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Kidlit Works is a group of picture book authors with books coming out in 2024 and beyond. Today we are excited to share with our fellow writers the way that “how questions” inspire our work. Children ask “why?” all the time. They’re famous for it. But perhaps the foundation of those “whys” is really a “how”—how does the world work? As writers for children, we honor our audience’s constant curiosity. And as we reveal to children the grand and tiny ways in which the world works, we also discover how writing works. Below, nine Kidlit Works members discuss the “hows” that sparked our books, and “hows” we hope will spark ideas for you.
Sara Holly Ackerman
I’ve always been captivated by how things are made. In fact, adult me is still enthralled by Mr. Rogers’ crayon factory tour. As a teacher in Ethiopia, my favorite unit was all about fabric, particularly local weaving traditions. I wished there was a book about making Ethiopian garments…and soon there will be! A Gabi is made by a team, and so was this book. Fasika Adefris and I taught together and wrote together, so it made perfect sense we would author THE GABI THAT GIRMA WORE together. We chose a cumulative structure to highlight the process from cottonseed to finished product, and Netsanet Tesfay created the stunning illustrations.
Prompt: Pick an object that intrigues you. How is that object made? How can you use language and structure to invite children to experience the creation of this object?
Zainab Khan
The idea for NOURA’S CRESCENT MOON (Candlewick, March 5, 2024) came as a bolt of lightning hitting the right place at the right time. A gift from God. I was inspired to write about fasting, Ramadan and Eid ul-Fitr all in one book. Then I imagined the story arc in my head as I wrote it down. I thought of the colors in the sky, the food Noura would eat, the things needed to be done for Eid to be special.
Prompt: Are you able to think up a story’s beginning, middle and satisfying end in your mind? How will you evoke the senses so that you are able to jot down what’s in your head into the written word? What colors and shapes do you see? What can you almost smell and hear? Is there something special your character can touch? How will all of these answers be part of the puzzle?
Sylvia Chen
How did TRICKY CHOPSTICKS (illus. Fanny Liem, Atheneum/Simon & Schuster, March 19, 2024) come about? I was brainstorming “How can I write a fun PB with some sort of STEAM tie-in like my other stories, that also captures my cultural background?” when the title TRICKY CHOPSTICKS popped into mind. From there, so many “how can…?” thoughts helped to shape and deepen my arc: How can I express that the MC Jenny feels all this cultural pressure in a relatable way for any reader? How can other characters add tension without being too mean or intense? How can Jenny use STEAM thinking for her solution? How can she succeed in an entertaining but realistic way? How can I phrase the ending with an encouraging takeaway and fun wordplay?
Prompt: How can you add elements from your personal experience to help your manuscripts stand out even more? As you revise, try imagining yourself as your MC and use a “how can…” lens to explore adding more depth to your story: How can you express what’s really driving your MC? How can your characters interact to strengthen the story arc? How can you show (vs. tell) the various emotions your MC feels? How can your MC work through certain challenges or circumstances in a relatable way for young readers?
Marzieh Abbas
AWE-SAMOSAS! (March 26, 2024, illustrated by Bhagya Madanasinghe) was born out of me asking myself how I could share the joy of experimental cooking, and celebrate my favorite tea-time snack and culture all in one book. In this story, Noor, a Pakistani girl fond of cooking, has misplaced her grandma’s famous samosa recipe. As the story built to the climax, I asked myself, how else can Noor fail? How can her creativity save the day? My backmatter also includes: How else can you stuff a samosa?
Prompt: If you have a plot-based story, ask yourself ‘how’ you can keep your MC from achieving their goal by putting more obstacles in the story. Is there something your MC really wants? How can they fail repeatedly so you can raise the stakes and build to the climax?
Gabriele Davis
PEACHES (May 7, 2024, illustrated by Kim Holt) was inspired by a childhood memory of the joy my dad took in sharing peach cobbler with our family. For my dad, a kind, quiet man, sharing food was sharing love. This likely stemmed from his own childhood, growing up on his family’s large Virginia farm, which included apple, plum, pear and peach trees. When inspired to write about this memory, I asked myself: How can I capture the joy of those peach-cobbler moments? How can I create relationships in this story that convey how loved I felt? How did this tradition begin? How was it passed along? I later added additional layers (loss and healing) to the story, which prompted even more “how” questions. I didn’t adhere strictly (or at all) to the original details of my experience—or of my dad’s. My loyalty was to the emotional truth.
Prompt: Think about your childhood memories and choose one that resonates deeply for you. Ask: How can I capture the emotions that this memory evokes? How can I recreate the relationships associated with this memory? Once the bare bones of the story are down, ask: How can I weave in key details (sights, sounds, scents, history, etc.)? How can I add conflict or tension to keep readers engaged? Finally, once the story feels complete, ask: How can I add additional layers to give this story even more meaning?
Cheryl Kim
While watching basketball with my husband back in 2012, LINSANITY took over the NBA news. We loved how Jeremy Lin broke stereotypes and I assumed he was the first Asian American to play in the NBA since he was the first I’d heard about. I was shocked when I found out that there had been others and the very first was Wataru Misaka who broke the color barrier in the NBA the same year Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in baseball. I wondered HOW I hadn’t heard of him before. That led to writing WAT TAKES HIS SHOT: THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF WATARU MISAKA to share his story with the next generation of readers.
Prompt: Is there an overlooked or little-known piece of history that you want the next generation to know about? This could be a who, a where, a what, or a combination of them. How do you want to bring that piece of history to life in a way that would make young readers want to know about it?
Carol Joy Munro
It was a double whammy of ideas that resulted in SPRINGTIME STORKS: A MIGRATION LOVE STORY (Chelsea O’Byrne, illustrator). While cleaning my office, I found a print out of text I had typed from a book by Jane Yolen. It was a free verse poem. I love free verse! How had I never tried it for a picture book? How could I not try now? Days later, I saw a video on Facebook about two Croatian storks. He migrates. She can’t fly. How must she feel to await his return each year? How is their story not perfect for a free verse PB? So I got to work!
Prompt: Find picture book mentor texts that read like free verse poetry. Type them out. Study them. Watch for intriguing stories on social media, in newspapers, magazines, wherever. How do they inspire you? Tell your story in free verse.
Christina Shawn
When my son was a baby he only wanted to be with me and as time went on he became more comfortable with other people too. I wondered how I could express that special bond and his reluctance toward change, but also how our hearts and relationships find room to grow. THERE’S ALWAYS ROOM FOR MORE (Chronicle Books, 2025 illustrator Shahrzad Maydani) features a reluctant child in a growing family who finds there’s always room for more love.
Prompt: Ask yourself, how do you feel about change? How do you react? Do you get excited, resistant, angry, uncomfortable? How can you express these emotions through word choice or character voice in your writing?
Stacy S. Jensen
While living in a new community, I saw new houses and construction around me. I wondered, “How did this land look before all of this?” The answer: BEFORE I LIVED HERE (Spring 2025, illustrator Victo Ngai) which focuses on a boy’s neighborhood in Colorado. The land was home to many people, dinosaurs, and an ocean.
Prompt: While my story is about how land changes, ask yourself how something changes or was before your character arrives on the scene — a family before a new baby, a class before the new student enters, or a party before you knock on the door.
Thanks for exploring HOW with Kidlit Works today! You can follow us on Instagram @kidlitworks and TikTok @kidlitworks.
Kidlit Works is offering the following prizes:
- 30-minute Ask Me Anything with Cheryl Kim
- 30-minute Ask Me Anything with Sylvia Chen
- One-hour Ask Me Anything with Zainab Khan
- 30-minute Ask Me Anything OR a MS critique (under 600-words non-rhyming Fiction/Nonfiction picture book/board book) with Marzieh Abbas
- One-hour Ask Me Anything about websites or Canva OR a live picture book critique on Zoom with Stacy S. Jensen
- MS critique (under 600-words non-rhyming fiction picture book/board book) with option for Zoom brainstorming chat with Christina Shawn
- Manuscript critique (picture book, fiction, poetry or prose, rhyming okay, under 700 words) from Carol Joy Munro
- Picture book manuscript critique (max 600 word, non-rhyming, fiction) OR a copy of Peaches from Gabriele Davis
- $20 gift card to your favorite indie bookstore from Sara Holly Ackerman
Nine separate winners will be randomly selected.
You’re eligible to win if you’re a registered Storystorm 2024 participant and you have commented only once on today’s blog post.
Prizes will be distributed at the conclusion of Storystorm.
by Marzieh Abbas
Before I jump into my guest blog post, I want to thank you for having me, Tara! It’s such a pleasure to be here talking about my debut picture book for the traditional US market. Your blog has been a favorite ever since I began writing in 2019.
Now, let’s talk about how A DUPATTA IS… came to be:
Long before I began writing for children, I came across a photograph when my mom was cleaning out her drawers. It was one of us sisters wrapped in a dupatta, an oversized South-Asian scarf, that had been tied like a sari. It was from the time we were visiting Karachi to see my Dadi, my grandma. She always wore saris and loved to dress us girls up in pseudo-saris, using fancy dupattas.
A few years later, she passed away. My father, the youngest of three sons, along with us, moved back to Pakistan to be with her in her last years. A few weeks after she passed, we noticed my dad had been sleeping with her dupatta tucked beside his pillow. He had asked my mother never to wash it, as it held her scent and helped hold her memory close.
Not only did this stay with me for a long time, it was the spark of an idea for my debut picture book, A DUPATTA IS… (illustrated by Anu Chouhan) which releases today, April 11, 2023!
Once Anu started sharing her illustrations, I was moved to tears. Her detailed settings, inspired by her own childhood with her grandma, resembled my Dadi’s home, right down to the bangle stand and wooden cupboard.
The story came full circle when my mom cleared out a cupboard of my Dadi’s dupattas and saris and sent over one of her favourites for me. It was almost exactly the same as the dupatta Anu had illustrated in her first spread. Have a look! I used it as a backdrop for this shot:
Thank you, Marzieh! What a beautiful story behind your story!
Blog readers, Marzieh would love if you could join her for virtual book launch tomorrow, April 12, 2023 at 10 a.m. EST. You can register here.
Marzieh is also giving away a 30-minute AMA session!
Leave one comment below to enter. A random winner will be selected in two weeks!
Good luck!
Marzieh Abbas is a baker-turned-award-winning author. She loves adding magic to her creations- whether that’s a seven- layered rainbow cake or the books she writes for children all over the world. She enjoys learning new skills, jumping rope, sipping chai, and observing nature. A DUPATTA IS… is her debut picture book in the traditional American market. She has several upcoming children’s books including AWE-SAMOSAS (Clarion, 2024), HENNA IS…(Feiwel and Friends, 2024) and YASMEEN LARI, GREEN ARCHITECT (Clarion, 2024). Marzieh is a member of SCBWI and a graduate of the Lyrical Language Lab and Children’s Book Academy. Marzieh dreams of owning a talking parrot someday. But, until then, she lives in Pakistan with her husband and children who inspire her every day. She is represented by Lynnette Novak at The Seymour Agency. Visit her on the web at MarziehAbbas.com, Instagram @marziehabbas_author and Twitter @MarziehAbbas.
by Marzieh Abbas
I have been kicking off every new year (since the past three years) with awesome Storystorm blog posts! I’m happy to report, at least three of my upcoming picture books began as idea that were sparked from January blog posts! I’m super excited to be a guest blogger today. Let’s get right to it!
You’ve probably heard: “Write what you know” several times, as have I. But when I sit to write what I know, I usually draw a blank. That’s when I dip into my memories, especially photographs from my childhood and my phone’s gallery. Childhood memories are great for recalling important milestones, but everyday clicks of things which seem interesting to me and for pictures of my kids doing fun and silly stuff also bring many story possibilities.
Let’s start with childhood memories: thankfully, I wasn’t the last of four siblings, so my parents took loads of pictures of me as a child (my youngest sister has all of five pictures of her toddler years…lollll). Sometimes I open up those albums and think about all the fun we had and all the lovely memories we made. Sometimes a picture will remind me of a mood or what a specific location made me feel. It’s a springboard for more memories; even those not captured in those albums. There’s fun moments and not-so-fun moments, all great for story ideas!
A picture I came across a few years ago when my mom was cleaning out her storeroom. It had one of us sisters wrapped in a dupatta, an oversized South-Asian scarf, that had been tied like a sari. It was from the time we were visiting Karachi to see my Dadi, my grandma. She always wore saris and loved to dress us girls up in pseudo-saris, using fancy dupattas. She was a quirky grandparent who was married off at 16 and widowed at 28. She, herself, was a treasure trove of stories. A few years ago she passed away. My father, the youngest of three sons, had moved back to Pakistan to be with her in her last years. A few weeks after she passed, we noticed my dad had been sleeping with her dupatta tucked beside his pillow. He had asked my mother never to wash it, as it held her scent and helped hold her memory close.
Not only did this stay with me for a long time, it was the spark of an idea for my debut picture book, A DUPATTA IS… which releases on April 11th this year (published by Feiwel & Friends and illustrated by the super-talented Anu Chouhan).
It also made me think of all the memories that I can tap into by using a particular scent as a clue. Sometimes a waft of cinnamon will remind me of the home remedies my mother made for us when we had a flu. And then I’ll think about other connected memories– comforting vibes, or the panic I’d experience about a test I’d miss if I had to stay home due to a flu. Once Anu started sharing the illustrations, her settings, inspired by her own childhood with her grandma, resembled my own Dadi’s home, right down to the bangle stand and wooden cupboard, and subsequently brought in a flood of memories.
I encourage you to flip through your childhood memories. Does a particular picture remind you of a place or setting that evoked a feeling? Could that mood, or feeling possibly take center stage for a story. Maybe a picture in an old house would remind you of a nosy neighbor or a neighborhood friend you’ve long forgotten. Think about the sounds that you heard in that neighborhood, or the secret stash of your candies you hoped your sibling would never find. These may not be ideas in themselves, but it’s always great to jot these down for later; they may inspire a character quirk for a side character, or a specific detail for your current WIP.
Now coming to my phone gallery photos. I usually take pictures of unusual things I spot as I drive through my city, Karachi, or roam the bazaars. I also click a load of food and produce pictures. Sometimes I transfer photos and videos to an album that I’ve labeled “Story Prompts.”
When I had initially gotten married, my mother-in-law taught me lots of her secret recipes. I loved to cook and getting introduced to so many new recipes, while learning of new customs, was great. One of those recipes was a samosa stuffed with coconut shavings, sugar, cardamom, and lots of crushed nuts.
I had only ever eaten savory samosas. I recreated the sweet samosas many times. Many years down the line it was the story spark for my upcoming AWE-SAMOSAS! book that releases in 2024 (published by HarperCollins and illustrated in the most beautiful, warm hues by Bhagya Madanasinghe.)
My memories are a constant source of inspiration, and I’m sure yours are, or will be, too!
Raised between the bustling cities of Dubai, U.A.E and Karachi, Pakistan, Marzieh Abbas loves traveling, reading and samosas. She is a member of SCBWI, 12×12, and a graduate of the Lyrical Language Lab, Children’s Book Academy, and Storyteller Academy. She is active on Twitter where she continues to form connections with the Writing Community, runs a kidlit review group on Facebook and blogs about her author journey and life in Pakistan on Instagram. You can find out more about her at MarziehAbbas.com and follow her on Twitter @MarziehAbbas and Instagram @marziehabbas_author.
Marzieh is giving away a picture book critique (under 650-word fiction and non-rhyming manuscript).
You’re eligible to win if you’re a registered Storystorm 2023 participant and you have commented only once on today’s blog post. ↓
Prizes will be distributed at the conclusion of Storystorm.
Writing for Kids (While Raising Them) 