Chocolate Chip Cookie!!!  Congratulations, Jackie!  I have to say, you had me at the title! :). Your pitch is on its way to editor Erin Molta, who, being inundated with this giant pile of pitch winners, will eventually dig herself out from under!  I think we’re going to have a huge Straight From The Editor post at some point! 🙂

Congratulations to all our pitchers!  You all did an amazing job, and your stories sound so interesting!  Keep up the good work!  A fair few writers have ended up selling books they pitched here (one of these days I should make a list of exactly who and have a celebratory post about them) but YOU could be next!  Why not?! 🙂

Onward, now, to the June Pitch Pick!  After this we only have July to catch up… and of course September which we are now ready for as well.  But we’re getting there!

Have a look at the revised pitches. Think them over. Make your selection. And then vote below for your favorite and step on up to the chocolate bar! (see what I did there? 🙂 )

#1 – Katie E – The Tooth Fairy Conference (PB ages 5-9)

Tooth Fairy Gwyneth rallies brainy and brawny conference attendees to extract Plaque Man, a rot-minded foe, and save the fairy economy. Gwyneth must convince skeptical speakers presenting key economic and tooth collecting knowledge to form a posse with tough tooth fairies from all over the world. Now if only they can combine their dental and mental derring-do and wash skunky, gunky Plaque Man down the drain.

#2 – Patricia – Amy’s Birdsong Aires/American Composer Amy Cheney Beach (PB ages 4-8)

Amy wasn’t an ordinary child. A musical prodigy, she could accurately sing any song she heard. Amy wanted to sing, play the piano, and write music, but girls in the late 1800’s didn’t grow up to do such manly things. Despite the times, her talents blossomed and she gained recognition.When a professor learned that Amy had perfect pitch, he asked her to help him ‘name the birds’, which ended up being a very important thing.

 

#3 – Katie B – The Librarian’s Treasure (YA/Fantasy)

Drake’s assignment: Find the child of the lady and the leprechaun. Vague much? The League of Leprechaun’s, at least that is what the three diminutive men called themselves, had shown up at Drake’s pub and offered him more gold than he was willing to turn down.
Drake had narrowed down the “sense” his new bosses had to Raegan, the only person of the right age consistently in this place. She didn’t seem a leprechaun any more than the three men had and how they expected her to save the village from dying out the League hadn’t felt compelled to share.
Getting close to Raegan to discover the truth, Drake became unexpectedly drawn to the goodness and innocence she exuded. He wondered, would she save the village, or might she just save him?

 

#4 – Yvona – Granny’s Veggie Garden (PB ages 4-8)

The seasons come full circle in this intergenerational story that introduces gardening and cooking adventures with fun, fresh language as the characters plan, plant, till, weed, harvest and cook from their garden’s abundance.

 

Please vote for your favorite pitch – the one you think most deserving of a read and comments by editor Erin Molta – in the poll below by Sunday October 7 at 9PM Eastern.  Many, many thanks for your help! 🙂

 

 

Since it’s October and Halloween is coming, I thought we’d do something fun AND delicious for today’s Something Chocolate!  How do you feel about Spiderweb Cookie Cake? (Especially appropriate given today’s May Pitch Pick winner 🙂 )

Spiderweb Cookie Cake (basically, a gigantic chocolate chip cookie 🙂 )

Yum-MY!  Really, there’s nothing like homemade chocolate chip cookies!  I think I know what I’m doing this afternoon…while I’m working…multi-tasking at its best 🙂

Now then, onto today’s pitch which comes to us from Katie (yes! another Katie!) who says, “I am a Registered Nurse, mother to a sticky boy and a horse-lovin’ girl, and a writer of picture books. I enjoy spending time at the beach building sand castles and gawking at whales.”

Find her on the twitter at @KatieWills79

Here is her pitch:

Working Title: The Night There Was No Bedtime

Age/Genre: Picture Book (ages 3-6)

The Pitch:  Drowsy children everywhere are yawning and hugging their teddies close… but Bedtime is nowhere to be found.  She has other plans for the night, and sleeping isn’t one of them. If Bedtime won’t return, the children may never sleep again!

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

If your answer is YES, please feel free to tell us what you particularly liked and why the pitch piqued your interest.  If your answer is MAYBE or NO, please feel free to tell us what you think could be better in the spirit of helping Katie improve her pitch.  Helpful examples of possible alternate wordings are welcome.  (However I must ask that comments be constructive and respectful.  I reserve the right not to publish comments that are mean because that is not what this is about.)

Please send YOUR pitches for the coming weeks!  For rules and where to submit, click on this link Would You Read It or on Would You Read it in the dropdown under For Writers in the bar above.  There are openings in October – yes – NEXT WEEK! – so someone send me a pitch!  You will get helpful feedback from our devoted readers and a chance to have your pitch read and commented on by editor Erin Molta!  What are you waiting for?! 🙂

Katie is looking forward to your thoughts on her pitch!  I am looking forward to receiving an actual copy of Miracle On 34th Street and being able to give a copy to one of you!

Have a wonderful Wednesday everyone!!! 🙂

 

Tuesday Debut – Presenting Hannah Holt!

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Welcome to the October 2nd edition of Tuesday Debut, everyone!

Not only do we have a fabulous new author and debut picture book to enjoy today, this particular author did some research into advances, royalties, and rights last year which she has very kindly shared with us below.  After last week’s questions, I know you’ll all find it interesting!

So without further ado, put your hands together for Hannah Holt and her debut picture book, The Diamond And The Boy!

The Diamond and the Boy
written by Hannah Holt
illustrated by Jay Fleck
Balzer+Bray, October 2, 2018
Nonfiction, ages 4-8

 

DiamondMan Final cover

Told in a unique dual-narrative format, The Diamond and the Boy follows the stories of both natural diamond creation and the life of H. Tracy Hall, the inventor of a revolutionary diamond-making machine.

 

SUSANNA: Thank you so much for joining us today, Hannah!  We are thrilled to have you here and so excited to hear all about your amazing book!  Where did the idea for this book come from?

HANNAH: Tracy Hall was my grandfather. The idea to write his biography was simple enough, but how to tell the story eluded me for years. I took the story in a dozen different directions before landing on the dual narrative with graphite.

 

SUSANNA: How long did it take you to write this book?

HANNAH: About five years.

 

SUSANNA: Did you go through many revisions?

HANNAH: Yes, about eighty.

SUSANNA: I am noticing a trend here, folks!  Last week, Beth told us her book had undergone 91 revisions.  It sounded like a LOT, but Hannah is giving her a run for her money!

 

SUSANNA: When did you know your manuscript was ready for submission?

HANNAH: When it was accepted for publication!
Kidding (sort of). I still struggle with knowing when my stories are “ready.”

I worked on this story for years. I had it professionally critiqued. The story won an award—and I still had to completely rewrite it before it was accepted for publication. A story can always be made better. However, every so often, you have to try the market. Sometimes you just have to let go and submit.

Yes, edit it and revise it. Rest it and rework it. Critique it and tweak it…and then send it out!

 

SUSANNA: When and how did you submit?

HANNAH: I wanted an agent, so I mostly submitted to them.

I sent in small batches of 5-8 at a time. When a rejection came in, I would send another query out. I was working towards a goal of 100 rejections in a year.

I didn’t quite make that goal because I signed with my agent, Laura Biagi, and we were fortunate to have The Diamond & the Boy picked up quickly.

Laura was actually my second agent. My first agent, Danielle Smith, is no longer working in the industry.

While working with Danielle, I received no rejections. None. My stories went out and nothing came back. After we parted ways, I set my rejection goal to take back control of my career.

If you aren’t getting rejected, you probably aren’t progressing towards publication.

Rejects are good! They are proof you are working.

Hannah and Zephyr

Hannah hard at work with her supervisor and neck-warmer, Zephyr 🙂

 

SUSANNA: When did you get “the call”?  (Best moment ever! 🙂 )

HANNAH: I spoke with my editor before I had an official offer.

Laura and I received interest from multiple houses for The Diamond & the Boy. My agent arranged phone calls with the interested editors, so I could hear their editorial ideas. Kristin Rens had a fantastic vision for the story, so I accepted the offer from Balzer+Bray.

 

SUSANNA: How did you celebrate signing your contract?

HANNAH: I signed my contract, and then finished washing the dishes.

Okay, later in the day, I went to dinner with my husband, but it’s funny how normal duties of life didn’t disappear just because a book contract is signed.

 

SUSANNA: Was the contract what you expected in terms of advance, royalty percentage, publication timeline, author copies etc.?

HANNAH: My advance was larger than expected, probably because of the interest from multiple houses. It still didn’t make me rich. I’ve sold more than this book, but I’m not living off my income from picture books.

I didn’t know what to expect in other areas, so I deferred to my agent’s judgment on those items. (Hurrah, for agents!)

 

SUSANNA: Readers of this series have expressed a strong interest in knowing a little more about the specifics of contracts.  As it happens, Hannah conducted a poll last year to gather information on that topic and she was kind enough to provide a graph and summary explanation which I hope everyone will find helpful.  Even though I’m sticking it smack in the middle of her interview 🙂

HANNAH:

I asked about advances as part of my children’s author survey last year. I had over 100 published picture book authors participate. The most common advance range for smaller houses is $1,000-$5,000. The most common advance range at Big 5 houses is $5,000-$10,000. However, I’ve attached an image to show you the spread. My debut advance was higher than average, but I had interest from multiple houses. That drove the offer up quite a bit.

My agent at the time was aggressive about pursuing international rights, so she only sold North American rights. I’ve spoken with editors about this. It’s more common for picture books to sell world rights because the words and illustrations are often created by different person. It can be easier to sell as a package. One editor I talked to said picture books at her house are about 2/3rds world rights. This same editor said it’s more common for novelists to retain world rights.

Q1 Large House vs small house advance

graph copyright Hannah Holt 2017

 

SUSANNA:  Thank you so much for sharing that, Hannah.  I think I can speak for all our readers when I say it is extremely helpful!

 

SUSANNA: Tell us about the editorial process…

HANNAH: I was fortunate to talk to my editor before accepting the offer, so there weren’t any big surprises.

I had pitched the book as a dual narrative meet-in-the-middle story, and Kristin wanted a side-by-side telling. I fully supported this switch and working with Balzer+Bray was a delight. Kristin kept me in the loop for everything from copy editing to the progress on the illustrations.

 

SUSANNA: Tell us about your experience of the illustration process…

HANNAH: I was involved from the very beginning.

My editor suggested four possible illustrators, and Jay Fleck was my top pick. Fortunately, he accepted the offer from my publisher. Yay!

My editor kept me in the loop as illustrations progressed. I saw sketches, and at some point, my editor asked if I would help supply research material. Of course, I was happy to help, and we went through a few rounds of sketches and tweaks.

I never spoke directly with the illustrator, and I tried to leave Jay as much stylistic freedom as possible in my notes while keeping the story technically accurate. I’m very happy with the result. The final artwork is stunning!

SUSANNA: Very cool that your editor sought your input on who the illustrator would be!

 

SUSANNA: Did you include art notes in your manuscript?  If so, can you share an example?

HANNAH: I only had one illustration note in the text for The Diamond & the Boy. It was describing something vaguely enough that I thought the illustrator might need some help:

“Once-frail sticks and sheets

become strong enough to lift his feet

off the earth. (illo note: huge kite)”

The resulting illustration looks like this:

The Change page

 

SUSANNA: Did you get to see advance reviews from Kirkus, SLJ, etc?

HANNAH: The Diamond and the Boy has had two trade reviews so far: Booklist (a STAR!) and Kirkus. I saw both reviews before they were made public and fortunately both were favorable.

 

SUSANNA: How long did it take from offer to having the first copy in your hand?

HANNAH: About two years.

 

SUSANNA: What kind of marketing and promotion has your publisher done for this book?

HANNAH: My publisher sent my book out for trade reviews and awards. They’ve brought The Diamond & the Boy to major book conferences, like Texas ALA. They’ve also had a digital copy available on Edelweiss+ and sent me several Folded & Gathered copies.

I won’t be going on a publisher sponsored book tour or anything fancy like that, but I’m happy with the level of support I’ve received.

 

SUSANNA: Describe any marketing/promotion you did for this book.

HANNAH: I helped organize a picture book debut group with about 50 members. We recently ran a group giveaway for educators with over 1,600 entries. It’s much easier to market with friends. I highly recommend that approach.

I’m also writing blog posts (like this! Thanks, Susanna!), putting together a classroom guide, and recording videos for science experiments correlated with my book.

When focusing on promotional material, I try to spend time rather than money. Like I said earlier, writing books hasn’t made me rich.

 

SUSANNA: How long was it between the time you started writing seriously and the time you sold your first picture book?

HANNAH: Ten years.

In the last decade, I’ve watched many friends sign with agents and publishing houses. Some friends have become quite successful. Others have left the business. I’ve also seen books hit bestseller lists and then eventually go out of print.

Through all this, I’ve learned that quick success isn’t necessarily the path to happiness. Becoming “published” is not the end-all, be-all that budding authors sometimes think it is. It’s important to know what you want and not become distracted by the siren call of every opportunity.

Market trends come and go, but stories don’t expire. There is no deadline for success. Through it all, keep chasing your own dreams!

SUSANNA: That is excellent advice, Hannah!  Thank you so much for sharing your experience with us today.  We all really appreciate it and wish you the best of success with this book and all the books to follow!  Readers, if you have any questions for Hannah, I’m sure she’ll answer if she has time!

HannahHolt_small

Hannah Holt is a children’s author with an engineering degree. Her books, The Diamond & The Boy (2018, Balzer+Bray) and A Father’s Love (2019, Philomel) weave together her love of language and science. She lives in Oregon with her husband, four children, and a very patient cat named Zephyr. She and her family enjoy reading, hiking, and eating chocolate chip cookies. You can find her on Twitter and at her website: HannahHolt.com

You may purchase her book at:

Indiebound
Amazon
Barnes&Noble

We can help our debut authors successfully launch their careers by purchasing their books, recommending their books to friends and family, our children’s teachers and librarians, and our local libraries and bookstores, by sharing their books on social media, and by reviewing their books on Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes&Noble, and other sites where people go to learn about books.

Thank you all for stopping by to read today!  Have a lovely, inspiration-filled Tuesday!  Maybe today is the day you’ll write your debut picture book 🙂

 

Missed any previous Tuesday Debuts?  Check them out!

Christy Mihaly – Hey! Hey! Hay! A Tale of Bales And The Machines That Make Them

Jessie Oliveros – The Remember Balloons

Beth Anderson – An Inconvenient Alphabet: Ben Franklin And Noah Webster’s Spelling Revolution

Perfect Picture Book Friday – Garden Party: A Counting Adventure Book

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Hurray!  It’s Friday!

Every Perfect Picture Book Friday is fun because I get to share a book I really like with all of you and see what books you’re all loving this week.

But PPBF is especially fun when I get to share a book I love that happens to have been written by a friend!  (A friend who, coincidentally, I got to have coffee and blueberry muffins and a lovely chat with yesterday morning 🙂 )

As this book involves a garden, you could work it into any seasonal discussion or classroom unit (spring planting, summer growing, winter dormant) but since it’s harvest time, why not read it and share it right now? 🙂

Garden Party

Title: Garden Party: A Counting Adventure Book

Written By: Tania Guarino

Illustrated By: Emma Allen

Spork (Clear Fork Publishing), September 2018, fiction

Suitable For Ages: 3-6

Themes/Topics: concept (counting), animals, language fun (rhyme), nature/gardens

Opening: “One (1) bunny in a burrow on Farmer Dale’s trail,
wakes with a shake and a wiggle of her tail.
She starts with a hop by an old tin pail,
wiggle, hop, wiggle…down Farmer Dale’s trail.”

Brief Synopsis: One after another, the woodland friends join the group heading down Farmer Dale’s trail, following the bunny who may be the only one with a plan 🙂

Links To Resources: author’s website coloring pages and activities; 10 different animals are mentioned in the story. What other animals can you think of who could join the garden party?  Draw one (or more!), and describe how they would move or sound (e.g. “swishy swoosh swoosh”); which of the animals mentioned in the book do you think Farmer Dale would be most unhappy about having in his garden? Why?  Which ones might he be glad to have? Why? Easy Recipe for Carrot Cake

Why I Like This Book:  There are so many things to love about this book!  Where to start?  At the beginning, I guess :). The bunny who sets the whole adventure in motion clearly has a plan (the illustration shows the stockpile of carrots she has already gathered in her burrow.). She heads off toward the garden for more and is joined by 2 skunks, 3 fawns, 4 foxes, etc on her counting adventure.  Midway through the story, the rollicking rhythm of the adventure is beautifully paused by the arrival of the 5 snails, who bring the whole crew to a screeching halt.  But before you know it they’re all on their way again, the snails hitching a ride on the faster animals 🙂 I won’t give away the ending – you’ll have to read the book!  The rhyming story is nicely written and fun to read aloud.  Kids will enjoy the different sounds and movements used to describe the animals’ way of going (e.g. “wiggle, hop, wiggle” and “swishy, swoosh, swoosh”) and being able to chime in on the anticipated repetition of “down Farmer Dale’s trail!”.  The art is bright, colorful, and lively, and young readers will have a great time searching the illustrations to find all the snails!

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text copyright Tania Guarino 2018, illustration copyright Emma Allen 2018

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do 🙂

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

PPBF folks, please add your titles and post-specific links (and any other info you feel like filling out 🙂 ) to the form below so we can all come see what fabulous picture books you’ve chosen to share this week!

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!!! 🙂

 

Would You Read It Wednesday #299 – Marster Shoes (PB) PLUS The May Pitch Pick PLUS The April Pitch Pick Winner!

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In case you were wondering, not only is today Would You Read It Wednesday, it is also Johnny Appleseed Day!

(I KNOW!  I, too, am wondering how I got through all these years without knowing there was a Johnny Appleseed Day!  Can you imagine?)

It stands to reason there would be one though, because how could we have apple cider donuts without Johnny Appleseed?  And we couldn’t really have autumn without apple cider donuts, and just think of the havoc that would be caused by no autumn and therefore no pumpkin-spiced everything!

Because of Johnny Appleseed, pumpkin-spiced trash bags.

Wow.

I think I just did philosophy.

Or possibly locomotiary substitution 🙂

Anyway, enough about Johnny!  We’ve got lots to get to today, starting with the winner of the April Pitch Pick who, I am pleased to announce, is Corine with her pitch for Willamina The Wolf Spider!!!

Congratulations, Corine!  Your pitch is wending its way along the cyber highway to editor Erin Molta for her thoughts!

Congratulations, too, to our other fabulous pitchers who did an amazing job!  I hope Would You Read It was helpful to you and that you all feel you’ve emerged with stronger pitches and a better understanding of what makes a good pitch for your future endeavors.  We are lucky to have such wonderful, helpful and discerning readers here to aid us in the pursuit of pitch excellence!

Now then!  Moving briskly onward to the May Pitch Pick!

(We’re making progress with the catching up… only June and July to go after this… but by then we’ll need September…!)

Have a look at May’s interesting and entertaining pitches:

#1 – Jackie – One Smart Cookie: The Story of Ruth Wakefield and the Invention of the Chocolate Chip Cookie (NF PB ages 4-8)

For years the invention of the chocolate chip cookie has been hailed a happy accident. Perhaps it was, or perhaps it was the clever invention of a clever lady. Devour every morsel of this mystery and decide if it was a lucky mistake or the creation of one smart cookie.

#2 – Patricia – Sadie’s Tail (PB ages 4-8)

Whenever Ryan tries to brush rescue-pup Sadie’s fluffy tail, Sadie growls and howls. Wary of scaring or hurting her, Ryan stops. Sadie’s fluffy tail grows matted, and things like cooking utensils, toothbrushes and even glasses get stuck in her fur. Ryan tries several ways to tame that tail, and retrieve the missing items, but fails, until he discovers that the solution was wagging at him the entire time.

#3 – Francis/Tim – I Am Not A Hugger (PB ages 4-8)

Val is not a hugger. She just isn’t. But nobody in her extend family of huggers seems to know it. Val has devised elaborate plans to make herself unhuggable, but nobody ever takes the hint. So when the latest family gathering promises to be another hug fest, Val must figure out how to be heard, or endure yet another hugtastrophe.

Now that you’ve had a chance to read through and evaluate, please vote for the pitch you think is best and most deserving of a read and critique by editor Erin Molta in the poll below by Sunday September 30 at 9PM Eastern.

 

 

Yowza! (a word just added to the Scrabble dictionary, for those of you who are keeping track.)  All that pitch evaluation and voting and talk of cider donuts has made me a mite peckish.  How about you?  Nothing like 100 layers of Something Chocolate to get that under control!

100 Layer Chocolate Chip Cookies

100-Layer-Cookie-6

Recipe and helpful video HERE at iambaker

Mmm!!!  So much delightful chocolate-y goodness!  I don’t know whose idea chocolate was, but it sure was a good one!!!

Now then, onto today’s pitch which comes to us from Sarah who says, “I am an Optometrist, mother, and lover of the outdoors. I live in NH with my husband and two children. I love to paint in my free time, when I’m not writing.”

Find her on the web at www.sarahheturadny.com

Here is her pitch:

Working Title: Marster Shoes

Age/Genre: Picture Book (ages 4-8)

The Pitch: Stanley has a human mom, a Martian dad, and a foot problem. MARSTER SHOES is a 425wc PB in which Mom insists Stanley wear shoes for school. Stanley wants to please her, but doesn’t want to give up the feeling of being barefoot. The end comes with a cringe.

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 Sarah 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 Would You Read it in the dropdown under For Writers in the bar above.  There are openings in October (10th and 17th!), so you could get your pitch up pretty soon for helpful feedback and a chance to have it read and commented on by editor Erin Molta!

Sarah is looking forward to your thoughts on her pitch!  I am looking forward to October!  How about you guys?  I love October – warm days, cool, crisp nights, apples (and all the good desserts that go along with them 🙂 ), orange, gold, and red leaves that make even gray, rainy days seem bright, Sheep & Wool Festival, long walks with the dogs, usually the first cozy fire of the year, fun-size Halloween chocolate (worthy of making the list twice 🙂 ), the Halloweensie Contest… and not too close to winter yet! Lots of good things 🙂

Have a wonderful Wednesday everyone!!! 🙂

Go forth and write!

 

Tuesday Debut – Presenting Beth Anderson!

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Welcome, Everyone!

It’s the friendly, Tuesday writer’s club coffee hour here on Blueberry Hill!

Take off your shoes, tuck yourself into a comfy chair, wrap your hands around a nice hot mug of coffee or tea, and let’s settle in for a cozy chat with today’s Tuesday Debut-ess!

(What do you think?  Is debut-ess an improvement on debutee or is debutee better?  I’m still trying to think up a good word 🙂 )

While you’re thinking on that, coffee cake anyone?

apple cake

Photo and recipe from ScrummyLane

 

Before we get started, I want to take this opportunity to invite you all to evaluate the information you’re getting from these Tuesday Debut posts.  As you read, please think about whether you’re getting all the information you hoped for from the weekly posts.  Do you have burning questions we’re not addressing?  Specific things you’re dying to know about the publication process? If there are questions you’d like to see included in future Tuesday Debuts, please share them with me in the comments or email me!  It is easy to make changes and I definitely want to make improvements if there are any you can see to be made.  I want this series to be as helpful to everyone as possible!

Now, it is my extreme pleasure to introduce today’s Tuesday Debut author, the lovely and talented Beth Anderson and her wonderful book:

AN INCONVENIENT ALPHABET: BEN FRANKLIN AND NOAH WEBSTER’S SPELLING REVOLUTION
by Beth Anderson
illustrated by Elizabeth Baddeley
Paula Wiseman Books/Simon & Schuster, 9/25/18
Narrative Nonfiction, age 4-8

Beth1

Brand new Educator’s Guide available HERE

Do you ever wish English was eez-ee-yer to spell? Ben Franklin and Noah Webster did!

 

SUSANNA: Thank you so much for joining us today, Beth!  We are all so glad of the opportunity to learn from your experience!  I’m chuckling because entirely by coincidence, the book I posted for PPBF a few days ago was Noah Webster And His Words by Jeri Chase Ferris – a nice companion to your book!  Where did the idea for this book come from?

BETH: Ben Franklin had me at “ish.” When I saw a news blurb item about how he wanted to change the English alphabet, including six new letters (one of which was “ish”), I was immediately interested. As a linguistics major, reading specialist, and English teacher, how could I resist? When I read further, his quote, “Those people spell best who do not know how to spell,” hit me. The kids! They’re sounding words out. So sensible. Just what Franklin wanted. His quirky humor went straight to my heart. From there, I had to dig in and find the story. (For more on the inspiration, see this post. )

 

SUSANNA: How long did it take you to write this book?

BETH: After the initial exploration confirms that a topic has potential, I research for a few weeks, organize ideas, then start drafting. AN INCONVENIENT ALPHABET took about six months to reach “ready” for an editor critique. (I was working on a couple other manuscripts in various stages at the time, as well.) After the critique, I revised for another month and a half. It involved more research, some “reframing,” and tightening.

 

SUSANNA: Did you go through many revisions?

BETH: My revision process has changed as I’ve learned more and more about how to shape a story. AN INCONVENIENT ALPHABET went through about 40 revisions. An earlier manuscript, which will be my second picture book, had 91 revisions. Part of the difference is the story itself. But much of what accounts for far fewer revisions with “Alpha” is that I did a lot more organizing of information and brainstorming of possible structures and “vital idea” before I wrote. Also, I made many more changes with each revision as I’m not only fine tuning sentences, but looking at structure, conflict, characterization, etc. I think the key to making revisions that matter is to go beyond the sentence level where you keep reworking the same “story,” and, instead, push yourself to experiment with structure and holistic level changes. Finding just the right thread to make a story marketable and being able to reframe it that way is an ongoing challenge!

(There’s more on revising this manuscript HERE. )

 

SUSANNA: When did you know your manuscript was ready for submission?

BETH: Probably like most of us, I often think a manuscript is ready before it really is. We write the story we love and revise it until it’s just right, but often fail to see the big picture, or the marketing picture, or the irresistible premise picture—all things editors see. That’s why critique groups are so important. (Not your kids, or spouse, or neighbor.) That’s also (just one reason) why an agent is so valuable. A good agent has “editor eyes.” All these people help us see a story in different ways and can tug on the reins when we want to go ahead and submit before its ready.

With this manuscript, after I had taken it through many revisions, various critique groups over and over, and past my agent several times, I purchased an editor critique. With that, I took each piece of feedback and made sure I had applied it to the entire story. Then, when feedback came back with tiny tweaks, and the story itself got a genuine “yes!” it told me that the manuscript was ready to sub.

 

Beth3

 

SUSANNA: When and how did you submit?

BETH: At a writing retreat, I purchased editor critiques on several manuscripts. My agent, the wonderful Stephanie Fretwell-Hill, advised which manuscripts fit which editors. After the retreat, I worked with Sylvie Frank’s feedback to revise AN INCONVENIENT ALPHABET, and then we sent it to her on a 30-day exclusive submission. Ta-da! She loved it. (Note: Sylvie said that acquiring a manuscript in that way is rare for her.)

That all sounds so easy, right? Well, there was a lengthy process leading up to that. If you’re interested in how I got to that point, HERE’s more.

 

SUSANNA: When did you get “the call”?  How did you celebrate signing your contract?  (If you care to share 🙂 )

BETH: To be honest, the thrill of both the news of the offer and the signing of the contract were tempered by sad events. The contrast of emotions served to remind me of what’s truly important and that life is a balance. My joy settled inside, nestled with gratitude, encouragement, and anticipation of the new adventure.

SUSANNA:  I’m so sorry that what should have been a joyous occasion was tempered by sadness, Beth.  But you are right.  It does help us keep perspective.

 

SUSANNA: Was the contract what you expected in terms of advance, royalty percentage, publication timeline, author copies etc.?

 

BETH: Mostly, I didn’t know what to expect! This too is a learning process. I asked some questions of my agent to better understand it all and am so glad that I had her to lead me through it and do the negotiations.

 

SUSANNA: Tell us about the editorial process and your experience with the illustration process…

BETH: There were few revisions to make for the editor since I had already revised per her feedback. She got an illustrator on board very quickly – the amazing Elizabeth Baddeley! About 3-4 months after the contract was signed we had sketches. That’s an exciting moment! Copy edits came soon after. I made a few tweaks to the text here and there. I was kept in the loop throughout, and the process was smooth and comfortable. The editor’s vision never conflicted with mine, but rather enhanced everything that I had envisioned.

As a rookie, I was wishing I had more knowledge of the editorial process, what to expect when, etc. Here’s how I would explain the process:

Imagine the editor drives up to your house in a limo and invites you to go for a ride. You sit up front and chat along the way. You know the destination, but don’t know the route. So you spend much time looking out the window, wondering, asking a question now and then. Along the way, you pick up other people – the illustrator, art director, etc. But…there’s that limo barrier between the front and back. You can’t talk to the people back there, but the editor can, and once in a while relays a bit of what’s going on. You ooh and ahh at landmarks along the way, feel a festive spirit permeate the vehicle, and, finally, after a long trip, you arrive at the book!

As I work on more manuscripts, I see that each one is a bit different. So…basically, sit back and enjoy the ride!

Beth2

 

SUSANNA: Did you get to see advance reviews from Kirkus, SLJ, etc? What was that like?

BETH: Seeing the advance reviews from Kirkus and SLJ was a joyful moment – a bit of relief combined with anticipation at getting the book in the hands of kids.

 

SUSANNA: How long did it take from offer to having the first copy in your hand?

BETH: 2 years

 

SUSANNA: Describe any marketing/promotion you did for this book.

BETH: I’m really only beginning this aspect of the book and learning as I go. I have lots of lists!! Here’s what I’ve done so far:

  • scheduled a release party at a local Barnes and Noble,
  • requested F&Gs be sent to a number of bloggers in hopes that they will want to review AN INCONVENIENT ALPHABET and have been lucky enough to receive invitations for interviews from friends within the kidlit world.
  • postcards, bookmarks, additional business cards
  • contacted bookstores in the area about opportunities such as local author signing days and festivals, as well as school visits they coordinate. (I don’t think this book is the best for story times with toddlers.)
  • planned activities for events
  • completed authors pages on Amazon, Goodreads, etc., SCBWI opportunities
  • added pages to my website
  • blog posts for my own site on my writer’s journey and process
  • created Pinterest boards related to the book
  • working on a presentation for schools and paperwork associated with that

 

SUSANNA: What is your publisher doing to market and promote your book?

BETH: I’ve been assigned a publicist and am copying her on any plans I make so she can coordinate books being available. She will arrange signings I request when I travel and send F&Gs to people I’ve requested. I’ll work with her on any conferences, but at this point have none scheduled. The publisher has sent copies to reviewers and created an educator’s guide.

 

SUSANNA: How long was it between the time you started writing seriously and the time you sold your first picture book?

BETH: I made the decision to jump into writing for children in the fall of 2013. In the beginning of 2016, I signed with an agent, and in September 2016, I had my first offer.

 

SUSANNA: Anything else you’d like to share about your book’s journey from inspiration to publication?

BETH: I think each book has lessons to teach us as writers. As I got to know the characters in AN INCONVENIENT ALPHABET, Ben Franklin’s philosophy of letting your ideas “take their chance in the world” really struck a chord with me. In contrast, Noah Webster wanted to force his ideas on people. One approach is stressful, the other not. One approach considers you know best, the other accepts that maybe you don’t. One approach lets rejections quash the spirit, the other takes them in stride.

So, do your best, and put those manuscripts out there. Let your ideas “take their chance in the world!” 🙂

Beth4

photo credit Tina Wood

Beth Anderson, a former English as a Second Language teacher, has always marveled at the power of books. Armed with linguistics and reading degrees, a fascination with language, and penchant for untold tales, she strives for accidental learning in the midst of a great story. Beth lives in Colorado where she laughs, wonders, thinks, and questions; and hopes to inspire kids to do the same.

website and social media links

https://bethandersonwriter.com/

https://www.facebook.com/beth.anderson.33671748?fref=ts%2F

https://twitter.com/@BAndersonWriter/

https://www.pinterest.com/bandersonwriter/

An Educator’s Guide is available HERE.

Beth, thank you again so much for being with us today, and readers, thank you for stopping by to read.  If you have questions for Beth I’m sure she will do her best to answer if she has time.

I think it’s interesting that the interviews from both Jessie last week and Beth this week showed how much writing is but one piece in the puzzle of life.  It’s so easy as an unpublished writer (or even a published writer hoping for another sale) to think that if you can get published, everything will be perfect!  There is no denying that getting published is wonderful!  It is the dream.  It is what we all work so hard for.  But for Jessie it came with a new baby, and for Beth it came with sadness in her life.  Both things put publication in perspective.  Jessie’s book was drawn from her life experience of having a grandfather with Alzheimers, and Beth was able to write her book because of her background as a teacher and her knowledge of and interest in linguistics.  So if you’re looking for inspiration, you may, like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, have no need to look any further than your own back yard. You may find it right there in your life.

Whether you’re published yet or not, write for the joy of writing and enjoy the process and the journey.  It’s hard work, but we do it because we love it, and I think most of us would agree that there aren’t many occupations that can rival making up stories, or sharing the wonders of the nonfiction world with kids 🙂

Happy Tuesday! 🙂 and don’t forget to let me know if there are questions you want answered in future posts!

Missed any Tuesday Debuts?  Check them out!

Christy Mihaly – Hey! Hey! Hay! A Tale of Bales And The Machines That Make Them

Jessie Oliveros – The Remember Balloons

Perfect Picture Book Friday – Noah Webster And His Words

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It’s Perfect Picture Book Friday and – can you believe it? – the official last day of summer 2018!

I love the crisp air, the jeweled colors, and the cider donuts of autumn, but I feel like summer went by in a blink!

I hope all your falls get off to a lovely start this weekend with some family apple picking, or an outdoor music festival…or maybe a trip to Princeton Children’s Book Festival – that’s where I’m headed! 🙂

For today’s Perfect Picture Book I decided to go the educational route… but it’s also tons of fun!  Have a look!

Noah Webster

Title: Noah Webster And His Words

Written By: Jeri Chase Ferris

Illustrated By: Vincent X. Kirsch

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Books For Young Readers, 2012, nonfiction

Suitable For Ages:  3-7

Themes/Topics: American history, vocabulary/language, dictionaries, biography, nonfiction

Opening: “Noah Webster always knew he was right, and he never got tired of saying so (even if, sometimes, he wasn’t).  He was, he said, “full of CON-FI-DENCE” [noun: belief that one is right] from the very beginning.”

Brief Synopsis: This book tells the story of Noah Webster’s life and how he wrote the first American dictionary in an effort both to educate and to help unite the new United States.

Links To Resources: The book itself is a resource as it teaches the life of Noah Webster and the period of American history is was part of. There is a useful timeline in the back matter as well as a section entitled “More About Noah Webster” and a helpful bibliography.  For a fun classroom game, play Dictionary (where one student chooses a word from the dictionary and writes down the correct definition and everyone else writes down a made up definition.  All definitions are read aloud and the class votes for which is the real one…and you see if the real one wins or one of the made up ones!)

Why I Like This Book: Not only is this book interesting – full of information about Noah Wester and his creation of the first American dictionary – it’s fun!  There is a surprising amount of humor, both in the text and in the illustrations.  I also love the clever way some of the vocabulary words in the text are woven in like dictionary entries!  The book brings Noah Webster to life in a way that illuminates his personality.  It’s a perfect example of how to write nonfiction so that young readers enjoy the learning experience.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do 🙂

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

PPBF folks, please add your titles and post-specific links (and any other info you feel like filling out 🙂 ) to the form below so we can all come see what fabulous picture books you’ve chosen to share this week!

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!!! 🙂

Hope to see anyone who is in the neighborhood at the Princeton Children’s Book Festival tomorrow! 🙂

Would You Read It Wednesday #298 – Garden Bed (PB) PLUS The April Pitch Pick PLUS The March Pitch Pick Winner!

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Are any of you guys Calvin and Hobbes fans?

There’s a Calvin and Hobbes collection called The Days Are Just Packed, and that title just says it all!  Really, doesn’t it seem like every day is just packed?  How is it Wednesday again already?! 🙂

Given the packed-ness of everyone’s days, let’s get right down to business, shall we?

First up, I’m happy to announce the winner of the March Pitch Pick! It is Jean with her picture book pitch for A Little Witchy!  Congratulations on a strong (and popular!) pitch, Jean!  It is on its way to editor Erin Molta for her expert review!

Congratulations to all our other pitchers as well for excellent pitches and wonderful story ideas!  I hope the WYRI experience has helped you strengthen your pitches so that all those stories pique the interest of agents and editors and result in multi-house bidding wars!

Now, let’s move on to the ARPIL Pitch Pick!  (I apologize again for getting so far behind with the pitch picks that we’re having to do one a week for eternity here – you guys are very patient with me!)

Please read through our WYRI contestants’ revised pitches below.  Choose the one you like best and think is most deserving of a read and comments by Erin Molta and vote by Sunday September 23 at 9PM Eastern.  Rachel, Candace, Amanda, Corine, and I all thank you and send virtual Snickers bars your way! 🙂

#1 – Rachel – The Littlest Astronaut – PB Ages 4-10

All Seren has ever wanted is to become an astronaut…but training at the academy is hard work and she cant keep up! If Seren doesn’t improve her grades she won’t be selected for an upcoming space mission. A crisis hits the International Space Station and only a pint sized hero can save the day. Seren has to step up in order to save a team of astronauts and to achieve her dream of going in to space.

#2 – Candace – Curious Cassandra – PB Ages 2-6

The pitch:  Cassandra overhears her mother talking about the plants their neighbor, Mrs Fulton, is growing in her garden – turtle’s heads, fox’s gloves, and lamb’s ears.  She wants to see these mysterious plants for herself but, Mrs Fulton is on vacation. There must be a way to spy over, under, or through the garden fence and Cassandra intends figure it out.

 

#3 – Amanda – Sylvia Swan And Cabot – PB Ages 4-10

Matilda + Big Hero 6 + Walle + Frankenstein

When Sylvia’s family is too busy to help her build a blanket fort, she takes matters into her own hands. She utilizes her pint-sized engineering skills: brainstorming, sketching, measuring, and drafting to create the perfect invention! She brings CABot, her Customized Assisting Robot, to life. CABot becomes her fort building solution—making her favorite pastime a reality. But Sylvia soon finds out that CABot can help her build more than just a fort when inspiration strikes again—solving her problem of eating eggplant parmesan for dinner.

#4 – Corine – Willamina the Wolf Spider – PB Ages 6-9

Willamina the wolf spider wants more than anything to keep her spiderlings safe, but when her tummy starts grumbling, she knows it’s time to hunt. Not an easy task with three hundred spiderlings on her back! To make matters worse, it is full moon, and she is not the only one who is hungry. Willamina has to outsmart an owl, a shrew, and, in the end, a woman with a broom—an incident that forces her to release her spiderlings, but not before telling them they are going on a flying adventure.

 

Now then!  I think we’ve all earned Something Chocolate, don’t you?  What should we have today…?  How about some chocolate pound cake with chocolate ganache? That sounds like breakfast, doesn’t it? 🙂

Chocolate Pound Cake

Mmm!  Delish!  Goes great with coffee, tea or milk, and is guaranteed to either pep us up or put us down for a nap 🙂

Now then, onto today’s pitch which comes to us from Lily.  Lily Erlic is a member of the SCBWI. She has authored many books included Finger Rhymes for Manners and Glaciers: Landscape Carvers. She is a preschool and daycare teacher (ECE) with a BA degree from the University of Victoria.

Here is her pitch:

Working Title: Garden Bed

Age/Genre: Picture Book (ages 2-5)

The Pitch: Garden Bed is a lyrical rhyming book that takes place in the garden. Each plant is put to sleep gently. Tomato, cucumber, parsley, eggplant, kale, purple potato, lettuce, carrots and peas are lulled to sleep. At the end, a young child is placed in a “garden bed” and gently lulled to sleep as well. An early picture book for children five and under, this book will find an audience in preschool and daycares across the country. This book will resonate with parents especially for nap time or before bed. I can provide back matter for each type of vegetable.

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 Lily 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 Would You Read it in the dropdown under For Writers in the bar above.  There are openings in October, so you could get your pitch up pretty soon for helpful feedback and a chance to have it read and commented on by editor Erin Molta!

Lily is looking forward to your thoughts on her pitch!  I am looking forward to the Princeton Children’s Book Festival this Saturday!!!  Will any of you be there?  I hope you’ll stop by and say hi!

Have a wonderful Wednesday everyone!!! 🙂

 

Tuesday Debut – Presenting Jessie Oliveros!

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TOO TOOTLE TOOT-TOOT TOOT TOOOOOOOT!

(Try to imagine that was royal trumpets! 🙂 )

(It’s pretty lucky we are all creative types who are good at imagining things 🙂 )

But trumpets!!!

Because it’s time for another Tuesday Debut – the thrilling new series where you get the inside scoop on how pre-published picture book writers became Published Picture Book AUTHORS!

What could be better?!

After dipping our toe into the Tuesday Debut experience a month ago with Christy Mihaly, we are now going full steam ahead with a new debut every Tuesday for the next 9 weeks (minus a week or two while Halloweensie is running and pre-empting all regular programming on this blog)!

And let me take this opportunity to say that if YOU have a debut picture book coming out and you’d like to be center stage here, sing out!  If the date’s free it’s yours!

Alrighty!

Let’s have a round of applause for today’s lovely debutee (is that a word? n. one who debuts? Let’s make it a word!  Pronounce it day-bew-tay – it sounds more accomplished and French that way 🙂 )

ANYway! Queen of the Day – Jessie Oliveros!!!  (clapclapclapclapclap!!!!!)

THE REMEMBER BALLOONS
Written by Jessie Oliveros
Illustrated by Dana Wulfekotte
Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers
August 28, 2018
Fiction
Ages 5-9

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James and Grandpa keep their memories in balloons, and James loves to hear all of Grandpa’s stories. When Grandpa’s balloons begin to float away, James tries to catch them—but he can’t. He must discover another way to reclaim Grandpa’s balloons.

SUSANNA: Where did the idea for this book come from?

JESSIE: THE REMEMBER BALLOONS was inspired by my paternal grandfather who has Alzheimer’s.

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James this summer, age 92

 

A few summers ago, while visiting my grandparents in Kansas with my children, my thoughts turned to writing a picture book. I only knew that it would be about a boy and his grandfather suffering from Alzheimer’s. I started out writing a straight forward story. I can’t say exactly when the metaphorical angle came to me. I knew balloons would be an accessible idea for children. And, when I was visiting my grandparents, I had recorded some of their histories on a voice recorder. This made their memories more of a tangible thing for me, I think. Plus, there was that act of capturing their memories before they were no longer with us. All of these things came together, and the THE REMEMBER BALLOONS was born.

 

(Also, one of my favorite methods of idea-seeking is to mash two unlikely ideas together, which I think my brain did out of habit when I thought of balloons while also contemplating memories.)

SUSANNA: How long did it take you to write this book?

JESSIE: Once the idea of the memory balloons came to me, this story flowed fairly quickly. I had a cohesive draft in an afternoon. I definitely cannot say that about all of my picture book manuscripts! When I get an idea, I typically let it form in my mind for awhile before writing anything down. Sometimes it takes a ridiculous amount of drafts to make it a cohesive story. And that’s before any real revisions!

 

SUSANNA: Did you go through many revisions?

JESSIE: THE REMEMBER BALLOONS went through my own revisions before I felt it was ready for other eyes. I sent it to a trusted critique partner and implemented her feedback. It may have been about ten revisions before my agent saw it. Once he had his hands on it, the revision process had just begun!

I advise letting a manuscript sit for awhile and coming back to it. You see things a little differently with the passage of time.

SUSANNA: When did you know your manuscript was ready for submission?

JESSIE: Well, when I send a child off to kindergarten, I know she’s ready. She’s been at home for five years and is itching to get out (even if there are some tears). I’ve dressed her in nice clothes, brushed her hair, & packed her bag and lunch. She’s ready for the world.

I guess it’s that way with your manuscript. You know you’ve done your best. It’s itching to get out. You feel it’s ready for the world. (There I go speaking in metaphors again.)

SUSANNA: When and how did you submit?

JESSIE: I submitted to about 12 agents before I found my agent. I had just finished querying a middle grade very widely, and I was a little burnt out. So, I went much slower this time. Plus, there was a bit of a personal stamp on this one which I think made me more careful with my “baby.”

I entered a Twitter Pitch contest the Friday before Christmas (#pitchmas). I pitched THE REMEMBER BALLOONS. My agent, Mike Hoogland of Dystel, Goderich, & Bourret, “liked” my pitch. I sent him my manuscript the next day. Monday, Mike contacted me via email. Tuesday we were on the phone talking representation. (BEST CHRISTMAS PRESENT EVER.) This all happened fast, but the process leading up to it was several years!

SUSANNA: When did you get “the call”?  (Best moment ever! 🙂 )
JESSIE: The manuscript was picked up about a month after we started subbing. This is quick—but I truly believe it’s all about landing on the right desk at the right time. I’ve subbed out more manuscripts since then, and it’s usually a months-long process! Fun story: I received the offer for THE REMEMBER BALLOONS the day after I brought my fourth baby home from the hospital (and we’d just closed on a house—ha!). It was a very full few days. I knew Simon and Schuster had been considering it, but I still had the surreal, heart-dropping moment when I read the email from Mike.

 

SUSANNA: How did you celebrate signing your contract?
JESSIE: I actually received my contract on my birthday! Ha! I didn’t do any special signing pictures or anything, but it was a bit of a dual celebration. Interesting fact: there is a delay between offer and contract signing. Mine was about two months. Offer in March. Contract in May.

 

SUSANNA: Was the contract what you expected in terms of advance, royalty percentage, publication timeline, author copies etc.?
JESSIE: I didn’t know what to expect! I did a lot of internet research on the terms, and I had a good agent to answer all of the questions. I would say that the terms were better than I could have hoped for for a debut author.

 

SUSANNA: Tell us about the editorial process…

JESSIE: I edited the manuscript with my acquiring editor, Christian, before he switched houses. He helped me hone the manuscript into what it is today. The structure of it remains close to the original. But Christian helped me dig deeper into the manuscript—most notably, he encouraged me to find James’ voice and to re-examine the silver balloon. He helped give it breath!

After that, Justin took on THE REMEMBER BALLOONS. He helped me pare it down some. We cut unnecessary phrasing as well as parts that were redundant with the illustrations.

I feel so lucky to have worked with both these editors—both great, visionary people and positive forces in children’s publishing.

SUSANNA: Can you share your experience of the illustration process?
JESSIE: When I first saw the sketches, I was very happy with the look and style. The people that Dana drew were actually very similar to how I had envisioned them as I drafted—sweet, sketchy, dreamy. I saw the sketches and art at several stages along the way. The combined visions of Lucy, the art director for THE REMEMBER BALLOONS, and Dana really superseded anything I could have ever dreamed of myself. There were a few things I suggested, tweaks really. I asked that a berry basket be added to the yellow balloon memory, for instance. I felt my input was listened to and taken seriously. But I mean, just look at the art.

 

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SUSANNA: Did you get to see advance reviews from Kirkus, SLJ, etc?  What was that like?

JESSIE: The trade reviews for THE REMEMBER BALLOONS was sent to Dana and me in advance. That means we had to hold in the news of our Kirkus star before sharing it on social media! One thing I didn’t know before that I know now—your editor may send all the trade reviewers your book, but that doesn’t mean they are all going to review it.

SUSANNA: How long did it take from offer to having the first copy in your hand?

JESSIE: As I mentioned earlier, my baby was only a few days old when I received an offer. She’s 2 ½ now! I didn’t expect it to take that long, but those 2 ½ years were full. There is a lot of behind-the-scenes work going on to design and promote the book. It takes a lot of time, and I think it was worth it!

 

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SUSANNA: If your book has been out for at least one statement cycle, has it earned out yet?

JESSIE: My book just released a few weeks ago so I’m a longways off from that!
SUSANNA: Describe any marketing/promotion you did for this book.

JESSIE: I’ve used social media quite a bit to promote my book. I’ve done a few interviews like this. I’m about to have launch events in two different cities. Honestly, I think the best thing for your book is word of mouth! I had a friend tell me the other day that her friend had seen someone talking about my book on Instagram. Being that many degrees removed from it felt pretty awesome!

SUSANNA: How long was it between the time you started writing seriously and the time you sold your first picture book?

JESSIE: I started writing seriously when my son was two. 7 ½ years later I sold my picture book! That’s ten years from outset of journey to actual book.

SUSANNA: Anything else you’d like to share about your book’s journey from inspiration to publication?

JESSIE: This journey, like life, is unpredictable. It’s filled with mountains and cliffs and valleys. One thing I’ve learned (and am still learning!) is to step outside of it. Don’t let the rejections and the bad reviews cast a shadow over the things and people that give you joy.

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My “book offer” baby today at 2 ½ years old.

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www.jessieoliveros.com
Twitter: @JessieOliveros
Instagram: @jessieoliveros
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jessie.oliveros.5

That is wonderful advice, Jessie!  Many thanks for joining us today and sharing your knowledge with us.  You are the second author in a row to point out that your first sale was many years in the making.  I hope everyone feels buoyed up by the knowledge that, if you’re feeling discouraged because it’s taking you awhile to get published, this is a marathon, not a sprint for ALL of us in the picture book world.  And though it may be taking more time than we’d like to cross the finish line, at least we’re surrounded by friends all the way ❤

If you have questions for Jessie, you may ask them in the comment section and if she has time she may be able to answer 🙂

Thank you all for joining today’s debut!  And maybe there’s someone in your life who would enjoy a copy of THE REMEMBER BALLOONS… 🙂