You are currently browsing the tag archive for the ‘Chapter Books’ tag.
by Judy Bradbury
Thanks, Tara, for inviting me to your blog space to offer a few tips on writing chapter books! I’m honored to be here.
A bit of background: THE CAYUGA ISLAND KIDS is chapter books series is contemporary fiction featuring five diverse friends who embark on backyard adventures, solve mysteries, and grow as a result of their experiences. The kids are resourceful, kind-hearted “fact detectives” who use their varied interests, their smarts, kindness, and humor to overcome hurdles and solve problems. Above all, these are kids who value friendship and community. The stories feature history, community service, respect for the environment, brainstorming, teamwork, misinformation, disinformation, and the importance of gathering all the facts—from more than one source—when tackling a problem, seeking a solution, and before landing on an opinion or drawing a conclusion.
The first book in the series, THE MYSTERY OF THE BARKING BRANCHES AND THE SUNKEN SHIP, is based on real events involving a found cannonball believed to be from the Griffon, a treasure ship that sank somewhere in the Great Lakes in 1679 on the return from its maiden voyage. The ship has never been recovered, though over a million dollars has been spent trying. There’s even a Discovery Channel episode about it. When I first read a newspaper story about a cannonball found in a backyard on Cayuga Island, I was immediately intrigued. After all, the ship was built on the residential island a few miles upstream from Niagara Falls where I grew up. Heck, the street I lived on was Griffon Avenue. It was named after the ship!
I knew I wanted to write a children’s book centered on the found cannonball. But it took months to land on the genre and the format.
- Nonfiction or fiction?
- Historical or contemporary?
- Which format: picture book, chapter book, or middle grade?
Eventually, I formed the idea for a contemporary fiction story based on the true events. I chose to write a chapter book because the topic and the level of detail I wanted to include seemed best suited for the age and interest level of the chapter book audience, and the characteristics of the chapter book format.
Chapter books are vital stepping stones for newly independent readers. Smaller in cover size than picture books, they look and feel more grown up. But they are slimmer than middle grade novels so as not to intimidate or overwhelm the young reader. Building confidence in growing readers is a critical aspect of a successful chapter book.
Targeting 6-10 year-olds, chapter books span from easy first readers that are generally 48-64 pages with a couple of words per page, to more involved stories (80-130 pages) that naturally lead growing readers to middle grade novels. THE CAYUGA ISLAND KIDS chapter books intended for 7-10 year-olds fall into this upper range. For the purposes of our discussion, those are the level of chapter books I’ll offer writing tips for here.
Key elements form the bedrock to writing a winning chapter book—one that will cement an interest in reading and lead to a lifelong love of books:
- Short sentences and brief chapters—less text density than middle grade books. More white space keeps the reader turning pages, which reinforces a feeling of success in reading.
- Limited cast of characters; introduce few sub-plots and minor characters
- Fast-paced plots with minimal narration and plenty of action keep readers engaged
- Appropriate grade level reading vocabulary
- Age-level interests and experiences
- Well-placed and well-spaced illustrations aid comprehension and keep interest high
If you are interested in trying your hand at writing a chapter book, begin by reading widely in the format, particularly in the genre of your intended book. Read new releases as well as classics. Become familiar with grade-level reading vocabulary for the age range your book targets. Check reading level using a readability measure, such as Lexile levels. Is it within range? Young readers’ listening, speaking, and reading vocabularies vary, with their reading vocabulary being the least developed, and thus the biggest challenge—to the reader and the writer. Introduce new vocabulary or tougher, multisyllabic words by using the word in context, or providing a definition within the text, either within the sentence, or immediately before or after. Repeat new and unfamiliar words to foster recognition. The more often a word is encountered in print, the more comfortable the reader becomes with it. Reinforce unfamiliar words with illustrations details.
Illustrations in the best of picture books expand and enrich the text—and often offer a parallel story line. However, this isn’t the goal of illustrations in chapter books. Here, pictures are meant to support comprehension. Usually chapter books feature partial page or spot illustrations with occasional full-page art; black-and-white pen and ink drawings are common.
Engaging, high-interest topics, accessible language, and visual appeal are essential. Chapter book plots center on experiential knowledge and curiosity about the world around us. Friendships, family, school, and growing independence are common themes for chapter books. Humor is always appreciated, from gentle wittiness to raucous roll-on-the-floor hijinks. Children in this age group are curious, accepting, eager, and willing to be engaged. As they explore and embark on adventures in their own corner of the world, they are eager to broaden understanding of the larger world and acquire knowledge, tools, and skills. Book 2 in the Cayuga Island Kids series, THE ADVENTURE OF THE BIG FISH BY THE SMALL CREEK, focuses on a community project for recycling. The kids come to realize that though we are each just one person, together we can make a big difference. It recently was awarded the Ben Franklin Silver Award for Young Reader Fiction, 8-12.
Don’t underestimate the 7-10 year-old reader. In Book 3 of the Cayuga Island Kids series, released just a couple of weeks ago, misinformation and disinformation are introduced through events that take place in the story. These are big words, big concepts. But they are also a big part of our world today. THE CASE OF THE MESSY MESSAGE AND THE MISSING FACTS centers on the importance of getting all the facts and not just a fraction of the truth before forming on an opinion or drawing a conclusion. Readers encounter flour bugs, missing glitter pens, wonky websites, a Little Free Library, chocolate chip cookies, and more.
Finding meaningful, accessible, and entertaining ways to approach important concepts and mindsets is both a challenge and a reward for the chapter book author hoping to provide a sturdy bridge for the young independent reader’s journey to becoming a lifelong reader.
Thank you for the tips, Judy! I know plenty of PB writers who would like to try the challenge of writing Chapter Books.
And blog readers, you can win a copy of Book 3 in the Cayuga Island Kids collection, THE CASE OF THE MESSY MESSAGE AND THE MISSING FACTS!
Just leave a comment below about what you’ve learned about writing CBs. A random winner will be selected later this month.
Good luck!
Photo by Peter Scumaci
Judy Bradbury is an award-winning author and literacy educator who has taught students from preschool through college. Judy’s children’s books include the Cayuga Island Kids chapter book series and the Christopher Counts! picture book series. Judy is also the author of a number of resources for educators and host of the popular Children’s Book Corner blog featuring interviews with authors and illustrators and suggestions for using their books to enhance curriculum while boosting social-emotional learning. For more information, visit Judy’s website. Connect with Judy on Instagram @judy_bradbury; Twitter @JudyBWrites; and LinkedIn.
It’s the age-old question: what’s for dinner? Pizza? Or Tacos?
Tough decision! Pizza could have anything ON it, but then a taco could have anything IN it. Limitless possibilities! So who’s the best?
Luckily, author-illustrator Stephen Shaskan has settled the debate with his newly released chapter book:
This is the first in a delicious new illustrated series!
I like to interview folks about their books, and luckily, both Pizza and Taco were available to take a seat, and they didn’t even leave melted cheese on my couch! Not a chunk of cheddar or a morsel of mozzarella! What polite guests.
What? Don’t you like tunafish sandwiches?
Guys, come back!!! I’ve got pickles, too!
OH WELL.
Maybe you want to figure out who’s best. (Do so quickly, because you don’t want to be late for their BEST PARTY EVER in the Spring!)
Stephen is giving away a signed copy of PIZZA AND TACO: WHO’S THE BEST? to a lucky winner.
Just leave one comment below to enter.
Winner will be randomly selected in July.
(Sorry, actual pizza and taco not included. They don’t travel well.)
by Joan Holub
The Goddess Girls series is up to #25 with CLOTHO THE FATE! I can hardly believe it. (Thank you, thank you, Simon and Schuster!) The Greek myth about the Three Fates, who decide, well, human fates, has been one of my faves since fifth grade.
THE GODDESS GIRLS series (ages 8-12) happened because I met Suzanne Williams at an SCBWI meeting and asked if she’d consider co-writing a series. We both pitched ideas and Goddess Girls wound up the front-runner. Book #1 Athena the Brain, in which Athena discovers she’s a goddess and is summoned by her dad Zeus to attend Mount Olympus Academy, pubbed in 2010. The GG books are each a riff on an actual Greek myth and star smart, adventurous girl goddesses. Quirky grown-ups include Mr. Cyclops teaching classes such as Hero-ology. Suzanne and I have since spun off two other series: LITTLE GODDESS GIRLS (ages 6-8) and HEROES-IN-TRAINING (ages 7-10).
Recently, I read an instagram from a favorite author, Julie Falatko, regarding the difficulties of balancing art, life, and income. I’m prolific with about 170 children’s books by now, and I realized that series writing has helped me maintain that balance Julie mentions. With a schedule of enjoyable series work on my desk, I can fit in picture books, board books, etc. as I have time and think of ideas. My creativity isn’t encumbered by angst regarding my publishing future. Still, it’s not fair (or helpful) to me or my editors if I were to have, say, two board books pub in the same season for different publishers. A bookstore might choose only to stock one of those two Joan Holub offerings. Instead, if I pub a board book, along with either a picture book or a middle grade book in the same season, I haven’t set up sales competition between two of my own books. They’ll be shelved in different areas of a store and browsed by parents and kids in different age groups.
Some of my books have become a series unexpectedly. I read every biography (starting with the girl ones) in my school library as a kid. So a few years ago, I wanted to write some simple board books bios. First came THIS LITTLE PRESIDENT (Little Simon). The format includes 10 spreads with 10 of the better-known presidents, plus a final spread mentioning numerous more and a call for kids to become part of the presidential group in future. It sold well enough to spin into a series: THIS LITTLE ARTIST, THIS LITTLE TRAILBLAZER: A Girl Power Primer, etc. Much of the series success is owed to my editor and the illustrator. I mean, who could not pick up these books after seeing Daniel Roode’s covers? I’ve also been lucky enough to also write for the Penguin Workshop’s bestselling WHO WAS series (WHO WAS BABE RUTH?). They’re the books with the big heads on the covers, and it seems like every kid has read at least one. I know I have. They’re addictive.
Thank you, Tara, so much for letting me visit today.
I’d love to give away three autographed copies of GODDESS GIRLS: CLOTHO THE FATE. They won’t arrive until 2020, but there’s always Valentine’s Day and birthday gifts! Thanks for reading!
You heard Joan!
Leave one comment below to enter the random giveaway. Three random winners will be chosen soon.
Good luck!
by Sometimes a picture book manuscript begs to become a chapter book. This has happened to me. Several years back, I wrote a picture book about an exuberant kid’s attempts to become class flag leader. Yet I couldn’t make the story viable. Even when I took out the set up or made the dialogue pithier
It was like trying to wedge my size-nine feet into size-six shoes on the sale rack. No matter how hard I tried, the story felt constricted.
This is not an uncommon experience.
Picture book Author Pat Zietlow Miller (Be Kind) told me recently that: “There was one time I started writing what I fully intended to be a picture book, only to discover it really wasn’t. There was too much stuff to be contained in the limits of a picture book. So I turned it into a chapter book.”
Author Candice Ransom (Amanda Panda) has also successfully turned part of a picture book into a novel. But it wasn’t obvious that it was something that she should do right away. “It’s never easy to tell,” she reports. “Picture books require a Big Idea to differentiate them from a magazine short story—a pleasant interlude, but nothing that lingers afterward. Even then, sometimes the idea is too big.”
Too big. Yup. I understand what “too big” feels like. That’s exactly why I turned Ellie May on Presidents’ Day into a chapter book, and it’s coming out this December (squeeee!), along with a companion novel, Ellie May on April Fools’ Day (more squeeee!)
The question becomes—how do you know when you have “too much stuff”?
In other words, how do you tell when your picture book manuscript actually wants to grow some words and turn into a chapter book?
I’ve been thinking about this, and I’ve come up with five central questions that will help writers discover the answer.
1. Is your exposition illustration-independent?
Picture books almost always require an interplay between words and pictures. Chapter books don’t. If you find yourself leaning towards exposition that doesn’t require illustration, you might have a chapter book on your hands.
As a quick explanation or reminder, exposition is the introduction of important background information. For example, setting, characters and events.
But wait, you’re saying. Don’t chapter books have illustrations?
Yup. And some are heavily illustrated. Jeffery Ebbeler created close to thirty interior illustrations for Ellie May on Presidents’ Day. They add to the story, but a reader doesn’t require one of Jeff’s illustrations in order to decode the text. The pictures are additive versus essential. Of course, that doesn’t make them not awesome, because they are (and yes, I’m heavily biased)!
For example, in Ellie May on April Fools’ Day, we have this illustration of the second grader and her family about to go out birdwatching:
Here’s a sentence that encapsulates the scene: “Dad reappeared with a pair of binoculars.” The illustration shows Dad in the doorway with a pair of, well, binoculars. The text helps readers to visualize and understand the scene, but there aren’t visual cues that move the story beyond the words. In a chapter book, an illustration doesn’t usually act as an ironic statement.
For clarification, here are some strong examples of visual irony that one typically sees only in picture books.
A page in Doreen Cronin’s Diary of a Worm, reads:
Fishing season started today. We all dug deeper.
We learn important background info about the season. However, the text doesn’t tell us how this time of year affects worms. We need to see the illustration in order to glean the meaning.
A cutaway illustration reveals a giant shovel (with an empty pail labeled “bait”) and the worried worms sequestered in their underground home. This creates a sense of irony. The worms aren’t digging deeper to find bait, but instead to escape from being bait. In order for the humor to work, the reader requires visual cues.
We see the same thing in Anne Marie Pace’s Vampirina Ballerina. On one of the early pages, we have:
If you’re worried about meeting the other dancers, bring along a friendly face or two.
The text on its own suggests that the young dancer is bringing along a friendly looking family or some pets. However, the illustration reveals that Vampirina (who could easily be an Addams Family cousin) brings along a green-skinned, Lurch-ish looking companion, a black cat and a bat. At first, none of these characters appear conventional friendly.
Yup, more visual irony.
In sum, chapter book texts don’t usually offer up visual irony opportunities (I say usually because every rule is meant to be broken, but that’s a topic for another post). Instead, they are much more prescriptive.
In the picture book version of Ellie May on Presidents’ Day, I was overwriting and not allowing room for the illustrator. In other words, I was acting like a chapter book writer. Here’s a few lines from my manuscript that just don’t work as a picture book text:
I scooped my hands into the box, and tossed worms and mulberry leaves across the room. “Be Free!” I said. Worms landed on the floor. One landed on Ms. Silva’s head.
For a picture book, there’s going to be an illustrator. That means she or he will draw the worms and the mulberry leaves, and yes, the worm landing on the teacher’s head. If the above lines were more picture book text appropriate, they would read something like this:
I scooped my hands into the box. The worms must be set free!
So ask yourself, do you want to step aside and allow the illustrator to do his or her job? Or do you really—in your heart-of-hearts—want to create more of the visual narrative work? I guess, in my inner core, for the Ellie May books, I wanted to paint the complete scenes with my words.
Side note: none of the above text actually appears in the chapter book version of Ellie May on Presidents’ Day because of how much I revised. Ah, revision. How wonderful and yet how hard it is to throw away your darlings, but you never know—you might get to show them off in a blog post.
2. Does your picture book manuscript cry out to be longer?
In today’s picture book market, texts are short, averaging about 500 words. Now that doesn’t mean in the nonfiction market we aren’t seeing 700-page manuscripts or that someday the 1200- word picture book won’t make a comeback, but, on average, short is the operative word.
If you must heartily chop in order to get your picture book manuscript down to the golden 500 words and it’s mightily upsetting, you might consider taking your story into a longer form, such as the chapter book. Maybe you want to be more expansive. Perhaps you want to write 3,000 – 8,000 words or even more. Allow yourself this. If you really want to write a picture book manuscript, please, go ahead. But, maybe, somewhere deep down, you don’t want to go on the picture book diet. You want to expand a bit, or even a lot.
3. Does your picture book manuscript have a subplot?
Picture books should typically contain one plot stream. I’ve critiqued picture book manuscripts where a secondary character steals the show and we learn about his or her wants and needs. This is not a good idea. In picture books, the protagonist is the star. There just isn’t enough real estate for you to truly explore other characters’ goals.
However, this can be done in a chapter book. But not a whole lot. Chapter books can only handle very small subplots that don’t take up a lot of space.
Simply think about how other characters’ needs interrupt or illuminate the main character’s goals. For example, in Ellie May on April Fools’ Day, Lizzy, Ellie May’s best friend, sometimes slows her down. We find out that Lizzy doesn’t feel very confident in athletics and really wants to win at something.
Lizzy thumped the red ball into Mo’s square. He slammed it into another square.
“I’m not out yet,” Lizzy said. This was a surprise, considering how she normally plays.
“Okay, I’ll cheer for you.” I raised my hands in the air, pretending to wave swishy pom-poms. “Way to go, Lizzy!”
Owen smashed the ball into Lizzy’s square. She missed the return.
“Out!” yelled Pablo.
Lizzy pushed up her glasses and harrumphed. “I never win.”
Later, in the book, you can bet that I’m going to have Lizzy win at something. Learning how to lose and how to win gracefully is one of the themes in Ellie May on April Fools’ Day. Remember, in a picture book, you’re not going to want to use subplots. That means if you really want to employ them, maybe you should try out longer form fiction.
4. Is your protagonist over the age of six?
Most picture books protagonists are preschool through early primary school-aged children, although there are exceptions, especially for non-humans. But when you are dealing with people, if your protagonist is seven or eight, it’s likely a chapter book. If the main character is nine or ten, then it’s probably a middle grade novel.
Author Saadia Faruqi created a picture book featuring spirited Yasmin, and was very content with her story. In fact, she says she would have been “perfectly happy with it as picture book.” However, her publishing company was excited about bringing Saadia’s story to older kids, and that’s how Meet Yasmin, a much-lauded chapter book came to fruition. Sometimes this all comes about in a rather surprising but auspicious way. The lesson here is to be open!
5. In addition to having a big idea, do you have a larger-than-life character?
In general, chapter books are not sold as individual titles, but as a series of four (to start). Picture books, on the other hand, are usually sold as individual titles. That doesn’t mean you can’t get an entire series going. Witness the Vampirina books. The Fancy Nancy books etc. But usually, authors don’t sell a picture book series. They sell one book that does so well that readers demand more. However, if have a really appealing and distinctive character who just calls out—please make me into a series–then you might want to think about writing a chapter book because that’s how they usually roll—in multiples.
The basic message here is that you have options. You can revise your overstuffed manuscript and refine it so that you’re within picture book conventions or, just maybe, you have a chapter book on your hands, or even a middle grade novel.
So many possibilities! Isn’t it all exciting? Okay, I admit it. I still, to this day, will forget my shoe size and try to squeeze my foot into a sleek pump that’s a size too small, as long as it’s on the 75% off blow-out sale rack.
After all, a girl can try.
Hillary Homzie is the author of the forthcoming chapter book, Ellie May on Presidents’ Day (Charlesbridge, Dec.18, 2018), which is about a second grader navigating honesty and leadership. Hillary promises she didn’t set up the current political climate to tie-into her book. As a former sketch comedian, she (hopefully) knows a thing or two about how to be funny and not hurt feelings, which is the theme of Ellie May on April Fools’ Day (Charlesbridge, Dec.18, 2018).
As the author of the chapter book series, Alien Clones From Outer Space (Simon & Schuster/Aladdin), she particularly enjoys collecting antennae to occasionally wear to school visits. Hillary has also written middle grade novels, including the Queen of Likes (Simon & Schuster/Aladdin M!X) The Hot List, (Simon & Schuster/M!X), Things Are Gonna Get Ugly (Simon & Schuster/M!X), Pumpkin Spice Secrets (Sky Pony/Swirl), and the forthcoming Apple Pie Promises (October 2, 2018, Sky Pony/Swirl).
Hillary teaches chapter book and middle grade writing online at the Children’s Book Academy. During the summers, she teaches in the children’s Writing and Illustrating MFA Program at Hollins University.
Check out her chapter book course here and her middle grade course here.
She loves answering questions about all things chapter book. You can reach her at HillaryHomzie.com.
@HillaryHomzie
by “Where do you get your ideas?” When someone asks this, if you’re like me, your mind might go blank as you struggle for an answer. I’ve written quite a few unpublished novels and picture books over the last fifteen years, and for most, I could not tell you what idea sparked those stories. But I can tell you where I got the idea for my chapter book JASMINE TOGUCHI MOCHI QUEEN.
I came across an article about a multigenerational Japanese American family that got together every New Year’s holiday to make mochi in the traditional way—steaming sweet rice, pounding it, and rolling mochi. Then, a little girl’s voice chimed in my head, complaining that she wanted to pound mochi even though it was a “man’s job.” And Jasmine Toguchi was born.
When my editor made the offer to buy MOCHI QUEEN, it was one of the happiest days of my life. Then, she surprised me by saying she wanted three more books about Jasmine Toguchi, to make a series. I was elated! She asked if I had ideas for more stories. I responded with an enthusiastic YES!
Honestly? I had no other ideas, at least not at that moment. When I wrote MOCHI QUEEN, I wrote it as a stand-alone chapter book. Suddenly, I had to come up with three more book ideas in a very short amount of time. How did I do this?
MOCHI QUEEN has a thread of Japanese culture (traditional mochi-making during the New Year holiday) with a bigger theme of a girl challenging a family rule (too young to participate) and Japanese tradition (pounding mochi has traditionally been a man’s job). With those big picture themes, I sat down and brainstormed. I focused on the cultural aspect since that’s how MOCHI QUEEN came about. I jotted down traditions that I personally enjoyed or was interested in. From that list, I picked out some favorites that I felt I could expand upon.
On Girl’s Day, families with daughters set up a display of special dolls. As a child I loved those dolls, but because they are delicate and fragile, my sister and I weren’t allowed to play with them. I could totally see Jasmine’s mom having the same rule. This became the starting point for book 2, SUPER SLEUTH, where Jasmine is excited to share Girl’s Day with her best friend, but a falling out puts the celebration in jeopardy.
Book 3, DRUMMER GIRL, focuses on taiko drumming. I’d long loved watching and hearing taiko performances and often wished I had been able to learn to play taiko. This one made the list because I knew I’d get to finally take a lesson because, you know, research! This story expanded to lead Jasmine to contemplate the meaning of talent during a school talent show when a nemesis turns the fun event into a competition.
And finally, the idea for book 4, FLAMINGO KEEPER, started with the daruma, a Japanese wishing doll. Long ago, I had wished for one of my stories to be published. I colored in one eye of the doll while I made that wish, and many years later, after I sold MOCHI QUEEN, I was finally able to color in the other eye. I was filled with joy to be able to do this after having it sit on my desk for so long with only one eye. I knew that Jasmine would feel the same joy, but what if her wish was a little impossible? Like wishing for a pet flamingo.
Delving into cultural and family traditions could be a great idea generator. What memories do you have of favorite (or not-so-favorite) traditions? What traditions or stories from your culture fascinate you? Make a list and I’ll bet you come up with more than one idea.
Happy day 4 of Storystorm! I’m cheering you on!
Debbi Michiko Florence is the author of the chapter book series Jasmine Toguchi, about a spunky 8-year-old Japanese American girl. Jasmine Toguchi, Mochi Queen (a JLG selection) and Jasmine Toguchi, Super Sleuth are available now. Two more books will follow – Jasmine Toguchi, Drummer Girl (April 3) and Jasmine Toguchi, Flamingo Keeper (July 3). A third generation Japanese American and a native Californian, Debbi lives in Connecticut with her husband, puppy, bunny, and two ducks.
Visit her at debbimichikoflorence.com and follow her on Twitter @DebbiMichiko and Instagram @jasminetoguchi.
Debbi is giving away a two-book Jasmine Toguchi prize pack. You can win MOCHI QUEEN and SUPER SLEUTH.
Leave ONE COMMENT on this blog post to enter. You are eligible to win if you are a registered Storystorm participant and you have commented once below. Prizes will be given away at the conclusion of the event.
Good luck!
Thank you, Tara, for hosting the very first peek (one year before publication) at the cover for book one of my upcoming chapter book series, BEEP AND BOB (Aladdin/Simon & Schuster), which I write and illustrate.
Though BEEP AND BOB is my debut series, it is far from the first kidlit book I was supposed to publish. That honor goes to a picture book I wrote years ago. I assembled an illustrated dummy, submitted to the finest publishers (in an envelope with stamps!) and waited for greatness. Of course, for that and a second book, only rejection followed.
Luckily, around that time I found the organization SCBWI (Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators). While networking at SCBWI conferences, I found a great community of dedicated and generous creators, always there with support. I also found an agent, who picked up my first middle-grade novel. She began to submit and got some genuine interest from well-known editors. Once again, I waited for greatness. But once again, even after a couple more MG novels and some almost-sales, came our friend rejection.
Of course, this story is heading for that age-old chestnut that the key to any success is PERSEVERANCE. Try and try again, and then try some more. It’s all about dedication and endurance. However, I also discovered one new gem that, for me at least, became a crucial part of the puzzle: GIVING UP.
Obviously I didn’t give up writing or I wouldn’t be here, but at some point after being endlessly battered by the waves, I gave up in the sense of letting go—letting go of being attached to the goal of publication. I stopped struggling so much and gave myself permission to just spit out whatever wanted to come out, no matter how silly or wild. In a short time, I had a draft of BEEP AND BOB, which is about a boy who is reluctantly sent to school in space, and his lost alien buddy. I let it burst with humor and heart, which for me are the two most important ingredients of my work.
But it didn’t take much stepping back to realize that trying to sell a zany, debut, sci-fi chapter-book series about unknown characters was going to be a quixotic challenge. Rare was the agent who even said they represented chapter books (I had since left my first agent). So back to perseverance, and that horrible chore of submission that all writers know.
Luckily, this time things turned out differently: I was soon signed by the awesome Natalie Lakosil of Bradford Literary, and within a month of submitting she sold it in a four-book-deal to Aladdin. Please don’t tell Natalie, or my editor Amy Cloud, that BEEP AND BOB was really just an exercise in embracing failure.
Besides Natalie and Amy, I’d like to thank Nina Simoneaux, who designed this cool cover (I provided the color character spots). Hope you enjoy! And never give up giving up.
Thank you, Jonathan, for sharing your journey to publication.
Jonathan is giving away an original, personalized drawing of BEEP to one lucky commenter.
Leave a message below to win. Share this cover reveal and receive an extra entry for each share–just post a comment for each, letting us know where you shared. Good luck!
Hey, do you know what time it is?
That’s right, it’s yay o’clock!
And you know what that means, don’t you?
It’s time to meet the SUPER HAPPY PARTY BEARS!
Welcome to the Grumpy Woods!
Just kidding. No one is welcome here.
No, I’m just kidding again. That’s how these brand-spanking new chapter books begin. See, you’re already laughing three sentences in.
So let me present a more welcoming welcome.
The SUPER HAPPY PARTY BEARS are unlike anything you’ve seen in a chapter book series. Firstly, they are not some formula regurgitated in rainbow, written by an illusive nom-de-plume. No! These are the first books by up-and-coming author Marcie Colleen. In addition to this series, Marcie has the picture book LOVE, TRIANGLE releasing next year with Bob Shea (BOB SHEA, PEOPLE!!!) and THE ADVENTURE OF THE PENGUINAUT is blasting off soon, too.
Next, these books feature adorable, full color illustrations by Steve James. OMG, you do not know how SUPER HAPPY that makes me!
I have a reluctant reader at home (I know, can you believe it?!) and the thing she dislikes about chapter books are the black-and-white line drawings. She clings to picture books and their boundless art. With SUPER HAPPY PARTY BEARS, which she has SWIPED FROM ME to take to the first day of school, she doesn’t even realize she’s reading a chapter book because every page features a color illustration. Not only that, but there’s a flip-book animation in the corner of every title. In KNOCK KNOCK ON WOOD, Bubs shimmies with a hula hoop.
So let’s get back to the story. Every morning in the Grumpy Woods, where the SUPER HAPPY PARTY BEARS live, the other residents don their cranky pants (really, a whole outfit).
Mayor Quill and his devoted subjects relish their grumpiness. They thrive on it. And the SUPER HAPPY PARTY BEARS? They are ecstatic, dancing, blissful bears no matter what the forest folk throw at them. Nothing can dampen their desire to party. They just wanna bear hug everyone. They see the positive in everything. And you know, what a great attitude to share.
Now, even though the Mayor, Humphrey Hedgehog, Dawn Fawn and the others make their harumphs for the bears loud and clear, the whole party crew, from Littlest Bear to Big Puff, fail to notice. In fact, they worship Mayor Quill. This, of course, annoys the prickly politician to no pointy end.
Therein lies the humor. But that’s not ALL the humor! For parents reading along, there are clever asides and pop-culture nods.
Meet Ziggy. Ziggy plays guitar. ‘Nuff said.
Then there’s the famous SUPER HAPPY PARTY BEARS dance.
You wanna dance with me? Well, grab yourself a copy and shimmy, shimmy, shake!
Actually, you can grab TWO copies right here, one GNAWING AROUND and one KNOCK KNOCK ON WOOD, the first two books in the series from Macmillan’s new imprint, imprint. (So nice I said it twice.)
Just leave a comment to enter. PLUS, if you TWEET, FACEBOOK, REBLOG or otherwise share this review, you gain an extra entry, WOO-HOO! Just leave one comment per each method so I can tally your extra entries.
This will be a PARTY TO REMEMBER! GOOD LUCK!
I have something that’s so real.
Reality is your friend. That’s the best piece of advice I can give anyone about anything. Really.
Of course, it strikes even me that someone who makes a living distorting reality (i.e., writing fiction) would be so high on reality. Yet, here I am, with my message to other writers about elevating their fiction by keeping it real…
Now, let me take a step back and tell you that I wasn’t sure what this post was going to be about when I came up with this reality idea. (It was really only based on Tara’s brilliant Vogue cover.) Should I talk about the business of publishing, or the craft of writing? Should I talk about balancing life and art, or about using literature to explore life through art? I could see the positives in each of those approaches, and it made it really difficult to get started. So then I thought, maybe I could touch upon a few of these topics? Not all in one post, obviously, but maybe Tara would let me guest blog a few more times?
That’s my plan, at least. Shhh. Don’t tell her.
I’ve decided in this round, I’m going to focus on how we can use the reality of life to create meaningful art. So, to get back to where we started:
Reality is your friend. That’s the best piece of advice I can give anyone about anything. Really. But especially when it comes to writing fiction, reality is your best friend. It’s reality that makes your fiction come to life.
Whenever I’m at a school to talk about writing with kids, I spend a lot of time telling kids that every book is an autobiography. Obviously, that doesn’t mean that in my private moments I am a vampire pig (à la HAMPIRE) or a chicken in pajamas (à la CHICKS RUN WILD). But every book I write is informed by my own reality. In some way or another, I am every one of my main characters. My kids are my main characters, too, sometimes individually or sometimes as a blended product, but there’s always a piece of me. Because, at the end of the day, if the only way to be a successful storyteller is to write what you know, well, is there anyone we know better than ourselves?
The temptation when we start writing is to create something grander, bigger, more than ourselves. After all, my life is fairly boring—I barely want to hear about it!—so why would anyone else want to read about my reality? So we start out creating characters that are better than everyone else, smarter, prettier, more talented, more perfect. Their adventures are epic. Their adversaries are the embodiment of evil.
And the result is often—not always, but often—unbelievable. In the “no one would believe this and therefore this story rings false” way.
As much as readers turn to literature to escape, to experience things that they cannot do, the reality is (and, remember, reality is your friend) that no reader likes to read about someone better than him for too long. The main character has to be relatable to keep a reader’s interest. And how do you craft a relatable character?
By making sure he is just a regular guy (who finds himself in extraordinary circumstances.) Basically, by keeping him real.
(This is hardly new advice. In fact, I’ve given this advice myself in a different form in my picture book workshops – that you should always make sure your main character is interesting, but well and truly flawed. Because it’s the flaws that keep him real.)
So, how do we use reality to craft fictional characters? Obviously, we can’t just write about ourselves or our kids exactly as we are. (Trust me, I’ve tried that. That’s a little too much reality.) The trick, I’ve found, is to choose interesting traits (perhaps from several different sources) and blend them together to create a new, fictional character grounded in reality.
Here are some examples:
In HAMPIRE, Duck desperately wants a midnight snack, but is worried about running into the dreaded Hampire. The reality: every night, I want a midnight snack, and every night, I am convinced that if I step foot off my bed, the monsters will get me. The fiction: I am not a duck.
In PIRATE PRINCESS (available in May 2012 from HarperCollins), Princess Bea dreams of the pirate life, but when she boards the pirate ship, she realizes she’s awful at deck-swabbing (she has no housekeeping skills), she can’t be their galley cook (no culinary talents), and she is an ineffective lookout in the crow’s nest (she get’s seasick). The reality: I have no housekeeping skills, I have no culinary talents, I get seasick, and I think I’d look dashing in a pirate hat. The fiction: while Princess Bea doesn’t like to dress in silk, brocade, or chintz, and can’t stand the idea of being married to a prince, I love dressing up and look forward to a life with my Prince Charming (yes, Daniel Craig, I’m talking to you!).
In my forthcoming chapter book series, THE SPECTACLES OF DESTINY, the main character, Destiny, discovers she needs glasses. She’s worried about what she will look like (especially about whether they will make her nose look big) and what others will think of her glasses, from her friends on her soccer team to her classmates in the fifth grade. This one is complicated, because I drew from a lot of different sources of reality, so here’s a little chart of some of the sources:
| Something about Destiny | The inspiration |
| She wears glasses | My daughter Brooklyn and I both wear glasses, and we both initially worried about what other people would think of them. |
| She’s concerned about the size of her nose. | I’m concerned about the massive size of my nose. |
| She’s in the 5th grade. | My daughter Bella is in the 5th grade. |
| She loves soccer. | Bella and Brooklyn both love soccer. |
| She plays goalie. | Brooklyn plays goalie. |
| She’s super smart. | Bella and Brooklyn are both super smart. |
| She’s afraid of spiders. | I’m afraid of spiders. |
| She’s Indian American. | My whole family is Indian American. |
| She lives in New Jersey, outside Philadelphia. | We live in New Jersey, outside Philadelphia. |
| Her first pair of glasses are dark tortoiseshell. | Brooklyn’s first pair of glasses are dark tortoiseshell. |
| Her second pair of glasses are black with zebra-printed sides. | Brooklyn’s new pair of glasses are black with zebra-printed sides. |
| Her glasses let her see bits of the future clearly. | Brooklyn’s glasses let her see the present clearly. |
Obviously, I could go on and on with more examples of traits that I drew from my life or from my children’s lives. But you’re getting the idea. Here’s something I would add, though: in every place in the revision process where my editor asked for more detail, the things I added were inevitably true things about someone in my house.
So, one more time, let’s go back to the beginning: reality is your friend.
Do you believe me yet?
Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen is the award-winning author of many, many books for children, including picture books, nonfiction for young readers, and a forthcoming chapter book series called THE SPECTACLES OF DESTINY (due out in 2014). Her picture book QUACKENSTEIN HATCHES A FAMILY was selected for the California Readers 2011 Book Collections for School Libraries. BALLOTS FOR BELVA was named to the 2009 Amelia Bloomer List and received an Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold Award in 2008 and FLYING EAGLE was a National Science Teachers Association Outstanding Science Trade Book selection for Students K–12 in 2010. Her science book, NATURE SCIENCE EXPERIMENTS, was named a finalist for the 2011 AAAS/Subaru Science Books & Films Prize for Excellence in Science Books. And her books CHICKS RUN WILD (named one of Bank Street’s Best Children’s Books of the Year in 2012) and HAMPIRE! (nominated for a Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Award) are her personal favorites, and just fabulous.
Sudipta speaks at conferences, educator events, and schools across the country, teaching the craft of writing to children and adults. She lives outside Philadelphia with her three children and an imaginary pony named Penny. Learn more about her and her books at www.sudipta.com.
P.S. If you love Sudipta’s author headshot above, her photographer LifeArt Imaging is currently running a Groupon. Click here!
Writing for Kids (While Raising Them) 