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!

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)

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

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

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 🙂 )

Recipe HERE at ThatSkinnyChickCanBake

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!