Writing for Kids (While Raising Them)

Twist and Shout for THE TWIST-A-ROO! (plus a giveaway)

December 6, 2023 in Picture Books | Tags: Kathleen Doherty, Kristyna Litten, THE THINGITY-JIG, THE TWIST-A-ROO | 70 comments

I love wordplay, and after I featured THE THINGITY-JIG by Kathy Doherty and Kristyna Littten here, I was thrilled to learn about their fun follow-up, THE TWIST-A-ROO! (Which is of course what a child would call a kaleidoscope, because what child can even pronounce “kaleidoscope”?) More wordplay and imagination—sign me up!

Kathy, this blog focuses a lot on inspiration for picture books. Where did this story idea originate?

My Peachtree editor wanted a companion book to THE THINGITY-JIG. We talked about another book STEAM- related based on a fable or folktale. We agreed upon a badger for the main character. Then I checked out all the fable/folktale books from the library. I poked around Pinterest for STEAM ideas and came upon a kaleidoscope. I knew that would make a gorgeous picture book. After searching through the books, an idea popped to put a modern twist on The Ant and the Grasshopper using a badger who was so obsessed with a kaleidoscope that he wasn’t preparing for winter.

Peachtree even provided an activity sheet on how to make a kaleidocope.

Oh, and here I was so obsessed with the kaleidoscope and the luminous illustrations by Kristyna Litten that I didn’t even realize the story featured STEAM elements! But I did recognize your delightful wordplay that extended beyond the title. Have you always been a wordplay lover? How did you develop that skill?

What’s STEAM-related is the use of patterns and shapes in art.

As a former classroom teacher, I read to students every day. I especially enjoyed reading THE BFG by Roald Dahl. My students would laugh themselves silly. I loved Dahl’s made up words such as: snozzcumbers, whizzpoppers, and frobscottle.

I think most picture book authors are playful. I don’t always do adulting well. At family parties, I’m the one who wants to sit at the kids’ table. Making up and silly sounds and words comes naturally. What also helps is using words with letters that have explosive sounds. These letters make sounds that explode off your lips and are funny: B, hard C, D, hard G, K, P, and T. That’s why underpants is funnier than underwear.

Wow, I never stopped to realize why that’s so! Thanks for the tip!

Some of the wordplay in THE TWIST-A-ROO makes use of these explosive sounds: “turny, twisty, tantalizing thing”… “skippy-doodled”…”wiggly, jiggly, gemmy shapes”.

When I’m writing, I like to keep my mind free of any images, because I don’t know what the illustrator is going to do… Most of the time I don’t even know who the illustrator is yet! However, you’ve worked with Kristyna Litten before. Did you have any inkling about how gorgeous she would make badger’s world? What about her approach surprised you?

Kristyna Litten is soooo talented! She draws quickly to give an energetic line quality to her illustrations, sometimes adding color and textures digitally. She’s written and illustrated many books. Her clients include Gucci, National Geographic, and Aardman Animations. I know her work well. So I knew our book would be gorgeous, but I had no idea how gorgeous! Her whimsical illustrations match the text beautifully.

I bought a kaleidoscope to use as I wrote the book. Whenever I looked through it, I saw repeated patterns with many triangular shapes. But I didn’t think Kristyna would stick with symmetrical kaleidoscope images. And I was right! She mixed and mingled shapes asymmetrically splashing them across the page. This was the first review we received from Foreword Reviews: “Bright pinks and yellows jump out from moody teal backdrops that evoke the chill of winter.”

Speaking of bright pinks, can you talk about the end papers? Why are they monochromatic?

Kristyna said it’s actually both an aesthetic and technical decision. It was a design/print request to only use one color plate. So she decided on the bright pink to compliment all the blues throughout the book. She wanted something fun and different on the endpapers…a pop of color and pattern. But nothing that would distract too much from the rest of the book.

I think the pink ends provide a sense of warmth amid the wintry setting.

What do you want children to take away after reading the book?

I want kids to recognize what it’s like to have caring, sharing friends. Badger’s friends come to his aid during a snowstorm…and in return, he helps them shake the winter blues. I hope kids will feel the warmth of community as the animals come together for the common good. Also, I’d like kids to realize there is a time for work and a time for play.

Kathy, I truly love the book and thank you for sharing it with us today!

Blog readers, you can win a copy of THE TWIST-A-ROO!

Just leave a comment below and a random winner will be selected at the end of the month!

Good luck!

The winners of the past few giveaways are:
lynjekowsky, GRIEF IS AN ELEPHANT
Evelyn B, IT’S THE GREAT PUMPKIN, CHARLIE BROWN!
Cathy Lentes, MOSSY AND TWEED; Annette Schottenfeld, KITTY AND CAT
Megan Woodward, Melissa Trempe critique

Kathleen loves bringing kids and quality literature together. She’s a reading specialist and an educational specialist in curriculum and instruction. She’s written standardized test items for Pearson Inc. in alignment with the Common Core Standards. Her love of learning has led her to graduate from four different universities.

Kathleen has taught elementary school for over 30 years. She was first published in TIME Magazine with a letter to the editor about Charles Schulz. Her work has also appeared in The Mailbox, Spider Magazine, Highlights Hello, Highlights High Five, and Highlights for Children. She’s won the Highlights Pewter Plate Award, the Highlights Celebrate National Poetry contest, and a letter of merit from SCBWI’s Magazine Merit Competition. Visit her online at kathleendohertyauthor.com.

Kristyna Litten has written and illustrated several books for children as well as created artwork for book covers and magazines. She lives in Yorkshire, England. Follow her at Instagram.com/kristynalitten.

Cover Launch for LADYBUG LAUNCH by Melissa Trempe (plus a giveaway)

November 15, 2023 in Picture Books | Tags: LADYBUG LAUNCH, Manuela Montoya, Melissa Trempe, Natalia Ojeda | 78 comments

by Melissa Trempe

Thank you, Tara, for hosting me today to share the cover and backstory of my debut picture book LADYBUG LAUNCH: INSPIRED BY A TRUE STORY OF CHINITAS IN SPACE. It’s a story about a little chica from Chile who dreams of becoming a scientist and a chinita (ladybug) who dreams of flying to the stars. Their dreams seem out of reach, but when they refuse to give up, anything is possible. The story is based on true events and inspired by my coauthor’s high school experience. Back in 1999, Natalia Ojeda, along with her all-girls science class, convinced NASA to send their ladybug experiment to space.

Co-author Natalia Ojeda and her daughters.

When the Universe Sends You an Idea, LISTEN!

It was 2020, and I was turning 40. When the world is shut down, how can one properly celebrate a momentous birthday? By taking a writing retreat to The Highlight’s Foundation, of course! So, there I was in cabin 15 researching insects for a humorous picture book manuscript, when something caught my eye.

Ladybugs had been to space!

Thanks to my years of participating in Tara Lazar’s Storystorm, I knew to take note! This was a picture book waiting to happen, but I had to tuck the idea away because I was busy with another project. The universe did not appreciate that decision. In the weeks that followed, I found ladybug after ladybug in my house. Then one landed on my hand! The universe was telling me to get moving, and I was finally ready to listen.

I’m so glad I snapped this picture of that pivotal moment!

So, I got to work, and drafted a humorous story about a ladybug engineer trying to build a rocket for space. I’m a sucker for backmatter, so I started digging around the internet to learn about the real space-traveling ladybugs.

I eventually discovered that the scientist behind the experiment was an all-girls class from a modest school in Santiago, Chile…You could have knocked me out of my seat with a gentle breeze! I was shocked. And the more I read, the more inspired I became.

Timing is Everything

An article celebrating the 20th anniversary of the launch had just been published in Chile one month before I had gotten the ladybug idea. What timing! Thanks to Google translate, I read quotes from the students (now grown women) who worked on the project. They all shared one common theme: this experience changed their lives.

Attending a university was not common in Chile, and many of the girls were from modest backgrounds. College and prestigious careers felt out of reach. Yet if they could work with NASA in high school, what else was possible?

Out of this small group of students, many of them became first generation college graduates with careers in medicine, law, psychology, engineering, science, and education.

A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!

I scrapped my fictional ladybug manuscript and started rewriting. Now my story was about a very real class of determined Chilean girls!

Finding My Coauthor & Agent

For days on end, I scoured Facebook for the names and faces of the women in the 20th anniversary article. Fate and a bit of ladybug luck led me to find Dr. Natalia Ojeda. She was excited to tell their story and share with the world that little people can do big things, even when the odds are against them!

Melissa and Natalia meet on Zoom.

Natalia ready to help her patients in Chile.

Thanks to San Diego’s SCBWI Mayfest, I had a critique with Karen Grencik from Red Fox Literary. Luckily, I also got a 10-minute Zoom with Karen. Instead of discussing the manuscript she’d critiqued, I told her about Natalia, her amazing classmates, and ladybugs in space. Without even seeing the manuscript, Karen said, “I can sell that story. Send it to me!”

Sometimes a Story Just Isn’t Ready . . . But NEVER GIVE UP!

There was one problem. I had only been working on the manuscript for five months. It was a baby and needed work. Karen thought it was ready to go and off it flew into editors’ inboxes. For eight months, rejections trickled in. For eight months, I kept revising. I sent revisions to Natalia, and we had my poor critique partners read the story again and again and again.

Month after month, I felt the story getting stronger. In January of 2022, I had that tingly feeling that THIS was the story, and THIS was the way it needed to be told.

Our agent was ready to start round two of submissions and we gave her the new version of LADYBUG LAUNCH. Off it flew into editors’ inboxes. Within 24 hours we had interest, and within seven days we had two offers! I was in the waiting room of an appointment when Simon & Schuster’s offer came in. I ran outside, video calling Natalia and crying!

As our manuscript continued to transform, I found dozens of ladybug pupae attached to the tree outside my kitchen transforming into adult ladybugs!

ARE YOU READY FOR A COVER REVEAL?

Illustrator Manuela Montoya created the beautiful art to help tell this inspirational story!

HERE WE GO . . .

Available for PREORDER! (Book birthday—April 16, 2024.)

Isn’t the cover lovely? Please add LADYBUG LAUNCH to your must-read list, and I hope it inspires a little person in your life to follow their dreams!

Lastly, a BIG THANK YOU TO TARA for having me today! She’s the queen of kid lit comedy and an example for us all to follow. Thank you for featuring LADYBUG LAUNCH today!

Blog readers, Melissa is giving away a picture book or chapter book critique of the first 1,000 words (fiction or nonfiction, prose or verse—no art please.)

To enter leave one comment below. A random winner will be selected in December!

Good luck!

Melissa Trempe has swum with sharks and hiked a volcano, but her greatest adventure is writing. She taught fifth and sixth grade for fourteen years, before taking a leap of faith to be a full-time author and mom extraordinaire. If you’re in need of a critique or author visit for your school, she would love to do both! Visit her website for more information at MelissaTrempe.com. Connect with her on Instagram @melissatrempe.author.

Natalia Ojeda grew up in a simple home in the southernmost country of the world: Chile. Her family had few resources, yet her faith, determination, and experience in the ladybug project helped her to overcome the odds and achieve her dream of becoming a doctor. As a mother of four girls, she wants to share her story of strength and hope with children around the world.

Manuela Montoya was born in Medellín, Columbia. She studied graphic design and advertising in her hometown and art direction in Barcelona, Spain, where she now lives. She loves working with gouache, colored pencils, ink, and digital media. Learn more at ManuMontoya.com.

Images provided by Melissa Trempe, Natalia Ojeda, Manuela Montoya, and Margaret K. McElderry of S&S.

Seeing Potential in Series, by Mirka Hokkanen

November 6, 2023 in Picture Books | Tags: KITTY AND CAT, LITTLE SEASONS, Mirka Hokkanen, MOSSY AND TWEED | 48 comments

by Mirka Hokkanen

Before we get into the post, I wanted to say thank you for having me, Tara! I’m excited to be back, after my Storystorm post from January.

I launched my first book, MOSSY AND TWEED: Crazy for Coconuts soon after my January post, and have since then launched my second picture book KITTY AND CAT: Opposites Attract, with sequels for each book coming out this month!

In this post I thought I’d answer some questions about creating series and how I manage working on multiple books at the same time. (I also have a third series debuting Feb 2024, that I have been working on alongside these first two.)

Let me give a quick rundown of the series that I’m working on, so we have a point of reference for the rest of the post:

MOSSY AND TWEED: Early reader graphic novels. 4-8 years. Feature two gnomes who have adventures in a forest setting with a cast of animals and magical creatures. Published by Holiday House. Slapstick fun and adventure, easy to read, great for reluctant readers.

KITTY AND CAT: Concept picture books. 2-5 years. Features grumpy Cat and energetic Kitty, doing what cats do best all while teaching us basic concepts like shapes and opposites. Published by Candlewick. Lots of giggles to be had, invites multiple readings, sparse text, lots of story packed into illustrations.

LITTLE SEASONS: Nonfiction picture books. 2-6 years. Funny and informative books about life cycles in nature for little backyard explorers. Published by Odd Dot. Fun, engaging, clear & informative text and illustrations, lots of backmatter for further exploration, works with school STEM curriculum.

How did you create your book series?

I don’t purposefully go in search of series ideas, but all of them turned into series fairly early into their creation. I think for a book to have series potential, it needs to have a strong central character (or characters) with interesting/flawed personalities, so that we can see them in different adventures, and there’s room left for personal growth (think Piggy and Elephant, Olivia, Grumpy Monkey). Or, a series can also evolve around a strong theme, like the Questioneers by Andrea Beaty. All my series fit into one or both of these categories.

I had the idea for MOSSY AND TWEED first. It was a picture book idea, but I didn’t develop it right away, and it sat in my notebook while I had the idea for KITTY AND CAT: Opposites Attract. KITTY AND CAT started out as a funny concept book about opposites with adult cats, but once I decided to add the friendship storyline of a cat and a kitten for depth, and the book became more fleshed out, I felt like one book wasn’t enough from a reader’s point of view. My experience as a reader was, if I find a great concept book for my toddler that we both enjoy reading, with fun characters, I want to learn all the concepts with my kid through these books. So it was a natural progression to create a series with different concepts. When my agent pitched the series, I had a series of four books done, of which two got picked up and we hope that there is a possibility for two or more in the near future.

Once KITTY AND CAT was out on submission and we were waiting on contracts, I pulled Mossy and Tweed out. The book turned from a picture book into a graphic novel and if I remember it was almost ready to pitch when my agent mentioned that it had series potential and we should pitch it as a series.

For the pitch, we had a complete pitch packet with script, dummy etc for MOSSY AND TWEED: Crazy for Coconuts, and then I came up with around five extra story ideas for potential series sequels that were written as brief paragraph summaries.

While I was working on MOSSY AND TWEED, an idea for a book series about different kinds of life cycles that we find in our backyards was bubbling in my head. It came to me more as a series idea, because I was really excited about it and my mind couldn’t help but bounce around to all the possibilities like tadpoles, caterpillars, seeds etc. I love finding interesting facts about things around me and learning new things, and felt like there was a gap in age appropriate nonfiction books about nature that I could read with my (then) 3-year old.

While I was working on the garden cycles idea, and formulating it into a book dummy to pitch, I was working on KITTY AND CAT books, and we pitched, and sold MOSSY AND TWEED books. We pitched the backyard books as a series, but instead of picking butterflies and tadpoles, my editor wanted to go the route of seasons and plants, so we went with seeds from the original pitch and added leaves into the contract.

How did you manage your time working on several book series with different publishers at the same time?

The three book series sold within a year and a half of each other so I had books in various states of completion by the time we signed the last one. As we were negotiating the last contracts, I thought about how much time I needed for each book and we negotiated deadlines so I could slot and finish each book on time. Each deadline had some leeway to extend in case things got tight, and each editor was aware that I had other book commitments at the same time.

I also have three small kids, and in case someone fell and broke their arm or got sick and had to stay home for several weeks, I wanted to make sure that there was wiggle room for emergencies and the unexpected.

My general tactic was to be aware of my deadlines, and slot books around each other. I not only had multiple stages of illustrations going on, but also needed to develop manuscripts. Two of the sequels hadn’t been written when we signed the contract, so I had to write the books before I could start illustrating them. I had a little piece of paper next to my desk with due dates for each book and when things were the most hectic, I kept an Excel sheet of book pages that had checkboxes for when manuscripts, loose sketches, final sketches, and finals were finished and turned in.

Publishing moves sloooow and editors and art directors have many books on their plate. After you turn something in for feedback, it might take months before you hear back. So that would be my time to grab the next book in line and work on a different phase of something else.

I can concentrate and work most efficiently if I work in blocks of time. So I would give myself a deadline to finish something, and then work as hard as I could to meet that deadline, turn that in, and then move onto something else for the next period of time. You have to be self motivated to set and meet those deadlines, and keep things moving along. The bonus was that I could then also communicate those timelines to my editors, so they knew when to expect things from me. And hopefully it would make their job easier and less stressful.

Things were more challenging in the beginning as I was new to publishing, getting to know each publishing team and how they work. Some of them respond quickly and some of them can take months. By the time we got to the second book for each series, it was a bit easier to foresee how long each stage was going to take with each editor and how much time I could slot to work on something else before I could expect to hear back from them.

I think what surprised me a lot was how flexible the deadlines were in the end. We had set deadlines in the contracts, but in a few cases, the publishing team took a very long time to respond and turn around revisions, and projects stretched for months and months with no new deadline set. It made me very unsure in the beginning, because I didn’t know what the expectations were of me when we missed a deadline. Now I know my editors and just roll with it, and do my best to turn things in as quickly as I can when it’s my turn. But even when feedback was taking months, there were so many projects underway, that I’ve never had to wonder what I’m going to do on a given week.

Closing thoughts…

I feel incredibly lucky to have worked on all these books. My life has been crazy trying to balance it all and I haven’t had a ton of time for creativity outside of trying to finish them up (and book promotions for when they come out). We are just now polishing off the last of the six books with one last round of tweaks (fingers crossed). We haven’t signed for more books in any of the series, but I hope if the books sell well, we’ll have good news in the future.

In the meantime, I have another book to illustrate, and with the new time that is finally opening up on my plate next year I hope to catch my breath and look forward to developing new idea seeds into blossoming book trees. Hooray for Storystorm sweeping in at the perfect time to water those seeds in January!

Congratulations on all your books, Mirka!

Blog readers, Mirka is giving away a copy of each of her new books: MOSSY and TWEED: DOUBLE TROUBLE and KITTY AND CAT: BENT OUT OF SHAPE (US addresses only).

Just leave one comment below to enter and two random winners will be selected at the end of the month.

Mirka Hokkanen is an author and illustrator who loves creating quirky characters. When not writing or illustrating, Mirka loves to knit, sew, be outdoors, make art and hang out with her family. Mirka is also a teacher on Skillshare, a licensing illustrator and a printmaker. Find her online at Mirkah.com. Mirka is posting free downloadable activity and coloring pages for her books around launch days. Find them under the Books tab in the menu on her website. And she is currently hosting a 30-day drawing tutorial series on all her social media channels to celebrate the launch of MOSSY AND TWEED and KITTY AND CAT sequels. You can find all the videos in her playlist at https://bit.ly/drawwithmirka.

My Latest Book! Plus…Storystorm Announcement!

November 1, 2023 in FLAT CAT, Picture Books, STORYSTORM | 31 comments

It’s my 13th book so maybe I just got lazy, but I neglected to blog about my latest release, FLAT CAT.

One chilly winter night during the pandemic, I heard a loud MEOW! at our back door. I drew the curtains to find an adorable black cat. When I opened the door to put out a can of tuna, the cat slipped past me and into our house…and she never left. Smooth moves! That’s how I got the idea for the slick, sly character of FLAT CAT. Yep, FLAT CAT is based on our girl Phoebe, who is NOT AT ALL FLAT.

(OK, that’s not the most flattering angle.)

Flat Cat was born flat. He wasn’t squashed by an out-of-control ice cream truck, or smushed in a waffle iron. He was just flat. This slick, sly cat could stray and roam anywhere he pleased, keen and unseen. And wouldn’t you know it, Flat Cat liked it just like that.

That is until one day, when Flat Cat accidentally fell splish-splosh right in the wash. And when he emerged from the dryer, Flat Cat wasn’t flat at all. He was adorably puffy and downright fluffy! And Flat Cat wasn’t sure how he felt about that.

From acclaimed author Tara Lazar and brought to life by #1 New York Times bestselling illustrator Pete Oswald, this is a hilariously quirky and irreverent story.

I know many of you are looking forward to Storystorm in January 2024, and one of my best tips for coming up with story ideas is exactly how this book materialized: from daily life. Sure, it’s not exactly the same tale, or tail, but the spirit of FLAT CAT emerged from our family’s impromptu feline adoption.

I hope you’ll check out FLAT CAT and the activities, ask for it at your library or school, write a review, or tell a friend about it. Any way you can help get the word out would be greatly appreciated!

Now speaking of Storystorm, I have received so many inquiries from folks who want to be guest bloggers that there’s no way I can actually choose. So I have to do something a little differently this year…ask y’all to fill out a short application. This way I can collect everything in one place and randomly select bloggers. Your actual pitch for the blog post is still required, though, so I can avoid any potentially redundant posts.

I also ask that if you guest blogged in 2022 or 2023 that you refrain from applying this year so I can welcome new guests.

The Storystorm Guest Blogger Application is here, and you have until November 26 to fill it out. Guest bloggers will be notified in early December.

Now go make some smooth moves!

Unpacking Peanuts: How Charles M. Schulz Informs My Writing (plus a giveaway)

October 25, 2023 in Picture Books | Tags: Charles M. Schulz, IT'S THE GREAT PUMPKIN CHARLIE BROWN, Peanuts | 85 comments

It’s almost Halloween!

And you know what that means, right?

On Halloween night, the Great Pumpkin will rise out of his pumpkin patch and fly through the air with his bag of toys for all the children! (This is according to Linus, and I’m afraid I can’t vouch for him. Lucy either. You can’t trust those Van Pelts. Just ask Charlie Brown and his football.)

Simon Spotlight has released a lap board book edition of everyone’s favorite Halloween special. I’m “sincerely” thrilled by this big, sturdy book full of nostalgic scenes.

There’s Snoopy fighting the Red Baron, Charlie Brown and his rocks, and smitten Sally blindly following her pumpkin patch Romeo.

This got me to thinking—what’s NOT in this Peanuts classic?

THE PARENTS.

Think about it: the Peanuts Gang always arranges escapades themselves. They produce Christmas plays, serve Thanksgiving meals (with a little help from Snoopy & Woodstock), and generally carry on without adult interference. When there is an adult nearby, we never see them; we only hear a fuzzy WAH-WAH-WAH-WAAAAH from a trombone-like ghost.

As a child, I wanted the same autonomy as Charlie Brown and his friends. I didn’t want to be told what to do. I didn’t want help from an adult. I wanted to create kid-only hijinks. And my brother and I did—unbeknownst to our parents, we hosted a casino and an auction in our basement and profited $18, which was a lot of money in 1979!

But I digress.

I took Schulz’s NO ADULTS ALLOWED format to heart when I became a picture book writer. With rare exception, parents don’t appear in my stories. They’re not necessary. The fun is all kid-led and kid-approved.

In THE MONSTORE, Zach keeps buying monster after monster to spook his little sister Gracie, but never does a parent interject with “that’s a bad idea”. In YOUR FIRST DAY OF CIRCUS SCHOOL, an older brother leads his younger brother through the ups and downs of unusual academia, but never does a parent step in to catch the sibling’s fall from great heights.

When I do picture book critiques, I’ve noticed that some writers bring parents into their stories as a voice of reason. Typically with these lines, I hear the writer themself trying to refocus their character’s attention. I interpret this device as an “I’m not sure what to do here” move. My advice is thus: take out the parent and try another method. Introduce an action that makes the characters realize (or not) their mistakes. Make their world adult-free.

My philosophy stems from the fact that children are constantly being told what to do—by their parents, their teachers, and other adults of authority. A picture book should be an escape from the real world. Another adult admonishment is unwelcome. Let the kids roam free! Let chaos ensue.

And let them figure it all out! You’ll find that those kiddos are pretty darn smart.

Many thanks to Simon Spotlight for supplying a copy of IT’S THE GREAT PUMPKIN, CHARLIE BROWN to a lucky blog reader (US).

Just leave a comment below to enter and a random winner will be selected in November.

Good luck!

GRIEF IS AN ELEPHANT is the Story of the Creators’ Hearts

October 22, 2023 in Picture Books | Tags: GRIEF IS AN ELEPHANT, Nancy Whitesides, Tamara Ellis Smith | 62 comments

by Tamara Ellis Smith & Nancy Whitesides

Nancy: Hello, Tara. Thank you! We are thrilled to be here to interview each other about our new book, GRIEF IS AN ELEPHANT, releasing with Chronicle Books this Tuesday.

Tam, I’ve read about your fascinating childhood. Will you talk about it, and your eventual journey to becoming a writer?

Tam: Thank you from me too, Tara! I love your blog and it’s exciting to be here.

Okay, onto Nancy’s question! As a kid, I spent a lot of time—like A LOT of time—pretending. My best friend and I played Little Women. I was Jo and she was Beth. I haven’t thought about that in a long time! We played in this great span of woods for hours. I guess it was kind of a mash-up of Little House in the Big Woods and Little Women!

Imaginary play relaxed me. I felt the same way about reading. And once I was able to write, pens and paper felt even better.

I loved what you’ve shared of your childhood and how important imaginary play was for you. You’ve written this beautiful, lyrical story, GRIEF IS AN ELEPHANT. Please tell us about it.

Thank you for saying that Nancy, but my words are only half of why it’s beautiful and lyrical. You and your illustrations are the other half.

You and I have talked about this a lot—GRIEF IS AN ELEPHANT is the story of our hearts. My son’s friend died, and my friend died, and GRIEF IS AN ELEPHANT came pouring out of me.

Much later, as I was revising the story, my father went into the hospital for a surgery to mend his heart. But the surgery failed and six weeks later he died.

Grief absolutely became an elephant for me then. I breathed differently because of its weight. Megan Devine, a writer and grief advocate I really respect, said, “Loss and grief change our landscape. The terrain is forever different and there is no normal to return to. There is only the inner task of making a new and accurate map.”

GRIEF IS AN ELEPHANT is part of that map. I often talk about how I write to explore questions I have—and isn’t that just like making a map? My biggest hope is that GRIEF IS AN ELEPHANT can help kids make the map they need for their journeys too.

Thank you for sharing your grief experience, Tam. I appreciate you sharing even though it must be painful to talk about it. I also appreciate the quote you shared from Megan Devine. Please talk about your writing process and routine.

I’m a slow writer. And because of the way my life is structured, I have to write before my kids and my other job. That means getting up at 5:15 AM and writing for about an hour. I love it. One of my favorite moments of the day is watching the world get light. Being up then feels magical. Like I’m a part of the team that brings on the day.

I’ve read about successful authors waking up early to have their writing time.

I write for a long time, revise a million times, and then hopefully make a book at the end. I once took a picture of all the drafts of my first novel lined up on my street. The line was endless!

Please talk about your writing hero.

So many writers are heroes, putting their essential truths into the world, even as stories and people and perspectives are being banned across the country. But I’ll name the writer who inspired me to become one. In college I was in a play written by someone I had never heard of—María Irene Fornés. She was a playwright, a director, a feminist. She was someone courageous enough to write in a way that made sense to her. Her word choices, the structures she created—she followed her own organic logic. She made me realize I didn’t have to write like the mainstream writers I knew; that I could write about the things that were important to me in my own way.

You are definitely doing something right, Tam. I know this from reading your work and your letters to me. You are a stupendous writer. If I can only use the word stupendous for one person it would be for you.

Thank you! Now I’ll jump in!

Nancy, will you describe living in the Philippines? You’re a self-taught artist and I wonder what parts of each landscape and culture and energy inform the way you see things and how you create your art?

Living in the Philippines, I remember being a sickly child and teenager, but I still loved to explore nature, climb trees, even swim in the river. I also remember when I was probably three or four, I drew a rudimentary face, and then soon afterwards drew about a hundred little faces all over the walls, as far as my arm could reach. My poor mom.

Your poor mom!

Knowing and living with two cultures informs my art, and I try to draw with curiosity and an open mind.

I incorporate environments I love if the story permits it. An example in our book is the double spread with the overview of the home, the distant hills and sky, and all the animals. This point of view is important to me because I’d seen it quite often as a child when I’d climbed to the very top of my favorite tall tree. I’d seen this landscape and loved looking at it. I wanted to set GRIEF IS AN ELEPHANT in this beautiful world and share this with the children reading our book.

Nancy, I didn’t know that the landscape in that double spread came from your experience. Learning that kind of detail instantly makes that page, and the whole book, so much richer.

Every single time I look at our book, I am overwhelmed with the beauty of your artwork. You’ve told me some parts of your process, like how you wanted to express both a sense of grief and a sense of love in the eyes of the elephant (which you totally succeeded in doing!), but would you talk more about your illustration process?

Thank you so much, Tam. Your words helped inspire me! My illustration process begins with rereading your manuscript over and over while I imagine this world.

Next, I draw sketches, thumbnails, storyboard and a dummy. Lastly, final art—adding paint, color, and digital media.

These are more or less the technical steps. The more difficult part is adding depth and emotion, and working to make the physical image come close to what was imagined.

Finally, I value the feedback our editor and art director gave me. Sometimes I thought, “Oh, that looks good.” But no, it sure didn’t. It was nowhere near where it needed to be.

I had the same experience!

Okay, last question. Can you tell us one thing that totally surprised you as you worked on GRIEF IS AN ELEPHANT?

One surprise is how you and I are matched so well including how your words and my art created this beautiful book we love, and how we have similar life experiences. I appreciate you even more.

I was also surprised by how emotional I became while working on our book. I realized even more how much love I have for the person I lost. Grief and love truly are tied together.

Absolute truth.

Thank you so much for having us here, Tara! GRIEF IS AN ELEPHANT comes out on October 24 with Chronicle Books. We’re working on some activity pages and a few other surprises, so check out our websites or Instagram to learn more!

Congratulations on this lovely bok, Tamara and Nancy!

Blog readers, Tamara and Nancy are giving away a copy of GRIEF IS AN ELEPHANT (US addresses only). Just leave one comment below to enter and a random winner will be selected at the end of the month.

The winner of the last giveaway, FIX AND STITCH, is Becki Kidd. Congrats, Becki, and expect an email from me shortly.

Tamara Ellis Smith lives in Vermont with her family. When she’s not writing books for children, she can often be found trail running on a river trail with her friends and dogs. She also hangs out on Instagram @tamaraellissmith and Pinterest @tamaras0259, and her website is tamaraellissmith.com.

Nancy Whitesides is an author and self-taught illustrator born in Manila, and later moved to the US. Nancy’s art is imbued with colors and emotions, and often features nature and animals. Her work for GRIEF IS AN ELEPHANT was chosen for the prestigious Original Art Show at the Society of Illustrators in New York. Nancy also illustrated SMALL THINGS MENDED, written by Casey W. Robinson, forthcoming from Rocky Pond Books Spring 2024. See more of Nancy’s work at her website nancywhitesides.com and on Instagram @nancyillustrator.

FIX AND STITCH, A Debut Picture Book Weaves a Balance (plus a giveaway)

September 12, 2023 in Uncategorized | Tags: Barbara Nass, FIX AND STITCH, Liza Woodruff | 76 comments

by Barbara Nass

First, let me start by thanking Tara for hosting me and my debut picture book, FIX AND STITCH. Tara was a gift to me. And I mean that literally. When I retired, my work team gave me consulting time with Tara as a retirement gift. I can’t think of a better way to have jump-started my journey into picture book writing.

They say “write what you know”. And for a time, I struggled with the notion of writing a STEM story about tech and especially one to inspire young girls into this field. In my previous tech career, I mentored women across my organization and the few (emphasis on few) that were in tech. I also promoted tech careers at St. Elizabeth University as well as Rutgers University. I was all in on developing a tech-related story, but ideas that were picture-book-worthy didn’t come.

Other ideas did come, though. And the one that was the springboard for FIX AND STITCH began with the question of how a porcupine gets its first hug.

That idea could have gone in many directions. But instead, wound up about Squirrel, a creative tailor, who helps solve Porcupine’s problem. But in FIX AND STITCH, Squirrel has his own need. The birds have headed south, the last of the leaves are on the ground and winter is coming. Squirrel must build his winter home before it’s too late.

Instead, he delays, again and again, continuing to help his woodland neighbors, each with their own amusing dilemma. Squirrel just can’t say “no”.

Aha! I did write what I know. Squirrel grew up in a family like mine.

And while this story offers a message of kindness and friendship, what was the message that young readers would take away? I wanted a story about empathy, not self-sacrifice. Revision was needed and an author’s note added opening the door for discussion with children. In fact, I’ve already received notes from parents letting that they’ve had these important conversations after reading the story and author’s note. One even told me that it was quite a meaningful moment with his daughter. This feedback means everything to me. So, while I hope young readers will delight in this story of a clever tailor and his ingenious designs, I also hope they walk away with this life lesson in balancing empathy with attending to one’s own needs. A lesson that quite a few adults have now told me, they wished they had learned at an early age.

I want to thank Karen Grencik and Barb McNally for wanting this story told. And to Liza Woodruff, an amazing illustrator who truly captured the spirit of the story and its characters.

Congratulations on all your success, Barbara!

Blog readers, Barbara is giving away a copy of FIX AND STITCH. Just leave one comment below to enter and a random winner will be selected at the end of the month.

The winner of the last giveaway, MILKWEED FOR MONARCHS (critique), is Ashley Bankhead. Congrats, Ashley, and expect an email from me shortly.

Barbara Nass grew up in Brooklyn, NY. married, and raised her son in New Jersey. There, the family enjoyed hiking New Jersey’s scenic park trails. A woodland habitat she used as the setting for FIX AND STITCH, her debut picture book. A tech executive, whose career roots began in early childhood education, Barbara will forever treasure those moments when her students first learned to read. Barbara now lives in Manalapan, New Jersey. Visit her at BarbaraNass.com, Instagram @barbara.nass.writer, and Twitter/X @barbara_nass.

Cover Reveal! MILKWEED FOR MONARCHS by Christine Van Zandt (plus a giveaway)

August 31, 2023 in Picture Books | Tags: Alejandra Barajas, Christine Van Zandt, MILKWEED FOR MONARCHS | 77 comments

by Christine Van Zandt

Those early, shut-in days of the pandemic fostered my upcoming picture book, MILKWEED FOR MONARCHS (Beaming Books, 2024). With everyone at home, we escaped to—I mean, we appreciated—our garden a bit more. Flowers and foliage. Bugs and birds. Bare patches calling out for some attention. So, off to the garden center where an “attracts butterflies” sign led us to buy our first milkweed plant. Why not?

Days later, we noticed our milkweed had critters crawling on it. Twenty-seven to be exact. Little caterpillars that would grow into monarch butterflies. We watched as they devoured leaves, buds, even stems. Their escapades, a fun distraction. Counting caterpillars became part of our daily routine.

Then, one morning, all were gone!

I Googled and discovered this wasn’t supposed to happen. Toxins in the milkweed plant made the caterpillars taste bad and their bold stripes warned-off predators. (Apparently no one told our local birds and raccoons.)

Without the constant crunching, the milkweed leafed out, bloomed, and a female monarch butterfly found it. The baby-factory was back in business! We learned that monarchs need milkweed—it’s the only plant their caterpillars can eat.

Once our eggs hatched, there were a lot of very hungry caterpillars. (Eric Carle knew what he was talking about.) Back to the garden center for more milkweed. Before long, some caterpillars made chrysalises, then, weeks later, launched into gorgeous butterflies reminding me of my childhood.

Growing up in northern California, winters brought magical moments of seeing coastal trees blanketed with western monarch butterflies. While the eastern monarch population that overwinters mainly in Mexico has suffered declines, the western monarch has been classified as an endangered species. In 2021, fewer than 2,000 of these butterflies were counted overwintering in California. Their numbers were once in the millions.

At-home pesticide use is a major factor. Gardeners want big blooms and perfect greenery, but spraying or applying systemic pesticides means we’re killing all kinds of insects and disrupting the food chain. Habitat destruction and climate change also take a toll.

While I watched the butterfly life cycle, I wrote about it, workshopping my manuscript with critique partners. My writing was trial and error: fiction, nonfiction, prose, verse. I read every book I could find about butterflies, and began volunteering for Xerces to gain insight into insects. Then back to revisions.

The manuscript that fluttered to the top was a rhyming poem supported by facts. Spare, lyrical text shows a mama monarch returning from overwintering. We follow one egg on its journey to becoming a butterfly. This engaging read-aloud also has STEM information and fun interactive questions to support classroom or at-home learning.

My first nonfiction picture book, A BRIEF HISTORY OF UNDERPANTS, sold to Quarto Kids unagented (via a Twitter pitch party) and published around the same time that the manuscript for MILKWEED FOR MONARCHS won several top awards through SCBWI. Soon after, I received an offer for representation from the amazing Liza Fleissig at the Liza Royce Agency.

In a whirlwind, Liza sold my manuscript to Beaming Books. Working with their Senior Acquisitions Editor, Andrea Hall, has been a dream. She understood my concern but also my hopefulness and she created a beautiful book. Here’s a first look at the gorgeous cover created by illustrator extraordinaire, Alejandra Barajas!

MILKWEED FOR MONARCHS is now available for preorder, for a February 6, 2024 release.

In closing, I’d like to give a big thank-you shout-out to Tara! I appreciate all Tara does for our industry and how her successful books have shown the world that funny female kid’s lit writers really do exist.

Images provided by Christine Van Zandt and Beaming Books.

Christine is giving away a 60-minute manuscript critique of the first 750 words of your book (adult or kid’s, fiction or nonfiction, prose or verse) or a picture book with 750 words or fewer. (No art please.)

Leave one comment below to enter. A random winner will be selected in September!

Good luck!

Christine Van Zandt is a freelance editor who loves helping other writers realize their dreams of getting their books published. A small-business owner, she founded her company, Write for Success Editing Services, in 2009.

MILKWEED FOR MONARCHS is Christine’s second nonfiction picture book. She lives in Los Angeles with her family and pets. Find out more at ChristineVanZandt.com.

LIVE in 20 minutes: Q&A “Ask Me Anything” On YouTube

August 13, 2023 in Uncategorized | 2 comments

LIVE This Sunday: Q&A “Ask Me Anything” On YouTube

August 10, 2023 in FLAT CAT, Picture Books | Tags: AMA, Pete Oswald, Q&A | 12 comments

This Sunday, August 13 at 1pm EST, please join me for a LIVE video chat on YouTube. You can ask me anything about writing and publishing picture books, like…

How do I know my manuscript is ready for submission?
Should I rhyme my story?
Do I need a literary agent? How do I find one?
What does a publisher do to market my book?
Can I choose my illustrator?
Does the amount of my advance truly matter?
What can I do to market my book? What has the biggest sales impact?
How do I secure school visits?

And whatever burning questions you have!

I’ll be on camera, but don’t worry, you won’t be. Just enter your questions in the LIVE chat and listen while I dispense what I’ve learned during my 15 years in the business. Fun and hilarity will ensue!

This will be the 1st session of at least three in support of my newest book, FLAT CAT, illustrated by Pete Oswald, due for release on September 19th.

I hope you’ll tell one person about FLAT CAT, ask for it at your independent bookstore, or request for it be carried at your local library. Your support means a lot to me! This is why I enjoy giving back to the writing community. We’re all in this [crazy and difficult world] together!