Susanna Leonard Hill

Perfect Picture Book Friday - Z Is For Moose

2012-03-02T00:04:00.001-05:00

I'm so excited that it's Perfect Picture Book Friday because this week I found a brand new book that is so good I can't wait to share it with you!

(As we have not yet settled on an official PPBF snack, grab your cheesecake, popcorn, milk and cookies, or fruit inspired treat and get ready:))

I don't know about you, but for me, there are some books I love because I loved them as a child, and some I love because I loved them with my children. There are some I like that end up growing into love. But of the many, many picture books I read, there aren't a lot that grab me from the first read and make me want to tell everyone I know about them. Today's book is one of those books. I was genuinely delighted when I read it, and afterwards all I could think was man! I wish I'd thought of that and written that book!!! :)

Are you ready? Here it is :)

Z Is For Moose
Written By: Kelly Bingham
Illustrated By: Paul O. Zelinsky
Greenwillow Books, 2012, Fiction

Suitable For: ages 3-7

Themes/Topics: alphabet, friendship, humor, patience, problem solving

Opening: "A is for Apple. B is for Ball. C is for Cat. D is for Moose. "Moose? No. Moose does not start with D. You are on the wrong page."

Brief Synopsis: (from the book summary) "Moose, terribly eager to play his part in the alphabet book his friend Zebra is putting together, behaves rather badly until Zebra finds a spot for him."

Links To Resources: This book was released on February 28 (I told you it was brand new!) and try as I might, I couldn't find any activities online! No coloring pages or anything - nothing on Kelly's or Paul's sites. So here are a few other things to try: Alphabet Activities, More Alphabet Activities, How To Draw A Moose, How To Draw A Zebra, have kids "direct" their own alphabet book - what would they choose to illustrate each letter? Now have them do the illustrations!

Why I Like This Book: Well, it's just perfect! It's so simple, yet so fun! It starts out as you'd expect an alphabet book to - A is for Apple. But by the D page things have already turned topsy-turvy. D is not for moose! But Moose is so eager to get involved he can't wait (and what child can't relate to that?!) On the E, F and subsequent pages he wonders, now? now? He bumps into Elephant, He sneaks in around the edges. He runs along the label of the jam jar. K. L. And at last, M!!! But Moose is in for a rude surprise... followed by angry Moose.... followed by sad Moose... until in the end, Zebra finds a way to make it right, leaving Moose so delighted that on the end papers he begs, "Can we do it again?" The story plays on the alphabet's predictability/familiarity by going in an unexpected direction. The art is absolutely fabulous, chock full of humorous detail, making the most of every opportunity for fun. Do you want to know how much I love this book? I am buying a copy for my granddaughter!

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

As you all know, as a small thank you to all of you who work so hard on Perfect Picture Books, I randomly pick a winner from the PPB bloggers each month to receive a prize - you get one entry for every book you add in the month. November's winner was Stacy, December's winner was Clar, and January's was Miranda. This month 32 bloggers added 112 books (not counting me)! Thanks to the wonder that is random.org I am happy to announce this month's winner is Jackie C of The Castle Library! Jackie, please email me (handy button in sidebar) and let me know which prize you'd like. I always have a random mixed bag of goodies lying around which changes from month to month... this month's choice is hmmm.... you probably don't want raccoon nest material... or those old socks... Here! How about one of the following: a copy of Ann Whitford Paul's book Writing Picture Books, or a copy of Anne Mazer and Ellen Potter's book Spilling Ink, or a copy of The Other Side by Jacqueline Woodson, or a signed copy of April Fool, Phyllis! from yours truly. Your pick!

Perfect Picture Book bloggers, please remember to add your post-specific link to the list below, and I hope you'll all join me on Monday for the February Pitch Pick - it promises to be a good one! Have a great weekend! :)

Would You Read It Wednesday - The 29th Pitch

2012-02-29T00:04:00.001-05:00

OK. How Twilight Zone is it that the 29th pitch is occurring on that rarest of days, February 29th? *hums Twilight Zone music* Do you have chills?

If you don't have chills from that, you'll get them from marveling over the extreme succinctness of my post today - hitherto unheard of brevity :) Grab your Something Chocolate and let's get right down to Would You Read It!

Today's pitch comes to us from Jennifer. No, not the same Jennifer as last week. That was Jennifer R. This is Jennifer Y :)

Jennifer was born and raised in southern Connecticut and settled down in south Jersey. She loves quotes. One of her favorites is from The Edge - "What one man can do, another can do." You can visit her blog and like her on Face Book :)

Working Title: Planet Vacation
Age/Genre: Picture Book (ages 4-8)
The Pitch: Rose takes a vacation to visit the planets. Will she get a chance to rollerblade on the rings of Saturn and scuba dive for starfish on Jupiter or will her trip be nothing like she dreamed?

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

Please send YOUR pitches for the coming weeks! For rules and where to submit, click on this link Would You Read It or on the Would You Read It tab in the bar above. Go ahead and send your pitch for a chance for it to be read by editor Erin Molta!

Jennifer is looking forward to your thoughts on her pitch!

And I hope you are all suitably impressed by my succinctness :) See you Friday - boy do I have a fantastic book to share with you!

Oh Susanna - How To Cope With Critique Group Feedback?

2012-02-27T00:04:00.001-05:00

Happy Monday, Everyone! It's an Oh Susanna day! But first, I'd like to give you a teensy report on the Reach Out And Read Event I did last week.

Reach Out And Read is a terrific program that seeks to put books in the homes and hands of children who would otherwise not own a book, and to educate their parents on the importance of reading to children.

We had a great crowd at the Ossining Open Door Clinic for the event. So many eager listeners gathered on the rug to hear Can't Sleep Without Sheep and Punxsutawney Phyllis.

Photo by Ana-Maria Cabreira

Afterwards, many asked to have their books signed, and/or to have their photo taken with an actual author (and Phyllis and Baahb :))

Photo by Ana-Maria Cabreira

All of them went home with books of their very own, thanks to donations from you and others. We had so many books that families who brought 3 or 4 children were able to get a different book for every child and go home with several titles.

Photo by Ana-Maria Cabreira

It was truly a wonderful day. Thanks so very much to all of you who donated books!

And now, today's Oh Susanna question comes to us from Eric. He says, "I love my writer’s critique group that meets each month. They offer great feedback — LOTS of feedback. But, I am often overwhelmed when I get home. Do you have tips or tricks to managing feedback to use it effectively to improve your work?"

This is an excellent question.

Whenever you hand over your beloved work - product of your blood sweat and tears - even though you know logically that it probably isn't perfect, you secretly hope that your critique readers will come back with comments like, "This is the absolute best thing I ever read! You're a genius! Submit it immediately!"

So when you get the logically expected feedback, your writerly defenses automatically go up. No matter how mature and professional you are, you can't help it. Nor should you. You worked hard on this! You need a little time to let the comments sink in before you can fairly evaluate them.

So my advice is this: don't decide anything right away. Part of that overwhelmed feeling is the natural result of having your hard work picked apart - it has more to do with emotion than technique.

So take all that feedback home. And the next day, or the day after, take it out. Read it over. Think it over. Let it simmer.

Then, when the writerly defenses have lowered their swords and you're in a place where you can realistically evaluate the feedback, go through your ms one page at a time and see what you agree with and what you don't.

I find it easiest to start with things that I agree with and/or are very easily fixable - like typos :) This way you don't have to start by making concessions in your work. If you fix the easy things first, it's a little less difficult to tackle the harder stuff.

You can also organize your critiquers' comments into categories and approach your revision one topic at a time - overall plot, character development, dialogue, language use etc. - and make your revisions accordingly.

Were there things that ALL your critique members agreed on? Those things should be tackled early on as they have the most likelihood of really being things that should be addressed.

Other things that were only mentioned by one person, you as author have to evaluate in terms of your story intent - does your critiquer have a valid point, or did they miss the point? And if they missed the point, was that the fault of your writing and can you fix that?

Obviously, the longer the work, the more extensive and complicated the feedback may be - it's going to be very different for a YA novel than for a picture book. But the basic approach remains the same: let it simmer, tackle the easy stuff first, then go through by page or category and tackle the harder stuff. And if there are things you feel strongly should be left alone, well, you're the author!

I hope that at least partially answers your question, Eric. If you have follow-up questions, or more specifics, add them in the comments and we'll all try to help.

And now, I hope some of our devoted readers who also deal with critique group feedback will chime in with their advice on how to handle it - how do you make the best use of your feedback, and how do you keep from feeling overwhelmed?

Perfect Picture Book Friday - The Top Job

2012-02-24T00:04:00.023-05:00

I love Perfect Picture Book Fridays! The only hard part is choosing just one book to share each week when there are usually about 50 I'd like to add to the list! :)

Before we get to today's choice though, I think we need to have a serious discussion about the Official Perfect Picture Book Snack. Something Chocolate has already been taken for Would You Read It Wednesdays, so put on your thinking caps boys and girls, and let's come up with something scrumptious! :) Because I'm a mite peckish! The comment section is open for suggestion....

But back to PPBF.... I love books that turn out to be something you didn't expect. I love getting to the end and thinking to myself, "Wow, that author was clever!" I love books that I like better every time I read them. And that is just the kind of book I'm sharing today!

The Top Job
Written By: Elizabeth Cody Kimmel
Illustrated By: Robert Neubecker
Dutton Juvenile, July 2007, Fiction based on fact

Suitable For: ages 5-8

Theme/Topic: Careers, Standing up for yourself, Coping with rudeness and bragging.

Opening: "On Career Day, Mrs. Feeny asked her students to stand up in class and talk about their parents' jobs. Emma Sweetpaw said her dad was a UFO hunter. She said he used a two-ton telescope to search the sky for flying saucers and a giant satellite to receive alien transmissions."

Brief Synopsis: One by one, the students stand up and brag about what their parents do - a UFO hunter, a jeweler, a NASCAR driver. When it's the narrator's turn, she says her dad changes light bulbs, which seems pretty tame compared to what everyone else does... until she reveals which lightbulbs!

Links To Resources: Careers (grades K-5), Careers (grades 6-8) (these are both link lists to info on all kinds of careers), Amazing Facts About The Empire State Building, Fun Facts About The Empire State Building

Why I Like This Book: What kid wouldn't love to have a parent with a really cool and unusual job? This book is set up very cleverly. The first few kids to introduce their parents careers all brag - their parents are UFO hunters, jewelers, and NASCAR drivers. Pretty hard to top! When it's the narrator's turn, she sets them up, saying her dad changes light bulbs. Of course they make fun... until they find out where the light bulbs are. The pacing is great, letting the reader discover a page at a time that all isn't exactly as it seems. I also love that the story is based on fact - someone really does have to change those light bulbs and it's a pretty tricky job! This book offers a great deal of information about a little-known job as well as a great opportunity to talk about all the different careers that are open to kids when they grow up. It's interesting, educational, clever, and fun!

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

In other news, I wanted to share the Reach Out And Read report with you but I don't have the pictures yet, so I'm going to save that for next week.

I'm looking forward to seeing what Perfect Picture Books everyone else chooses today - it's always so much fun! And then we all have tons of great new choices for the weekend - to read to our kids, plan upcoming lessons, or to learn from as writers! What could be more fun than that? Please post your Perfect Picture Book link below and have a great weekend!

Would You Read It Wednesday - The 28th Pitch

2012-02-22T00:04:00.001-05:00

Well, folks, today's the day I head out for the Reach Out And Read Event! Pretty exciting! To those of you who donated books, thank you so very much - the kids will be thrilled. I'm hoping to get a picture or two today, but you never know... If I get any, I'll be sure to post them :)

Since I'm off and running today, we'll cut right to the chase!

Today's Would You Read It pitch comes to us from Jennifer. Jennifer loves to read, write, and spend time with her husband and two boys. She also writes a terrific blog and participates frequently in Perfect Picture Book Fridays :)

So without further ado...

Working Title: The Birthday Bash
Age/Genre: PB (ages 6-8)
The Pitch: It's Sylvia's birthday tomorrow and Stan and Louie have a big surprise party planned. With hilarity and hi-jinks the two raccoons search for Sylvia's favorite foods in the forest, garages and backyard patios. Will they find what they're looking for or will the birthday party be a bust?

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

Jennifer is looking forward to your thoughts on her pitch!

And I'm looking forward to seeing you all Friday for Perfect Picture Books! :)

Oh Susanna - Where To Go For Swag?

2012-02-20T00:04:00.020-05:00

Wow! How did it get to be Monday so fast? The weekend just FLEW by!

Yesterday seems to have been an unusually quiet day on the internet (by which I mean I was so busy doing laundry that I was barely on my computer and hence missed whatever might have been going on :)) But seriously, I dragged Donna out for an interview and I'm not sure anyone besides Catherine, Alison and Vivian even saw it! (Ouch for Donna! :( ) The extreme quietness has caused me to doubt my new policy of posting interviews on the third Sunday of the month... Perhaps it is a bad plan. I shall have to re-examine it.... Or maybe Disqus was having issues... or maybe y'all weren't interested in the topic under discussion... Feel free to share below. In any case, if you didn't get to see Donna's interview, please go HERE. I think you might find some useful information, and if you have any questions, please post them to the comments of her interview post and we'll see what we can do about getting you answers :)

In other news, I'm pretty excited because April Fool, Phyllis! will be available in the Scholastic SeeSaw Book Club for March! It is titled The April Fool Treasure Hunt and has a blue cover instead of pink, but the story inside is the same. And for real fun, it comes on CD!!! I haven't gotten to hear it yet - I hope it's good :)

Since I haven't gotten my copies yet, I had to swipe this cover picture off the Scholastic site :)

Oh, and apropos of nothing, I'm being featured on Kimberly Dana's blog - The Blog Zone - today if anyone is interested...

Now onto today's real business: the Oh Susanna question! This is a good one, and I will be very interested to hear what all of you have to contribute on the topic!

Saba asks, "I'm looking to have some swag made for my blog and website. Do you know of any companies that make stickers and bookmarks?"

Well, Saba, as a matter of fact I do! And I'm sure our readers have experience with many more and will hopefully share what has worked well for them!

The main sites I have used are VistaPrint, GotPrint, and Zazzle. I have made magnets, bookmarks, stickers, mugs, and pencils. (The pencils were from another site... Oriental Trading Company.) What's really great about all these sites is that you can google coupons for them and usually find a way to get a discount.

I am not artistically inclined and I have no knowledge whatsoever of how to use PhotoShopElements or Adobe Illustrator or any of those design-oriented programs. For this reason, I have found Zazzle to be the easiest site to work with for anything involving art. You can upload photos or scans straight out of your iPhoto file or wherever you keep your photos (as long as you have the rights or permission) and plop them right onto whatever you're making - magnets, stickers, t-shirts, mugs, keychains, etc. Zazzle has a lot of choices of things to make.

VistaPrint I have used for business cards and magnets. They are pretty user-friendly too.

GotPrint is what I used for bookmarks, but I had to have help. My daughter created the bookmark image I wanted on PhotoShopElements and uploaded it to GotPrint. I could not have done that myself because all I know how to do is open PhotoShop Elements - I have no idea what to do next :) This does not make for interesting bookmarks :) Bookmarks are the thing I've struggled most with. I have not found a really easy-to-work-with site that allows you to design your own without themed templates you don't want. Anyone with advice on this topic, please share!!!!!

The pencils are a little tricky because you can only go to 30 characters usually, and usually only one line of print. So you have to choose your book title or your website or your name - you can't fit them all.

I am always looking for easy-to-use sites for this kind of thing. Also for good ideas of what to make. Like I said, I personally have found Zazzle the easiest to work with, and they have a lot of product choices. I might try tote bags soon :)

Now, all you faithful and helpful readers, what kinds of swag have you made? What sites do you use? What do you recommend for Saba? Please share!

Meet Donna Farrell - Interview With Children's Author/Illustrator Website And Blog Designer

2012-02-19T00:04:00.005-05:00

It's time for our monthly interview, and today I'm delighted to introduce Donna Farrell!

As you know, these interviews are usually of authors, illustrators, or author/illustrators, but I'm making an exception today because Donna has some uniquely applicable expertise that I think you'll find interesting and helpful.

As the world (of publishing and in general) has changed, we as authors and illustrators have been encouraged to have a presence on the web. We're supposed to have websites, blogs, Face Book pages, twitter accounts etc, and yet many of us have no real knowledge of how to go about these things. How do we design a site that will draw readers? What should it look like? What should it offer? And how can we fit design and maintenance into our already busy schedules?

Enter Donna! (Who, in case you didn't know, designed my website and blog! :))

Donna Farrell

SLH: Thank you so much for visiting with us today, Donna! I'd like to start by asking, what exactly do you do?

DF: My creative umbrella covers- illustration, web design and graphic design.

Although they may all seem different, it really is all visual story telling.

As a designer, I take information and present it in a logical way. I understand the need for whitespace and a balanced composition.

The majority of my web designs have been for children's authors (20+). I didn't start out targeting this niche. My involvement in the field of children's publishing and my own pursuit of publication came first. Along the way a business has been born. I bring a unique perspective to the table. An understanding of what is needed on an authors site. What visitors are expecting to find and how to present that information. I also act as a consultant, giving advice about content. Visitors often visit the site to get "extras". Information that isn't in the book itself or available elsewhere. I can help make suggestions about those things, design activity sheets that tie in to the authors books etc.

Screen shot of site designed
by Donna

SLH: Do you think it's absolutely necessary to hire a designer?

DF: No. But when attempting to develop a site on your own, please ask yourself the following:

1. Can I create a professional looking site?
Be sure your site reflects you as a professional. Publishing is a business, you want to be taken seriously.
2. Do I know what needs to be on my author site?
Design is important but content is essential. Have a good understanding of what visitors are looking for dictates content.
3. Do I have the technical knowledge needed?
You can purchase a program to develop a website, but if you don't have the know how, you have just wasted your money. The site will not design itself.
4. Do I know who my site is for?
Knowing your audience is very important. Pre-publication your site might focused on editors, agents and other writers but, publication will mean that your focus will shift to your "fans". Those who are investing in you as an author and your books. You need to be prepared to give them something.
5. Do I have the the time?
Creating and maintaining a site takes time, time that will cut into your writing time.

Screen shot of site
designed by Donna

If you answered YES to all the above, you are probably a good candidate to try it yourself. But, just like a manuscript that needs critiquing before submissions, I strongly recommend having a set or several sets of eyes look at the site your going to publish to be sure it is easy to navigate and doesn't have any major design flaws that send visitors screaming from your site before you launch it into cyberspace for literally all the world to see.

If you answered NO to some or most of these, it might be a good idea to have someone with experience help you out, that's where I would come in.

Looking at the same questions above, here is what I can offer:

1. Can I create a professional looking site?
Yes. I create professional, yet personal sites. Each site I create is unique to the client. It is important that it reflects them and their writing.
2. Do I know what needs to be on an author site?
Yes. Because of my experience and research I have a good understanding of what is expected.
3. Do I have the technical knowledge needed?
Yes. I don't sell myself as a techie. Foremost, I'm a designer, but I do have the knowledge required to create and publish a site. At this moment technologies are changing so quickly that I would never say I'm an expert, but I do my best to stay current.
4. Do I know who your site is for?
Yes. I can look at the site from a visitor perspective and make recommendations.
5. Do I have the time?
Yes. Let me free up more writing time by taking the worry out of some of this for you!

SLH: What are some tips for authors to think about as they design their site?

DF: CONTENT!

Screen shot of site
designed by Donna

My Top 5 Suggestions to authors regarding content:

1. Have at least one good photo of yourself.
2. Have links to purchase your titles.
3. Have a strong "About" page. (Statistics show this is the most visited page on an author site.)
4. Have contact information available.
5. Have exclusive content, freebies, downloads, extras.

SLH: Thank you again for joining us today, Donna. We really appreciate you sharing your expertise! If readers have questions, I'm hoping you won't mind answering :)

For anyone interested in learning more about Donna's work, please visit her website! You can also follow her on Twitter and Pinterest.

Perfect Picture Book Friday - The Monster Returns

2012-02-17T00:04:00.003-05:00

Oh, boy, do we have fun in store today!

But you know the rules - Perfect Picture Book first, other stuff after :) So let's start with the book! Today's choice is by one of my favorite author/illustrators. Don't be surprised if some of his other books show up on PPBFs in the future :)

The Monster Returns
Written and Illustrated By: Peter McCarty
Henry Holt & Co., January 2012, Fiction
Suitable For: ages 3-7

Themes/Topics: art, friendship, imagination, surprises

Opening: "One beautiful day, Jeremy was up in his room. Jeremy didn't like to be disturbed when he was drawing."

Brief Synopsis: (From the jacket copy) "Jeremy thought he'd seen the last of his monster when he sent him away with a one-way bus ticket. But suddenly the phone rings... The monster has returned!"

Links To Resources: Mad Monster Activity, Monster Songs and Poems, have kids draw their own monsters or make them out of whatever craft materials you have to hand!

Why I Like This Book: This is a sequel to Jeremy Draws A Monster (also excellent!) Jeremy is perhaps a little too inclined to spend time on his own drawing, and this book shows both that it's okay to spend time alone being creative and that it's nice to have friends to do things with. Jeremy is imaginative and resourceful in dealing with the monster. The end is a fun surprise where the monster's intent turns out to be different than the reader might have expected, with the message that everyone needs friends - even monsters :) The art is simple and engaging with plenty of white space to draw your eye to the monster :)

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

Before we get to the fun part (announcing the winner of the Valentines Day Writing Contest!) just a little business about Perfect Picture Books.

A few stats:

- This is PPBs 14th week.
- 37 Bloggers are participating, of which 25 have contributed at least 4 books and 5 besides me have contributed every week since the beginning. (Also 1 has contributed 12, and 2 have done 11, so we have some very dedicated PPB bloggers! :))
- There are 245 books on the list before today's go up.
- They fall across 145 categories/subjects/themes.
- With possibly one exception, every single one posted has resources!

So thank you all for your fantastic work. We are building a great resource here for parents, teachers, home schoolers, writers, and gift-givers! That said, I think we have enough of a list going now that we should all be talking this up to everyone we know who might find the resource useful - it's only really great if people are actually benefitting from it. So I encourage you all to spread the word in whatever capacity you can. Tracy (known to many of you as A2ZMommy) is writing a review about it for her local news site today! You can read it HERE.

Since some bloggers are new to PPBFs, and some people may need a refresher, I'd just like to take a second to remind you all of a few key things:
1. Please check the list on the Perfect Picture Book tab before you choose a book to post. I try hard to keep it updated. If I'm behind, it's usually only by the previous week's list, so check that too. We are trying to avoid multiple postings of the same book.

2. When you add your link to the list, please add the post-specific link (not the general link to your blog.) It doesn't matter that much for the actual day of posting, but for anyone who comes along afterwards, your link then links to whatever the next post you did was - not the PPB. And for me going along updating, I then have to search for the post and get the right link for the archive page.

3. Please only post favorite books WITH RESOURCES! The resources are what set our list apart from many others. The resources can be links online or things you make up, but there must be something that people can use to expand their use of the book. Books without resources will NOT be added to the master list.

4. Please follow the PPB format (available at the bottom of the Perfect Picture Book tab) as closely as possible. This allows for consistency across blogs, making it easy for people using the list to find the information they want.

5. Please make sure to post themes, age appropriateness, and fiction or non-fiction clearly. It's a lot of work updating the list, and if I have not read the book, I can't guess where it's supposed to fit or how to archive it.

Thank you so much for your attention to these details. I'm sure it seems nit-picky, but it's really about making the list as useful as possible and preserving my sanity in trying to keep it up-to-date :)

NOW. AT LAST. THE MOMENT YOU'VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR!!!

Who won the Valentine Contest?

Oh, wait. I think I hear my doorbell. I'll be right back....

JK :)

Once again, I'd like to thank everyone for their terrific entries. Many of us readers are writers. We know how hard it is to put your work out there. And we appreciate your bravery. All the entries were worthy and fun to read, and I wish you could all win!

But I don't have that many prizes.... unless you want raccoon nest material? I think there's some of that in the garage...

It was a closely contested race - the most competitive of any of the contests so far. But eventually, someone pulled ahead and stayed there. So, without further ado, the voters have spoken, and the winner of our Valentine Contest is:

PENNY!!!!! with Frankenstein Valentine!!!!!

Congratulations, Penny! This is the second time you have won a contest here. You may have a future as a writer :) You get your pick of Ann Whitford Paul's book, or a picture book ms critique from me. Let me know via email what your choice is!

2nd Place goes to Erik for Love Has No Point. He gets a copy of Spilling Ink (if he doesn't already have it :))

3rd Place goes to Vivian for Whom Do I Love? She gets our admiration for being 3rd out of 30 entries :)

Thanks again to everyone for making the contest such a success!

Now have a great weekend, and PPB bloggers, please remember to add you post-specific link to the list below, which I will hopefully remember to attach this week! :) OH! And remember our awesome interview which will take place on Sunday with Donna Farrell, website and blog designer for children's authors and illustrators!

Would You Read It Wednesday - The 27th Pitch

2012-02-15T00:04:00.001-05:00

Those of you who have been around the blog for a while know that I live in the wilderness. You may have seen my posts on Mexican stand-offs with deer, and our run-ins with the bear #1 and #2.

So it will come as no surprise to you that I am being stalked by a masked marauder. Apparently our unseasonably warm winter has confused it into thinking our garage is a raccoon hotel and he is entitled to stay as long as he likes and order room service. Do I look like I'm offering room service?

google images

Now, I don't know how much time you guys spend around raccoons, but they are not small. They have sharp claws and pointy teeth, and they don't dress like bandits for nothing! On Disney they look really cute, but in real life they're a little too much like the R.O.U.S.s in The Princess Bride.

So the raccoon and I are locked in epic battle over the fact that I want my car and he's not leaving.

My current approach works like this:

Walk out front door of house singing "Love Shack" by the B-52s at the top of my lungs thinking that ought to scare the bejeesus out of anyone, human or raccoon!

It doesn't.

But I have back-up: a flashlight, in case I need to stun him into submission with blinding light (assuming the batteries aren't dead, which they probably might be because I haven't checked them in, oh, a decade), and my daughter's ice-hockey stick because it makes me feel brave. (I have no intention of getting close enough to that wily critter to actually poke him or anything!!!) I would love to have my trusty companions, Dog 1 and Dog 2, but I'm afraid it might hurt them - it shows no signs of compassion!

I dance forward, hockey stick out in front, in much the way a swordsman might approach an opponent (only I'm guessing I look a lot less elegant...)

The raccoon thumps around near the garbage can (which is empty, but he's an optimist, apparently.)

"I'm coming in there!" I warn.

This fails to induce the element of fear I was hoping for. I'm pretty sure he's laughing at me.

The crafty little critter scuttles up into the rafters. Now I KNOW he's laughing at me. "I see you up there!" I call to the oversized rodent. "You think you're so clever, but your tail is hanging right down in plain sight!" He doesn't care apparently. It's way too much fun getting a rise out of me every time I need my car.

Fine! I guess we don't have to get groceries until tomorrow. But this battle is not over!

Honestly! The things I put up with on Blueberry Hill!

So, now that you're laughing yourselves silly over my raccoon predicament, it's about that time :)

Today's Would You Read It contestant is Sharron, who loves reading, writing, sharing with friends, and learning new things. Here is her pitch:

Working Title: Sorrysorrysorry
Age/Genre: Early PB (ages 2-5)
The Pitch: Three frolicking baby giraffes try to find a place to play on a hot and crowded savannah. They find it isn’t an easy task. They run into a troop of baboons, a dazzle of zebras, and a pride of lions. At last, they turn to the river, only to be confronted by hippopotami. Our giraffes find fun and friendship at the end of a long a grueling day.

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 Sharron 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.)

Sharron is looking forward to your thoughts on her pitch!

Just a little heads up - this month's Author/Illustrator Interview will take place on Sunday February 19 (that's this weekend folks) and our guest will be none other that Donna Farrell. Donna is an illustrator, but what she will really be talking about is her work as a website and blog designer for authors and illustrators. Yes! That means you! She is absolutely terrific (she did my website and blog, need I say more? :)) So I hope you'll all find a few minutes in your weekends to come see what she has to say!

Also, anyone who hasn't had a chance to vote for a Valentines Contest winner yet, please go HERE. We really need everyone's votes - it's a tight race! :)

Now.

Back to my battle with the raccoon! :)

Happy Valentines Day! - The Contest Finalists!

2012-02-14T00:04:00.002-05:00

So I had this brilliant idea.

Have a Valentines Contest, I thought to myself. It'll be fun. People are pretty busy with all their various pursuits. You'll probably only get about 3 entries - if you're lucky to get that many - so say you'll pick 3 finalists and you're golden!

(Note to self - have you noticed that your brilliant ideas don't always work out as planned?)

Yes.

Well.

My plan seems to have gone awry.

Did I mention there were 30 entries??? That's THIRTY!

And they were SO GOOD!

So I have done the best I can. I have narrowed it to 6. And a couple honorable mentions. And a separate division for under 10. And now it's up to you, my dear readers, to read the 6 finalists and vote for your favorite by noon on Thursday. We will see who comes out on top!

But before I unveil the top 6, I just want to say that I'm thrilled we got so many entries, and I was so impressed by the quality of everyone's stories and poems! What a talented bunch you all are! I had so much fun hopping from blog to blog and reading your wonderful work! It was dreadful having to pluck you off, one by one! I had to get very nit-picky and really focus on the contest guidelines - appropriateness/appeal for children being the deciding factor in several cases of brilliant writing that didn't make the final cut. So you all deserve a huge pat on the back and many boxes of Valentine chocolates :) Give yourselves a round of applause!

Now. Here are our finalists, posted by entry only, no names. Please have a look and then vote for your favorite!

#1 Love Has No Point

Bill P. Porcupine had a love. Not just any love, mind you, it was the greatest love of all, but it was also a secret love.

“Oh, how I love her!” Bill sighed to himself.

Every day when Bill walked home from school he stopped by the gift shop where she worked. He tried to impress her by making his quills stand on end so he would look bigger, but she never noticed him. He’d then go home and cry.

“Boo hoo,” Bill sobbed.

“What’s the matter Bill?” asked his Mom.

“I’m in love mom, but she doesn’t know I exist,” said Bill.

“There, there, it’ll be OK,” his mom said gently.

“She is so beautifully round. Her skin is smooth and rosy. When she moves, she floats like her feet never touch the ground,” Bill whimpered.

“I think you should just tell her,” Bill’s mom suggested.

The next day, Bill marched to the gift shop with one thing on his mind. He shoved the shop door open, walked straight up to her, threw his arms open to hug her and said, “I love…”

POP!

She was gone, except for the bits of pink rubber stuck to Bill.

#2 Oops! Excuse Me!

On her way to school, Porcupine was certain nobody would be her Valentine. She waddled along, head down, when -- oomph!

“Yow!”

“Oops, excuse me,” said Porcupine. “Ugh! What smells?”

“Me. Sorry. Happens when I'm startled.”

“Oh no! You’re that stinky skunk! Now you’ve made me stinky.”

“You’re that prickly porcupine! You gave me an owie.”

Porcupine sighed. “Who would ever be our Valentines?”

As they dillydallied toward school, Skunk stopped to sniff flowers. Porcupine stuck a puffy one on a quill behind her ear.

They exchanged looks.

Porcupine grabbed one for each quill. Skunk scooted around on them, scenting his bottom.

Porcupine giggled. “You look funny!”

“So do you.” They both collapsed in laughter.

“ACHOO!” said Porcupine. Quills popped out. “ACHOO!” said Skunk. Stink squirted.

They exchanged glances, and then, started shoving flowers into their noses.

ACHOO! ACHOO! ACHOO!

“No more,” said Skunk, exhausted.

“Enough! “ agreed Porcupine. “You know, I like you just the way you are.”

Skunk said, “Same here. Will you be my valentine?”

“Will you be mine?” asked Porcupine.

The new friends scampered off to school.

Of course, it wasn’t perfect.

“Oops, excuse me!” Giggle.

“Oops, excuse me!” Giggle, giggle.

But it was close.

#3 Scully And Penny: Love Stinks!

“I’ll never find love,” worried Scully the Skunk.

He was a looker–but this skunk-hunk stunk!

Yet he was determined, that whiff-and-sniff guy

“I might as well ask the next girl who comes by…..”

So when Polly the Poodle wagged by looking fine,

He forced back some fumes and asked, “Will you be mine?!!”

“Oh Scully, my nose…it is sharp as a nail!

It just wouldn’t work with your stinky-stink tail.”

“You’re probably right” – Scully Skunk gave her that.

And as soon as he spoke, he spotted a cat.

It was Kitty LaPretty; she stretched out her spine.

He squeezed back some stench and asked, “Will you be mine?”

“Oh Scully, my nose…it is keen as my ears,

“I just couldn’t stand smelling skunk-funk for years.”

“You’re probably right” – not the first time he’d heard,

Then all of a sudden, down fluttered a bird.

It was Penny the Parrot, bird-beauty divine,

He sucked in his stink and asked, “Will you be mine?”

“Well, of course, handsome Scully—been hoping you’d ask.”

“I’ve searched for so long – finding love’s a real task.

“And please don’t you worry, this will work out well…

My peepers see more than my sniffer can smell.”

#4 Underwater Bliss

A shark saw his mark when he spied a wee fish,

‘I’ll have her for my dinner. She’ll make a tasty dish.’

But as the shark gave chase, the stronger his emotion

Changed from one of hunger, to love and pure devotion.

‘Look at how she swims. She darts with style and grace.’

Each swish of her tail, made his ol’ heart race.

‘Your eyes are round and beautiful, your scales are just divine.

I promise not to eat you, if you promise to be mine.’

The fish, who’d tired of swimming, succumbed to his charm.

And as the shark promised, she never came to harm.

But she’s ever so careful when she gives her love a kiss,

Lest those razor sharp teeth of his accidentally miss.

#5 Frankenstein Valentine

Won’t you be my Valentine?

And say, “I love you, Frankenstein?”

Love my ragged, jagged hair?

Love my bloodshot, frightening stare?

Won’t you be my Valentine?

And say, “I love you, Frankenstein?”

Love my grisly, garish grin?

Love my lumpy, warty skin?

Won’t you be my Valentine?

And say, “I love you, Frankenstein?”

Love my stitched-up, crooked scar?

Love my brain from Victor’s jar?

Won’t you be my Valentine?

And say, “I love you, Frankenstein?”

Love my garbled, boorish talk?

Love my lumbering, stilted walk?

Yes, it’s your chance, my Valentine

to be my Mrs. Frankenstein.

What???

G-r-r-r-r-r-r!!!!!

You say that you will NOT be my mine?

Will NOT love this Frankenstein?

Then…just forget this love-fest scene

I’m heading back to Halloween!

#6 Whom Do I Love?

Whom do I love?

Quizzed the cloud-covered moon.

I love the dish that ran off with the spoon.

Whom do I love?

Posed the run-away dish.

I love the silvery stream-swimming fish.

Whom do I love?

Slurped the shimmering trout.

I love the rock-hopping toad that jumped out.

Whom do I love?

Croaked the hip-hopping toad.

I love the waddling duck on the road.

Whom do I love?

Quacked the web-footed duck.

I love the pig on the rusty farm truck.

Whom do I love?

Oinked the curly-tailed pig.

I love the floppy-eared dog that can dig.

Whom do I love?

Barked the diggity-dog.

I love the bee in the hollowed-out log.

Whom do I love?

Buzzed the bumblely-bee.

I love the mouse that lives under the tree.

Whom do I love?

Squeaked the scurrying mouse.

I love the curly-haired boy in that house.

Whom do I love?

Asked the sweet little lad.

I love my momma and I love my dad.

The poll is below. Please vote for your choice of winner!

The poll closes at noon EST on Thursday February 16 so I can announce the winner Friday!

I'd also like to give Honorable Mention to Heather for Daisy Loves Fred, and Eric for Puffy Pancho and Pretty Paulita: The Perfect Penguin Pair.

And a tie in the (hastily added) junior division (under 10 years old) between Isabella for Puppy & Kitten Love and Gabby for How Miss Mouse Became A Door Mouse will result in a prize each which I have yet to determine :)

Congratulations to everyone for excellent entries! Now go ahead and vote! We will all be waiting anxiously for your choice of winner! Thank you all for sharing your wonderful writing!

Valentines Day Contest!!!

2012-02-11T00:04:00.003-05:00

Throw pink confetti! Open the chocolates! It's here! It's here!

The VALENTINES DAY CONTEST!!!!

And do you know why I'm so excited?

It's not because I'm about to publicly humiliate myself with my sample entry. (Although I suppose that does beg for a certain amount of excitement.)

It's because I'm going to get to read all of your FABULOUS entries!!!

At least I hope I am. Was anyone able (or willing?) to write one?

We shall see...

For any who may not have heard yet and who might like to join us in our contest, all the info is HERE. (Please scroll down below the slugs, and please note the word count, slightly raised from the original.)

Meanwhile, for your roll-on-the-floor-and-possibly-die-laughing-at-me pleasure, here is my sample:

Fishing Valentine

So it's Valentines Day and we're in the Secret Clubhouse.
We is me, my little brother Ty, and our dog, Leroy.
Not Bronwyn.
I'm boss of the club because I can talk.
Ty and Leroy are perfect sidekicks because they can't.
Bronwyn wore a dress to school today. Traitor.
"Here's the problem," I tell them. "Valentines Day is so full of silly it ruins the only decent girls."
"Lala," says Ty.
"Exactly," I say. "Pink overload. It's probably poisonous."
Ty and Leroy do not disagree.
"Luckily, I have a plan."
Here it is:
1. Cancel Valentines Day.
I am a master of simplicity.
Someone bangs on the clubhouse roof.
It's Bronwyn.
"Go away!" I say.
Ty eats some dirt. Leroy wags his tail. Traitor.
"I've got worms," says Bronwyn. "Want to do some Valentine fishing?"
Fishing Valentine?
Maybe her mother made her wear that dress. "Okay," I say.
As we head for the fishing hole, I make up a Valentine for her.

Roses are red

Violets are blue

Girls are gross

Except for you.

Yikes! Looks like the pink poisoned me, too!

SO. After that, I think everyone should feel pret-ty confident they can do better! I had trouble getting an idea I could squeeze into such a low word count. This was 22,067 words at the outset. (Well. I may be exaggerating a little :))

This time I am remembering the link list on the first try (yay me!) so get your entry-specific links right on there so we can all come applaud your genius! I can't wait to read everyone's stories!!!

Remember, this post will stay up until Monday evening, and you have until 5PM EST Monday to post your link. Then we'll have a special post Tuesday with the finalists for you to vote.

Ready?

GO!!!
(Oh, and P.S. I am being featured today, February 11, on Kai Strand's blog, on the topic of industry love! Should you care to pop over and have a look, I wrote about my indie :))

Also, please check the comments - there are at least 2 entries posted there, one under jrzoch and one under my name due to posting trouble.

Perfect Picture Book Friday - Slugs In Love

2012-02-10T00:04:00.003-05:00

You know, I just LOVE Perfect Picture Book Friday! All week I've been downright tingly with excitement because I'm going to share arguably one of the best love stories ever. Are you ready? It involves slugs. What's not to love? :)

Slugs In Love
Written By: Susan Pearson
Illustrated By: Kevin O'Malley
Marshall Cavendish Children's Books, November 2006, Fiction
Suitable For: ages 4-8
Themes/Topics: love, friendship, perseverance, humor, Valentines Day
Opening: "Marylou loved everything about Herbie - how his slime trail glistened in the dark, how he could stretch himself thin to squeeze inside the cellar window, how he always found the juiciest tomato. Though she never spoke a single word to him - she was too shy - she thought about Herbie every morning and every night and most of the hours in between.

On Monday, while she grazed in the strawberry patch, Herbie filled her mind and a love poem filled her heart. She wrote it in slime on the watering can."

Brief Synopsis: (From Publishers Weekly) "Herbie keeps finding Marylou's poems, etched in slug slime and full of devotion, but Marylou keeps missing the longing letters he writes in return. While she watches his every move, he can't find anyone who knows where she is so he can meet her." How will the "slime-crossed" lovers ever meet?

Links To Resources: Cool Facts About Slugs, Doorknob Valentine, Finger Puppet Valentine - (and with a little ingenuity, the last two could incorporate slugs! :)) Kids could make up their own poems like Herbie and Marylou.

Why I Like This Book: It's sweet and it's funny. It's maybe not technically a Valentines Day book (as in, it's not about Valentines Day) it is about love/friendship on a level that I think kids can relate to. Because Marylou and Herbie can't seem to connect, there's the added fun of rooting for the heroes. And the art complements the story perfectly. It's so wonderful - really, I think it takes a genius to make slugs look so expressive :)

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

Now then. I hope you're all geared up for our Valentines Day Contest which opens tomorrow! Having spent some time (I'm not saying days, but, seriously, days!) trying to come up with my sample entry, I am deeply regretting setting the 150 word limit. Kudos to any of you who pull it off! After extensive MERCILESS cutting mine is only down to 178. I realize that I tend to the verbose, so maybe no one else is having a problem. But if you're struggling, I've decided to up the word limit to 200. Because it's Valentines Day and all about sharing the love, right? :) So a little recap on the contest guidelines:

A children's story, poetry or prose, maximum 200 words, about unlikely Valentines, posted on your blog (or in the comment section of mine) between Saturday February 11 and Monday February 13 at 5 PM EST. Add your entry-specific link to the link list on my blog so we can all come read your entries! There will be no new post on Monday so the link list will stay up. Instead, I will have a hitherto unheard of Tuesday post to celebrate Valentines Day, and that post will list 3 finalists (or possibly a couple more - you know how bad I am at choosing :)) for you all to vote on. The winner will be announced on Friday February 17 and will receive his/her choice of a copy of Ann Whitford Paul's Writing Picture Books: A Hands-On Guide From Story Creation To Publication or a picture book ms critique from yours truly.

See you tomorrow with Valentines stories. I can't wait to read yours and I sincerely hope there will be more than one entry :)

And now, since I forgot last night - SO SORRY everyone, please blame the fever :) - here is the link list for this weeks Perfect Picture Books.

Would You Read It Wednesday - The 26th Pitch

2012-02-08T00:04:00.002-05:00

Good morning, everyone! Time for another episode of Would You Read It!

But first, I would like to thank Mona, Catherine and Kelly for the Liebster Award, and Catherine and Kelly for the KreativBlogger Award - both awards I have not had the pleasure of receiving before, so thank you all so very much!!!

I know I'm supposed to list some stuff about myself and pass the awards on to others, but as you all know I'm terrible at that. Plus it seems like pretty much everyone I know has received these awards in the last week. So forgive me if I just say thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

Now, it's on to the Would You Read It!

Today's pitch comes to us from Sarah in the Ireland! (I think she may be the first entrant from Ireland!) Sarah is 19 and a biomedical science student. She claims she's only a wannabe writer, but I say hop over and check out her blog - she has a great sense of humor! :)

Working Title: Starstruck

Age/Genre: YA

Pitch: Seventeen year old Katie literally stumbles into Matt's life one icy January morning. Within two months they're friends, and in three, they're dating. But there's a snag. Matt is a movie star and teenage heart-throb. Katie's living the dream that every other girl her age has, but the dazzle of having a famous boyfriend only lasts so long. How will Katie cope when the line between dream and nightmare becomes blurred?

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.)

Sarah is looking forward to your thoughts on her pitch!

P.S. Remember the Valentines Contest, only a few days away! Check here for details (please scroll down to the bottom of the post.)

Straight From The Editor! #4 and Oh Susanna - How Do You Know When Your MS Is Ready?

2012-02-06T00:04:00.000-05:00

Happy Monday, Everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

Mine was full of family, music, super bowl, and birthday cake :) Not too shabby :)

I don't know if you caught the half-time show, but I've got to say, Madonna is older than I am but looks way better. (Also, there are those who say she sings better, but the jury's still out on that one...:)) It may have something to do with the fact that she does dance workouts etc for about 17 hours a day whilst I sit at my computer exercising only my fingers and my passion for birthday cake :) I think I need some legions of Roman soldiers to march around with... and maybe I should wear those thigh-high boots... wouldn't they just be perfect for vacuuming and driving the kids to soccer? I can just see myself hopping out of the car at the Cumby's down on the corner to fill up on gas in that outfit... Or maybe strolling into Stop & Shop :)

google images - doesn't that look exactly like me?

Anyhoo...

On to today's news of interest! First, we have Straight From The Editor.

You will recall Margaret's pitch:

Working Title: Home Is Where The Bird Is
Age/Genre: PB
The Pitch: Bird thought he found his perfect birdhouse – until he encountered the mouse living inside. After a feather-raising experience house hunting on his own, Bird asks Mouse for help. Mouse leads Bird on a hilarious tour of unconventional housing options. As winter looms, will Bird accept anything but his perfect birdhouse?

Here are editor Erin Molta's insightful comments:

It’s a cute premise. I would make it a tad more concise and add in some unconventional housing options. Perhaps something like this:

Bird found the perfect birdhouse, but Mouse lived inside. After a feather-raising house hunting experience, Bird asks Mouse for help. Mouse leads Bird on a tour of unconventional houses, such as XXXX and XXXX. Will Bird ever find a house that’s the perfect home for him?

I hope you all find this helpful and instructive! :)

Next, we have today's Oh Susanna question!

Oh Susanna!

How long does it take for you to write a book? What's your process? How many revisions? How do you know when it's right to submit?

Signed,
I Don't Know What I'm Doing

Dear I Don't Know,

You ask excellent questions to which, I'm afraid, there is no specific or right answer :) The long and the short of it is, the process varies from book to book. (And in the following discussion, I'm sticking to picture books, since that is what I assume you're referring to.)

But let's see what I can tell you. It takes me anywhere from a couple hours to a couple months to write a book, on average. (This does not take into account the pre-writing time - the time where I've got part of the idea and it's rolling around in my head but isn't ready to be formulated into words.)

Once I've got enough of the idea formulated to start writing, I usually write out picture books in longhand. I know - so last century - but there's something about the physical act of writing, the flow of ink on the page, that facilitates my thinking. So first drafts are most often pen and paper.

Once I've got a draft, I type it into the computer, and that is always the first revision. The story never goes into the computer exactly as it's written on the page.

The next part depends on the quality of what I've got at this point. Every now and again (rarely!) I get it close to right the first time and the story doesn't need too much revision. But most times it needs quite a bit. I ALWAYS come in at too high a word count, so there is always cutting to be done. It takes a few tries to see how I can cut without losing my story - and in fact, hopefully, make it stronger. Usually this part of the process helps me to make sure I'm actually telling the story I mean to be telling (or that I know exactly what my main theme, or the point of my story is.) The number of revisions can vary from 1 to 20 or more.

When I've got it as good as I think I can make it, I PUT IT AWAY for at least a week or two. This is a VERY important part of the process, because right when I first finish I always think this story is the best thing I've ever written and there's likely to be a huge bidding war over it along with fierce fighting for movie rights :) At this euphoric stage, my judgement is completely unreliable, and sending anything out in that frame of mind is a huge mistake... as I will realize when I take that story back out in a couple weeks... at which point I will wonder how I can have the unmitigated gall to call myself a writer at all and will seriously consider going to get a job at Stop & Shop bagging groceries!

Point being... always give your story a rest and then go back to it fresh. You will usually see things you can make better.

As to when it's ready to go out on submission, unfortunately there's no exact answer. Generally, you will have a gut feeling that it's ready and there's nothing more you can do that's really going to improve it significantly. (You can tweak forever, but there comes a point where you're not really improving anything, you're just messing around.) But here are some things to ask yourself to see if you're ready: Have you told the story you want to tell? Have you created a character we can care about, challenged him/her with something important and relevant, and resolved the problem in a satisfying way? Is every word the best choice you can make for it? Have you read it out loud to yourself, your toddler, your husband, your dog, and anyone else who will listen? Have you had someone who has never seen it read it out loud to you? (Often, especially with rhyme, this is crucial to make sure the story flows well.) Have you had a couple beta readers or critique partners look it over? Is the language lyrical, rhythmic, asking to be read over and over? Does your story have re-readability (i.e. will a child want to hear it many times and will an adult be happy to oblige?) Have you left half the job for the illustrator and given him/her plenty to work with?

If you have done all these things and feel that the story is the best you can make it, then it's ready to go. And sometimes the submission process itself will give you feedback. 20 form rejections in a row for the same story may mean it needs more work (or that you haven't targeted your ms properly, but that's a topic for another day!) Rejections with any kind of personal feedback are a good sign and something you can learn from. And of course, hopefully!, you will get an acceptance! :)

If you write a strong story that feels more like a one-time read (fun once, but unlikely to be asked for over and over) or that doesn't have a lot of scope for illustration, you may have a magazine piece rather than a picture book. That is great, too. Not every story is strong enough for a picture book, but that doesn't mean it isn't a good story. So make sure you have a children's magazine market list of some type so you can target those stories too.

I hope that answers your questions at least somewhat! I hope our esteemed readers will also chime in with their answers to your questions!

Before going off to scrub the bathroom tile grout with a tooth brush whilst wearing my Madonna boots, I just want to remind everyone about the upcoming Valentines Day Contest!!! If you haven't heard of it yet, click here and scroll to the bottom!!!

See you Wednesday! :)

Perfect Picture Book Friday - Shark Vs. Train And A Few Extras! (Including A New Contest!)

2012-02-03T00:04:00.006-05:00

WOW do I have lots to share with you today! I'm going to try very hard to be concise... we'll see how I do :) Let's start with the Perfect Picture Book! (But definitely read to the bottom because there's good stuff down there!!!)

As I mentioned briefly in Wednesday's post, I'm very interested in adding another category to the Perfect Picture Book List - Best Books For Boys - because of the amount of discussion I've been involved with recently over getting boys engaged in reading. So I bumped another book so I could post this one today:)

Shark Vs. Train
Written By: Chris Barton
Illustrated By: Tom Lichtenheld
Little Brown Books For Young Readers, April 2010, Fiction
Suitable For: ages 4-8
Topics/Themes: Humor, Imagination, Play
Opening: "Who will win? Well, that depends on if they're... in the ocean... or on railroad tracks."
Brief Synopsis: (from SLJ starred review) "When a boy with a toy shark faces a train-wielding companion, it sets off a series of imaginative and very funny contests between fish and machine. The result of each battle depends on the setting."

Links To Resources: Downloadable Shark Vs. Train poster and activity sheets, Shark Vs. Train Activity Guide. Challenge kids to pull out their own two toys for a competition and see who they think will win at what.

Why I Like This Book: It's fun! The reader sees two boys pulling toys from a toy chest before there are even any words. One gets a shark, the other, a train. This leads to the imaginary world of who will win? in a variety of ridiculous situations where sometimes the shark has the upper hand (as in high diving), sometimes the train is favored (as in the burping contest) and sometimes neither one is cut out for the job (as in their scoreless video game where they say, "It sure would help if we had thumbs!") The pictures are hilarious, as are the scenarios in which the shark and train compete. I think any child would enjoy this book, and it may be one that is especially appealing to boys, even those who aren't big on reading, because the text is very short but the imagination (and potential for play) can run on long after the story is over!

I hope you all enjoy Shark Vs. Train as much as I do!

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

OK. Now onto a couple other important things...

Yesterday, Phyllis and I went on a school visit for Groundhog Day. (If I get a picture I'll insert it, but as of this writing I don't have any yet :( ) Anyway, one of the kids asked Phyllis, "What is your middle name?"

Well.

I had never thought about it!

Shocking, I know.

But of course Phyllis must have a middle name.

So I had some ideas... and so did they... and so I now present you with Phyllis' full name. Are you ready?

Punxsutawney Phyllis Princess Snowy Sunshine Macaroni Hotwheels Groundhog Hill!

How's that for fancy?

Phyllis and I LOVE it!!!

We are going to say it as many times every day as we can possibly think up excuses for. As in, "Would you be so kind as to pass the maple syrup, Punxsutawney Phyllis Princess Snowy Sunshine Macaroni Hotwheels Groundhog Hill?"

In other news, we have a winner for the December/January Pitch Pick! It was a tough choice, as always, and as usual I wish everyone could win, but since it can only be one, the voters have spoken. This month's winner, whose pitch will be sent to editor Erin Molta for review and critique, is

Margaret!!!!!

Congratulations, Margaret! Your pitch is winging it's way through cyberspace as we speak. Actually, I hope it's already there because I sent it last night right after I wrote this :) To everyone else, thank you all so much for submitting your pitches. I know how hard it is to put your work out for others to see and critique, so you're very brave. And we all learn so much from every pitch, so thank you all!

And now, last but not least - definitely not least! - it's contest time again!!!

Valentines Day Contest

google images

Having skipped January, I really couldn't pass up February because, as we all know, it has way better holidays than March for contest fodder :) SO. Your challenge, should you choose to accept it, is to write a children's story, poetry or prose, 150 words maximum, about unlikely Valentines.

You must post it on your blog, (or in the comment section of this blog if you don't have a blog), between Saturday February 11 and Monday February 13, and add your entry-specific link to the link list that I will put up on Saturday February 11. (There will be no new post on Monday February 13 so that the contest post and link list can stay up.) Entries must be posted by 5 PM EST Monday February 13. Three finalists (which, judging by my track record probably means anywhere between 3 and 6 :)) will be chosen and posted in a special Valentines Day post on Tuesday February 14 for you all to vote on for a winner. The winner will receive their choice of either a copy of Ann Whitford Paul's Writing Picture Books: A Hands-On Guide From Story Creation To Publication, or a picture book manuscript critique from me. For all you 12X12ers out there, look on this as a chance to get your February story written along with potential for a prize!!!

OK. That's it. I'm done. How'd I do on brevity? :)

Perfect Picture Book bloggers, please remember to add your links below! Have a great weekend, everyone, and start dreaming up those unlikely Valentine stories - only 150 words - you can do it! :)

(P.S. I apologize in advance for the fact that I will be late visiting everyone's blogs today as I have 9 hours of driving to do starting at 7 AM followed by my husband's birthday party when I get home... but I'll get there eventually :))

Would You Read It Wednesday - The 25th Pitch

2012-02-01T00:04:00.005-05:00

Oh, joy! It's Wednesday! That means grab Something Chocolate and settle in for Would You Read It :)

google images

(Mmmm! Excellent choice! (And yes, that is too a perfectly healthy breakfast! Look! There's fruit! Also something green!))

First, though, I'd like to remind anyone who hasn't voted for the December/January Pitch Pick to please go here and vote. The winner will be announced Friday!!!

Second, as you know, I like to sweeten the pie a little (tee hee) by offering a random prize each month to one of our dedicated Perfect Picture Book bloggers. You get one chance for every book you posted in the month. (There were 96 books posted in January - not counting mine which makes an even 100!!! - not too shabby, eh?) I enter them all (except mine) into random.org and voila! we get a winner. November's was Stacy, December's was Clar, and January's duhn duhn-duhn duhn-duhn duhn DUHN! is Miranda!!

Miranda, come on down! This month's bag o' goodies (which changes every month depending what I've got kicking around :)) contains hardcover copies of Red Sings From Treetops, The Busy Life Of Ernestine Buckmeister, and April Fool, Phyllis! and a paperback copy of Jean Auel's The Land Of Painted Caves (which is not for kids, but I just happen to have a brand new spare copy!) Please select one and Email Me (see that handy button over there?) with your choice and it shall be yours :) All you other PPB bloggers, thank you SO MUCH for the wonderful job you do every week! We are growing such a great resource! The next thing I want to add to it is Best Books for Boys (since it seems many people have a harder time engaging boys with reading) so please let me know if you have found any of the titles already on the list especially engaging for boys, and if you add a title that fits that category, please be sure to bring it to my attention! And who knows? Next month YOU could be the lucky winner!

And now - got your Something Chocolate? - it's time for Would You Read It!

Today's pitch comes to us from Dede who says she quit writing more times than she can remember. She stashed her drafts and turned her attention to more practical pursuits – her day job, the ever-present laundry pile, the bills. Despite her lack of attention, characters kept nudging until she gave in and finished writing their stories. Here’s one of them. The others can be found on her website.

Ready?

Working Title: Summer of '71
Age/Genre: MG
The Pitch: When eleven-year old Fiona peered through the broken slat of the caretaker’s shed at the back corner of the West End Cemetery, the last thing she expected to see was a girl about her own age, asleep on the dirt floor. Thus begins an unlikely friendship that carries them through a summer of bullies, a best friend’s betrayal, and a life-changing tragedy.

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

Please send YOUR pitches for the coming weeks! For rules and where to submit, click on this link Would You Read It or on the Would You Read It tab in the bar above. Pitches are currently queued through April 4, but there are lots of openings after that, so send your pitch for a chance to be read by editor Erin Molta!

Dede is looking forward to your thoughts on her pitch!

Pitch Pick # 5 AND Oh Susanna: How Do You FInd And Pay For Illustrators?

2012-01-30T00:04:00.002-05:00

Happy Monday Morning Everyone!

In case you need a little cuteness to start your week (or maybe spark a story) here is some cute overload for you :)

cute overload piglet :)

Doesn't your day feel brighter and happier now? Really, how could it not in the face of that extreme cuteness?! :)

I have about 30 things I want to share with you today, but that would really take too long, so I'm going to keep it down to 2. (Very restrained of me, don't you think?)

First, the December/January Pitch Pick. Because of the holidays, we only had 2 pitches in December, so they've been added into January's for the vote.

Here is your quick pitch pick refresher: (try saying "quick pitch pick" three times fast, especially on Monday morning :))

#1 Christie 1

Working Title: Draggin' My Tail

Age/Genre: PB

The Pitch: Orville the dragon loves to fly, but when he quits breathing fire, his wings fail him. Orville has to figure out how to get his fire back so he can lift off again.

#2 Vicki

Working Title: Finding Sophie

Age/Genre: YA

The Pitch: When Sophie is forced backward in time to 1895 Paris, she takes the identity of a missing Jewish girl and falls for a young Zionist. As the window home closes, Sophie must decide whether to unlock a mysterious heirloom’s secrets and return to her own life of a potential prima ballerina, or live as someone else in the past and lose herself forever.

#3 Abby

Working Title: What If?

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

The Pitch: Little Lucy has a vivid imagination which shines through all of the "what if" questions she asks about the world around her. With her creative perspective on things, the world holds limitless possibilities for both her and the reader.

#4 Jane

Working Title: Nana, I Miss You

Age/Genre: Picture Book

The Pitch: Jamie, who wants to spend time with his nana, is upset because she becomes seriously ill. But her thoughtful gift, when she finally goes into a hospice, reveals her love and gives him a new interest.

#5 Margaret

Working Title: Home Is Where The Bird Is

Age/Genre: Picture Book

The Pitch: Bird thought he found his perfect birdhouse – until he encountered the mouse living inside. After a feather-raising experience house hunting on his own, Bird asks Mouse for help. Mouse leads Bird on a hilarious tour of unconventional housing options. As winter looms, will Bird accept anything but his perfect birdhouse?

#6 Christie 2

Working Title: Solomon's Raisin Farm

Age/Genre: PB

The Pitch: Last year, Solomon was finally old enough to help with the harvesting of the raisins, but it rained. This year, he prays for no rain so the crops won't get ruined and the family can make money at the festival. Will the rain hold off this year so Solomon can finally prove to his family that he really is old enough to help out?

OY! What a tough choice! But please vote for your favorite below.

The poll will be open until, oh, let's say Wednesday Feb. 1 at 11:59 PM EST. I think I can squeeze announcing the winner in with Friday's Perfect Picture Book :)

And now, the moment you've all been waiting for, our very first installment of Oh Susanna! Wouldn't you know the very first question to come in was a REALLY hard one! One might even call it a doozy! But I am too much of a play-by-the-rules type to skip it and start with an easier one :) so here it is...

Joanna asks:

I have a manuscript that I have written for uTales (eBooks), and am struggling to find an illustrator as they are either too busy or don't want to do the 50/50 standard uTales collaboration, but want money up front, which I do understand. I am not sure I want to go this route, but have been wondering where to go to find out how much one would pay an illustrator independently for a typical length PB? and what sort of contract would be drawn up? i.e. Who then owns the book etc?

Well, Joanna, you have asked a question that is out of the realm of my experience. But here's what I think:

I'm guessing the answer to this may be on a person-by-person basis. Different people are going to feel comfortable with different arrangements. I can understand why an illustrator would want to be paid up front - doing the illustrations would be a big investment of time and energy - but if that isn't workable or comfortable for you perhaps it's a question of finding an illustrator who is willing to work "on spec" so to speak. Right in our own 12X12 group there are any number of talented illustrators. Many more on LinkedIn. Perhaps you can post (in Linked In groups, 12X12, Children's Book Hub, etc.) that you're looking for an illustrator willing to work on spec. An illustrator who is looking to break into picture books might be more willing to wait for the pay off because of the opportunity for a publishing credit. Even if the project doesn't end up selling, the illustrator would own the illustrations and could use them as part of his/her portfolio and will be able to show future interested parties that they are capable of producing a picture book length work. If you're up front about what you want, hopefully you'll get responses from people who are interested in doing it that way.

As for the standard fee, I'd be very interested to know the answer to that too! My experience to date has been with publishers who choose and pay for the illustrators, so I have not been involved in paying illustrators. In traditional publishing, the deal is 50/50 - the author and the illustrator usually get the same amount (so I'm told :)) They get paid an advance and an agreed upon percentage of royalties. The publisher keeps the percentage until the advance has earned out. After that, the author and illustrator receive the royalties, usually twice a year. (For clarity's sake, if you get an advance of $1000 and a 5% royalty on a book that retails for $16.95, you'll earn .85 for each book sold, so you have to sell about 1177 books to earn out your advance. After that, you get .85 for every book sold delivered in a royalty check twice a year.)

For uTales it looks as though you must submit a completed ms along with illustrations, but that doesn't guarantee uTales will accept your project. Is that correct? If they accept it, then you and the illustrator would each get 50%. The problem, if I'm understanding, is if they don't accept. Then you have both put in a lot of time and effort for no publishing contract. I'm guessing that is where your question about who owns what comes in. I would think a fairly simple contract would suffice - you own the story and they own the illustrations. However, if you have to pay for the illustrations up front for a project that doesn't sell, than you have technically bought the illustrations and should own them. Or if you pay up front for a project that does sell, you should get all the proceeds until your expense has ben covered. Any deal is workable as long as you're very clear about the parameters and both parties are happy with the arrangement. If you reach the point of having a completed book that didn't sell, however, nowadays you have the option of self-publishing. There are many possibilities here, and if you and the illustrator agree to split proceeds 50/50 this could be another way the illustrator could end up getting compensation for his/her work.

But Joanna and I would now both love to hear from all of you!!! Have you hired an illustrator? How did you handle the rights and payment? Have you done a project for uTales or a similar entity? How did you manage it? Are you an illustrator? What is your standard fee (or what have you heard is the going rate?) Please share your knowledge and experience! Joanna and I (and I'm guessing a lot of our readers, because this is a very interesting question!) will be eagerly awaiting your input!

Perfect Picture Book Friday - The Busy Life Of Ernestine Buckmeister

2012-01-27T00:04:00.000-05:00

Hurray! It's Perfect Picture Book Friday! (And, right after the book, we'll find out who won the Michael Garland giveaway!!!)

Today's choice is as much for parents and teachers as it is for kids!

The Busy Life Of Ernestine Buckmeister
Written By: Linda Ravin Lodding
Illustrated By: Suzanne Beaky
Flashlight Press, October 2011, Fiction
Suitable For: ages 5 and up
Themes/Topics: the importance of play, over-scheduling
Opening: "Each morning, while Ernestine ate breakfast and Nanny O'Dear prepared lunch, Ernestine's father zoomed out to work and called, 'Live life to the fullest, Ern!' And each morning Ernestine's mother zipped out to catch the bus and said, 'Make every moment count, E!'"

Brief synopsis: Ernestine's parents want her to have every experience she can, so they pack her days with sculpting and tuba, yoga and yodeling. It takes Ernestine to show them that one thing she absolutely shouldn't miss is having time to just play.

Links to resources: What I really should say here is, "No resources! Just go play!" But here are some resources that are also playing :) Coloring Page, and for activities, try making a daisy crown (or any kind of outdoorsy crown), or make clouds out of cotton or shaving cream and see what shapes you see in them, or build a fort out of sticks, or blocks, or an empty cardboard box. Use you imagination!

Why I Like This Book: Kids will enjoy Ernestine's ridiculous schedule, her amusing list of lessons, her teachers' funny names, the bold bright colors of the pictures, and Ernestine's inspired solution to her problem. As a grown-up, I appreciate Ernestine's message that while organized activities arranged and taught by adults have their place, so too does the unstructured time to be a child and simply play.

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

And now, the moment you've all been waiting for, when I announce... that I will be vacuuming this afternoon!

Nah! I'm just foolin' with ya!

(I know you don't care whether I vacuum. Although there are others who feel differently... :))

The winner of a Michael Garland book is none other than our delightful Robyn!!! Wahoo! Yay Robyn!

So Robyn, please Email Me and let me know if you'd like Icarus Swinebuckle, Miss Smith's Incredible Storybook, or Grandpa's Tractor (which was added by popular demand :))

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and join us back here Monday for the first Oh Susanna and the December/January Pitch Pick which will have to share a post unless I boot Oh Susanna for another week. You may feel free to share your opinion on the matter in the comments - I'm happy either way :)

Also, if you have a few free minutes over the weekend, please pop round to some of the wonderful bloggers who have been so kind as to interview me and Phyllis this week :) I'll copy and paste the list from Wednesday to here for your convenience:

(From Tuesday Jan. 24): Clarbojahn's Blog: Part 2 of our interview and a giveaway of a hard cover copy of Punxsutawney Phyllis.

From Wed. Jan. 25): Sylvia Ramsey's Blog, Thoughtful Reflections. This one I'm not too familiar with. I wrote the interview for her at the beginning of September so it will be all new to me too! :)

(From Thurs. Jan. 26): Corey Schwartz's Blog, Thing 1 and Thing 2. This one is all about where the idea for Phyllis came from and will be in two parts. I'm not sure yet when part 2 will be.

Friday Jan. 27: Leigh Covington's Blog. This one is a (brief!) interview with Phyllis herself! She emerged from her burrow just because she likes Leigh. There will be a giveaway of a hard cover copy of Punxsutawney Phyllis here too!

Sat. Jan. 28: Iza Trapani's Blog, In And Out Of My Studio. A chat with one of my favorite author/illustrators who may or may not be appearing on this blog soon (I could tell you, but then it wouldn't be a secret :)) There will be a giveaway of a hardcover copy of Punxsutawney Phyllis on this one, too!

Perfect Picture Book bloggers, please remember to post your links in the list below so everyone can come see the wonderful books you've chosen this week!

Would You Read It Wednesday - The 24th Pitch

2012-01-25T00:04:00.004-05:00

I think it's a two-cups-of-hot-chocolate morning, my friends!

With whipped cream.

And a little cocoa sprinkled on top to look pretty.

Because look at all the happiness we have to share this morning!

First, through some unknown cosmic whirlijig (I just made that up because it sounds good and it looks good :)) I am being featured on 5 different blogs in the space of a week! Normally I am not that popular. I think this has to do with Phyllis :) Who wants you to remember what's coming next week and how exceptional she looks in her tiara, so here:

This is me, Phyllis, wearing the tiara that the Grace Church preschoolers made me last year, and the scarf Aunt Leslie made me to match my first book. Kind of takes your breath away, don't it? :)

Because most of the bloggers are my very good friends, I do hope you will go visit them. (Also, there could be a book in it for you :))

Here's the run-down in case you're interested:

Yesterday (Tuesday Jan. 24): Clarbojahn's Blog: Part 2 of our interview and a giveaway of a hard cover copy of Punxsutawney Phyllis.
Today (Wed. Jan. 25): Sylvia Ramsey's Blog, Thoughtful Reflections. This one I'm not too familiar with. I wrote the interview for her at the beginning of September so it will be all new to me too! :)
Tomorrow (Thurs. Jan. 26): Corey Schwartz's Blog, Thing 1 and Thing 2. This one is all about where the idea for Phyllis came from and will be in two parts. I'm not sure yet when part 2 will be.
Friday Jan. 27: Leigh Covington's Blog. This one is a (brief!) interview with Phyllis herself! She emerged from her burrow just because she likes Leigh. There will be a giveaway of a hard cover copy of Punxsutawney Phyllis here too!
Sat. Jan. 28: Iza Trapani's Blog, In And Out Of My Studio. A chat with one of my favorite author/illustrators who may or may not be appearing on this blog soon (I could tell you, but then it wouldn't be a secret :)) There will be a giveaway of a hardcover copy of Punxsutawney Phyllis on this one, too!

I don't know Sylvia, but all the others are wonderful writers with great blogs. I hope you will do them the favor of a visit!

Next, you still have today to comment on Monday's Author/Illustrator Interview with Michael Garland for a chance at one of his books! If you haven't read the interview and commented yet, hop on over after you finish Would You Read It and leave your thoughts for today's participant.

Which brings me to today's participant, the lovely Christie whom you've already met thrice before - she's that prolific!

Here we go!

Working Title: Solomon's Raisin Farm
Age/Genre: PB
The Pitch: Last year, Solomon was finally old enough to help with the harvesting of the raisins, but it rained. This year, he prays for no rain so the crops won't get ruined and the family can make money at the festival. Will the rain hold off this year so Solomon can finally prove to his family that he really is old enough to help out?

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

Please send YOUR pitches for the coming weeks! For rules and where to submit, click on this link Would You Read It or on the Would You Read It tab in the bar above. Pitches are currently queued through March 14, but there are lots of openings after that, so send your pitch for a chance to be read by editor Erin Molta!

Christie is looking forward to your thoughts on her pitch!

Please join us Friday for Perfect Picture Books! And the winner of the Michael Garland book giveaway!

Author/Illustrator Interview: Meet Michael Garland (And There's A Giveaway!)

2012-01-23T00:04:00.002-05:00

Happy Monday Everyone :)

I'm delighted to be reinstating this feature as a monthly special on my blog. I love having the opportunity to talk with talented, creative people who are making a go of it in this very competitive field. It's a wonderful opportunity to learn - about what works and what doesn't, what the particular challenges and rewards are, what is hard and what comes easy, and how different people go about accomplishing their work.

These interviews will usually take place on either the third Saturday or the third Sunday of the month (I haven't decided yet :)), but since January started on a Sunday and there's so much going on as the new year kicks off, I bent the rules by a week. Then, due to the squirrelly internet out here in the boondocks, the art for the post didn't come through in time, so I couldn't post yesterday. So here it is today instead, bumping Oh, Susanna into next week. Such is the way of things sometimes :) But well worth it for today's interview!

It is my very great pleasure to present this month's Author/Illustrator, Michael Garland!

Michael Garland

SLH: Michael, thank you so much for joining us today. We're thrilled to have you! Let's start with some just-for-fun quick warm-up questions :)

Agented or Not? Not

Traditionally or Self-Published? Traditionally

Traditional or Digital Format? All books so far started in traditional format, but some have been converted to digital.

Apps or Not? 3 apps: Icarus Swinebuckle, Henry's Parade, and Angel Cat.

Plotter or Pantser? Plontser :)

Laptop or Desk top? Desk top

Mac or PC? Mac

Day, Afternoon or Night Worker? Writing - brain freshest in AM; drawing - second nature and can do any time.

Coffee or Tea? Coffee

Quiet or Music? Writing - complete silence; painting/drawing - any noise is fine but usually choose CNN, the Golf Channel or the History Channel.

Currently Reading? In The Garden Of The Beasts by Eric Larson

SLH: Now for the more involved stuff! When did you first become interested in writing/illustrating?

MG: I began drawing as a very young child. I drew to entertain myself. I even made little books, although I didn't really think of them that way at the time. My parents were lavish with their praise and encouraged me. When I reached Kindergarten, the teacher was equally enthusiastic about my work. It was quickly and readily apparent that I could draw better than the other kids. My teachers would hold up everything I drew to show the other students... which was never true of my math tests :) I went to a Catholic boys high school where there was no real art curriculum. But afterwards I attended the Pratt Institute.

(Here are a few samples of Michael's recent book covers to give you a sense of his talent!)

SLH: So illustrating really came first for you. When did you begin writing as well?

MG: It was a leap for me to finally write a story myself. I had always thought of myself as an illustrator, not a writer. But after I had illustrated a number of books for other people, I began to think how much fun it would be to tell my own stories. The first book that I both wrote and illustrated was called My Cousin Katie and was based on my own daughter. Having written about one child, I wanted to wrote about the others, so My Cousin Katie was followed by Circus Girl and Dinner At Magritte's for my other children. These three titles remain among my favorites, along with Leah's Pony, the house for which was modeled on a house near me even though it takes place in Texas; The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow, which has remained in print for a long time; Santa Kid, which I illustrated for James Patterson; and The Magically Mysterious Adventures of Noelle The Bulldog and Noelle's Treaure Tale which I illustrated for Gloria Estefan.

SLH: How many books have you published?

MG: I have published about 40 books that I illustrated but didn't write, and about 30 where I did both.

SLH: Wow! That is impressive! Have you ever written anything that didn't sell?

MG: Oh, sure! I have about 5 or 6 projects that don't sell for every one that does.

SLH: You're ahead of the curve, then :) Most people say they have 10 unsold mss for every one that sells! Do you consider yourself an author or an illustrator first, or are the two inseparable?

MG: As I mentioned, I originally thought of myself as an illustrator. But now the two are really inseparable.

SLH: You were really a pioneer in digital art - one of the first to use that medium. Can you tell us a little about that?

MG: The first time I used digital art was for The Mouse Before Christmas which was published in 1997. It was hard to get folks to accept back then, but interestingly enough, it was an older editor - in her seventies - who was willing to give it a try. Editors quickly saw how much easier it was to work with digital art. Changes that were time-consuming and difficult to pull off with traditional painting could often be fixed in matter of minutes in the digital format. The equipment was expensive, and the disks were huge, cost about $60 each, and could only hold about 2 paintings each, so I would hand over a stack of disks for a single book, which I then, usually didn't get back to reuse. But it turned out to be worth it!

SLH: This leads into your new book - Fish Had A Wish - due out from Holiday House in February 2012 - just a couple weeks away. You have pioneered another new art form with this. Can you tell us about the book and the new art?

MG: Fish Had A Wish (originally titled Fish Wishing, then Fish Wish, and finally Fish Had A Wish) was inspired because I love nature books and I wanted to write one. So I started out with a fish. He is bored of being a fish and imagines what it would be like if he could be something else. It is intended for earliest readers and as such has a very short and simple text. It was short and simple to begin with, and the editor cut it by about 1/3 again. The new art you're referring to is what I like to call digi-woodcut. It's a form of digital art that mimics woodcut. I scan in all kinds of wood textures and then layer them in the painting.

SLH: It's really beautiful. Here is the cover of Fish Had A Wish (as well as a couple interior illustrations because they are so incredible I just have to share them!):

illustration copyright Michael Garland 2012

Aren't they gorgeous?! Which brings me to the importance of art in picture books... As both an author and an illustrator, what are your thoughts on the importance of writing vs. the importance of art?

MG: A picture book is supposed to be 50/50. The author, or the writing, tells half the story and the illustrations tell the other half. It should be equal. A good picture book is. But in terms of how it's perceived, in my experience, in the publishing equation authors get a disproportionate amount of the credit.

SLH: A few of your books have become apps - Icarus Swinebuckle, Henry's Parade, and Angel Cat. What has your experience been like in this venue?

MG: It's been fun to see the books developed into apps. When Icarus Swinebuckle came out, it was on the itunes bestseller list for 2 weeks and was #1 in Jamaica! But then you get into the problem of the infinite bookshelf. New apps are coming in all the time. When books are available in a library, they're right there on the shelf. You can see everything there is to choose from. It might not be the most extensive choice, and you might not notice everything that's there, but it's finite. When apps go out, they become part of the infinite bookshelf. Publishers are taking all their backlisted books and digitizing them. EVERYthing is available. So how do you even know what's out there? How do you find things? As an author or illustrator, how do you get people's attention? This is one of the challenges facing us as we move forward.

SLH: Do you have any advice for aspiring authors and/or illustrators?

MG: Don't allow one rejection to discourage you. Or even a bunch. And it has to be enjoyable. If you're not having fun, you shouldn't be doing it. I have been 38 years in the business. I've made the New York Times bestseller list 4 times - with Miss Smith And The Haunted Library, Santa Kid, The Magically Mysterious Adventures Of Noelle The Bulldog, and Noelle's Treasure Tale. But what I consider to be one of my real successes is that I get to do something I love. I have never had to go to a job I hated.

SLH: Finally, Michael, I'd like to finish up with a question from one of our readers. She asks, is it totally important to have a story, or can you just entertain and make people think? She gives as an example a current idea which is an adventure with a lot of imaginative things, but no story per se.

MG: In my opinion, story is the most important thing. The writing tells half and the pictures tell half, but if you don't have a story, you have nothing. You need a beginning, a middle and an end; a provocative opening, something has to happen, and then it has to resolve. Story is everything.

SLH: Michael, thank you so much for joining us! It's been wonderful hearing all you have to say!

And now, my friends, just because I like you :), anyone who comments on this post by Wednesday January 25 at 11:59 PM EST will be eligible to win their choice of Icarus Swinebuckle or Miss Smith's Incredible Storybook by Michael Garland.

Michael's book are available wherever books are sold. Fish Had A Wish will be out in a couple of weeks, so go ahead and pre-order :) And please visit Michael at his website where you can see the breadth of his work as well as learn about his availability for school visits.

For another great interview with Michael which focuses on his 2011 holiday book Oh, What A Christmas!, please visit Pat's blog at Children's Books Heal.

Perfect Picture Book Friday - Red Sings From Treetops

2012-01-20T00:04:00.001-05:00

Fasten your seat belts, everyone! It's Perfect Picture Book Friday! And if last week is anything to judge by we're in for quite a ride!

I'm REALLY excited to share today's book with you. It is so incredibly beautiful. Beautiful art, and even more beautiful language. There, now see? I'm getting ahead of myself telling you why I like it before I've even told you what it is! But get ready, because this one is really special!

Red Sings From Treetops: A Year In Colors
Written By: Joyce Sidman
Illustrated By: Pamela Zagarenski
Houghton Mifflin Books For Children, April 2009, Fiction
Suitable For: ages 5 and up
Themes: Colors, Seasons, Poetry
Opening:
"In SPRING,
Red sings from treetops:
cheer-cheer-cheer,
each note dropping
like a cherry
into my ear.

Red turns
the maples feathery,
sprouts in rhubarb spears;
Red squirms on the road after rain."

(Don't you just love that? Can't you just hear that cardinal singing and see the worms wiggling on the pavement?)

Brief Synopsis: From the jacket: "Color comes alive in this whimsical, innovative book." That pretty much sums it up!

Links To Resources: Junior Library Guild Activity Guide, Poem Starters, Readers Guide

Why I Like This Book: I love the lyrical language of this book. The author was so creative in her thinking - the way she describes the colors makes you see, feel, hear, touch, and taste Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. The art is exquisite and perfectly suited to the poetry. How can you not love lines like,
"Green waits
in the hearts of trees,
feeling
the earth
turn."

I hope you'll get a chance to read this book, linger over the language, enjoy the images it evokes, maybe challenge yourself or your children to come up with your own descriptions!

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

As a special and related note, for parents who might be interested, I wanted to share something from Vivian over at Positive Parental Participation. Vivian is encouraging parents to read with their children via her 2012 Challenge. She describes it as follows:

The 2012 Positive Parental Participation Challenge

This is a challenge to read a book with your child every day and participate with your child in other activities like a craft project that might relate to the story. To take part, just post a comment on my blog and tell us what book you read and what activity you did.

At the end of each month, we will randomly choose one comment to win the picture book prize. In addition, everyone who comments is eligible to receive a $5 discount on my Show Me How book. Please join in the fun...you will be helping build your child's self-esteem and literacy skills and it will be great to see what other parents are reading and doing...we can all use fresh ideas!

It might be a fun way to interact with other parents, share your reading choices and experiences, and win some books :)

I also want to say a special thanks to Penny who totally baled me out of my posting time quagmire. Several of you (subscribers) commented that you weren't getting posts until very late at night or even the next day. I can relate to this, as I have the same problem with several of your blogs, but I had no idea how to fix it. Penny, bless her heart, worked google magic and found a link with step-by-step instructions that even I could follow :) A little experimentation may be necessary but I'm hoping the problem is fixed. Thank you, Penny :)

PPB Bloggers, please remember to add your link below - if you don't I can't promise I'll find you! And it helps me tremendously to have the ages and themes listed on the post - it makes the archiving much easier! Thank you all so much! Our list is coming along beautifully. We're up to 140 books covering 95 categories, posted by 29 devoted bloggers - you guys are awesome! Can't wait to see what gets added today!

And don't forget to tune in specially on Sunday for our interview with Michael Garland, and Monday for our first installment of Oh Susanna!

Would You Read It Wednesday - The 23rd Pitch

2012-01-18T00:04:00.002-05:00

Wow! There is so much fun stuff going on it's hard to keep track!

First off, thank you all for your enthusiastic response to Oh Susanna! I've already got a couple questions, so I'll probably post the first episode of that feature on Monday. Lest the first also be the last, though, please send more questions :)

Second, guess what I get to do today? Interview the talented author/illustrator Michael Garland - in person! - so that I can share the interview with you on Sunday!!! I know. I said the author interviews this year were going to be the 3rd Sunday of the month. But January started on a Sunday so that one doesn't count! I hope you'll all tune in this Sunday January 22. I'm sure Michael will have lots of wonderful things to share, and I will do a book giveaway in conjunction with the interview. I think something along the lines of comment on which Michael Garland book you love most or would most like to own and why... But maybe I'll think up something to make it more challenging... :) I am open to suggestions... what do you think would be fun?

Third, (see, I TOLD you there was all kinds of fun stuff going on!) I am going to be hosting an event for the Ossining Open Door facility of Reach Out And Read on February 22. Look at this totally cool poster:

And for our Spanish-speaking audience (which alas is not me!)...

sorry the bottoms got cut off - I had a terrible time uploading these!

How cool is that?!

Reach Out And Read seeks to get books into the hands of children ages 2-5 who otherwise wouldn't have any. In conjunction with this event, we are trying to get as many donations of my books as possible to give away for free to the kids that attend. If you'd be interested in donating a copy of Can't Sleep Without Sheep, Punxsutawney Phyllis, April Fool, Phyllis, Not Yet, Rose, Airplane Flight or Freight Train Trip, you can order from Merritt Bookstore at (845) 677-5857. Tell them the book is for Susanna Hill's Reach Out And Read event and you will get a 20% discount and no tax on your purchase of the books for Reach Out And Read. Open Door will collect the books on February 1st for inventory and transport, so if you're interested, please call before February 1.

And now, finally, grab your chocolate and get ready for Would You Read It!

This week's pitch comes to us from Margaret. (Her blog is just getting started, so hop on over and make her feel welcome to our writing community!) Margaret is from the Silicon Valley and is a full-time SAHM of 2 young children (SAHM is mom blogger speak for Stay-At-Home-Mom.) She is also a budding entrepreneur and picture book writer. Like all of us, she is looking for a formula to stretch time so if you find one... :)

Here is her pitch:

Working Title: Home Is Where The Bird Is

Age/Genre: Picture Book

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

Please send YOUR pitches for the coming weeks! For rules and where to submit, click on this link Would You Read It or on the Would You Read It tab in the bar above. Pitches are currently queued through March 7, but there are lots of openings after that, so send your pitch for a chance to be read by editor Erin Molta!

Margaret is looking forward to your thoughts on her pitch!

Please join us Friday for Perfect Picture Books! I have such a wonderful book to share that I can barely wait to tell you what it is... but I will :) See you Friday!

Another Monday Morning Spark AND The New Feature!!!

2012-01-16T00:04:00.001-05:00

Last week when I put up the Monday Morning Spark it was a total spur-of-the-moment thing. But it seems quite a few people actually found it fun and/or useful. So I thought, what the heck? I'll put up another one :)

google images

Today's spark works like this: pick 5 words you like. You can do this by pointing at random words on the page of a book or in a dictionary, or by choosing words whose meanings you like, or whose sounds please you. Or take 5 words from the song you're listening to on the radio in your car or the first five words your daughter ever spoke. Any 5 words. Or you can use mine :) Here they are:

rose
gold
whisper
ocean
feather

Now. Take those 5 words (mine or your own) and write a story that includes some or all of them.

Take a moment to think about your words and all their possibilities. Rose, for example, can be a color, or a flower, or a name, or an action - the enchanted bathtub rose into the air! Gold can also be a color, but in addition it can be treasure or money. A feather can come from a hawk or a duckling. Or feather can describe someone's hair, or the way grass looks, or how someone decorates or furnishes their nest or home.

See? Possibilities!

Now, expand on your 5. Rose might make you think of other flowers - tulips or tiger lilies or black-eyed Susan's; ocean might make you think of seashells or starfish or pirates; whisper might make you think of secrets or slumber parties or the sound of a snake winding through tall grass.... See what you come up with!

So take your 5 and go! Let us know if you come up with a good idea from them, and if you're feeling generous, share your five in the comments for someone who is having trouble coming up with words! (Even if your words seem obvious and unexotic to you, they might spark ideas in someone else :))

Alrighty, then! Everyone feeling sparkly? Then it's time for

THE NEW FEATURE ANNOUNCEMENT!

Are you excited?

I'm excited!

Okay! Here it is! Fun for writers, parents, and teachers!

It's called, Oh, Susanna! and it's a version of Dear Abby, except not about relationships (well, not yours - character relationships would be OK :)) An advice column/question forum for those of us in the children's book world, as it were :)

Oh, Susanna! (which you have to say like you're calling me across a wide field, not like you utterly disapprove of me :)) will be a chance for you to ask me any question you want about writing, reading, teaching writing, being an author etc. (Primarily focusing on the picture book and early reader age group.)

For example:

Oh, Susanna!
I am half way through writing my picture book about a pirate who commandeers an enchanted bathtub. He now has a ship and a crew, but I can't figure out what should happen next. Can you help?
Love, Lost At Sea

Or:

Oh, Susanna!
My two year old son is afraid of the dark. Can you recommend a picture book or two we could read that might help him feel safer at night?
Thanks, Owns Stock In Nightlights

Or:

Oh, Susanna!
Can you suggest an enjoyable writing activity for my kindergarten? Writing is not my area of expertise, but I want to make it fun for my class! We are currently studying penguins, if that helps at all...
Love, Wants To Inspire Six-Year-Olds

Or:

Oh, Susanna!
I'm giddy with excitement but also extremely nervous! I'm doing my very first school visit as an author next week. My picture book is about a chicken who crosses the road. How will I entertain a roomful of kindergartners?
Please help! Weak In The Knees

Get the idea?

I will answer, of course, but then, all our lovely and devoted readers can chime in with their ideas, too. Any question you ask of Oh, Susanna! will (hopefully!) give you all kinds of helpful feedback. Struggling with your query letter? Wondering what the average advance is for a first picture book? Interested in entering contests but don't know where to find them? Want to try submitting to a magazine but have never done it? Wondering whether you're the only one who sneaks into the bathroom at 2 AM to scribble ideas on toilet paper by the nightlight? Want to know who makes bookmarks? Need an opinion on your homemade book trailer? Wondering if anyone besides you will be able to read your rhyming couplets successfully? Curious as to whether Snickers or Milky Ways make a better writing snack? Ask away! If I should happen not to know the answer, surely one or more of our readers will! And remember, there are no dumb questions :)

Shall we give it the old college try? Please email your questions to me by using the handy Email Me button in the right sidebar or addressing them to susanna [at] susannahill [dot] com. Please put Oh Susanna in the subject line.

This sounds like fun to me - I always want to know stuff from other authors! - so I'm really hoping you guys will like the idea too!

I'll look forward to hearing from you!

(And if I don't, then I guess I'll know what you think of this idea! :))

Have a marvelous Monday!

Perfect Picture Book Friday - Officer Buckle And Gloria

2012-01-13T00:01:00.001-05:00

My Perfect Picture Book is really here, I promise, and if you're in a hurry you can scroll down, but remember that special celebration I mentioned Wednesday? Well, today is a special day so I have to digress for one second!

Not only is today Perfect Picture Book Friday, it also happens to be my Brown Dog's birthday! She is 5 today - a very nice age if you ask her :) so please join me in a rousing chorus of

Happy Birthday to you!

Happy Birthday, dear Scout-y!

Happy Birthday to you!

You are all invited for yellow cake with vanilla icing (which dogs are allowed to have a small piece of on their birthdays) after the post :) (In case you hadn't noticed, we'll pretty much take any excuse for cake around here :))

And so you can see just how wonderful she is, here is a picture of her when we first met her:

how could anyone this cute have needed to be rescued?

And here she is in her mature beauty :)

Best Brown Dog Ever!

And now, in honor of Scout's birthday (and because this is one of my all-time favorite picture books in the whole world) today's selection will be Officer Buckle And Gloria. In case you were wondering, Gloria is a Brown Dog too :)

Officer Buckle And Gloria
Written and Illustrated By: Peggy Rathmann
Putnam Juvenile, September 1995, Fiction
Suitable For: ages 4-8
Themes/Topics: friendship, safety, being sensitive to others' feelings
Opening: "Officer Buckle knew more safety tips than anyone else in Napville. Every time he thought of a new one, he thumbtacked it to his bulletin board. Safety Tip #77 NEVER stand on a SWIVEL CHAIR."

Brief Synopsis: Officer Buckle gives the most boring safety speeches ever until Gloria comes along. All of a sudden, the students sit up and take notice. When Officer Buckle realizes what's going on, his feelings are hurt. "No more speeches," he says. But Gloria is no better without him than he was without her. In the end, they both learn the most important tip of all - "always stick with your buddy." :)

Links To Resources: Classroom Activity, More Classroom Activities, Safety Tip Poster Activity, Captioned Media Program, Home School Lesson Plan

Why I Like This Book: This book is a touching and delightful story about friendship. The illustrations are hilarious, bringing Gloria's outrageous antics to life. The safety tips are true and a good lesson, but presented in such an amusing way that kids won't feel like they're being taught or preached at. The same is true for the message about friendship and being sensitive to the feelings of others. This is a book you will be happy to read again and again :)

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

Also, another note about Perfect Picture Books. Our list is growing so beautifully that it's getting harder to search. I'm working on adding an alphabetical listing by book title (so it will be easy for you to see at a glance what's already been done) and by blogger (in case you love someone's particular style!) If anyone finds any errors, please let me know! Just so you know, before today's posts are even up, we have about 110 books on the list in about 75 categories, from about 24 devoted bloggers! And that's after only 8 weeks!

And now- because I wouldn't be me if I wasn't teasing you about something :) - tune in Monday for the announcement of a brand new feature!!! It's going to be a good one (I think!), but I'm afraid you'll have to wait until Monday to find out what it is :)

PPB bloggers, don't forget to add your link to the list below!

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Would You Read It Wednesday - The 22nd Pitch

2012-01-11T06:58:00.000-05:00

I love Wednesdays because they bring Would You Read It, and Would You Read It means chocolate for breakfast :) (In case you're new here, Something Chocolate is the official snack for Would You Read It. Pretty much anything qualifies - chocolate chip muffins, chocolate donuts, chocolate croissants, chocolate cereal, hot chocolate or, for the purists, just a good old-fashioned chocolate bar :)) Right now, I'm thinking brownies, although some would say they are not technically breakfast food. Still, they do have eggs in them... :)

In case you missed it, yesterday was National Clean Off Your Desk Day.

(google images)

I didn't end up observing it... (see above)... which is why I'm still working at the kitchen table... I have a small problem keeping my desk ~~visible~~ clean. I think it has something to do with creative chaos... That's the story I'm going with, anyway :)

But enough about chocolate and chaos!

Today's pitch comes to us from Jane, a 75 years young pastoral care worker from Ontario who taught for 28 years, 5 of them in Malaysia. She has written 10 books, mainly for children, which you can see on her website. She blogs at Life Story Writing and has written 15 life stories, some for Hospice patients. Welcome, Jane!

And here is her pitch:

Working Title: Nana, I Miss You
Age/Genre: Picture Book
The Pitch: Jamie, who wants to spend time with his nana, is upset because she becomes seriously ill. But her thoughtful gift, when she finally goes into a hospice, reveals her love and gives him a new interest.

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

Please send YOUR pitches for the coming weeks! For rules and where to submit, click on this link Would You Read It or on the Would You Read It tab in the bar above. Pitches are currently queued through March 7, but there are lots of openings after that, so send your pitch for a chance to be read by editor Erin Molta!

Jane is looking forward to your thoughts on her pitch!

And don't forget to join us Friday for Perfect Picture Books and a special celebration!

Monday Morning Spark

2012-01-09T09:43:00.000-05:00

I've been thinking a lot about writing.

Shocking, I know, since I am a writer :)

But what with so many of us involved with writing - whether as writers ourselves, maybe striving to complete 12X12, maybe as devoted bloggers stretching ourselves through Mother Reader's Comment Challenge, or maybe just writing our own thing at our own pace - or as teachers of writing trying to encourage kids to express themselves, trying to show them the fun of creativity - I thought a little sparking activity would be fun :)

google images

So here's my Monday morning spark for you!

1. Choose one of the following characters:
a. a 4 year old girl
b. a 5 year old boy
c. a pirate
d. a dog
e. a monster

2. Choose one of the following settings:
a. the playground
b. the bathtub
c. the forest
d. a train
e. a picnic
... and, if you wish, combine it with one of the following adjectives:
a. enchanted
b. crowded
c. cold
d. boring
e. funny

3. Choose one of the following problems/situations:
a. getting lost
b. hates getting wet
c. made a mistake
d. scared of loud noises
e. feels unimportant

4. Choose one of the following goals:
a. wants to be really good at something
b. wants to go somewhere
c. wants to be in charge
d. wants to get something
e. wants to be different

5. Choose one of the following random words:
a. orange
b. key
c. wish
d. tomorrow
e. turtle

6. Choose one of the following bits of dialogue:
a. "Don't touch that!"
b. "Did you see that?"
c. "That's strange!"
d. "I want to go home."
e. "I didn't mean to."

Now. If you're a writer, take one of these things, or one from each group, or any combination, and turn them into a picture book/story or, if you're a teacher, share them with your class so they can make a story, either as a group or individually!

If you really want to add to the fun, tell us which prompt or combination of prompts sparked a story - e.g. a monster (#1) who wants to be different (#4) gets lost (#3) in the forest (#2) and... Maybe your combination will spark an idea for someone else. Or add your own ideas for character, setting + adjective, problem/situation, random word, and/or bit of dialogue in the comments below to give readers even more spark options! We could make a creative wildfire :)

I'll be very interested to see a) what characters, settings, etc. other people might toss into the arena, and b) whether this game actually sparks some real ideas for people, so please share! Looking forward to your contributions, thoughts, story ideas :)

Perfect Picture Book Friday - Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse

2012-01-06T06:23:00.002-05:00

Hurray! It's Perfect Picture Book Friday! And today's Perfect Picture Book is one of my all time favorites. (So is next week's and really I wish I could have put them both up in one day but all in good time...!) Assuming even 9 people besides me post books today, our archive list will be over 100 books already - isn't that great?! It's becoming a real resource! :) Thanks SO MUCH to everyone who is participating!

Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse
Written and Illustrated By: Kevin Henkes
Greenwillow Books, 1996, Fiction
Suitable For: ages 4-8
Topics/Themes: following the rules, consequences
Opening: "Lilly loved school. Lilly loved the privacy of her very own desk. She loved the fishsticks and chocolate milk every Friday in the lunchroom. And, most of all, she loved her teacher, Mr. Slinger."

Brief Synopsis: (From Amazon.com Review) Lilly loves everything about school, especially her teacher, Mr. Slinger--until he takes away her musical purse because she can't stop playing with it in class. Lilly decides to get revenge with a nasty drawing of "Big Fat Mean Mr. Stealing Teacher!" but when she finds the kind note he put in her purse, she's filled with remorse and has to find a way to make things right again.

Links To Resources: Lilly Classroom Activites, Color Lilly, Lilly Maze, Lilly Dot-to-Dot, Make Your Own Purse & other activities, more Lilly activities (please scroll down past Chrysanthemum)

Why I Like This Book: Kevin Henkes perfectly captures the excitement of having something new and treasured to share with friends and the overwhelming difficulty of staying within the rules on such an occasion. Lilly's exuberance feels so perfectly real. Without preaching or moralizing this story shows the importance of behaving properly, that actions have consequences, and that it is within a child's own power to correct a mistake - that just because she didn't handle a situation quite right the first time doesn't mean she can't do it better tomorrow.

I love Lilly... :)

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

(And if you posted a Perfect Picture Book, please don't forget to add your link to the list below!)

Now, then, onto a couple other things.

First, the results of the contest poll have shown conclusively that you are inconclusive :) Only "No thank you I'm too busy" got only 1 vote :) Since everything else was pretty evenly split across the options, including the easy-going types who were willing to do whatever worked for everyone else, I think we'll do a contest every 2nd or 3rd month. We'll skip January to give everyone a rest, and then do one in February (Groundhog Day and Valentine's Day leap instantly to mind :)) and see where we go from there. Sound good?

Second, when I started my blog last year, I did a few author/illustrator/author-illustrator interviews along with book giveaways that people seemed to like. (Karen Orloff, Cori Doerffeld, Ryan Sias...) I'd like to get back to doing some of those because I always like meeting the creative minds behind the picture books we all love and we can learn so much from them! So once a month on Saturdays we'll have someone awesome over to chat. Of course there will be delicious breakfast items on offer (aren't there always?)

If there are any particular questions you'd like answered by our visiting authors or illustrators, please be sure to let me know! What are the things you secretly wonder about while browsing through the bookstore? I want everyone to get the most they can out of the interviews, so please don't be shy - shout your questions right out! :)

Have a great weekend, everyone! (And don't forget to post your Perfect Picture Book Link below if you have one!)

Would You Read It Wednesday - The 21st Pitch

2012-01-04T07:12:00.001-05:00

This is some kind of crazy winter we're having. We started with 2 feet of snow on October 29th, followed by a return of spring-like weather with a few cold days here and there, and this morning it is 4 degrees. I am not making that up. Seriously, go look at my thermometer.

Okay. I guess you can't actually see it, but it really says 4!

In my book, that is just too darn cold! Even Scout, whose preferred location is on the back or side porch

so she can keep a sharp eye on her territory lest any rogue deer should dare to trespass, is inside on the dog couch, curled up snug as a bug in a rug with Jemma.

So what better way to warm up then with a cup of hot chocolate, some fresh donuts, and a pitch for Would You Read It? Sounds great to me - I've missed Would You Read It over the holidays!

Before I give you today's pitch, I'd like to mention that there are openings available soon for YOUR pitches. I currently only have about 5 in the queue. So please send some in so we can keep up this fun series, and please spread the word to all your writerly friends! :)

Okay. Today's pitch comes to us from the lovely Abby over at Something To Write About. Some of you may also know her as Leigh Covington (her YA alter-ego.) She writes a fabulous blog which I highly recommend. She has a self-proclaimed addiction to chocolate, which is probably how she found Would You Read It in the first place :) and she lives in Utah. Here is her pitch:

Working Title: What If?
Age/Genre: Early Picture Book (ages 2-5)
The Pitch: Little Lucy has a vivid imagination which shines through all of the "what if" questions she asks about the world around her. With her creative perspective on things, the world holds limitless possibilities for both her and the reader.

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

Please send YOUR pitches for the coming weeks! For rules and where to submit, click on this link Would You Read It or on the Would You Read It tab in the bar above. SIDE NOTE: Remember, Would You Read It is booked only through January, so there are lots of openings ahead. Please send pitches and spread the word :)

Abby is looking forward to your thoughts on her pitch!

And don't forget to tune in Friday for Perfect Picture Books and the results of our contest poll (click here to vote if you haven't yet!)!

Happy 2012!

2012-01-02T07:52:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year Everyone!

google images

I hope you all had as wild a party as we did New Year's Eve to ring in 2012! Want to hear how wild it was?

Alright, then, I'll tell you, but you might want to sit down first. When we go wild on Blueberry Hill we pull out all the stops.

Okay. Ready?

We played dominoes, Scrabble, and hearts in the glow of the fire and the Christmas tree lights. We ate homemade brownies (not at the table!) and got crumbs on the rug. At midnight we popped open a bottle of bubbly (Sparkling Cider - Stop & Shop's Finest!) and toasted the New Year and each other. Then we all went to bed. The dogs slept through the entire thing.

Wild. Times.

I told you :)

I hope 2012 will be full of all good things for all of you!

Now then. Even though you are probably still recovering from your much-wilder-than-mine celebrating, I have four things of import to mention today. I will try to be brief, but you know me...

First, I want to thank Saba for bestowing the Superstar Blog Award upon me. I was so honored to receive this lovely award for the first time! In addition to thanking Saba, I am also supposed to pass the award along to 5 other deserving bloggers. But you are all so amazing and wonderful and deserving that I can't possibly pick just 5!!! So my New Year's present to you is that you may take this award if you feel it fits you as long as you pass it along to other deserving bloggers. Look how pretty :)

Second, I have a very important question. I'd love a show of hands on this. In the form of please vote below :)

Here's the question: I've been having so much fun with the writing contests, getting to know everyone and reading all your awesome work. Would you like to continue with writing contests once a month as we have done for October, November and December? If so, I would be happy to run them! But if that sounds like more work than fun and you don't want to do it so often or at all, it's best if I know :) So please let your voice be heard below:

I will leave this poll up until Wednesday or Thursday, depending on response time, so I can tell you Wednesday or Friday whether there will be a contest this month or not :)

Third, I am participating in Julie Hedlund's 12X12 in 2012 Challenge. (Note the gorgeous new badge in the sidebar!) I know quite a few of you are doing this as well, and I'm very excited about being part of such an enthusiastic, supportive community. Here's hoping we all accomplish great things in 2012!

Last but not least, as you know, anyone who posts Perfect Picture Books is eligible for the random (and when I say random, I do mean random - you never know what might end up in the goody bag!) end-of-the-month drawing for a prize. You get one entry for every book you post during the month (so in December, some people got 4 or 5 entries!) I load all the entries into random.org and let it pick the winner. Last month (November) it was Stacy. December's winner is Clar!!! Clar, please contact me and let me know which prize you'd like. This month's goody bag contains a $10 Amazon gift certificate, a signed copy of Freight Train Trip by Yours Truly, a paperback copy of The Land Of Painted Caves by Jean Auel (which has nothing to do with children's books but I received one for Christmas and I already have the hardcover so it's up for grabs :)) and a hardcover copy of Bad Kitty by Nick Bruel - you may take your pick of one of those lovely items! The rest of you, who knows what will be in the goody bag for January? You could be the lucky winner just by posting excellent Perfect Picture Books on Fridays! Thank you all so much for participating!

Okay. Those are my four things of import. Happy New Year Everyone, and see you Wednesday as we get back on track with Would You Read It!

Perfect Picture Book Friday - Four Feet, Two Sandals AND The Holiday Contest Winner!

2011-12-30T08:04:00.000-05:00

I know. Things have gotten just a tad out of hand this week. Monday's post barely made it in under the wire, and I skipped Wednesday's altogether to give everyone more time to vote during this busy week when lots of people are off their normal schedule. But now it's Friday and we're back on track with Perfect Picture Books!

(Oh. And by the way, in case you're interested, we'll get around to the winner of the Holiday Contest too! :))

But no skipping ahead! Or at least, if you do, please come back, because this is a wonderful book and I don't want you to miss it!

Four Feet, Two Sandals
Written By: Karen Lynn Williams & Khadra Mohammed
Illustrated By: Doug Chayka
Eerdmans Books For Young Readers, September 2007, Fiction
Suitable For: ages 7-10
Themes/Topics: Friendship, Sharing, Refugees, Loss, Separation

Opening: "Lina raced barefoot to the camp entrance where relief workers threw used clothing off the back of a truck. Everyone pushed and fought for the best clothes. Lina squatted and reached, grabbing what she could."

Brief Synopsis: In a place where people have very little, two girls each get one of a pair of sandals. They could have fought, but instead they share the sandals. As they go about their routines, waiting and hoping for their names to appear on the list for a new home, the sandals remind them that friendship is the most important thing. And when one girl gets the chance to live in a new land, the bond of their friendship remains.

Links To Resources: Teacher's Guide, Discussion Guide, author's note at back of book adds extra information.

Why I Like This Book: This story gives children a glimpse of a very different kind of life. For children who are fortunate, this book may help them not to take things for granted so much. For children who are less fortunate, this book may help them see that they are not alone. Told gently and with hope so that it is appropriate for children, this book nonetheless opens the way to important discussions about refugees, having and not having, war and peace, loss, and separation. But the underlying message is one of love and friendship, something all children understand and can relate to.

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

(For those of you also posting a Perfect Picture Book today, please remember to put your link on the list below.)

Okay, so I'll see you all on Monday.

Oh, wait.

Hang on.

I guess a few of you are wondering who won the Holiday Contest :)

(You didn't really think I'd leave you hanging, did you? :))

As you all know, the entries were outstanding. There were several - I'd go so far as to say at least 6 (since that's what I put in the finals :)) - that could have won. I'm glad I didn't have to make the ultimate decision! But the voters have spoken clearly. And the winner is...

DDRRRRUUUUUUMMMMMMMRRRRRRROOOOOOOOLLLLLLL!!!!!!

MIRANDA

with 'Twas The Night Before Christmas: Rudolph Goes Green!!!

Congratulations, Miranda! And congratulations to all who entered! (And Miranda, please email me and let me know if you'd prefer the gift card or the childrens writer's market guide!)

Because we had so many amazing entries, I will mention that second place went to Penny for 'Twas The Night Before Christmas On Mars, and third place went to Joanna for The Plight Before Christmas.

Thanks to everyone who entered. You are all so talented, and you made the contest so much fun. I think everyone had a great time hopping from blog to blog reading the stories (I know I did!) and everyone was so supportive of everyone else. Maybe you made some new friends in the process too!

Happy New Year, Everyone! I wish you all the very best in 2012 - love, health, happiness, peace, and great writing! See you next year! :)

(PPB posters - don't forget the link below!)

'Twas The Day After Christmas - Holiday Contest Finalists!

2011-12-26T23:47:00.001-05:00

Yes, I realize it's getting on for midnight - about 18 hours later than I usually post and way past my bedtime :) But I promised to post the finalists on Monday December 26 and By Gum I'm going to deliver as promised!

(I'll confess, however, that I have absolutely NO IDEA what I was thinking when I promised that. All these fabulous entries, which required reading and rereading and rereading to narrow down to finalists in the midst of wrapping and baking and celebrating Christmas and my nephew's birthday which was today... I think the fact that I accomplished it, albeit on the late side, proves that I have actual magical powers!)

Before I put up the poll for you to vote for the winner, I just have to say a couple things:

First, I was so gratified by how many people entered the contest - 29 in all! All you amazing writers took the time to think and create, write and revise, and bravely post your entries for the world to see and me and my trusty assistant to judge, all for my little contest. You ALL deserve a pat on the back, a round of applause and a celebratory slice of hot apple pie with a big dollop of homemade whipped cream!

Second, I was so impressed by the overall quality of the entries! So many wonderful ideas, and all so different! Such creativity! And some very talented rhymers! You have no idea how hard it was to have to set wonderful stories aside, one by one, based on relatively nitpicky things because I really couldn't have 29 winners! Please know that there were many things I loved about the entries that didn't make the final cut. Finalists were chosen based on originality, quality and appeal of story, and precision of rhyme and meter. They had to have everything to make the cut. One or two were culled because they had one but not the other, or because of inconsistency of mood or story.

Third, I realized part way through reading the entries that I did not specify this was meant to be a kids' story. My mistake, but it made the judging even harder because there were some entries that were clearly intended for children and some that were written from a much more adult perspective. So you will note that of the six (not three) finalists that I'm posting, 4 are kids and 2 seemed (at least to me) more adult, but all were great stories.

So, enough with the explanations! On with the voting!

I will post below the 6 finalists (you've noticed, no doubt, that I can never narrow it down as far as I say I'm going to - I'm clearly not cut out to be a judge - I'm not cutthroat enough :)) in no particular order followed by the poll. I'm also giving three Honorable Mentions (I told you it was really hard to pick and I'm not cut out to be a judge :))

Ready?

#1 (Mars)

Removed per author's request.

#2 (Fishmas)

“Twas the Night Before Fishmas”

Twas the night before Fishmas, when all through the sea,

Not a flipper was flapping, it was still as can be.

All the fishies were snoozing, snug in their sponge-beds,

As sweet dreams of earthworms, just squirmed through their heads.

When all of a sudden, through seaweed so thick,

Poked the jagged white teeth, and sly smile of Shark Nick!

And straight through the waters, he darted so fast,

He filled every conch-shell with treats that would last.

Chocolate worms, shrimpy-canes, plankton cakes for each fish!

Every conch over-flowed with each sea creature’s wish!

“Merry Fishmas,” he whispered and gave each a pat.

Eat up, little fishies and get plentifully fat!”

“Every Fishmas I visit, I happily treat you!

So you’re portly and plump, when I happily eat you!”

Then as quick as he came, he was gone in snap

He shot through seaweed, with a single tail-flap.

But they all heard him snarl, as he swam out of sight,

“Go ahead little fishies….Go ahead…Take a bite!”

#3 (Flood)

T’was the eve before Christmas and down by the stream,

the moles squealed and scrambled, as in a bad dream!

The snowstorm that blasted the valley that day

had flooded the tunnels; all nests flushed away.

Mama mole bundled her babies up tight,

shivering, “Where can we spend this cold night?”

Papa mole helped them climb out of the mud.

On mounting the bank, they heard a great ‘thud’.

The family looked up, OH, what a surprise -

a laughing old man dressed in red, filled their eyes.

He knelt in the snow, scooped them up with such love,

gently, he slipped them inside his warm glove.

He’d finished his rounds, then heard of the plight

of riverbank creatures that wet, snowy night.

They swooped on upstream calling out in the dark,

“Any need help? We’re the Santa’s Sleigh-Ark.”

As the sleigh flew along, they gathered a crew,

of rats, otters, mice, and a soggy duck too.

They pulled tight the scarves, all snuggled together,

so grateful for safety from treacherous weather.

The sleigh landed, CRUNCH, on North Pole’s ice strip.

The river crew marveled at their first sky trip.

The reindeer were settled in stable with straw,

but Santa had plans for the damp, homeless poor.

He kindled the fire, put chestnuts to roast,

he smothered with butter and honey, the toast;

he brewed pots of tea, and laid out the mince pies,

then chuckling, he pulled out his festive surprise.

How could he know? Had he planned more to share?

Santa had presents for each of them there.

From wee smallest mole to old grandpa Duck;

they shed a few tears, overwhelmed with their luck.

They pulled Christmas crackers, told jokes old and new,

sipped their mulled wine; hummed yule carols too.

“Three Cheers to Santa, for saving the day!”

The riverbank creatures raised loud their Hooray!

#4 (Rudolph)

'Twas the Night Before Christmas: Rudolph Goes Green

‘Twas the night before Christmas when there on the screen

Played an eco-documentary with ways to be green.

On the sofa sat Rudolph who suddenly froze

And pulled his front hooves right in front of his nose.

“I’ve got to replace this old iridescent

With an LED light–or at least a fluorescent!”

At once Rudolph dashed to the D.I.Y. store,

And the reindeer pack gasped as he clopped out the door.

“Don’t leave us,” yelled Comet. “You’ll make us all late!

It’s a good thing you’re doing but...Christmas WON’T WAIT!”

“C’mon” scoffed ol’ Blitzen, “Let’s get up and soar,

We can fly without Greenie–we’ve done it before!”

Then up flew eight reindeer with no glowing light,

Leading Santa’s big sleigh on a cold, wintry night.

But the wind and the storms blew a blinding, wet mess

So Donder unwrapped Yumi’s new G-P-S!

Their troubles were past them until Tokyo,

When Santa reminded, “That gift’s gotta go!”

Then Dasher discovered an oversized candle

In shimmery paper with a tag that read: Randall.

In a flash went their stress ‘til they flew o’er Khartoum,

When that “oversized candle” exploded...KA-BOOM!

It kicked up a sandstorm so Prancer thought quick,

Unwrapping a flashlight for young Dominic–

But the batteries died just past the Sahara,

So Vixen dug up Amy’s light-up tiara!

“You hold it,” he bickered, “Too girly for me!”

And they pawed it and clawed ‘til it fell in the sea!

“Now stop it, you guys!” bellowed Santa in back.

“We’ve got presents to give, so no talking smack!”

They straightened right up and squinting their best

Took strange routes from Cape Town to old Budapest.

Eventually they made it, but sore and pooped out,

And when they got home they gave Rudolph a shout:

“You lazy, green-washing...WAIT...that’s the SAME nose!”

Rudolph casually shrugged, “Yeah...the merchant was closed.”

“Well I guess we don’t need you!” the reindeer yelled, peeved.

And to their surprise, Rudolph felt...quite RELIEVED!

“That’s perfect!” he sang, then rushed out the door.

“See you guys in two years, I've joined the Peace Corps!”

#5 (parents)

‘Twas the Night Before Christmas, and all through the night,

We parents were wrapping with all of our might.

The stockings were stuffed but the presents were bare.

“I’ll be more organized next year… I swear!”

We prayed that the children would stay in their beds,

Snuggled in tight with the spreads on their heads.

While Daddy with his screwdriver and I with my tape,

Settled in to the task to make Christmas take shape.

When all of a sudden the dog began barking.

The reflection of bows on the ceiling were sparkling!

I sprang from the couch and led him away –

Into his crate to await Christmas Day.

At last we were ready to load up the tree.

Poor Daddy endured sharp instructions from me.

First this one! Now that one! Put this one on top.

Be CAREFUL! It’s fragile! Be sure it won’t drop.

And then we collapsed, exhausted and frayed.

“Oh please let the kids sleep ‘til eight,” we both prayed.

One blink of an eye and we heard the kids cheer,

“Come look at the tree, ‘cause Santa’s been here!”

We groaned in our beds, our eyes red and puffy.

The kids both looked glowing, while we looked quite scruffy.

I brewed us some coffee and scorching hot tea,

Then readied myself for the festivity.

One blink of an eye and the presents were done.

The kids were quite eager to play and have fun.

But as they were cleaning up ribbon and wrapping,

I lay my head down and soon began napping.

As I slipped into dreams, I heard a soft voice

Remind me to savor the day and rejoice.

#6 (school)

‘Twas the week before Christmas when all through the school

The children excitedly prepared for Yule.

The choir sang carols of joy and good cheer,

And how they’d behaved for their parents all year!

The students drew snowmen and reindeer and elves

Which teachers hung proudly upon all the shelves.

My class in pajamas, and I with my book,

Read about the adventures that Santa Claus took.

When out in the hall there arose such a roar

We jumped from our seats and ran to the door.

We peeked ‘round the corner to see what was there,

For a moment the children could only stare.

I cried tears of joy when I saw their bright eyes

The volunteers planned an amazing surprise.

Hot cocoa they poured for the girls and the boys,

And parked in the hall was a train full of toys!

The kids-how they squealed! Their faces aglow

As each took his present tied up with a bow.

This Christmas each angel received a new gift

The worries that this special day would sure lift.

They returned to our classroom so happy to be

Heading home with these gifts to put under the tree

When I opened the door, all the children said “Look!”

On each little desk sat a shiny new book.

“Do you like them?” I asked, I brought them for you

From every direction came hugs, how they flew!

This Christmas was special, I knew right away

For as long as I lived I’d remember that day.

I'd also like to give Honorable Mention to Erik for his story about the shelter dog - excellent story just right for this time of year! - Cathy for her lovely bear story, and Donna for her barnyard Christmas story, all strong entries!

So here's the poll. Please vote for the number you feel should win. I'd love it if you could vote by midnight tomorrow (Tuesday) so I could post the winner Wednesday, but i realize I haven't given you much time. So if not enough people have voted by midnight tomorrow, I will extend the voting and post the winner Friday with Perfect Picture Books.

Thank you all for writing, reading, and voting, and making this contest SO MUCH FUN!