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by Steve Barr, Author/Illustrator and Founder of Drawn To Help
Children’s books provide a wonderful opportunity to escape from reality and get lost in a world of make-believe.
But did you know they can also help children heal?
It’s a process known as “pleasant distraction”. Creative activities like art and music have been shown to reduce stress in young patients and play a powerful role in their healing process.
Drawn To Help, a small (but growing!) nonprofit takes professional cartoonists and children’s book illustrators to visit pediatric patients in hospitals. We also serve camps for kids with a wide array of serious medical challenges.
Every child Drawn To Help sees is given free drawing lessons and a packet of art supplies. They also get free books they can keep, and that’s where the children’s book community has really stepped up to help.
Most of the books that are donated to us go directly to the children. But sometimes they’re given to hospital staff members who put them on library carts and take them from room to room, so even more kids can enjoy them.
These books that were given to us by Kelly Light and Tara Lazar were shared with patients at Wolfson Children’s Hospital in Jacksonville and helped bring smiles to lots of little faces!
Illustrator Steve Gray sent us a package of autographed books with original sketches inside the cover, and the children who received them went absolutely crazy over the fact that someone they had never met in person was thinking of them and wishing them well.
Dav Pilkey and his wife have donated boxes and boxes of “Captain Underpants” and “Dog Man” books that are signed as well, and those have touched the hearts of little patients deeply.
You can watch their faces literally light up when they receive these gifts.
Getting an autographed book from an author or illustrator they admire can bring such joy to children receiving medical treatment. This young patient copied drawings of Dog Man from one of Dav Pilkey’s books to deflect his attention from his chemotherapy treatment, and then he read the entire book from cover to cover.
Writers and illustrators have donated their time to work directly with the children. Blythe Russo joined our volunteers in Cincinnati Children’s Hospital to share her love of art and her drawing by being part of a regular program we host via Seacrest Studios. Children who can’t attend in person can watch the shows on the televisions in their rooms and call in to participate.
Original art has been donated to help with fundraising. And when we’ve encountered kids who are seriously interested in growing up to become writers and illustrators, artists and authors have sent them helpful tips and information to encourage them to chase their dreams.
Nancy Herndon-Robinson sent an incredible amount of material to young Molly, explaining her processes and the preliminary work she does when she’s creating her work.
And now, in a time when Covid-19 makes it impossible to safely visit the children in person, Drawn To Help is expanding our digital outreach. We’re not only doing visits with young patients via Skype and similar programs, we’re also preparing a vast digital art activity library for them.
It will be given to caregivers on flash drives, and can be worn around the neck on a lanyard for easy access. And once again, people in the children’s publishing world have leapt to the rescue. They’ve given us permission to share a wide array of their coloring pages, mazes and other activities with the kids we serve.
Gifts of signed books continue to come in, and that’s great because we want to be fully stocked and “ready to roll” when we can safely return to the hospitals in person. But we can always use more, so feel free to contact us if you’d like to donate some and see them go to wonderful new homes.
Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you’d like to be a part of what Drawn To Help is doing. You can shoot us a note at info@drawntohelp.com and ask any questions you might have.
And perhaps you’ll help us not only lift the spirits of children who need us right now, but also inspire and encourage part of the next generation of children’s book writers and illustrators.
Together, we can make amazing things happen!
Drawn To Help is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. Contributions for the charitable purposes of Drawn To Help are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.
If you’d like to learn more about what Drawn To Help does, these links will help you find more information about us.
Visit the Drawn to Help website: drawntohelp.com. If you’d like to find out how you can get involved, please feel free to send us an email through our website.
Join Drawn to Help on Social Media Facebook Page: facebook.com/DrawnToHelp/
Home Sweet Home.
While we all hunker down at home and sometimes complain these days, really, it is our most treasured space. Be it ever so humble, there’s no place like home.
Jane Smith’s new book HELLO, NEW HOUSE seeks to inspire calm and comfort with what can be a major upheaval in a young person’s life, or really, anyone’s life—moving.
Jane, how did you get the idea for the book?
HELLO NEW HOUSE is inspired by my real-life, coast-to-coast move with my husband & young daughter from Hermosa Beach, California in the Southbay of Los Angeles to Wilmington, North Carolina. From the beginning, the move was a study in compare and contrast. We wanted to stay by an ocean in a warm climate, but we also wanted to settle down somewhere smaller, quieter, slower. For all that stayed the same, a lot was different; weather (hurricanes!), landscape, plant life, houses and more. I wrote HELLO NEW HOUSE as a kinda of meditation for those moments when settling into our new home was more challenging than fun. And I knew it would be comforting for others, too. Especially kids.
Coloring page!
Your spare language is so soothing. Was that a deliberate choice to keep the language simple?
Thank you! Yes, it was a deliberate choice. I wanted the text to have a gentle flow that was easy to read, easy to connect with and very direct in its meaning.
And the simplest things can be the most difficult! Did the story go through major revisions?
The only major revision along the way was a shift in the original ending that my editor, Andrea Hall, very smartly requested. Initially, the ending focused more on the new friend and that human connection to the new place, but Andrea saw right away that we needed to make one more leap from there, brining the story back full-circle to Callie’s family, which of course, is the most important thing that remains the same.
(All that said, though, the final manuscript was still the 11th draft!)
11th draft? Wow. What kind of changes did you make along the way and over what period of time? You’re also the illustrator, so when did you decide it was ready for the dummy stage?
Mostly, tweaks of language—creating better flow, pacing and musicality. I wrote the first draft of the manuscript early in 2017. It came fully formed for the most part, but I didn’t start creating the thumbnail dummy til late in 2018—over a year later. I was a bit in my head about the artwork as I wasn’t sure my style could capture the story. Drawing people and landscapes felt a bit intimidating. I initially felt that the story would be better served if someone else illustrated it! And since I always have multiple projects in the works at any given time, it was easy to put it aside for a good long while.
But then I turned 40 and was wondering if I’d ever sell another book and that lit a fire under me. I made it a goal to get a fully fleshed out dummy to my agent, Nicole Tugeau, that year, so we could begin the submission process. I found my way back into the story visually by playing in my sketchbook with character drawings as well as drawing houses specific to each region in the story. This process allowed me to ease into creating the thumbnail dummy. And by December 2018 the thumbnail dummy book was complete and Nicole had the project out to publishers by Christmas. We sold the project to Albert Whitman the following summer in 2019.
What do you hope children will take away from the story?
My hope is that HELLO NEW HOUSE will help kids identify and connect with the consistent touchstones in their lives (like comfort objects, pets, friends & family) in a way that helps them navigate big change. Like a big move! And that in doing so, they are also better able to embrace the adventure of big change. New places. New friends. New experiences.
Yes! Change can be scary…but change is also exciting!
I’m excited for your book which releases from Albert Whitman on October 1.
Blog readers, you can win your own copy!
Just leave one comment below.
A random winner will be chosen next month.
Good luck!
Jane Smith is the author-illustrator of the 6-book CHLOE ZOE picture book series, published by Albert Whitman & Co. Her forthcoming picture books, HELLO NEW HOUSE (Albert Whitman & Co.) and MISS MEOW (West Margin Press) will release in fall 2020 and fall 2021 respectively. Jane earned her BFA in Illustration at the Columbus College of Art & Design before beginning her career in publishing as an art director of children’s novelty books. She currently creates artwork for a variety of publishing and art licensing clients in her Wilmington, North Carolina studio. Visit her online at superjane.com, Instagram @superjanesmith and Twitter @SuperJaneArtist.
I’m wowed by many covers, but I’m especially jazzed about this one for Megan Hoyt’s picture book BARTALI’S BICYCLE, about an athlete who quietly saved Jewish families during the second World War.
It’s got this retro yet modern vibe, thanks to Italian illustrator Iacopo Bruno.
1938 Tour de France winner Gino Bartali was an international sports sensation! Then soldiers marched into Italy. Tanks rolled down the cobbled streets of Florence. And powerful leaders declared that Jewish people should be arrested. To the entire world, Gino Bartali was merely a champion cyclist. But his greatest achievement was something he never told a soul—that he was working with the Italian resistance to save hundreds of Jewish men, women, and children, and others, from certain death, using the one thing no authority would question: his bicycle.
Megan! Congratulations on your beautiful book!
How did you feel when you first saw the cover?
It was beyond my wildest expectations! The colors were so rich and the expression on Gino’s face was so serious and determined. And the fact that he included the medal Gino Bartali was awarded for being “righteous among the nations” after saving so many Jewish families—you’ll find out more about that when you read the book—made it extra special to me as a Jewish author. It’s on the back cover.
I love Bartali’s expression of quiet determination in the illustration. Iacopo took the original photo and transformed it to reveal so much about what’s inside the man and the book.
What feelings do you want the cover to evoke in your readers?
Mystery! Intensity! I hope a child picking up my book for the first time will want to find out what secrets this award-winning cyclist is keeping. I hope it makes them curious! I also hope, after they read it, that Bartali’s Bicycle will inspire children growing up today in such a hostile political climate to become adults of integrity and courage and generosity. I have big dreams and high hopes for the coming generation! Kids today have been through a lot, and I hope when they read Bartali’s Bicycle they will be excited to learn what true heroism is all about.
Why is his story so special to you?
When I first heard about Gino Bartali’s success as a Tour de France winner just before World War II began, I thought, oh, that’s nice. He rides bicycles really fast. Good for him. Then when he died in 2000, suddenly people began coming forward to share their stories. He had secretly saved more than 800 Jewish Italians from certain death, and he never told anyone! When the story broke in Italy, elderly women ran out into the streets weeping. It was unbelievable. I knew I had to tell the story to American children, too. May we never forget. And during this particular time, at this moment when we are facing down racism and staring anti-semitism in the eye and saying no more, I hope our book will boost those efforts. I know in time we humans will learn the hard lessons we need to learn. And Gino Bartali’s story will, I hope, help us get there just a wee bit sooner!
I understand you went to Italy and had a chance to meet with the illustrator Iacopo Bruno!
Yes! When I scored a $300 flight to Italy, I asked if he wanted to meet since he lives in Milan. Just name the place, I said. And he chose (of course) a bicycle cafe! There were bicycles hanging all over the restaurant, and they sold racing gear, too. It was the perfect spot! Thank goodness he brought his wife Francesca because he does not speak a lot of English, and I don’t speak much Italian. We went to his studio after lunch and I got to see sketches from his latest work in progress and final sketches of our beautiful book! And he gave me a gift! I didn’t think to get him a gift. Is that an Italian thing or is he just the nicest illustrator ever? And so talented—he created art for the book that makes you feel like you fell into a 1940s movie or something. It’s so retro and cool!
My husband and I also went to the Gino Bartali Museum in Florence and the Museum of Memory in Assisi. Everywhere we traveled, people wanted to talk to us about how wonderful Gino Bartali was. They told us the same stories over and over, but we never got tired of listening to his fans talk about him. And I interviewed his granddaughter, Lisa Bartali, who wrote a note for the back of the book. We messaged back and forth on Facebook, and she shared screen shots of books written about her grandfather in Italian. I typed each page, first in Italian, then put them through Google Translate to see what in the world I was typing. It was wonderful to find Italian sources. Writing non-fiction is no joke. This was difficult research! In the end, so worth it!
Amazing! So few authors have the opportunity to meet our illustrators in person. What a thrill!
And blog readers will also have a thrill…because Megan is giving away an F&G of BARTALI’S BICYCLE before it’s released on February 23, 2021 from HarperCollins/Quill Tree.
Leave a comment below to enter.
A random winner will be chosen in October.
Good luck!
I know. You’re still stuck at home. I’m with you.
But also…NOT with you. I’m in my home, without you.
So I’m glad to be talking about A CROWDED FARMHOUSE FOLKTALE today. It’s all about the home!
Author Karen Rostoker-Gruber is here (again, not really here) to tell us why is this tale is so appealing for our difficult times.
In my book, Farmer Earl has had enough! His home is too crowded! So, he visits the wise woman in town for help. She tells him to bring all his ducks in the house. And then all his horses. And all his goats too! How will there be more room with all these animals?
Once Farmer Earl follows the wise woman’s advice, he comes to realize that his crowded house was really not as bad as he originally thought.
Eureka, Farmer Earl! That’s a very wise wise woman.
The timing of this tale couldn’t be more perfect as people are stuck inside during COVID. Living quarters are being shared with families—24/7—with no breaks. Parents are working from home, kids are remote-learning, and a lot of people are getting frustrated. Computers can’t even take it anymore as they’re crashing as well.
We need to appreciate our homes, now that we’re spending so much time inside them.
Plus, this book has a toilet paper scene—very COVID—which really quacks me up! See the duck?
Kristina Swarner, the illustrator for this book, did a wonderful job adding humor to each spread.
I asked my editor if Kristina could make the duck on the front cover of the book take a bite out of the letter “A” in the word “FOLKTALE,” since the duck stood soooo close to the words anyway on the top of the roof. That was my contribution to the art.
If you look closely at some of the illustrations, the cats in the book are NOT amused with all of the ducks, horses, and goats coming into the house and wreaking havoc—typical of cats. It’s those tiny things that Kristina did that elevated my writing and made me laugh-out-loud.
Because this book is basically about being thankful for what you do have, I had Dawn Kiron, a social worker, write a teacher’s guide, which focuses on gratitude: how to keep a gratitude journal and jar/box and how to be thankful for the things that you do have.
OK, so Karen, let’s practice what you preach. What are you grateful for?
Hah! I’m grateful that an editor liked another one of my manuscripts enough to offer me a contract. This will be my 16th traditionally-published book. I’m very grateful for that, too.
These days publishing is tough and extremely competitive. Literally everyone (grandmothers, celebrities, and apparently cats) are writing books for children.
If you thought the publishing process was S L O W BC (before COVID) wait until you try and submit now. However, there’s a conference that is virtual this year, which was the best conference that I had ever been to—The RUCCL One-On-One Plus Conference. Two of my manuscripts were signed up as a result of the editors that I met there.
Up until this year, an applicant was accepted into the conference depending on their writing ability (by submitting a sample manuscript.) This year EVERYONE is invited to attend.
If you want to get published then. . .get out of bed, walk to your computer on October 24th, and log in! No more excuses!
Thanks for the RUCCL plug, Karen! I’m actually co-chairing the event this year, which we’re calling the RUCCL “Home-to-Home” Conference because, well, we’re all stuck at home. However, gratefully so! (Info on this year’s event will be on the website in a day or two!)
A CROWDED FARMHOUSE FOLKTALE releases from Albert Whitman on October 1, so you can pre-order now.
Karen is also giving away a copy to a blog reader!
Leave one comment below to enter.
A random winner will be selected at the end of the month.
Good luck!
A new non-fiction picture book biography from Laurie Wallmark? YES, PLEASE!
But first, let me tell you a few facts about my friend Laurie.
- We were in our first critique group together 13 years ago.
- We’re in a critique group together again now.
- She was the first person to tell me an agent wanted to talk to me. (Yes, this one’s about me.)
- We chair the RUCCL 1-on-1 Conference together. This year it will be the RUCCL Home-to-Home Conference.
- She loves writing about “dead women in STEM”.
When asked about why she likes writing about these women, Laurie says that she’s guaranteed they won’t make any major discoveries AFTER their biography is published.
Excellent point.
And now, let’s reveal the cover for CODE BREAKER, SPY HUNTER, illustrated by Brooke Smart!
CODE BREAKER, SPY HUNTER: HOW ELIZEBETH FRIEDMAN CHANGED THE COURSE OF TWO WORLD WARS tells the exciting story of how Elizebeth’s code-cracking skills helped capture rum runners and break up Nazi spy rings. But there’s more…
Take a look at the book cover. See how a ribbon of letters surrounds Elizebeth? It contains a coded message. Other hidden messages are scattered throughout the book’s illustrations. Can’t figure it what they say? When you read the book, the back matter will show you how to crack the code.
OOOH! EXCITING!
This book will be released by Abrams Books for Young Readers on March 2, 2021.
Let’s also take a sneak peek inside!
Looks like another winner by Laurie!
Now if I could only break the code of writing a picture book biography…
“I want to go on living even after my death! And therefore I am grateful to God for this gift, this possibility of developing myself and of writing, of expressing all that is in me. I can shake off everything if I write; my sorrows disappear; my courage is reborn.”
~ Anne Frank
Much has been written about Anne Frank, the courageous girl who revealed her life in hiding from the Nazis via her beloved diary, Kitty. Anne’s ability to relate to young people has taught generations about the Holocaust, but more importantly, it has demonstrated the power of empathy and kindness, especially through the actions of Miep Gies.
Miep Gies was on Otto Frank’s staff. She agreed to help hide the Frank family and friends in a small space attached to Frank’s office. Barbara Lowell’s new book, BEHIND THE BOOKCASE, tells Anne’s tale for the young from Miep’s unique perspective.
Why did Miep agree to do such a dangerous thing? Well, this book taught me that Miep had escaped World War I as a young child. Her parents sent her away from Austria, were there was little food or resources, and she was adopted by a loving Dutch family. This life-saving experience serves as the foundation for BEHIND THE BOOKCASE.
Barbara, how did you discover this unique angle?
As I looked at photographs of Miep Gies in the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam, I felt a connection to her. I wanted to know more about her and why she risked her life in an attempt to save the lives of Anne Frank, her family and friends. After I read Miep’s autobiography, Remembering Anne Frank: The Story of the Woman Who Helped to Hide the Frank Family, I knew I wanted to tell her story for children. I thought that the horror of the Holocaust and Anne’s death could be shared in a more accessible way for young children if it was told through Miep’s point of view.
What do you want children to take away from this retelling?
I want kids to know that good people tried to save the lives of many Jewish people during the Holocaust. Just as Anne Frank is the face of victims of the Holocaust for many children, Miep Gies can be the face of those who tried to help them. My hope is that what happened in the Holocaust will never be forgotten and writing the book is my contribution.
BEHIND THE BOOKCASE is an introduction to the Holocaust for elementary age children. As an introduction, I hope it spurs their interest as they grow to read more complex books on Anne Frank, the Holocaust and World War II. I hope too that they will read Anne’s diary and remember Miep Gies, the woman who saved the diary first for Anne…and then for the world.
Barbara, thank you for writing this book. I think the lessons of empathy and kindness are especially salient for today.
Blog readers, would you like a copy of BEHIND THE BOOKCASE? It’s available now from Kar-Ben Publishing, but I am also giving away a copy.
Leave one comment below to enter.
A random winner will be chosen at the end of the month.
Good luck!
Barbara Lowell is the author of the picture books: BEHIND THE BOOKCASE: Miep Gies, Anne Frank and the Hiding Place; MY MASTODON; SPARKY & SPIKE: Charles Schulz and the Wildest, Smartest Dog Ever; and more books for children. She is an active member of SCBWI and SCBWI Oklahoma and loves to travel. She lives in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma with her husband and two terrific cats. You can visit her at barbaralowell.com.
Today I’m welcoming author-illustrator Leah Hong to reveal the cover for her debut picture book, HAPPY DREAMS, LITTLE BUNNY from Little, Brown! (Are you ready to go “awww”? Because here it is…)
Leah, I’m struck by the light, airy softness of your illustrations. It looks like I could cuddle with this pillow of a cover! Can you tell me a bit about how you developed your unique style?
Lots and lots of experimenting! For this book I knew I wanted the artwork to have a classical feel and color palette, a kind of a throwback to the Little Golden Books I had as a child. The first test pieces I did were in gouache and although I was happy with them, I wasn’t achieving the depth of detail that I wanted and was feeling frustrated. Then I remembered one of the best pieces of picture book illustration advice I’ve ever been given; it was from an instructor who said, “You’ll be spending many hours, even months, on the final artwork so you have to choose a style that you enjoy working in”. She had also recommended that I try colored pencils and although I was initially resistant, I found that I really enjoyed the careful layering I needed to do in order to mix my colors. But I quickly realized that it would take forever to complete the artwork and decided I could still achieve the look I wanted by laying down a quick background in soft pastel and working overtop with colored pencils. As soon as I gave myself permission to go in a different direction, my style seemed to develop on it’s own. In the end my instructor was right, and I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of making the art for this book.
Besides the softness of the art, your characters are floating (and boating) among the clouds. What secrets about the story inside does this scene reveal? (P.S. But don’t give it all away!)
The story is about a little bunny who can’t fall asleep because he has too much on his mind. But with a little help from his mother, he finds he’s able to channel his whirling thoughts into plans for that night’s dreams. The book explores the fantastical space between storytelling and dreaming and many of the images in the book are quite surreal. The scene on the cover hints at the soothing dream-like quality of the imagery in the book, and the special relationship between Little Bunny and his stuffed elephant, without (I hope!) giving away any of the adventures that await these two friends.
I’d love to see more of your work. Can we get some sneak peeks of the book?
This is a spread in process…
And this is a peek at the final art proofs.
Oh, and I can’t forget the back cover…
Awww! What a sweet cuddle bunny!
I’m going to tiptoe quietly out (shhh!), but not before telling my blog readers that they can win an F&G of HAPPY DREAMS, LITTLE BUNNY before Little, Brown releases it in February 2021.
Leave one [quiet] comment below to enter.
A winner will be chosen in a few weeks.
Good luck! And HAPPY DREAMS!
Photo credit: Makito Inomata
Leah Hong spent many of her childhood hours drawing stories, but it wasn’t until she had children of her own that she became re-immersed in the world of picture books, and fell in love with them all over again. A graduate of Emily Carr University of Art + Design with a visual arts degree in painting and drawing, she has worked both as an illustrator and graphic designer. Her lifelong love of drawing and storytelling led her to create her picture book debut, HAPPY DREAMS, LITTLE BUNNY (Little, Brown Young Readers, February 2021). She lives with her family in Vancouver, British Columbia. Visit her online at leahhong.com.
Today we have a gorgeous cover reveal from Rajani LaRocca and Chaaya Prabhat. (Yes, all cover reveals are beautiful, but this one struck me!)
Wow, the cover is so bright and colorful! It reminds me of Indian holidays and celebrations I’ve attended. Can you explain why color is so important in Indian culture?
In India, colors have spiritual and political significance. For example, the color saffron—the bright orange found on the Indian flag, the color that comes from the most expensive spice in the world—stands for fire and purity. Speaking as someone who has grown up in the U.S. but who has visited India every few years since I was a kid, I can say that the exuberance of colors in India, especially in clothing, is just incredible. Clothes tend to feature vibrant combinations that aren’t common here in the U.S., and as a kid and now, I’ve always felt very special wearing bright, celebratory colors. Chaaya captured this energy in her illustrations for BRACELETS FOR BINA’S BROTHERS: every single page is filled with glorious colors that combine to make the characters and home in the story feel exciting and cozy, all at the same time.
There’s more Indian culture in the book, like the holiday for which Bina is making bracelets. What is Raksha Bandhan?
Raksha Bhandhan, also known as Rakhi, is a South Asian holiday that celebrates the love between sisters and brothers. Sisters tie bracelets or amulets on their brothers’ wrists as a symbol of protection, and brothers give their sisters small gifts in return. I love this holiday, as it commemorates sibling bonds that last through time and distance. I don’t have any brothers, but I was inspired by the wonderful relationship between my daughter and son, and between other sisters and brothers in my family. In BRACELETS FOR BINA’S BROTHERS, the first lines sum up the relationship: “Bina had three big brothers: Vijay, Siddharth, and Arjun. They sometimes annoyed her, but she loved them anyway.”
That’s exactly how I felt about my brother when we were kids.
I love that there’s a holiday for siblings!
Indian children will enjoy seeing themselves and their family traditions in this book. What do you want children from other races and cultures to take away?
I hope they enjoy learning about a different tradition and holiday! I also hope they see themselves in Bina and her brothers, who sometimes bother each other, but whose love shines through, especially when they spend time together and make gifts for each other.
I think it’s a beautiful holiday and one that we all should celebrate. (Maybe I would have appreciated my brother more instead of sitting on him.)
I noticed “storytelling math” on the cover. How did you incorporate math concepts into this picture book?
I’ve always loved math—I love its logic and precision, and I love the satisfaction of getting a “right” answer. When I attended a workshop on early childhood math hosted by Charlesbridge and TERC, the STEM education nonprofit, I’d never thought about pattern making as a math concept. But that experience opened my eyes to the ways that even very little kids learn and use math, and I’m grateful to be able to write a story that reflects my culture and family and explores an early mathematical concept for children.
Last but not least, I want to thank you for putting me in the book. I am honored.
Umm, “Tara” is the family DOG in the story. In Sanskrit the beginning is pronounced like the word “tar” so it’s TAR-a and it means “star.”
Yes, I am a star, thanks. And so is this book!
Thank you for sharing it with us!
BRACELETS FOR BINA’S BROTHERS will release from Charlesbridge on April 20, 2021!
I am thrilled to share my Storystorm success story here!
For those who don’t know me, my name is Jaime Zollars. I’m an illustrator who has been drawing pictures for young readers since 2003. I have illustrated many books for other authors, most notably, Kate Milford’s wonderful GREENGLASS HOUSE series and Claire Legrand’s enchanting FOXHEART.
After years of illustrating the writings of others, my first solo picture book, THE TRUTH ABOUT DRAGONS, will be published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers on September 15, 2020! This is very exciting to me because I told myself way back in 2003 that I was going to make my own book, and it took (WAY) longer than expected to make that happen.
WHY did it take so long to happen? Well, I keep an optimistic list of tasks for myself daily and only a fraction of them get done. Those remaining list items are carried over to the next day, and this series of events repeats daily. For 15 years. Turns out that nothing that isn’t at the very pressing top of my list will ever get done, unless: it is suddenly on fire, is very enjoyable, only takes a few minutes, or is decidedly easy. Writing a picture book (for me, at least) is not particularly enjoyable, takes more than a few minutes, and is not easy. Writing is an unpredictable creative process that takes energy and time and focus. Writing a picture book is simply a list item doesn’t get neatly checked off.
Enter the challenge to come up with one idea for a picture book a day. This is a task that is decidedly checkmark-able.
I resolved to give PiBoIdMo (Picture Book Idea Month, now Storystorm) a whirl back in 2014 with a friend and fellow-illustrator, Wilson Swain. (He is talented and you should check out his work at wilsonswain.com.) We kept each other accountable by checking in weekly and sharing our ideas. NOW, some of these ideas were not good. Truly, 90 percent of these ideas were terrible. BUT occasionally, something would trigger more thought. One of my ideas in particular, was just a title. “The Truth About Dragons” sat on my list for some time. It was all I could come up with on that particular day when I had to come up with something. But this title intrigued me enough to consider it well after the month was through.
About a year later, I was driving alone in my car and thinking about this title again. I asked myself pointedly: “What IS the truth about dragons?” (I often talk to myself when my kids are not in the car.) My brain struggled as usual with this query, but then surprised me by proclaiming that dragons LOVE mint chocolate chip ice cream, they are actually very afraid of kittens, AND they love their little sisters even if they pretend that they don’t. None of these examples actually made it into the book, but the concept stuck. Dragons are just like us! Over the next few days, this idea grew into the concept that sometimes things look different when we’re afraid, and if we can see past our fears, perhaps we’ll uncover the truth. I thought about how the illustrations could take the lead in this title and invite readers to figure out the visual puzzle for themselves (the dragons turn to kids one-by-one as the protagonist learns more about them). And THAT was when the task of making my own book went from just another checklist item that would be indefinitely carried over, to a checklist item on fire.
The rest of my PiBoIdMo ideas also helped me to feel confident soliciting an agent. I had several kernels of ideas ready to share as soon as I had agent interest, and I signed with the infectiously enthusiastic Stephen Barr at Writer’s House in 2015. He looked over my book ideas and The Truth About Dragons was his pick as well. He was invaluable as we started working with this story in the background of my other deadlines and sold the book at auction to the amazing Deirdre Jones at Little, Brown Books for Young Readers in 2017!
I’m honestly not sure I would have ever found the idea for this first solo book if it were not for Storystorm. I think we are mistaken if we assume (as I once did) that good ideas will come to us without some forced consideration. Waiting for inspiration to visit is a nice thought, but now I’m pretty sure that we can (and should) actively cultivate it. Storystorm, for me, was a low-pressure invitation to see things a little bit differently—if just for a month. Having to write something down, anything down, was a gift that trained my mind to actively pursue story alongside going about my days.
THE TRUTH ABOUT DRAGONS will be published on September 15, 2020. Kirkus even gave it a star (!) and calls it “A beautifully rendered, comforting, gentle lesson in overcoming fears.” I hope that it finds its way to the right parents, teachers, librarians, and readers as we all face a little bit of the unknown this fall.
Blog readers, Little Brown is giving away a copy of THE TRUTH ABOUT DRAGONS!
Leave one comment to enter.
A random winner will be chosen in a few weeks.
Good luck!
You can see more of Jaime’s art at jaimezollars.com, learn more about her art and writing process by following her on Instagram @jaimezollarsart, and preorder the Truth About Dragons here: https://bookshop.org/books/the-truth-about-dragons/9780316481489. Because there is just no way to do traditional book events at this time, send me a copy of a pre-order receipt from anywhere books are sold, along with your address, and I’ll even send you a signed mini-print to celebrate!
*Extra note for those interested: I also have a curriculum guide for this book for those who can use it—including parents who are doing some of the teaching in these strange times. I’m happy to send that out to anyone who e-mails me at jaime @ jaimezollars.com.
I’ve always loved the brainstorming part of the writing process. Endless possibilities! Bright, shiny story ideas! Hearts, unicorns, and rainbows! Imagine my excitement, then, when I discovered Tara Lazar’s PiBoIdMo, later re-envisioned into Storystorm. A whole month devoted to brainstorming? Yes, please!
Storystorm has become such an important part of my journey as a writer. Many of the posts shared by fellow kidlit authors have served as inspiration diving boards for my stories. I’ve filled notebooks with countless ideas. Some are only a few words or a title. Some have more fleshed-out plots. Others, though, explode into fully developed stories.
In fact, both of my upcoming picture books, FELIZ NEW YEAR, AVA GABRIELA! (Albert Whitman) and ISABEL AND HER COLORES GO TO SCHOOL (Sleeping Bear Press) were conceived during Storystorm.
In Storystorm 2018, Debbi Michiko Florence (Day 4) explored Culture and Family Tradition, and boy did her post resonate with me! I discovered that my Colombian heritage and memories provided a fountain of ideas. All of the foods, traditions, and family sayings came pouring out, and a few kept poking me to write them: the Colombian Andes and farms of my youth, the Año Viejo and our New Year’s Eve traditions, the energy of holiday get-togethers with my large extended family. But while I knew I wanted to include these elements in a story, I had no idea who or what the story was about, nor did I have a vision yet for its “about about.”
Then, on New Year’s Eve 2018, a week before Storystorm 2019 started, I watched as a friend’s young daughter shifted from hiding-behind-Mom-shy (just like I was at her age) to bouncing and squealing with excitement as the fireworks swished above us. I remember telling her, “Ava, you found your voice!” And thus my debut FELIZ NEW YEAR, AVA GABRIELA! (illustrated by Addy Rivera Sonda), which releases this October 2020, was born. It was the perfect mashup of memory, culture, and observation, and many of the details that came from Debbi’s post made it into the final draft.
That wasn’t my first experience with Storystorm, though. My very first was in 2015, back when it was PiBoIdMo (Picture Book Idea Month). That year, Jessixa Bagley (Day 7) activated her muse and urged us to search [our] memories. Carter Higgins (Day 15) rewound things and guided us through finding a story’s “about about.” Both of these posts helped me develop a budding tale about a little girl who didn’t speak English and who was scared to make friends because of the language barrier—a story that blossomed from my memories of being a kindergartener in New York, coming from a Spanish-only home. I wrote and revised and revised some more (rinse and repeat) until it was ready. ISABEL AND HER COLORES GO TO SCHOOL releases Fall 2021.
I swear magic really exists. All you have to do is read through the posts of Storystorm and PiBoIdMo past to see it. Of course, you need more than a great idea to publish a book. You need perseverance, hard work, and heaps of patience. You need willingness to revise your words over and over (and over) again.
But it all starts with a seedling of possibility that Tara Lazar makes possible through Storystorm. I will always be grateful to her for creating magic. Thank you, Tara!
You’re welcome, Alexandra! And thank you for sharing your successes. I hope everyone will join us for Storystorm 2021 in January!
Alexandra Alessandri is a Colombian American poet, children’s author, and Associate Professor of English at Broward College. Her poetry has appeared in The Acentos Review, Rio Grande Review, Atlanta Review, and YARN. Her debut Feliz New Year, Ava Gabriela! releases October 1, 2020 from Albert Whitman & Company, followed by Isabel and Her Colores Go to School in fall 2021 from Sleeping Bear Press. Alexandra lives in Florida with her husband and son. Visit her at alexandraalessandri.com.
Writing for Kids (While Raising Them) 