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BUGS MAKE IT BIG IN GRAPHIC NOVELS…HERE’S HOW
by Aaaron Reynolds & Neil Numberman
(Interior. Aaron Reynolds, a writer of children’s books and graphic novels, is sitting at his writing desk. He’s typing, but suddenly stops when a shadow falls over his screen. It’s a kid, about ten or eleven.)
Aaron: (looking up) Hey.
Kid: Hey. Whatcha doin’?
Aaron: Um…writing. Who are you? What are you doing in my writing room?
Kid: I’m just some random kid.
Aaron: Ah. A random kid in my writing room. Okay.
Kid: Yeah. Act like I’m not here. (pause…Aaron starts to get back to work, but is interrupted) Aren’t you an author?
Aaron: (turning back around) Ignore you, huh? That’s gonna be tricky. Yeah. I write kid’s books and graphic novels.
Kid: Graphic novels? Like comic books?
Aaron: Kinda.
Kid: Whatcha writing now?
Aaron: An article about how a graphic novel gets made, but I wanted to write it LIKE a graphic novel, so that’s what I’m doing.
Kid: But…there’s no pictures. A graphic novel has lots of pictures.
Aaron: Not at first. Not mine anyway.
Kid: What?
Aaron: Seriously. I don’t draw.
Kid: I must have the wrong house then. I thought the dude that lives here makes graphic novels.
Aaron: I do. But I don’t draw them….I write them.
(Kid pauses while he thinks about this, then…)
Kid: That’s messed up.
Aaron: No, it’s not.
Kid: You can’t make a graphic novel without being able to draw.
Aaron: Well, I do. Like my new graphic novel…it’s called Joey Fly, Private Eye…
Kid: Way to work that in there. Nice plug. Smooth.
Aaron: Yeah, thanks. Well, Joey Fly starts out like this. A script, just like this one.
Kid: Just the stuff people say?
Aaron: Mostly. I also write in what I see happening in each scene.
(Kid flops into a big cushy chair and puts his feet on Aaron’s writing desk, makes himself at home. He looks at Aaron like he’s lost his mind.)
Aaron: See? Like that. It’s called “stage directions.”
Kid: Oh cool! Like actions and stuff!
Aaron: Yeah, exactly.
Kid: Do it again.
(Kid gets up, kind of excited now. He’s putting it all together in his head, but then he notices a fresh sandwich on Aaron’s desk. Goes over, lifts the bread…he’s kinda hungry…but decides he doesn’t like tuna. Flops back down in the chair.)
Kid: Hey, that’s awesome how you made me do all that stuff! And I do hate tuna.
Aaron: It’s a script. In the graphic novel, I write the story. I come up with the characters. In Joey Fly, Private Eye, I create what happens, what characters are in it, all that stuff. Then I put it into a story…a script like this.
Kid: But it’s not a graphic novel. No pictures.
Aaron: Not yet. It will be soon. But first, I break it into panels.
Kid: Panels?
Panel
Aaron: Like this. Chunks. How I imagine it will get broken into boxes in the finished graphic novel. This helps me figure out the flow and pacing of the story, helps me cut extra junk that’s not needed, and helps the illustrator figure out how he’s gonna lay out the pictures on the page.
Panel
Kid: Cool. I notice you use lots of words like “gonna” and “whatcha” and stuff. My Language Arts teacher would go nuts on you for that.
Panel
Aaron: Yeah, well… I try to write how people really talk. I think that’s important, especially for a graphic novel. It all depends on the character. Like, Joey Fly says some gonnas, but he also uses lots of detective-y phrases…
Panel
Joey: Life in the bug city. It ain’t easy. Crime sticks to this city like a one-winged fly on a fifty-cent swatter.
Panel
Aaron: Like that. That’s his opening line in the book.
Kid: Okay, that’s pretty funny.
Panel
Aaron: Well, I try.
Panel
Kid: But it’s still not a graphic novel.
Panel
Aaron: Man, for a random kid who shows up in my writing room, you’re seriously pushy.
Panel
Kid: Do you know many eleven-year-olds? We’re all like this.
Aaron: That’s right. Not being one, I forget sometimes.
Panel
Aaron: Well, now that it’s all broken into panels, I give it to my publisher. And once she’s happy with it, she sends it off to the illustrator and he starts drawing.
Panel
Kid: You tell him what to draw?
Aaron: No.
Panel
Kid: You tell him what the characters should look like?
Aaron: No.
Panel
Kid: What do you tell him?
Aaron: Nothing. Most of the time, we never even meet.
Panel
(pause…the kid’s mouth is hanging open.)
Panel
Kid: That is seriously messed up.
Panel
Aaron: That’s how it works. Unless you are the writer and the illustrator (which I’m not…I don’t draw, remember?), that’s how it works.
Panel
Kid: So what happens then?
Aaron: The illustrator looks at it and begins to sketch out what he thinks the characters look like.
Panel
Aaron: Like, for Joey Fly, Private Eye, the illustrator is a guy named Neil Numberman.
Panel
Neil: Hey kid. What’s up? Hey Aaron.
Panel
Aaron: Hey Neil. So, Neil might decide after reading this script that you look like this:
Panel
Kid: That’s me?
Neil: Yep.
Panel
Kid: You made me a bug!
Neil: Well, we’re talking about Joey Fly, Private Eye, so I’m thinking in bugs. It’s my job to use my imagination, to come up with my ideas of what Aaron’s characters and story look like.
Panel
Kid: Cool.
Panel
Neil: And as I start drawing and figuring out what it all looks like, Aaron’s story moves away from being a script and I start creating real characters…
Neil: …and pretty soon, I take Aaron’s written words and begin to put them into the mouths of the characters I’ve created.
Aaron Reynolds is a human, not a bug, but he often writes about bugs. He is the author of Chicks and Salsa, Superhero School, Buffalo Wings, and, of course, the Joey Fly, Private Eye graphic novels.
Neil Numberman is a termite currently residing in New York City. Joey Fly, Private Eye is his first graphic novel, but he is also the author/illustrator of the picture book Do NOT Build a Frankenstein.
So there you are, folks. That’s how to make a graphic novel. Thanks, Aaron & Neil. (And Joey & Sammy, too.)
PiBoIdMo’ers, maybe you’d like to approach your next picture book idea in graphic terms. Your story doesn’t have to be a novel to fit the format. Author/illustrator Sarah Dillard penned Perfectly Arugula in this style, with perfect results.
So, how’s it going today?
It’s Day 2 of PiBoIdMo. I hope you already have idea one down with more brewing. So go grab your coffee (and spoon) and sit down for the next piece of juicy inspiration.
(Yeah, today I’m making you sit down. Tomorrow I might make you jump up and run outside again. Ya never know. This month is gonna be crazy. Crazy like a Fox in Socks!)
Today author Aaron Reynolds and illustrator Neil Numberman are stopping by to talk about their new book Joey Fly Private Eye (in Creepy Crawly Crime).
And since it’s Day 2, I’ve even got 2 blog posts for you!
First, I asked Aaron and Neil where the idea for Joey Fly originated and how it developed.
Aaron: It started for me with just a title…which was, at the time, Joey Off, Private Fly (get it, Off? Off bug spray?…get it?) Anyway, I loved the idea of a goofy mystery, having grown up with a steady diet of Scooby Doo and movies like Clue (and I’m a huge Agatha Christie fan). Bugs seemed the perfect cast of characters…all freaky and different, each with their own personalities and weird physical traits. From there, the story just took off.
See that, folks? The idea started with just a title.
Neil: When I first got Aaron’s script, I started buying all the film noir movies I could get my hands on, and creepy insect books from dusty old bookstores. That, and a couple books on city architecture in the 40s, and I felt good to go! I had my arsenal of bug characters and buildings to fill the street scenes, and noir-esque shots to compose many of the panels. I knew I wanted some Martin Handford (he of Where’s Waldo fame) type shots in there, too, because his books were always the greatest to sit and stare at for hours, and I want to bring that to Bug City.
OK, let me get this straight. Old movies and dusty books?
Eureka, picture book writers! Run to your local thrift store! (Sorry, I’m making you jump up today anyway. I told you things might get crazy!)
Got your idea yet? Well stay tuned, kidlit lovers. Aaron and Neil will be back later today with a graphic novel about how to create a graphic novel.
[UPDATE: PiBoIdMo 2010 sign-up has begun. Do not sign up on this post. Go to the PiBoIdMo 2010 kick-off post, scroll to the bottom and leave a comment to sign up.]
It’s here! Picture Book Idea Month!
Welcome!
Sharpen those pencils, open a Word document, grab a crayon. It doesn’t matter what you use, what matters is that you get an initial idea down. You might get such a great idea you can’t help but write the story immediately, or you might just record the first entry in this month’s idea file and leave it for a future burst of creativity.
I had so much fun doing this last year, but I was all by myself. I’m happy to have you join me. Four of the ideas from November 2008’s idea file turned into picture book manuscripts and one is out on submission. I expect you to have even better results.
So how is this going to work?
Stop here once a day in November for a new inspirational little tale. We’ll have guest bloggers and giveaways. And at the end of the month, if you’ve collected 30 ideas, you’ll get a PiBoIdMo badge for your blog (based on the logo above by Ryan Hipp) and a special super-secret prize. (You’ve guessed it, “super-secret” is code for “I don’t know what it is yet.”)
Now, get out of your seat.
That’s right.
I advocate butt-in-chair for getting writing done, but now I want you to jump up.
Go lift up that area rug.
Peek underneath.
What would you expect to find there? Footprints, dust bunnies, a penny, a plastic board game piece missing since 2003?
What would you NOT expect to find there?
Now go stand in the far corner of the room.
(Don’t worry, you’re not being punished.)
Turn around and face the room.
Have you ever looked at this room from this angle? Probably not. What’s different about the room?
Now run outside.
(You get a rain check if it’s pouring.)
Stand beneath a clump of trees.
What would a child create out of this little spot? Now imagine this same clump of trees in a different season. Did the child’s creation change?
OK, I hear you breathing hard. You’re tired of running around. And your neighbors are starting to gossip.
I think you get the point.
Change your perspective. Do things differently this month.
If you walk your kids to school every day, take a different path.
If you shop at a particular grocery store, go to a different one.
Start looking at your world from strange new angles.
When we settle into a routine, we take things for granted. The teaspoon you use to stir your morning coffee is just a spoon, but Amy Krouse Rosenthal turned that spoon into the main character of a picture book.
Go sit now.
Open your notebook or Word document.
Write something down—a working title, a character’s name, a location, an unusual object. Something that may someday sprout into a story. You don’t have to write the story now, you just have to file the idea away for another day.
And you don’t have to stop at one idea a day. If you get a non-stop flicker of flashbulb moments, just keep writing.
All month long that idea file will grow. Maybe today’s idea will connect with an idea on November 14th and you’ll start building a plot in your head. Who knows? Anything can happen this month.
That’s the idea.
So, how’s it going?
Last year I attended the Rutgers University Council on Children’s Literature One-on-One Plus conference. (Phew! That’s a mouthful. How ’bout I just say RUCCL from now on?)
It was my first big conference. It was my first conference, period. I thought I was prepared. I don’t get nervous in large crowds of people, nor do I find it difficult to go right up to someone and chat. And I love public speaking and performing. I’m not easily intimidated.
But, when I arrived, I realized it. I hadn’t fully prepared myself.
The day went by quickly. Those organizers pack the event chock full of excellent speakers and interesting topics. (See my post-conference notes from last year.) The time you have to meet people is the time it takes to walk from one presentation to another.
I didn’t get the opportunity to talk to many editors or agents. True, I had only just begun to write for children, and thus, I didn’t know who I should be chatting with anyway.
So I decided that I would try to help other first-timers. Here’s a list of lessons I learned last year. I hope they help you make the most of your day.
1. Research the faculty in advance.
2008 RUCCL mentors arrive
Find out which editors and agents are interested in the kind of work you produce. Make a list of their names, and if possible, look up their photos online. No, I’m not encouraging anyone to be a stalker! There are 80 professionals mixing it up with 80 attendees, all wearing name tags. If you don’t want to squint at people’s chests all day trying to figure out who is who, go online and see if you can find a photo to recognize people by sight.
Approach editors/agents only during appropriate moments. Don’t interrupt another attendee or tap the editor’s shoulder while they’re taking a big honking bite of sandwich. You should know that the restroom is a no-no! The best time you’ll have to approach professionals is between sessions. Another good time is when they announce where mentors and mentees should meet. (They will announce pairings via alphabetical order and ask “A-F” to meet in a specific area, like near the fireplace.) When I went to find my mentor for my 45-minute session, I didn’t immediately see her…because another attendee had already pulled her aside to talk.
And I’ll say it: lunch is a good time to talk. They will seat mentors at numbered tables that correspond with the five-on-five assignments. Although not everyone sits in the right place, it will be easiest to find people during lunch. But again, if someone is chomping on chicken salad, it’s probably not a good time to interrupt.
Why is it important to talk to the faculty directly? Because they may not accept your submission post-conference if you don’t make contact. Now that’s contrary to what I had heard about conference submissions, but I did get one submission returned after RUCCL, citing that they don’t accept unsolicited manuscripts. (Yes, RUCCL was clearly marked on the envelope and in the cover letter.)
So find editors. Ask if you may submit. Ask for a business card. Don’t give them yours unless they ask. Be professional, courteous, polite and to the point! There’s not a lot of time, so don’t ramble. Which brings me to my next lesson…
2. If you know your manuscript needs direction, say so.
My submission last year was a novel I had only recently begun. I was not yet clear on the plot or direction. But when my mentor asked me about it, I meandered. I had two general ideas of the possible direction in my head, but I wasn’t certain which path I should take. Instead of asking my mentor what she thought, I tried to make it sound like I was clear. And I obviously was not.
Another attendee had it right. She told me, “I explained to my mentor that I had started the novel but stopped because I was stuck. I told her I wasn’t sure the direction it should take. She then gave me some very good ideas and we brainstormed the possibilities.”
3. Don’t be afraid to speak up and ask questions.
During the five-on-five, the mentees had an opportunity to ask questions of the professional panel. But our discussion leader asked questions off a prepared, suggested list of topics. They weren’t necessarily the questions I wanted answered, but I didn’t speak up and ask what was on my mind.
Remember, this is your day. The conference is arranged to help you, the mentee, take the next step in your career. So if you don’t find the topics to be of interest, speak up. Politely interject and ask if you can introduce a question instead.
Mixing it up at lunch
4. Prepare a list of questions.
Questions about your submission, questions about the market, questions about the publishing house, questions about your other manuscripts. Whatever questions you have, take them with you. Refer to them. If there’s information you want to collect, this is the place to do it.
Another good idea is to bring a list of your manuscripts with one-line descriptions. Even if you just have ideas, ask if they’re good ones. A mentor might tell you to pursue idea A and D but not B or C because of current market dynamics, competition, or other factors (remember, one of those factors might be personal taste).
5. Have fun!
This is your day. It’s a step forward in your career. Enjoy it, use it to your advantage, learn from it. Congratulations and have a great day!
FYI
I added the schedule from last year as I recall it, for those interested in how the day is structured. Please realize this may not be similar to this year.
2008 RUCCL Schedule
• Arrive, get folder with schedule/mentor assignment/faculty bios, read through it, have breakfast, free time to mingle with other attendees
• Introductory speaker (2008, Kay Winters)
• Mentor session
• Panel Discussion (2008, “How a Manuscript Becomes a Book”)
• Lunch
• Five-on-Five Discussion (You, your mentor and four other mentor-mentee pairs)
• Keynote Speaker (2008, K.L. Going)
[10/19/10: UPDATE! PiBoIdMo 2010 is almost underway. See announcement.]
[11/1/09: UPDATE! PiBoIdMo 2009 has launched! Click here for details!]
November is only a few weeks away, so while novel-writing friends gather up their character notebooks and plot outlines, I’m preparing to do exactly what I did in November 2008: generate one new picture book idea a day.
This is different from Paula Yoo’s NaPiBoWriWee last May, when writers wrote one new picture book a day for seven days. (Phew! I couldn’t keep up with that.)
And it’s different from YA author Jo Knowles’ JoNoWriMo, where children’s writers take a month and a half more (from mid-September to November 30) to complete a kidlit project.
This November’s writing challenge is all about ideas.
They say it takes 10 to 30 days to form a habit, so I’m encouraging picture book writers to get in the daily habit of idea generation. Do it for November, let it continue into December, and start off the new year still collecting tiny seeds that may some day sprout into a story.
An idea for a picture book could be as simple as a title, like Misfit Museum. Or you could take a fall stroll one afternoon and be inspired by foliage floating on a lake. (You might jot down “watercolor pond.”) It doesn’t have to be a full concept, or even a good one. Heck, I’m sure we’ll all have some stinkers in there. But by creating an idea file, you’ll have a document to turn to when you’re low on inspiration.
Why is this a good idea? During an online chat with literary agent Sean McCarthy last year, he was asked about the qualities his ideal client might possess. “Prolific-ness” was his answer. Agents like when their picture book authors are constantly creating. That means there’s more potential books to sell.
At the end of November, you should have 30 new story starters (or close to 30…we do have Thanksgiving festivities to think about). Last year I walked away with 22 ideas, four of which turned into picture books. And I refer to that idea file at least once a week.
Now all we need is a flashy name. NaNoWriMo-lite? (Way, way lite. With extra cream and sugar.) Nah. Something snazzier. Give it a try! It needs a name!
If you’d like to participate, please comment below. I promise to post ideas for idea generation all November long and check in with progress reports.
Picture book brilliance isn’t easy to achieve, as many children’s writers know. Telling a story in 500 words–with page turns that work within a 32-page format–challenges the most talented of writers.
Let’s not forget that a picture book should appeal to both parent and child. Silliness keeps the kids begging “again!” But if a parent thinks the language is too repetitive or annoying, you’ll lose the gatekeeper. (You know, the one with the wallet.)
Sappy stories can attract Mom and Dad, but kids might declare them snoozers. I recall tearing up at a lovely, sentimental picture book while my daughter rolled her eyes. “Mom, what is wrong with you?”
So what makes a great picture book that both parent and child can call a favorite?
A balance between humor and heart, imagination and reality.
That Rabbit Belongs to Emily Brown by Cressida Cowell and Neal Layton has it all.
Emily and her stuffed pal Stanley explore the world together–they scuba-dive, swing through the rain forest, and launch into outer space. But they are constantly interrupted by a rat-a-tat-tat on their garden door. Her Royal Highness Queen Gloriana’s guardsmen keep insisting that Emily give her Bunny-Wunny to the matriarch. It is the Queen’s decree!
Now, the Queen tries to be fair about it. She offers all these new-fangled toys in exchange, upping the ante each time Emily refuses. But the Queen’s toys are “stiff and new and gold and horrible…with staring eyes and no smile at all.” Once it’s clear that Emily will not trade Stanley, the Queen resorts to extreme measures.
Emily awakens the next morning without Stanley! She knows who’s behind his disappearance and marches straight to the palace. But the Queen is not happily playing with her Bunny-Wunny. She’s crying over him.
That silly, naughty Queen had Stanley re-stuffed and washed, turning him an odd pink color. They were both miserable.
As usual, I won’t tell you how it ends. You’ll just have to pick it up for yourself. And cuddle with it. And go on adventures together. Wear out the pages a bit.
That Rabbit Belongs to Emily Brown celebrates the special bond between child and toy. Almost everyone had a lovey, that one thing we couldn’t live without, dragged by a leg to grocery stores and Grandma’s. This story reminds adults that there’s still a kid inside us, longing to curl up with our own flip-floppy stuffed rabbit.
Luckily we can snuggle with a cute kid instead, reading Emily Brown over and over and over again.
That Rabbit Belongs to Emily Brown
Written by Cressida Cowell
Illustrated by Neal Layton
Hyperion Books for Children
Want it? Sure you do!
Remember those embarrassing dance moves your Aunt Myrna unveiled at Cousin Frannie’s wedding? She flapped her arms, wiggled her tush and tumbled onto the parquet floor?
Well, that’s not this chicken dance.
No siree, this Chicken Dance is a brilliant barnyard romp featuring two hilarious hens and their idol Elvis Poultry, thank you. (Thankyouverymuch.)
Author Tammi Sauer grew up on a Kansas farm, tending cows at dawn. Those daybreak chores paid off, ’cause this little lady sure knows how to milk the humor.
According to henhouse pals Marge and Lola, Elvis Poultry is a hunk of bawking love. When the barnyard talent show is announced, the pair discover the grand prize is two tickets to Elvis’ Final Doodle Doo concert tour. They must win!
But the ducks waddle by and wave a wing at the hopeful hens. “Don’t bother, drumsticks.” Seems ducks are top dog at this farm.
Marge and Lola test out their talents but the ducks quack at every failed attempt. When Marge and Lola finally hit the stage–following solid goat, pig and cow acts–they stammer and gulp. A duck heckles, “What’s the matter? Are you chicken?” so they begin to flap, shake and bawk. Just regular chicken stuff, nothin’ fancy. But the crowd loves it and crows for more.
The next spread features Marge and Lola performing dance moves that would make Aunt Myrna shake in her boots. They vogue, point like John Travolta, domo arigato misuta robotto, and walk like an Egyptian. Illustrator Dan Santat makes chickens boogie better than So You Think You Can Dance finalists.
I can’t reveal the contest results, as that would spoil all the feathery fun. But I will tell you that Elvis is in the building. Err, I mean barn.
The jokes even extend beyond the story, with end pages that demo step-by-step “Disco Chicken” and “Chattanooga Choo Choo” dance moves. Funky album covers replace the typical staid author and illustrator photos.
Yes, just one look at the blinged-out, white-caped Elvis Poultry on the front cover, and you know this ain’t your Aunt Myrna’s paltry poultry impersonation.
Can’t get enough of the silliness?
Publisher Sterling Kids is holding a video contest now through October 31. Just shake your tail feathers along to the official music and post your hoe-down on YouTube.
And tell them Elvis Poultry sent ya.
Chicken Dance
Written by Tammi Sauer
Illustrated by Dan Santat
Sterling Kids, August 2009
Want it? Sure you do!
Come visit a new website that lets kids spread their storytelling wings.
Storybird is “collaborative storytelling for family and friends.” When I first heard the tagline, I scratched my head. What is this all about? Then I got the beta tester invite. And I played on the site for hours. Days. My daughter begged, “Mommy, can we make another Storybird?”
So what is this high-flying new creature?
Storybird helps you create a tale with an intuitive book-like interface and a whimsical selection of artwork. (We’re not talking stick-figures here. These are high-quality images from some of the most talented “undiscovered” children’s illustrators today, like Irisz Agocs and Victoria Usova.)
Select an artist’s work to begin. A page appears in the center of the screen, surrounded by thumbnail images. Simply drag and drop an image onto a page, then write text to accompany the picture. Add as many pages as you like and you’ll soon have a bonafide book—one that looks professional, one that can be read online over and over again. You can choose to keep your Storybird private, or you can share it with the Storybird community. And they can read it online over and over again.
But the smartest feature of Storybird brings family and friends together. Is Grandma in Gary, Indiana? Cousin Kate in Kalamazoo? You can invite them to write a page in your story. Or two pages. There’s no limit…and what’s better, there’s no fee to join Storybird. According to CEO Mark Ury, “Making, sharing, and reading Storybirds online will always be free. Printing and premium services—when we introduce them later this year—will have a fee associated with them.”
Read this Storybird
(Uhh, Mark, could you please hurry up with that? My daughters want a copy of The Runaway Rabbit in their hands right away.)
Other planned features include the ability to: choose artwork based upon theme, upload your own images, and record your voice to accompany Storybirds. For those on the go, an iPhone app is coming, too.
What’s more, Storybird wants your ideas to improve and enhance the service. The site has only been live for 6 days, but educators in over 100 countries have already asked for a multi-user platform to help teach literacy skills in classrooms. Ury says his company is working on a teacher log-in that would enable students to work under that account without having to submit their information. Storybird be nimble, Storybird be quick.
And Storybird be popular! Some stats from their not-quite-a-week online:
- 1,000 users in 100+ countries
- 8,000 unique visits
- 76,000 page views
- 7-minute average visit
- some Storybirds viewed 325+ times each
Families and teachers will see enormous benefits in Storybird, as will artists. Storybird creates a marketplace to share your work and develop a fan following. If you’re an aspiring children’s illustrator, I encourage you to sign up.
So what are you waiting for? Slide a kid onto your lap and flap your wings on over to Storybird. (Or, if you’re like me, you don’t even need a kid. The child inside you will have plenty of fun on her own!)
Kidlit Book Trailers
Bookselling is changing rapidly with advances in technology and the belt-tightening economy. Publishers and authors are having an ongoing discussion of electronic rights, trying to anticipate the future of digital books.
But the forces of technology aren’t all daunting. Heck, authors are having a blast creating book trailers to promote their titles. What better way to capture the attention of an increasingly online, plugged-in audience?
Award-winning storyteller Dianne de Las Casas has created a Ning community for sharing and discussing kidlit book trailers. Authors are invited to post their trailers and other videos (like a school visit). Bibliophiles can browse the selections to discover great reads.
http://kidlitbooktrailers.ning.com
Haven’t seen a book trailer? Here’s a gorgeous one from the site: Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by author/illustrator Grace Lin.
The Unread
Here’s where you cover your ears because I’m gonna toot my own horn. Picture book author Heather Ayris Burnell (Bedtime Monster, Raven Tree Press 2010) interviewed me for her Unread series of aspiring authors. As you may have guessed, there’s almost as much talk about food as there is about books.
Besides Unread, Heather’s blog is dedicated to author interviews, book reviews and being a writer and librarian. So there’s lots of reasons to visit regularly.
http://frolickingthroughcyberspace.blogspot.com/2009/08/unread-interview-with-tara-lazar.html
Mitali Perkins’ Fire Escape
I am in awe of this woman. Not only is Mitali Perkins an amazing novelist, she shares the most compelling kidlit news and information via Twitter and her blog, with special emphasis on multi-cultural issues. If you haven’t visited, you really need to.
http://www.mitaliblog.com
http://twitter.com/mitaliperkins
Meet Eric Carle
August 23, 2009 marks Eric Carle’s 80th birthday and there’s a big bash at The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in Amherst, MA. Crayola will unveil “The Very Hungry Caterpillar Green” crayon as part of the celebration. Wow, getting a crayon named after your work. Now that’s iconic.
http://www.carlemuseum.org/Programs_Events/Upcoming/Meet_Eric_Carle/
Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen’s Picture Book Intensive
On November 15, picture book author Sudipta (yes, she has earned one-name status) will lead a four-hour picture book intensive workshop in Princeton, NJ for the NJ-SCBWI.
Some topics she’ll cover:
- Choosing Timeless Themes
- Ebb & Flow of Tension
- Creating Emotional Attachment to the Main Character
- Finding Ways to Make Your Book Re-Readable
- Humor and Heart
- Query Letters
- Marketing
I know I’ll be there!
For more info:
http://sudiptabq.wordpress.com/2009/08/10/picture-book-writing-intensive-workshop/
To Register:
http://www.newjerseyscbwi.com/events/091115-pbintensive.shtml
Do you have any can’t-miss kidlit links to share?
Remember Andy from the movie Funny Farm? Chevy Chase in his post-Caddyshack and SNL days, sliding down fame’s slippery slope, but still hilarious as a wanna-be author who moves to rural Vermont to pen The Great American Novel.
Instead of peace and quiet, Andy gets a crazy mailman and an acute case of writer’s block. It’s a fish-out-of-water story, one that inspires his wife Elizabeth to name a squirrel after him in her first children’s book—a book that a publisher accepts with a $5,000 advance. (She asks, “Is that much for a first book?” as he reels.)
Many children’s book editors warn against submitting talking squirrel tales. Seems they’re overdone. Was Elizabeth from Funny Farm to blame for an influx of fluffy rodent submissions? The world may never find out.
Despite the creature caveat, I’m writing about squirrels. But non-fiction, based upon our recent experience.
A violent July storm blew a squirrel’s nest from a tree near our property. A neighbor and I found day-old squirrels on the bike path. Gently, we moved the nest onto the grass. I assured her since the tree was closest to my home, I would contact the proper authorities. I assumed the police or animal control would be the right call.
I was wrong. Had I telephoned those authorities, the squirrels might have been destroyed.
Instead, I found an informative resource in Squirrel-Rehab.org. I learned that if the babies were cold, the mother would not take them back. The nest was covered in hail from the storm. The pups were indeed cold and wet, squirming and chirping, in obvious distress. I followed the instructions to warm the babies and tried to reunite the family, but by 10pm, the mother was still missing as another raging storm began. I brought the babies into my home.
I cared for them for nearly 48 hours and then brought them to licensed wildlife rehabilitators Wild Baby Rescue in Blairstown, NJ. The video below documents our short time with the squirrel pups, the inspiration for a new story. Elizabeth, you ain’t stopping me.
Writing for Kids (While Raising Them) 