The 6th Annual Halloweensie Writing Contest – aahhhrrrooooOOOOO!!!

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Ear of frog and toe of newt!  It’s finally time for . . .

The 6th Annual HALLOWEENSIE CONTEST!!!!!
aahhhrrrooooOOOOO!!!!!


halloweensie-pumpkin

The Contest:  write a 100 word Halloween story appropriate for children (title not included in the 100 words, children here defined as 12 and under), using the words spider, ghost, and moon.   Your story can be scary, funny 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 nearly 150 fantastic entries last year so I know you can do it!)  Also, you may use the words in any form – e.g. moon, moons, mooned, spidery, ghostly, whathaveyou 🙂  No illustration notes please!

Post your story on your blog between right now this very second and Monday October 31st by 11:59 PM EDT and add your post-specific link to the list below.  There will be no Perfect Picture Book post on Friday Oct. 28 so the post and the list of links will stay up all weekend for everyone to 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 below. (Or, if you have difficulty with the comments, which unfortunately sometimes happens, you may email your entry to me and I’ll post it for you! Please place your entry in the body of the email – NO ATTACHMENTS!)  P.S.  Although I try to stay glued to my computer 24/7 I am sometimes forced to leave my desk.  If you haven’t commented on my blog before, your comment won’t show up until I approve it.  It may take a little while if I’m away from my desk.  Likewise, if you send me an entry to post, I promise I will do it as soon as I can!

The Judging: in a grueling marathon over the following days, my lovely 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 7th.  The winner will be announced on either Wednesday November 9 or Thursday November 10.  If we get more than 20 entries, I will post 6 finalists and give prizes for 1st through 3rd.  If by some chance we get the kind of turn out we did last year, all bets are off.  I may post as many as 10 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:

–  a Picture Book Manuscript Critique by wonderful editor Marilyn Brigham of Two Lions!!!

marilyn-brigham

Marilyn Brigham

Marilyn Brigham edits picture books, chapter books, and middle grade for Two Lions, the children’s imprint at Amazon Publishing. Her recent titles include Go to School, Little Monster by Helen Ketteman, illustrated by Bonnie Leick and The Secret Knock Club: The Great Sleep-Under, by Louise Bonnett-Rampersaud, illustrated by Adam McHeffey. She is looking for commercial, character-driven picture books and chapter books; holiday picture books; and widely appealing, high-concept middle grade. She is not currently acquiring board books or nonfiction.

– a Picture Book Manuscript Critique by the fabulous agent Jodell Sadler of Sadler Children’s Literary Agency!!!

jodell-sadler

Jodell Sadler

– winner’s choice of a Picture Book Manuscript Critique or a 15-minute phone call for all your writerly questions from fantastic author Katy Duffield (LOUD LULA – Two Lions 2015, FARMER MCPEEPERS AND HIS MISSING MILK COWS – Cooper Square Publishing 2003, ALIENS GET THE SNIFFLES TOO – forthcoming from Candlewick, and many other titles)

katy-duffield

Katy Duffield

–  winner’s choice of a Picture Book Manuscript Critique or a Query Letter Critique from amazing author Dori Kleber (MORE-IGAMI, Candlewick  2016)

dori-kleber

Dori Kleber

– a Picture Book Manuscript Critique from the awesome Vivian Kirkfield, author of the forthcoming SWEET DREAMS, SARAH – Creston Books, 2017) AND personalized signed copies of her wonderful books SHOW ME HOW and the LUCKY DRAW ANTHOLOGY.

vivian-kirkfield

Vivian Kirkfield

–  a Bundle Of Books from KidLit411 (must be selected by someone in the USA due to postage) including:
Picture Books:

THEY ALL SAW A CAT by Brendan Wenzel
GOODNIGHT GOODNIGHT CONSTRUCTION SITE by Sherri Duskey Rinker
THE LITTLE MOUSE, THE RED RIPE STRAWBERRY AND THE BIG HUNGRY BEAR by Don and Audrey Wood
A MORNING WITH GRANDPA- Sylvia Liu

Middle Grade Books:

THE GEOGRAPHY OF YOU AND ME- Jennifer E. Smith
SUNNY SIDE UP Jennifer and Matthew Holm
IF YOU’RE READING THIS Trent Reedy
AL CAPONE DOES MY SHIRTS Gennifer Choldenko

(What a totally awesome book bundle for writers, readers, parents, teachers, or gift-givers!!!)

– a 6 month subscription to One Stop For Writers (value $50)

– an e-pub or PDF copy (winner’s choice) of Linda Ashman‘s Nuts And Bolts Guide To Writing Picture Books.

– a personalized signed copy of THE PEDDLER’S BED by Lauri Fortino

the-peddlers-bed

– a personalized signed copy of GRIMELDA THE VERY MESSY WITCH by Diana Murray

c361c-grimelda

Please join me again in thanking these very generous authors and other writing professionals for contributing their books and writing expertise as prizes by visiting their websites and blogs, considering their books and services for holiday or other gift purchases, rating and/or reviewing their books on GoodReads, Amazon, B&N or anywhere else if you like them, or supporting them in any other way you can dream up 🙂

Now then.  Time for my sample entry which I provide because I would never ask you to do anything I wouldn’t do myself.  Also, in case anyone is worried about the quality of their entry they have only to read my truly horrific attempt to be filled with confidence that their’s is MUCH better!  I have to confess, I was really down to the wire this year (my schedule is a little bit nuts!), I have a deadline for tomorrow… which also means I may be a little behind getting started reading entries… just so you know… but I digress!

So, here goes nothing…!

Won’t You Come Into My Parlor…? (100 words)

The Halloweensie Spider was lonesome as could be.
“Nobody ever comes to visit me.
“I know!” she said.  “I’ll plan a big to-do!”
So she sent out invitations to everyone she knew.

The Halloweensie Spider got ready for her guests.
Hot apple cider and candy treasure chests.
Games organized for lots of friendly fun
Like Pumpkin Golf, a Witch Ring Toss, and Find The Skeleton.

The Halloweensie Spider stood at her moonlit door
Greeting the witches, goblins, ghosts, and more.
“So glad you came!” she told them with a smile.
“Forgive my sticky floors, but I hoped you’d stay awhile!”

Everyone feeling better about their stories now?  I should certainly HOPE so! 🙂

Also, this is so weird I just have to share it.  I realized belatedly that totally by chance, my sample entry from last year also included the 3 words from this year.  Look!

Halloween Surprise! (100 words)

Halloween.  Trick-or-treat.
Spooky shadows.  Darkened street.
Suddenly my brother, Jay,
Tugs my arm.  “Let’s go this way!”
He pulls me off the beaten track,
Passes Old Man Clancy’s shack.
Creeping fog licks at our heels.
I don’t like the way this feels.
Something glides in silent flight,
Ghostly shapes against the night.
“Witches!  Let’s go home!” I say.
“Owls.  Let’s go on,” says Jay.
Spidered moonlight through the trees.
Heartbeat pounding.  Shaky knees.
Up ahead this haunted night
Monsters dance by bonfire light!
Turning!  Running!
Then, “SURPRISE!”
Costumed monsters end disguise.
Cake and presents, friends who say,
“Happy Halloween Birthday!”

How weird is that?!  But I figured it would be cheating to use it again 🙂

I can’t wait to read all of your entries!  I’m so looking forward to them!  I hope there will be a lot – the more the merrier!  And there are still nearly 5 days to write, so you have time if you haven’t written yet.  Feel free to spread the word to your writing friends as well.  And your reading friends – parents, teachers, etc.  The more people who read and enjoy your stories, the better!!!

So!  I don’t love this link system, but it’s all I have, so my apologies and do your best with it, and let’s hope it works!

Contest Entrants, remember to add your post-specific link to the linky list below so we can all come read your awesome stories!  (Post-specific means not your main blog url, but the actual url of the post that has your story in it – otherwise if you post again before the contest ends, your link will take readers… and judges!… to the wrong place!)

Eager Readers – you ALSO need to click the “click here” to add your entry button on the linky list just to see the list of links.  I apologize profusely for the inconvenience of not having the list visible right here on my site.  But this, apparently, is wordpress…

Powered by Linky Tools

Click here to enter your link and view this Linky Tools list…

Happy Writing and Happy Halloween!!! 🙂

 And don’t miss the 90 fabulous entries in the comments below!
Trick Or Treat – Lesley/Maggie
Untitled – Sherry
Teensy-Weensy Witch Strikes Back – Julie
Candy Korn – Karen
Haunt The Vote –
Moon Spell – Rebecca
Hesper’s Revenge – Michele
Entry #1 – Dave
Entry #2 – Dave
Sylvia’s Best Halloween – Susan
A Little Erie Gift – Kathy
Untitled – Eleanor
What Should Witch Be For Halloween – Robin
The Treat Escape – Maria
Mordecai Moon – Kathryn
Spider’s Halloween Treat – Lisa
Spider And Ghost At Halloween – Polly
Spider’s Scary Night – Claire
Gregor The Ghost – Joan
Spider-Ghost – Kelly
Into The Forest – Kirsten
Spencer Spider: Master Spinner – Lorraine
Halloween Toast – Elizabeth
Goober The Ghost And The Scariest Night Of The Year – Joni
The Sun’s Halloween Party – Alice
The Spiders Who Stole Halloween – Kristen
The Broom Of All Brooms – Tracy
Spiderling’s Ghost Moon – Kathleen
Boo You’re It – Anne
What Owl Didn’t Know – Charlotte
Halloween Dog – Barbara
Itsy And Bitsy’s Halloween Treat – Becky
Monster Chef – Kristy
Sarah Spider’s Curse – Jennifer
Halloween Surprise – Jessica
The Spider Ghost’s Curse – Anne
Little Witch’s Holiday – Jen
Trick Or Treat – Melissa
Little Ghost Lost – Anne
Spider’s Trick Or Treat – Sara
Booboo Ghostie Caught A Sneezy – Ann
BooBoo Finds A Friend – Sydney
Spider And Moon – Jennifer
Entry #1 – Hilary
Entry #2 – Hilary 
The Ghost Of The Moon Spider – Susie
Little Spider’s Magic Halloween – Marty
Gilford’s Halloween – Sarah
Crinkle-Snap – Jill
The Dare – Sandy
On Halloween Night – Rocio
Untitled – Laura
What Spiders Dream – Mike
Sick Or Treat – Candy
The Ghoulie-Gold Fairy – Emily
Little Miss Zombie – Ingrid
Kali And Asha – Jessica & Noah
Trick Or Treat – Marie
Ghost And Spiders – Jerry
Halloween For Real – Mary
The Halloween Moon – Lisa
Everyone’s Afraid Of Something – Debbie
Let’s Trick-Or-Treat! – Katherine
Spider And Ghost – Jim
Ghosts Say Boo – Danielle
Moon’s Halloween – Marilyn
Frankie’s Fabrication – Amanda
The Witch’s Broom – Judy
A Headless Halloween – Jill
Aunt Claire’s Soul Cake – Corinne
Tree’s Halloween Costume – Linda
Beware The Full Moon Halloween – Sharon
Itty Boo Ghost – Monica
Woody Sings On Halloween – Bev
The Spider And The Fly – Gabrielle
Webster’s Spin – Carol
Spider’s Halloween Hunt – Kristen
Scaredy-Cat-Pat – Sara
Ding Dong – Elaine
Ghost Saves Halloween – Jessica
Spiderella – Sam
After Trick-Or-Treat – Kate
Untitled – Heather Elizabeth
Dare – Merriweather
Sticky Candy Bag – Nancy
Moon’s Halloween Surprise – Stefanie
A Halloween Story – Tonya
Pup’s First Halloween – Ellen
One Good Trick Deserves Another – Marc
Four Finicky Ghosties – Shelley
Ready, set, GO!  aahhhrrrooooOOOOO!!!!! 🙂

Would You Read It Wednesday #231 – X Marks The Spot (PB)

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Happy Wednesday Everybody!

I don’t know about you, but I’m finding it a wee bit hard to concentrate today!

I mean, bright and early tomorrow morning is the opening of the 6th Annual Halloweensie Writing Contest!

SO EXCITING!

Stories to read, enjoy and share!  Talent to admire!  Fellow writers to cheer on!  Prizes to win!

It’s hard to sit still!

I think Something Chocolate would help!  May I offer you some Chocolate Peanut Butter Grahams?  (I mean, that’s basically health food, and definitely a breakfast item, given that it’s made out of graham crackers which are clearly an excellent source of whole grains!)

A little coffee for dunking?  Or milk, if you’re a real health nut who wants to round out your nutritious breakfast with a little protein and calcium as opposed to caffeine?! 🙂

Now then, onto today’s pitch which comes to us from Lisa.  Lisa Riddiough is a Bay Area based writer whose projects include essays, picture books and fiction. She is a former sales executive, an avid squirrel watcher and a frequent baker of chocolate pound cake. She lives at home with her husband in their empty nest.

 Find her on the web at:

Twitter – @lisariddiough
FB – Lisa Frenkel Riddiough
Website – www.closeddoorandopenwindow.wordpress.com

Here is her pitch:

Working Title: X Marks The Spot

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

The Pitch: X is tired of his alphabet job. He wants to be a pirate! After getting hired to sail aboard The Zenith, X quickly finds that he doesn’t exactly fit in. For example, all the other pirates have squawking parrots and silver swords, but X only has his pet ox and a clumsy old axe. X is utterly excluded. When a band of scallywags try to steal The Zenith’s most valuable treasure, X discovers he has one expert move that can save the day. It’s an excellent ending!

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 Lisa 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 January, so you have a little time to polish your pitch before putting it up for helpful feedback and have a chance to have it read by editor Erin Molta!

Lisa is looking forward to your thoughts on her pitch!  I am looking forward to the Halloweensie Contest which, in case you’ve forgotten since the top of the post, opens TOMORROW!!!

Have a wonderful Wednesday everyone!!! 🙂  See you tomorrow!!!!!!!

 

Perfect Picture Book Friday – The Spooky Wheels On The Bus

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It’s Friday!  It’s Friday!  The weekend awaits! 🙂

So what are y’all doing this weekend?

Apple picking? Visiting Granny? Washing the dog? Baking pumpkin-related items? Putting finishing touches on costumes? Making sure every flavor in the bag of fun-size candy is as delicious as the manufacturers purport them to be?

That was a test!

The correct answer is “writing my Halloweensie Contest entry!”

Anyone who answered correctly may have one of these 🙂  You have earned it!  (And you’ll need it to give yourself time to write 🙂 )

get

Just a quick housekeeping item (since we’re on the subject of not doing any 🙂 ) which is that next Friday, October 28, there will be no PPBF because we will be all caught up in the excitement of the ongoing Halloweensie Contest which opens Thursday October 27!!!  So instead of posting favorite picture books next week, we will enjoy reading all the contest entries!!!  I seriously can’t wait!!! (PPBF will return on Friday November 11 – I think…!)

Now!  Onto today’s Perfect Picture Book, just in time for Halloween 🙂

spooky-wheels

Title: The Spooky Wheels On The Bus

Written By: J. Elizabeth Mills

Illustrated By: Ben Mantle

Cartwheel Books, July 2010, fiction

Suitable For Ages: 3-5

Themes/Topics: holidays (halloween), concepts (counting)

Opening: “One spooky bus goes RATTLE and SHAKE,
RATTLE and SHAKE, RATTLE and SHAKE.
One spooky bus goes RATTLE and SHAKE
All through the town.”

Brief Synopsis: (From Amazon) “Count from One Spooky Bus up to Ten Goofy Ghosts as this Halloween ride races through town picking up a few unsuspecting passengers along the way.”

Links To Resources: Kids’ Halloween Crafts of all kinds!; Kid-friendly Halloween recipes; make up your own Wheels On The Bus song about Halloween, your birthday, or any other holiday!

Why I Like This Book: You can’t really go wrong with a fun Halloween-themed version of this popular song.  Kids can enjoy it as a story, or sing along with it.  In addition to being a story/song with an entertaining cast of Halloween characters, it is a counting book – great for youngest picture book enthusiasts.  The art is bright and warm, colorful and inviting, showing witches and ghosts and spiders in a way that is friendly and engaging and not at all scary.  The town looks like a cozy place to go trick-or-treating.  All-around Halloween fun!

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text copyright J. Elizabeth Mills 2010, illustration copyright Ben Mantle 2010

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 #230 – Muggsy And His Go-Go Cart (PB)

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Whoopee!  What do you know?

It’s Would You Read It Wednesday! 🙂

Today’s pitch is in the realm of a “weird but true” story.  I am a huge fan of weird but true facts – they’re so weird… but true! 🙂  So  I thought I should begin this post with a weird but true fact of my own that I’m sure will knock your socks off!  I also think it would be a great idea for a picture book, if anyone wants to take a crack at it, so I’m sharing it with you, my talented PB-writing posse! 🙂

Ready?

This is completely true.  Seriously.  I am not making it up:

A sheep, a duck, and a rooster were the first passengers on a hot air balloon!

I’m pretty sure no one asked them if they wanted to get in that basket.

I’m guessing they had some serious doubts as to the wisdom of the plan.

But being the helpless guinea pigs accommodating creatures they were, they climbed bravely aboard and made history!

Possible picture book?  I think so!  Whoopee!

And speaking of whoopee, how about Something Chocolate – a Whoopie Pie Cake?!

For starters, you really can’t go wrong with a recipe that has both pie AND cake in the title!  And really, I think that gooey chocolatey marshmallowy deliciousness looks like the perfect breakfast, don’t you?  Maybe we should send some along in the balloon with the sheep, the duck, and the rooster – I’m sure a little snack to sustain them would be most welcome and help make up for the fact that they were tossed willy-nilly and without their consent into a basket attached to a giant balloon and sent skyward where no sheep or rooster had any business being… the duck is another matter 🙂

Now then, onto today’s pitch which comes to us from Carolyn who says, “I am a teacher librarian in the Chicagoland area. Working with children, I have discovered that they love to hear stories about the underdog overcoming obstacles and defeating “the top dog”. They also love weird, but true stories. These observations inspired me to write these two stories.”

Here is her pitch:

Working Title: Muggsy And His Go-Go Cart

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

The Pitch: Muggsy Pawsborne is born without his hind legs. However, he and his family have never seen this as a disability. It has always been his Musggsability, which means he can do anything other dogs can do, just differently. When Muggsy starts at a new school, he encounters the typical group of mean kids. When the mean kids make fun of Muggsy’s wheelchair during recess, he is left feeling embarrassed and lonely. A friendly classmate encourages Muggsy to participate in the school’s Olympic Day in order to show everyone that just because Muggsy has a wheelchair doesn’t mean he is disabled. Will Muggsy persevere and become the top pooch in school?

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 Carolyn 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 November, so you could get your pitch up pretty soon for helpful feedback and a chance to have it read by editor Erin Molta!

Carolyn is looking forward to your thoughts on her pitch!  I am looking forward to drafting a picture book about flying animals, aren’t you?  What could be more fun?!

Have a wonderful Wednesday everyone!!! 🙂

 

Perfect Picture Book Friday – Sleep Tight Farm

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Hurray!  It’s Perfect Picture Book Friday!

I’m excited because this weekend I’ll be at the New York State Sheep & Wool Festival in Rhinebeck, reading during story time with my author friends Iza Trapani and Nancy Shaw, and signing copies of Can’t Sleep Without Sheep and some of my other books alongside them.

If you’ve never been to Sheep & Wool, I highly recommend it if you’re in the area!  It’s like the fair, only with lovely autumn weather, every kind of sheep under the sun,

llamas and alpacas,

llamas

craft workshops, gorgeous yarns,

yarn

knitting and crochet patterns, beautiful clothing and other gift items made from wool, all kinds of fun activities for kids, AND delicious treats like apple crisp made from local apples! 🙂

I hope you’ll join us!

Meanwhile, today’s Perfect Picture Book fits rather nicely with the sheep and wool theme since it’s all about farming and getting ready for winter!  Have a look!

sleep-tight-farm

Title: Sleep Tight Farm: A Farm Prepares For Winter

Written By: Eugenie Doyle

Illustrated By: Becca Stadtlander

Chronicle Books, August 2016, nonfiction

Suitable For Ages: publisher says 2-5 but I think 3-7 is equally doable

Themes/Topics: nature, seasons (fall/winter), farming, jobs/careers

Opening: “The December days shorten and darken.  We are busy putting the farm to bed.”

Brief Synopsis: This peaceful book shows a family getting their farm ready for winter after the cycle of spring growth, summer heat, and fall harvest.  Beautiful and informative.

Links To Resources: author’s note at the end describes her life on the farm; extensive list of Autumn Lesson Plans from Scholastic; fun Fall & Harvest-Themed Lesson Plans from Bright Hub Education; 10 Easy Steps To Making Homemade Jam With Your Kids; draw a picture of a farm; draw the fruits and vegetables you would like to grow and pick!

Why I Like This Book: This is a very quiet book.  It shows a family harvesting the fruits of their year-long labor – fruits and vegetables, honey from the beehives, wood to warm their home – and tucking their farm in for the winter.  The harvest is pictured ripe and colorful.  The indoor scenes of home and barn are cozy and filled with warm, bright colors, animals and loving family.  By the last page where the light is blue and silver and the snow is falling gently you feel just as tucked in as the farm 🙂  But in addition to being a calm and cozy read, it is extremely informative about how the things we eat are grown and harvested, so young readers will get a sense of where their food comes from.  A pleasant and educational read!

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text copyright Eugenie Doyle 2016, illustration copyright Becca Stadtlander 2016

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text copyright Eugenie Doyle 2016, illustration copyright Becca Stadtlander 2016

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!!!  Work on your Halloweensie entries!!!  🙂  Come to NYS Sheep & Wool if you can!!! 🙂

 

 

Would You Read It Wednesday #229 – Pochon’s Monster (PB)

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Happy Wednesday, Folks!

As we are all picture book folk, immersed in the world of That-Which-Matters-To-Kids, I’m sure you all woke up this morning with only one thought on your minds:

Today is Take Your Teddy Bear To Work Day!

A lot of us, being writers, or work-at-home parents, are not going to supply much of an outing for our teddy bears.

(And I’m guessing it’s pretty unlikely that anyone besides a preschool or kindergarten teacher would actually consider leaving the house with a teddy bear :)… but I mention the whole Take Your Teddy Bear To Work idea because I think there’s a picture book in it somewhere… from the teddy bear’s POV!)

Of course, some of us (that would be me) never actually had a teddy bear.  I had a camel I was fond of.  He has no hair now.  And a Snoopy with an engineer hat and overalls.  Alas…he has no clothes or hair now…  But no actual bear.  (There’s probably a whole nother story idea in that…! 🙂 )

So on this Take Your Teddy Bear To Work Day I’m bringing my Brown Bear – not that coming to work is any big deal for her.  She does it every single day 🙂  The chair in my office that I recently had reupholstered has somehow become hers… I could probably have really skipped that reupholstering! 🙂

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As you can see, she is wide awake and on the job – a tremendous aid to my writing efforts 🙂

Did/do you have a teddy bear or stand-in?  Will you take it to work?  If so, what job will you take it to?  I’m serious – there may be a future picture book in this! 🙂

Okay, so now that I’m feeling like I had an underprivileged childhood because I never had an actual teddy bear, I believe it’s time for Something Chocolate!

How do you feel about Cookie Dough Brownies?

I knew you’d be fans!  I mean, it’s a brownie AND a (sort of) cookie with oodles of chocolatey goodness… how can you go wrong?! 🙂

Now.  Onto today’s pitch which comes to us from Greg, whom you will remember from his pitch back in the summer for The Bath Of Least Resistance.  Greg (clearly a kindred spirit!) says, “If I didn’t have to work for a living I’d be writing, eating chocolate and writing about eating chocolate.  For fun I play hockey, geocache, cook, and chase around my son.”

Find him on the web at https://www.facebook.com/gregoryebray/

Here is his pitch:

Working Title: Pochon’s Monster

Age/Genre: Picture Book (ages 4-10)

The Pitch:

A sock stealing monster made of socks?” Viola couldn’t believe the story she heard at a slumber about Pochon’s Monster was true.

Viola sets out to find the monster and get her socks back. With an act of kindness, she gets the monster to relinquish what it has taken.

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 Greg improve his pitch.  Helpful examples of possible alternate wordings are welcome.  (However, I must ask that comments be constructive and respectful.  I reserve the right not to publish comments that are mean because that is not what this is about.)

Please send YOUR pitches for the coming weeks!  For rules and where to submit, click on this link Would You Read It or on Would You Read It in the dropdown under For Writers in the bar above.  There are openings in November, so you could get your pitch up pretty soon for some helpful feedback and have a chance to have it read by editor Erin Molta!

Greg is looking forward to your thoughts on his pitch!  I am looking forward to the upcoming 6th Annual Halloweensie Writing Contest, which I’m hoping you all saw the announcement for on Monday!  Here’s the LINK in case you missed it.  And there’s already a prize update – one lucky winner will have the opportunity for a read and critique from editor Marilyn Brigham of Two Lions!  And KidLit 411 is contributing a bundle of picture books!  And more stuff is rolling in, so stay tuned!

Have a wonderful start-looking-forward-to-Halloweensie Wednesday everyone!!! 🙂

And Now…The Moment You’ve All Been Waiting For…!

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Happy Columbus Day everyone!

Ah, Columbus Day!  That wondrous day on which we all get to skip school and work because old Chris happened to bump into the Bahamas and thereby be forever remembered and credited as having discovered America which he did not remotely accomplish! 🙂  (Poor Chris.  If only he’d had Sat Nav  on the Santa Maria!)

But we don’t mind, do we?!  We get the day off!  And as I always say, what better way to spend that Columbus Day off than by thinking happy thoughts of Halloween?

And what happier Halloween thoughts to dwell upon than anything else (besides the delightful abundance of chocolate it will be your duty to collect – you know, the Mom Tax (or Dad Tax) – the percentage you discreetly skim from those heavy-laden plastic pumpkins to make sure your little darlings don’t overdo it 🙂 ) than…


The 6th Annual HALLOWEENSIE CONTEST!!!!!


halloweensie-pumpkin

The Contest:  write a 100 word Halloween story appropriate for children (title not included in the 100 words), using the words spider, ghost, and moon.   Your story can be scary, funny 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 nearly 150 fantastic entries last year so I know you can do it!)  Also, you may use the words in any form – e.g. moon, moons, mooned, spidery, ghostly, whathaveyou 🙂  No illustration notes please!

Post your story on your blog between 12:00 AM EDT Thursday October 27th and Monday 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 post on Friday Oct. 28 so the post and the list of links will stay up all weekend for everyone to 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 that post once it’s up. (Or, if you have difficulty with the comments, which unfortunately sometimes happens, you may email your entry to me and I’ll post it for you! Please place your entry in the body of the email – NO ATTACHMENTS!)

The Judging: in a grueling marathon over the following days, my lovely 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 7th.  The winner will be announced on either Wednesday November 9 or Thursday November 10.  If we get more than 20 entries, I will post 6 finalists and give prizes for 1st through 3rd.  If by some chance we get the kind of turn out we did last year, all bets are off.  I may post as many as 10 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:  yeah… 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! 🙂  But prizes will include:

okay… I admit it… this part isn’t quite together yet since I’m still waiting to hear back from some people 🙂  but for starters…

– a read and comments on a picture book manuscript by the fabulous agent Jodell Sadler!!!

– a 6 month subscription to One Stop For Writers (value $50)

– an e-pub or PDF copy (winner’s choice) of Linda Ashman‘s Nuts And Bolts Guide To Writing Picture Books.

Plus stay tuned because other great stuff is coming including more PB critiques, signed books, etc! 🙂

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

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 🙂

Many, many thanks to Jodell for her very generous prize offering!

I literally cannot wait to read your stories!!! 🙂

Have a Marvelous Monday everyone! 🙂

Perfect Picture Book Friday – Fletcher And The Falling Leaves

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Happy Perfect Picture Book Friday, Everyone!

Today is especially awesome for several reasons:

First, it’s Friday, which is a delight all on its own.

Second, it is the first Friday upon which I am experimenting with a new Friday FB feature which I’m hoping will be tons of fun and not fall flat on its face as some other of my genius ideas have been wont to do! 🙂  Assuming all goes according to plan, it will post at 10:30 AM Eastern and I hope you will all go check it out!  (Link to Susanna’s FB page)

Finally, this happy Friday, many folks have a long weekend for Columbus Day… the day upon which (with luck and a following wind) I shall post the guidelines for the 2016 Halloweensie Writing Contest!!!  (I can hear you!  Snickering in the back row!  Just because it sometimes takes me a little longer than I intend to get things organized is no reason to guffaw!  I’ll get to it, my pretties… all in good time! 🙂  And I hope you were suitably impressed just there by my spot-on impression of the Wicked Witch of the West!  Very fitting for Halloweensie, don’t you think? 🙂 )  So stay tuned for the Halloweensie posting… but maybe don’t hold your breath… 🙂

So are you ready for just about the cutest fall picture book ever written?  Have a look at this truly Perfect Picture Book!

fletcher

aren’t you just already in love with that little fox?! 🙂

Title: Fletcher And The Falling Leaves

Written By: Julia Rawlinson

Illustrated By: Tiphanie Beeke

Greenwillow Books, August 2008, fiction

Suitable For Ages: 4-8

Themes/Topics: seasons (autumn/winter), nature (changing seasons), love

Opening: “The world was changing.  Each morning when Fletcher bounded out of the den, everything seemed just a little bit different.  The rich green of the forest was turning to a dusty gold, and the soft, swishing sound of summer was fading to a crinkly whisper.  Fletcher’s favorite tree looked dull, dry, and brown.
Fletcher was beginning to get worried.”

Brief Synopsis: When the leaves on Fletcher’s favorite tree turn brown and begin to fall, Fletcher thinks something is terribly wrong.  “Don’t worry,” his mother tells him.  “It’s only autumn.”  But Fletcher is worried.  He does his best to catch the falling leaves and reattach them, but in spite of his efforts the last leaf finally falls.  He promises the tree he’ll keep the last leaf safe and he takes it home to bed, still worried.  To his surprise and delight, though, he wakes in the morning to a magical sight that convinces him everything is all right.

Links To Resources: Scholastic Classroom Guide; Teachers Guide (from The Picture Book Teacher’s Edition); 15 Fabulous Fall Leaf Crafts For Kids

Why I Like This Book:  Oh my goodness!  What is there not to like?!  The story is so sweet.  Fletcher is so earnest in his desire to help his tree, so dedicated to saving it, and so worried on its behalf since he’s unable to understand from his child’s-eye-view the concept of autumn, changing seasons, and the cycle of life.  He doesn’t know that it’s natural for leaves to fall and that his tree is just fine and will green again come spring.  It takes the magic of icicles glimmering in the morning sun to show him that his tree is beautiful (and okay!) in every season.  The art is such a perfect match for the story – impressionistic water colors in soft, hazy tones of autumn brown and orange that give way to the cool blue/green and white tones of winter, and Fletcher himself is so endearing.  As adults, we often take the change of seasons for granted, but this book is a gem for the way it shows the wonder of changing seasons as a child appreciates them.

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 #228 – When Sheep Fall Asleep (PB)

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Well, my friends, what a week THIS has been so far!

For starters, although it maybe wasn’t much in the grand scheme of things, we did finally get a little much-needed rain.  This may not sound like a big deal, but after what has to have been the driest summer on record for a long, long time, the parched ground and drooping trees were clearly grateful!  And there’s something very pleasant about a cool, gray day with the gentle sound of rain pattering on the roof while you work diligently at sudoku puzzles  sporcle quizes  catching up on the Game of Thrones episodes you never got to watch your writing!

Then on Monday, my own little thrill of excitement when I discovered my new books up on Amazon and GoodReads!  There’s something about seeing them there that makes it all feel more real! 🙂  And although I knew that WHEN YOUR LION NEEDS A BATH and WHEN YOUR ELEPHANT HAS THE SNIFFLES would be out on July 11, 2017, I did NOT know the publication date for THE ROAD THAT TRUCKS BUILT until I saw it up on Amazon – June 6, 2017 – so that was especially fun! 🙂

Coming soon… to a library/bookstore/classroom near you…! 🙂

And now, hopefully a little thrill of excitement for you when I hint that I have writing contest news coming soon… because in case you’ve been too busy to look at the calendar, that Halloweensie time of year is approaching…!  I’m working on prizes, but if anyone has anything to offer or great contacts who might have anything to offer, please feel free to let me know.  With 3 big contests coming up, I can use all the awesome prizes I can get for you guys!!!  Keep it tuned to this station… there will be news SOON! 🙂  And start thinking about those Halloweensie stories….!

Now.  We have all been awake for at least 5 minutes, many of us as many as 7 or even 12 minutes!, so that means it’s time for Something Chocolate.  After all, we can hardly be expected to soldier through a morning of hard writing/parenting/teaching/librarianing without a little pick-me-up!  Hmm… what would be good?  I’m thinking Something Cupcake.  Because cupcakes are yummy, portable, and small enough to eat two…or three… without feeling guilty 🙂

best-chocolate-cupcakes-square-550x550

Recipe HERE at HandleTheHeat best-chocolate-cupcakes-02

YUM!  Chocolate/chocolate – simple, classic, elegant, delicious!

Now then, onto today’s pitch which comes to us from Michele who says, “I’m an executive editor at the children’s publishing arm of an entertainment company. As an author, I have published leveled readers, books of word games, a board book set, and children’s apps for iOS and Android–but this is my first attempt at a picture book, and it’s nerve-wracking being on the other side of the desk! I’m a member of SCBWI and Children’s Media Association, and you can find me Tweeting about books, children’s entertainment, and whatever else pops into my mind at @michelewells.”

Find her on the web at @michelewells

Here is her pitch:

Working Title: When Sheep Fall Asleep

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

The Pitch: All Sam wants to do is stay up late. His parents agree to a deal: If he gets into bed and counts sheep all the way up to ten, then he can stay up all night. But the sheep aren’t cooperating, and once the monkeys, elephants, chickens, and even hyenas start crowding in, it’s all Sam can do to keep his room from turning into a zoo!

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 Michele 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 November, so…not so far off at this point!  You could your chance soon to get your pitch up for helpful feedback and have a chance to have it read by editor Erin Molta!

Michele is looking forward to your thoughts on her pitch!  I am looking forward to telling all my relatives that my new books are available for preorder (in the hopes that they will honor their familial obligation to support me 🙂 ) and checking Amazon obsessively to see if cover art for the TRUCK book goes up because I can’t wait to see it! 🙂  I am the soul of patience, aren’t I?  Perfectly cut out for a career in the (ahem) fast-paced industry of children’s publishing 🙂

Have a wonderful Wednesday everyone!!! 🙂

 

Perfect Picture Book Friday – Because Of An Acorn

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By golly, it’s Perfect Picture Book Friday again!  Woo hoo!!!

I must admit, I am not sorry to see the back end of this week.

Some philosophical proverb spouter said that into every life a little rain must fall.  There is both truth and beauty in that statement (…also potentially a picture book! 🙂 )  In nature rain is life-giving, restorative and essential, and in life the metaphorical rainy days help us appreciate the sunshine all the more when it returns.  But it can be a little hard to remember that when you’re standing bare-headed in the downpour 🙂

Be that as it may, the weekend approacheth with sunshiny promises of family time, maybe a hike if it doesn’t rain, maybe a movie if it does, and at least a few minutes curled up with a good book and a cup of tea (I’m finishing Laini Taylor’s YA Daughter of Smoke And Bone trilogy which I highly recommend if you haven’t read it yet! and if you haven’t tried Celestial Seasonings Bengal Spice I highly recommend that as well as the books – I’m a die-hard coffee drinker but this tea has me questioning my long-standing allegiance 🙂 )

Anyone else read a great book recently that they’d like to share here?  (and for this purpose it doesn’t have to be a picture book 🙂 )  Or has anyone been to the movies lately or planning on going this weekend?  What do you recommend?  Please share in the comments!!!  We’re getting to that time of year where a stockpile of good books and movies is oh-so-lovely to have 🙂  My daughter and I saw Bridget Jones’s Baby last weekend and what can I say?  I love Bridget Jones no matter what she’s doing 🙂

Anyway, speaking of nature and sunshine and rain, have a look at today’s Perfect Picture Book – an absolute delight of simplicity and beauty!

acorn

Title: Because Of An Acorn

Written By: Lola M. Schaefer & Adam Schaefer

Illustrated By: Frann Preston-Gannon

Chronicle Books, August 2016, fiction based on fact

Suitable For Ages: 3-6

Themes/Topics: nature, animals, ecosystem, environmental preservation

Opening: “Because of an acorn, a tree.”

Brief Synopsis: (from Amazon) “Because of an acorn, a tree grows, a bird nests, a seed becomes a flower. Enchanting die-cuts illustrate the vital connections between the layers of an ecosystem in this magical book. Wander down the forest path to learn how every tree, flower, plant, and animal connect to one another in spiraling circles of life. An acorn is just the beginning.”

Links To Resources: the book itself contains back matter about white oak trees, the ecosystem, and the importance of forest, as well as a “What You Can Do To Help” section; Acorn Crafts For Kids

Why I Like This Book:  This book is so simple and accessible, but explores so beautifully the vital interconnectedness of all things in an ecosystem.  Everything exists within the context of everything else, and all are interdependent.  In addition, it shows how something small can be the beginning of something big – a concept all children can appreciate 🙂  The art is enchanting – so inviting and appealing – just drawing you into the world of the forest (no pun intended 🙂 ).  A wonderful choice for the young naturalist in your home or classroom! 🙂

acorn-int

text copyright Lola and Adam Schaefer 2016, illustration copyright Frann Preston-Gannon 2016

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!!! 🙂