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Some of you may already be familiar with my crazy cat, Phoebe.
She meowed at my back door one night, I opened the sliders, and she sashayed in, looked around and said, “Isn’t this great?”, just like Damone from Fast Times at Ridgemont High—anywhere you are, that’s the place to be! (Especially if it has a fireplace and tuna.)
So when Maria Gianferarri asked if I’d do a cover reveal for her companion book to BEING A DOG, Phoebe stepped up to ask the questions about BEING A CAT: A TAIL OF CURIOSITY.
(For ease of reading, I’ve translated from Phoebe’s native Feline tongue.)
Maria, I’m curious, where is Cat’s favorite place to nap?
Cat’s favorite place to nap is dog’s bed.
Surely that can’t be the ONLY place to take a snooze?
Atop a radiator, or in a slice of sun.
Ahh, I know all about sun slices.
Anything else Cat wants to impart to the readers?
Yes. Curiosity did NOT kill the cat.
Thanks, Maria! Now without further meow, the BEING A CAT cover by illustrator Pete Oswald!
Sittin’ pretty!
Blog readers, the prolific Maria is giving away a PB critique with this reveal.
Just leave one comment below.
A random winner will be selected at the end of the month.
Good luck!
Maria Gianferrari wonders and is in awe of the natural world and its inhabitants, domestic and wild cats included. She lives in Massachusetts with her inquisitive scientist husband and Maple the dog, a watcher who’s curious about anything that moves, especially if she can chase it! Curiously, though an unabashed dog lover, this is Maria’s third book featuring cats as main characters, most recently Bobcat Prowling, as well as Officer Katz and Houndini. You can learn more about Maria at her website, MariaGianferrari.com.
Pete Oswald is a #1 New York Times bestselling illustrator and an Annie Award-nominated animation production designer best known for The Angry Birds Movie film franchise and Oscar® Nominated ParaNorman, in addition to multiple animated studio films. He is also known for his work as a children’s book author and illustrator, and painter. Pete lives in Los Angeles, California with his wife and three sons.
Thank you so much, Tara, for hosting the cover reveal of THE CORGI AND THE QUEEN (January 2023, from Godwin Books/Macmillan).
The Queen is synonymous with the Pembroke Welsh corgi, and I’ve often wondered what sparked the monarch’s life-long devotion to the breed. It was this curiosity that led me to start work on my manuscript.
I’ve been a journalist for more than half of my life and I’ve also worked in documentary production, so I take a “full immersion” approach to research. I eat, breathe and sleep a story until I find its heart!
When I learned about Susan, the corgi puppy that Elizabeth received as an 18th birthday gift, I was utterly enchanted. Susan was the teenage princess’s constant companion, comforting her during the dark days of World War II, and accompanying Elizabeth and Prince Philip in their wedding carriage (and on their honeymoon)! Susan was also by Elizabeth’s side when she became Queen at the age of 25 after her beloved ‘Papa,’ King George VI, died suddenly.
Even though my life could not be more different from Queen Elizabeth’s, I felt very connected with this story. I went through some challenging times in my childhood, and my pets helped me in ways that people often couldn’t.
The more I found out about Elizabeth and Susan’s bond, the more it became apparent that it was a love story, and one that highlights the universal need for connection. Their special friendship resulted in a regal dog dynasty: fourteen generations of royal corgis were directly descended from Susan!
My agent took THE CORGI AND THE QUEEN out on sub in 2020, and I was lucky enough to get an offer from a dream editor who had the perfect vision for the book. When I was shown samples of illustrator Lydia Corry’s work, it took me less than thirty seconds to respond with a resounding “YES”. I adore Lydia’s art, and she has done a truly incredible job with our book. I’m not ashamed to admit that I shed a tear or two when I saw this cover for the first time!
The Queen is celebrating her Platinum Jubilee this year, after a remarkable (and record-breaking) 70 years on the British throne. During the course of Elizabeth’s reign she has met 13 US Presidents, and while the world has changed immensely since she was crowned in 1953, her love of corgis has endured. She was gifted two corgi puppies during the pandemic, and they now keep her company in her apartments at Windsor Castle.
It’s been more than three years since I started work on THE CORGI AND THE QUEEN and I’m still pinching myself. I cannot wait to see this book in kids’ hands, and I hope that Queen Elizabeth herself gets to read it!
What an adorable cover by Lydia Corry! Thanks for sharing it with us, Caroline!
Blog readers, Caroline is giving away a non-rhyming picture book critique (up to 700 words) in celebration.
Leave one comment below and a random winner will be selected at the end of the month.
Good luck!
Caroline L. Perry is a British children’s book author, journalist and documentary producer currently residing in California. She’s been writing for a living for over twenty years, and she’s passionate about children’s literature. As an entertainment correspondent she has interviewed stars from across the celebrity spectrum, but she’s happiest when tinkering with a kids’ manuscript, whether it be a picture book biography or a whimsical rhyming text. Visit her online at Carolineperryauthor.com and follow her on Twitter @Caro_Perry.
by Rosie J. Pova
I remember vividly the exact moment the title for the book popped into my head.
It was Thanksgiving Day and my family and I, along with some friends, had rented a cabin in the mountains in Colorado.
The turkey was in the oven, the salads and the sides were made, and I was bored. Everyone else had left to go to some hot springs and soak up, but I had stayed at the cabin to cook. On top of that, I had a cold and was quite miserable to go anywhere, anyway.
Luckily, Jack Canfield had a 2-hour pre-recorded webinar coming up for which I had registered. He was being interviewed, talking about his journey, his ups and downs, marketing and other interesting topics for authors.
I had watched that webinar a few times already and was pretty familiar with the content, but never tired of listening to Jack’s amazing journey to such tremendous success with his CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE SOUL series.
So, I was ready to soak up his wisdom once again.
As usual, his talk left me feeling inspired and motivated. I was in the mood to write.
I started brainstorming catchy titles for a story that would be fun to write. I asked myself, what would be a title that stands out, is intriguing, memorable, and fun to say all at the same time?
Suddenly, it came: THE SCHOOL OF FAILURE. I liked it! Then I thought of an interesting opening sentence. I was trying to amuse myself… hoping that I’d create one of those classic, memorable opening lines.
What followed was, The school of failure was located in the middle of nowhere, but it was the center of everything! I was delighted with my progress and continued to write the first draft that day.
That was a great feeling, it cheered me up, making me forget I was under the weather. And even though the starting of my day seemed like a bit of a fail, it was well worth it to have this time to myself and end up with a completely new story. I was grateful—maybe this was a divine plan after all.
Fast forward a few years, many, many revisions later, and the story sold!
Many more revisions after that, my precious little opening sentence ended up being cut, but the title stayed with the addition of a subtitle: A STORY ABOUT SUCCESS.
Now finally, I am pleased to share it with the world, and hoping it finds its own success in the homes and hearts of many readers.
Thank you all for celebrating this book with me.
And now, the reveal…the cover by Monika Filipina…
P.S. I did find a way to sneak that opening sentence in to the book—it’s now included in my Author’s note!
Thank you, Rosie, for sharing this cover with us! And some adorable story characters…
Rosie is also giving away a 30-minute consulting phone call (or Zoom, depending on your location) to chat about any writing or publishing questions you have for her.
Leave one comment below to enter.
A random winner will be selected soon!
Good luck!
Rosie J. Pova is a marginalized, multi-published, and award-winning children’s author, poet, speaker, and school presenter. She is also a Writing Instructor for the Dallas Independent School District, an instructor with Writing Workshops Dallas, teaching online picture book courses to children’s writers, and Rate Your Story judge.
Her latest picture book, SUNDAY RAIN (Lantana/Lerner, March 2021), was featured in The New York Times and Parents magazine. Her upcoming picture book, THE SCHOOL OF FAILURE: A Story About Success will be released in 2021 in China and in spring of 2022 in the USA from Yeehoo Press. She has three other children’s books in print as well.
Rosie has been featured on TV, radio, podcasts, and print media, and also speaks on women’s and mom’s topics.
Originally from Bulgaria, she now lives in Dallas, TX with her family.
Visit her at RosieJPova.com and follow her on Twitter @RosiePOV.
The times we’ve been living through feel drained of color, don’t they? It’s similar to Pruett’s world in Nancy Viau’s latest picture book, PRUETT AND SOO.
Pruett is from Planet Monochrome, where everything is black, white, and gray, and everyone follows the rules and walks in straight lines. And they never, ever ask or answer questions.
But then Soo arrives from Planet Prismatic. She’s bursting with brilliant colors! She zigs and zags all over the place! When she asks Pruett questions, he finds he wants to reply…and his whole world starts to change.
With a palette that shifts from grayscale to full color, this engaging story reminds us that what you feel defines who you are—and sometimes a friend helps you see that best.
CHANGE THE RULES. CHANGE THE WORLD!
Nancy, can you tell us about PRUETT’s journey to print?
PRUETT AND SOO sold to Two Lions waaaay back in the spring of 2017. After the first round of initial revisions, all was quiet for about a year. Jorge Lacera was brought on board to do the illustrations, and that’s when the story went through countless, but amazing and extremely detailed, revisions—For. The. Next. Three. Years.
Since the whole color palette had to change S L O W L Y from black and white to full color, every spread had to subtly sneak in a teeny bit more color. Jorge did a terrific job with this, and I am grateful for his hard work and that of the entire editorial team at Two Lions. They perfected every bit of crazy punctuation, every line, every unique color for dialogue, and more.
Funny story: After many revisions, no one noticed that in the first line I referred to Pruett as an alien. A very savvy editor noted right before the F&G was finalized that since Pruett is from the planet where the story takes place, he is NOT an alien! Only Soo is. Good catch, right? This is why we value lots of editors looking over our work!
PRUETT AND SOO blasts into our universe on March 22, 2022.
And now for the reveal:
Congratulations, Nancy!
Blog readers, you can win an F&G of PRUETT & SOO. Just leave one comment below to enter.
A random winner will be selected later this month.
Good luck!
NANCY VIAU is the author of the picture books TODAY IS A BEACH DAY!, FIRST SNOW, STORM SONG, and more. Her middle-grade novels include SOMETHING IS BUGGING SAMANTHA HANSEN, SAMANTHA HANSEN HAS ROCKS IN HER HEAD (updated for 2019), and others. A former teacher and kid-at-heart, Viau loves to visit schools, libraries, and bookstores across the U.S. to present assembly programs and writing workshops. She currently lives in New Jersey and travels around the solar system in her imagination. Connect with Nancy on Twitter or Instagram @NancyViau1 or via her site: NancyViau.com.
by Shannon Stocker
Mega thanks to my mentor and friend, Tara Lazar, for hosting the cover reveal of my upcoming non-fiction picture book, LISTEN: HOW EVEYLN GLENNIE, A DEAF GIRL, CHANGED PERCUSSION (April 12, 2022, from Dial Books).
About three years ago, after listening to an SCBWI speaker talk about the importance of writing what you know and the #OwnVoices movement, I felt moved to write a book about a musician who’d overcome something huge. A musician who’d beaten the odds, defying the expectations of the world around them.
I, myself, am a pianist, a guitarist, and a vocalist. Music has fed my soul since the day I was born. But I also spent two years in a wheelchair due to a chronic illness called Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy. For seven years, I fought for my life. Countless physicians told me I would not survive, my condition would not improve, I would never have children, and that my husband should put me in permanent care. Countless people gave up on me, insisting I should accept my fate.
But my husband never gave up on me. And, more importantly, I never gave up on me.
Shortly after that conference, I started doing Google searches for potential subjects. The very first person who popped up was Evelyn Glennie. She is the first person to ever have a full-time career as a solo percussionist. She’s won two Grammy Awards, and been knighted by the Queen of England. And she is deaf.
I continued looking for other potential artists, thinking Evelyn would be too big, too famous, too difficult to reach, but her story kept calling me back. It felt like home. So finally, on February 9, 2019, I wrote to her team to ask if she might have an interest in speaking with me about a potential non-fiction picture book. Only two days later, they replied in the affirmative.
Within a month, Evelyn and I had our first Skype. Although she had a translator attend, Evelyn’s lip-reading abilities and speech made communication simple and clear (she lost her hearing as an older child). Not only was she talented, determined, and kind, but she was also one of the most humble people I’ve ever met. Her story poured from my fingers like the most familiar piano concerto, and within two months it was written, revised, and had its first offer for publication.
Shortly after the book sold to Dial, my editor wrote to tell me Devon Holzwarth would be illustrating. It took me all of three seconds to fall in love with Devon’s work, which I often describe as “music on the page.” I contacted Devon, who currently lives in Germany, and she told me that Evelyn was scheduled to play in the “September Special” classical music event close to her home only two days later! I wrote to Evelyn, who provided Devon with tickets and later met her during a break at the concert.
The entire process felt magical.
At this time, LISTEN will also be published by Penguin UK, and I just recently learned that it’s been selected by the Junior Library Guild as a book club pick. I’m immensely proud to have been a part of this book’s creation. I’m grateful to Evelyn for trusting me with her story. I’m grateful to my agent Allison for seeing something in me beyond this story. I’m grateful to Jess, my brilliant editor, for her insights. And I’m grateful to Devon…who gave my words life and emotion beyond anything I could’ve dreamed.
How beautiful, Shannon! I love the movement of the music depicted in florals, streaming from the drum. It’s lovely; congratulations!
LISTEN: HOW EVELYN GLENNIE, A DEAF GIRL, CHANGED PERCUSSION will be published by Dial on April 12, 2022.
Shannon is giving away a non-rhyming picture book critique in celebration. Leave one comment below and a random winner will be selected next week. Good luck!
Shannon Stocker is an award-winning author and proud word nerd who lives in Louisville, KY, with her husband, Greg, and their children, Cassidy and Tye. Her debut picture book, CAN U SAVE THE DAY (Sleeping Bear Press), released in 2019, her nonfiction PB bio about Evelyn Glennie comes out with Dial (Penguin/Random House) in 2022, and several of Shannon’s nonfiction essays have been published in Chicken Soup for the Soul. Shannon currently serves as SCBWI social co-director for Louisville, a judge for Rate Your Story, and she created the blog series, Pivotal Moments: inHERview, highlighting transitional life stories of female picture book authors. Cool facts: Currently writing her memoir, Shannon is a medical school graduate, a coma survivor, an RSD/CRPS patient and advocate, and a singer/songwriter who once performed two songs, including one original, as part of an opening act for Blake Shelton. Shannon is represented by Allison Remcheck of Stimola Literary Studio.
Visit Shannon at shannonstocker.com, Facebook, or follow her on Twitter @iwriteforkidz and Instagram @iwriteforkidz.
by KT Johnston
Tara, thank you so much for having me on your blog to reveal the cover of my upcoming narrative nonfiction picture book, JUBILEE: The First Therapy Horse and an Olympic Dream! (February 1, 2022, from Capstone).
JUBILEE recounts the true story of Danish dressage competitor Lis Hartel, who was determined not to let polio keep her from riding again. She found that an inexperienced horse named Jubilee was just the partner she needed to develop a new way of riding—all the way to the 1952 Olympics!
I ran across Jubilee and Lis’s stirring story when researching my first book, RAILWAY JACK: The True Story of an Amazing Baboon (Capstone, 2020), which Amazon Editors have labeled “Best Nonfiction for Kids”. Jubilee hit all the notes for me: an animal who’d had a remarkable impact on an everyday person’s life, in a way that left ripples in society today. No widely-known celebrities; no heroic animal feats; just a life that any of us could be living.
Olympic dressage was not open to women in Lis’s day, but she didn’t let that deter her from aiming for the stars. I won’t say too much about the story, but here’s an awesome fact: the back of a horse will get you three feet closer to the stars.
Inspired by the horse who’d lifted her up, Lis pioneered the world’s first therapeutic riding center. Also inspired by Jubilee and Lis, riding as therapy was quickly endorsed by the medical field, and within a decade, centers sprang up around the globe. And there I saw the crowning element of their story, and knew I had to tell it: Jubilee’s ripples in society.
And now, I’m excited to reveal to you the cover of JUBILEE: The First Therapy Horse and an Olympic Dream!
In this tender illustration, artist Anabella Ortiz captured the partnership between Jubilee and Lis nicely. Lis’s hand is loose on the rein because her hands remained weak throughout her life, though gentle Jubilee didn’t need a firm grip regardless. Lis’s outfit and Jubilee’s braided mane and warm-up blanket indicate they’ve just finished in the ring. You can tell it has gone well by the calm look in Jubilee’s eyes, and the happiness and admiration in Lis’s. One of Jubilee’s ears is forward, alert to Lis, as always. Jubilee’s face is contoured nicely and you can visually feel the velvety softness of her muzzle. The twinkles in the title evoke the stars the pair reached for. …And wrapping the scene in ethereal warmth, “the summer sun beam[s] down like a spotlight on a stage.”
You can see a photo of an actual horseshoe Jubilee wore in the pair’s most famous performance at www.ktjohnston.com/Jubilee!
Any day now, JUBILEE: The First Therapy Horse and an Olympic Dream can be preordered through your favorite bookseller and added to your To-Read shelf in Goodreads.
Thanks for showing off your horse and rider, KT!
Blog readers, KT is giving away a copy of her first book, RAILWAY JACK: The True Story of an Amazing Baboon to a lucky commenter.
Leave one comment below.
A random winner will be selected soon.
Good luck!
KT Johnston writes historical narrative nonfiction about ordinary animals from the dusty past who had an extraordinary impact on a person’s life, and in the process, left a mark on humanity itself. She aims her writing from accelerated younger readers through reluctant older readers, though her stories are for any age because true stories belong to us all. KT earned a degree in biology and conducted wildlife studies before settling into a more stationary corporate career. She and her husband live in Minneapolis and have two grown children. KT hopes to inspire children to be curious about our world and to find greatness in the humblest of its creatures, one true story at a time.
Follow KT on Twitter @KTDidz, Facebook, and Pinterest @ktjohnstonauthor.
You can see more of Anabella’s work at anabellaortiz.com.
by Courtney Pippin-Mathur
First off, thank you to Tara for hosting my cover reveal on her blog!
HAPPY DIWALI is my most personal book, yet it has been a first for me in a lot of ways.
It will be my third picture book, but it is the first one that I wrote with someone else. The story is about a small girl celebrating Diwali with her family and how she overcomes her initial shyness. It was inspired by my daughter Kiran, and her love of family celebrations but her nervousness of large groups of people.
Diwali is the Hindu celebration of good over evil, light over darkness. This book follows how my sister-in-law Sanyukta brings the joys of Diwali to our culturally- and racially-mixed family in the US. Sanyukta has been involved every step, from writing the first draft (on the phone) to revisions, cultural notes, tips on how to draw a sari, or what should be on the endpapers. When we couldn’t meet in person, we would meet on Zoom. It has been an amazing experience to create a book with her! The photo below is our author photo in the book. It is from long ago but is our favorite picture together.
It is the first book in which every character except one (the main character) is an actual member of our family. I emailed or messaged each parent and asked for photos and tried to include every child in the family. Some might resemble the actual child more than others, and I did age down most of them, but it was a lot of fun!
Here you can see my daughter in her favorite lehenga, and how I drew it in the book.
Below is one of my favorite images from the book. In in, the kids are painting diyas. Every year Sanyukta creates a craft, my favorite is painting clay diyas because I can re-use them every year.
It is the first book where the (amazing) editor who acquired the book moved to a new publishing house during the illustration process. Thankfully, the book was left to another wonderful editor. The publisher and art director also moved to new publishing houses, but we were very lucky in that our new editor kept everything chugging along.
It is also the first book I worked on during the pandemic. It took me a few months after Covid first hit the US and everything shut down before I could draw again. Thankfully I had been allocated plenty of time.
Because it had been so long since I have seen many members of the family in the book, I keenly felt the loss of family gatherings as I worked and really look forward to them again soon.
I hope this book can be a thank you from me to my husband’s family for making me feel so welcome in their homes and for always including me in and teaching me about their traditions and culture.
The designer pulled an image from the interior of the book to make the cover.
Here is the color sketch:
And here’s the final cover!
On the front is my sister-in-law Sanyukta and her daughter Priya drawing rangoli. They do that every year to welcome the guests. On the back cover is a group image of the kids eating, which is one of my favorite things to do at Diwali!
Courtney, thank you for sharing this beautiful book and your family traditions.
HAPPY DIWALI will be released September 28, 2021 and is available for pre-order now.
Blog readers, you can win an original sketch of a character (Rajini) from Courtney’s book!
Just leave one comment below to enter and a random winner will be selected soon!
Good luck!
Sanyukta Mathur is a social scientist and studies how to improve the health and well-being of young people around the world. She is the author of various research publications; HAPPY DIWALI! is her first children’s book. She lives in Maryland with her family.
Courtney Pippin-Mathur is the author-illustrator of MAYA WAS GRUMPY and DRAGONS RULE, PRINCESSES DROOL!. She lives in Alexandria, Virginia with her husband, three kids and one very energetic dog. She is hugely grateful to be part of a diverse and welcoming family who work hard to bring their traditions to the United States and to pass them to new generations. You can find more of her work at pippinmathur.com or on Instagram @pippinmathur.
by Refe & Susan Tuma
When we set out to design the cover of our new picture book, we knew we were in for a unique challenge.
For our first picture book, WHAT THE DINOSAURS DID LAST NIGHT, we worked with our designer at Little Brown to create a cover that was simple, colorful, and bold, and that put the dinosaurs and their mischievous personalities front and center. The cover of WHAT THE DINOSAURS DID AT SCHOOL uses a similar format, swapping out the blank wall and crayon scribblings for a classic green chalkboard.
We spent a lot of time going back and forth between the two of us, with Mary-Kate our editor, and with our design team at Little Brown trying to come up with a way to use that same format for the cover of WHAT THE DINOSAURS DID THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS. Maybe the title is scribbled across the gift tag of a giant present, or on the surface of an ornament hanging on the tree. These options were fun and Christmas-y, but they didn’t do a very good job of conveying the scope of the story and, more importantly, they didn’t give the dinosaurs much to do.
So, we abandoned the format of the previous books and began exploring other ideas.
Our biggest source of inspiration ended up being movie posters for classic Christmas movies. Nightmare Before Christmas, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, White Christmas, even Ernest Saves Christmas. (Our riff on Nightmare Before Christmas was a lot of fun, with the tip of the tree bending down in front of the moon instead of the curled cliff of the original, but it a bit too abstract.)
We landed on the rooftop scene for a few reasons. First, getting the dinosaurs outside the house was a great way to highlight the magical, moonlit nighttime vibe that threads throughout the interior art. It also gave the dinosaurs the opportunity to explore somewhere they’ve never been in any of our previous books, which was fun. If you look closely, you’ll see we even got to sneak a nod to one of those classic Christmas movie posters…
With the concept set and the design sketched out, we got to work on the actual composition. And it was a lot of work!
Photographing an idyllic snowy rooftop under a moonlit sky is challenging enough under the best of circumstances. Doing it in the middle of the summer (after months of pandemic-related production delays) happens to be just about impossible. As a result, the final cover art is a composite of more than 17 individual photographs and effects, including the rooftop, lights, sky, snow, and of course the dinosaurs themselves.
This required some practical trickery. For example, to match the angle of the rooftop, we photographed the dinosaurs on piece of white posterboard tilted to roughly the same degree. We did something similar when photographing the string of lights to ensure they’d wrap naturally around the chimney.
The title treatment is our biggest link to the rest of the series, since it appears in about the same spot as on the other two covers. This time, instead of purely hand-lettered type, we pair it with something a bit fancier. We loved the way the swooshes on this font resembled dinosaur tails, as if it were created by splicing traditional Christmas type with just a hint of reptilian DNA. Better yet, the gold lettering on the dust jacket will be embossed in gold foil.
All in all, we’re thrilled with how this cover turned out and we can’t wait to share the rest of the book with the world!
WHAT THE DINOSAURS DID THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS is available for preorder now anywhere books are sold.
And blog readers! Refe and Susan are giving away a picture book critique!
Just leave one comment below to be entered.
A random winner will be selected soon!
Good luck!
Refe and Susan Tuma are a husband and wife team whose previous books include WHAT THE DINOSAURS DID LAST NIGHT, WHAT THE DINOSAURS DID LAST NIGHT: A Very Messy Adventure, and WHAT THE DINOSAURS DID AT SCHOOL. They live in Kansas City with their kids and a dog named Boris. Visit them online at dinovember.com, on Twitter @refeup and @sutuma and on Facebook at Dinovember.
with author Charlotte Offsay
Hi Tara! Thank you for having me on your blog today and for hosting the cover reveal of my upcoming picture book HOW TO RETURN A MONSTER!
Charlotte, please tell us about the book!
If your grown-ups bring home a small monster, er, baby, don’t panic. Just send it back!
HOW TO RETURN A MONSTER is a humorous how to story about a child who can’t believe it when her parents bring home a fussy, stinky, parent-stealing monster. She hatches a plan to send it back to where it came from… and along the way, she learns that maybe siblings aren’t so bad after all.
Do you have a fun behind-the-scenes story about creating the book that you’d like to share?
I tend to get my story ideas from the things in my life that are taking up the most room in my heart. When I first began writing what would eventually become HOW TO RETURN A MONSTER, I was consumed with second-time mom guilt about no longer being able to give my daughter the same amount of attention. She was just starting pre-school and I felt terrible separating from her for the first time and spending that time with her baby brother.
I had also heard countless stories from friends of how older siblings were reacting to having a new baby at home. I heard everything from ignoring to harming, and while it was clear these children loved their new siblings, one overarching theme prevailed—it was a hard adjustment for the older sibling to no longer be the sole focus of their parents’ attention.
My worries about my daughter made their way to the written page and I began writing a story about an older sibling feeling replaced by a new baby. I first wrote a traditional narrative arc story about a train feeling replaced by a shiny new train, but the story felt too much like a sad twist on Toy Story.
I wanted to capture and normalize the emotions around feeling replaced, but I also wanted to write a fun and entertaining story that kids would be able to connect to in a positive way. After one long brainstorming (venting) session with my husband, I realized that in order for the story to work it needed humor. I kept re-envisioning characters and story structure and eventually arrived at a humorous how-to story about a child who tries to return her sibling in the mail. This is the manuscript that is being illustrated by the talented Rea Zhai and will be published this September by Beaming Books.
How did you find your publisher?
I first connected with Beaming Books during #PBPITCH on Twitter.
I was querying at the time and had just been asked for more work by my now agent, the wonderful Nicole Geiger at Full Circle Literary. I signed with Nicole and we accepted the offer from Beaming Books!
Any words of advice for aspiring PB authors?
Don’t be scared to take the core concept/heart of your manuscript and start over. Play with structure, try an entirely different narrator, change the setting – you may just discover the key to unlocking that stubborn work-in-progress! Happy writing!
Blog readers, Beaming Books is giving away a copy of HOW TO RETURN A MONSTER when it’s released! Just leave one comment to enter.
A random winner will be selected.
Good luck!
Credit: NataliaL Photography
CHARLOTTE OFFSAY was born in England, grew up in Boston, and currently lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two small children. Through her work, Charlotte hopes to make children laugh, to inspire curiosity, and to create a magical world her readers can lose themselves in time and time again. She is the author of, The Big Beach Cleanup, (Albert Whitman 2021). How to Return a Monster is publishing this September from Beaming Books, followed by A Grandma’s Magic, publishing in March 2022 from Doubleday Books for Young Readers.
Learn more about Charlotte’s work at charlotteoffsay.com and follow her on Twitter at @COffsay and on Instagram at @picturebookrecommendations.
by Winsome Bingham
“Abrams sets the table for SOUL FOOD SUNDAY by Winsome Bingham,
illus. by Charles G. Esperanza, which finds a boy helping Granny
prepare the dishes for a family feast.”
~ Publishers Weekly
You are all invited. To sit with us. And share with us. And eat with us. And CHEER with us. We will be in the same place, at the same time—sitting, sharing, eating, cheering. Every SUNDAY, Our virtual table welcomes you for SOUL FOOD.
I grew up in a family where on Sundays, everyone gathers at my aunt’s house for dinner and dominoes, wrestling and conversations, and fun. It was like a weekly family reunion where you get to see everybody you didn’t see through the week. Those were my childhood summer Sundays. My Brooklyn Sundays. My Bed-Stuy Sundays.
SOUL FOOD SUNDAY was written in 2013 and sold in 2018. This book went to auction and I’m so grateful to all the wonderful editors who saw the importance of showcasing #BlackBoyJoy. My attempt to show families getting together celebrating every day. Black folks living and passing on traditions and recipes. Cooking. Talking. Playing. FUNNING!
Here you have a beautiful Granny teaching her grandson what she knows. She knows how to cook. My Granny always said, “Everybody—boy or girl—should know how to cook. ‘Cause everybody have to eat. Learning to cook and wash your own clothes is independence.” I couldn’t agree more.
On September 14, 2021, this book will be ready to be on your book table. It will be paired with other side-dished booky meals. RIBS! CHICKEN! MAC-N-CHEESE! COLLARD GREENS! TURNIP GREENS! MUSTARD GREENS! HOT & SPICY SAUSAGE LINKS! They are all part of the main course and a delicious delight on this SOUL FOOD SUNDAY.
You can place a pre-order today to reserve your seat at the table.
Without further ado, THE. COVER. REVEAL:
Granny teaches her grandson to cook the family meal in this loving celebration of food, traditions, and gathering together at the table.
On Sundays, everyone gathers at Granny’s for Soul Food.
But today, I don’t go to the backyard or the great room.
I follow Granny instead.
“You’re a big boy now,” Granny says.
“Time for you to learn.”
At Granny’s, Sunday isn’t Sunday without a big family gathering over a lovingly prepared meal. Old enough now, our narrator is finally invited to help cook the dishes for the first time: He joins Granny in grating the cheese, cleaning the greens, and priming the meat for Roscoe Ray’s grill. But just when Granny says they’re finished, her grandson makes his own contribution, sweetening this Sunday gathering—and the many more to come.
Evocatively written and vividly illustrated, this mouthwatering story is a warm celebration of tradition and coming together at a table filled with love and delicious food.
Thank you, Winsome! This is a gorgeous book!
Blog readers, you can win a signed copy of SOUL FOOD SUNDAY! Winsome has three copies to give away!
Leave one comment below to enter.
Winners will be randomly selected later this month.
Good luck!
Winsome Bingham is a soul food connoisseur, master cook, and a US Army war and disabled veteran. She received both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in education and has more than 15 years of teaching experience. You can find her writing on a deck while waiting patiently with a camera to capture a submarine shooting out of the water. She lives in Groton, Connecticut.
Charles G. Esperanza is the second of six cool kids. The South Bronx is where he first opened his eyelids. A dope land shrouded in bright-colored decay, the home of graffiti and hip-hop DJs! He paints funky elephants! Bodegas, too! Mixed with this wonder is some whimsical truth. Esperanza has a voice that is seldom heard. A fusion of jazz, distorted guitars, and chirping birds. Esperanza is also the author-illustrator of Red, Yellow, Blue (and a Dash of White, Too!). He lives in the Bronx.
Writing for Kids (While Raising Them) 