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Get ready for a new classic flying into bookstores next week: A KITE FOR MOON.
Late last year I had the pleasure of hearing Jane Yolen and Heidi E.Y. Stemple speak about the genesis of KITE and the long, winding journey it took. I’ll let Jane and Heidi take it from here…
Heidi: My mother and I have written about 22 books together and every one has it’s own process. KITE FOR MOON began in a completely different way.
Jane: Initially, it was my picture book. A combination of remembering the moon walk (Heidi was only about 2 and a half at the time, which we watched on our very small TV) and the fact that all through my growing up, my father was a kite flier. In fact he was the International Kite Flying Champion and president of the of the International Kite Fliers Assn. My card said, “May design own costume.”
Both my agent and I liked the manuscript, and so she sent it off. It kept getting rejected.
Heidi: Eventually, everyone gave up on that manuscript and it wound up collecting dust in a drawer. At some point, at least a couple years later (but, likely close to 5) I was asked to find it and send it on to an agent friend of ours who was looking for a project for one of his illustrators. But, before I sent it, I read it. It was not good. It was too sentimental and too long—too wordy, wordy, wordy. I’m pretty bossy, so I told her. And asked if I could take a whack at it.
The bones were good. But, it promised an ending it didn’t deliver. It needed serious pruning and a ton of focus. So I did that.
And sent it back to JY. (Yes, that’s how Heidi refers to her mom.)
Jane: I saw immediately that while Heidi had seen this as an editing job, and while she kept a great deal of my prose, what she added made it her book as well. And I insisted that her name be on the manuscript as well. There was a bit more back-and-forthing till we were both satisfied. Then the book went out with both our names attached. And lo! Zonderkidz (an arm of Harper Collins) bought it. And they started looking for an artist.
Heidi: We were sitting at a conference listening to lectures when Matt Phelan got up to speak. His art was being shown and, there was a piece he had with kids in a classroom and my head exploded. THAT was our kid! I poked JY in the side (she didn’t appreciate that) and whispered “Kite! Kite!”
Once I explained what I meant, we both went to work on Zonderkidz to approach Matt to illustrate. He said yes. The only thing we changed after that was the last page originally said ‘listened’ and we changed it to “watched” based on Matt’s amazing last page. I don’t want to give anything away, but when I read the last 2 pages, I still get choked up.
Jane: We’ve read the book to a number of audiences so far, mostly adults, mostly writers, and when we get to the last two pages, everyone chokes up or gasps. I am not sure that was what we were going for. But my husband and I had given that same sort of gasp when Neil Armstrong walked down the ladder and stepped on the moon. I hope all our readers, young and old, feel the moment. Though this is not the story of Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin first on the moon, it is the story of something monumental about how one small child becomes an adult who does something truly out of this world.
I listened to Jane and Heidi read the book, and I gasped, too.
If you want to gasp at your own copy signed by this amazing mother-daughter duo, please leave a comment below.
A winner will be randomly selected in a couple of weeks!
Good luck!
I love picture book biographies. They’re right up there with chewy, chunky chocolate chip cookies. With those first delicious lines, I’m drawn into someone else’s world that reveals what shaped them and why their story is important. Unlike biographies for adults that pack in everything but the kitchen sink, I love picture book biographies because there’s only room for the good stuff. The best stuff. Stuff that allows readers to sidle up to remarkable people, past and present, and wonder what they might do with their own lives. Short as picture book biographies are, writing them can be challenging. Here are my tips for writing picture book biographies:
Who
Deciding who to write about is BIG. If they’re well-known like Benjamin Franklin or Abraham Lincoln, there’s a million books about them already. If you’re determined to write about them, you need to find an intriguing episode of their life that hasn’t been told before. The other option is to write about someone who isn’t well-known, but still has a great story to tell. Whatever it is, it needs to connect with young readers.
How Much
Although you may be tempted to tell someone’s story from the moment they’re born to their last breath—reconsider. Most trade picture book biographies either highlight the time of the accomplishment, or the formative years which led to their accomplishment. Not always. But mostly. The point is, there are options. One great example of highlighting the important moment in someone’s life is Ruth Law Thrills a Nation by Don Brown, one of my favorite picture book biographers. He opened Ruth’s story with these lines:
On November 19, 1916, Ruth Law tried to fly
from Chicago to New York City in one day.
It had never been done before.
There’s no growing up. No wanting to fly. No wondering whether to do it or not. Ruth Law was ready. Making the flight was the story. Page by page, Brown lets us see what happened the day she flew to New York City and the challenges she faced.
A great example of the second approach is also written by Don Brown in his book, Odd Boy Out, Young Albert Einstein. He opened the story with these lines:
On a sunny, cold Friday in the old city of Ulm, Germany,
a baby named Albert Einstein is born.
It is March 14, 1879.
Why the difference? By starting from childhood, Brown showed readers how Einstein’s brilliant mind worked even at a young age, and how it led to his Theory of Relativity.
Beyond the Facts
Lastly, when you start writing picture book biographies, it’s tempting to stick close to the facts as if you’re on the ledge of a tall building. Stray too far and you won’t be safe. Stray too far, and you can’t cling to the pillar of facts. However, the only way to succeed is to step off into the literary void and find your voice. How do you want to tell the story? Let yourself go and find out. It’s okay. That’s what editors and readers want.
This idea was a turning point when I sold my latest release, Away with Words, The Daring Story of Isabella Bird, about the first female member of the Royal Geographical Society. My first versions were lyrical, but very conservative and I revised the manuscript so many times for my agent, I lost count. Each version was lovely and dramatic, but something was missing. More revisions and rejections followed. In time, I parted ways with my agent and put the manuscript away.
Then, a few months later, I got it out again. I loved Isabella’s story too much to give up on it completely. At that moment, without an editor or an agent waiting for results, I felt a certain freedom to change things up. How did I want to tell her story? When I looked at it again, a metaphor sprang to mind that became the opening heart of the story.
Isabella was like a wild vine
stuck in a too small pot.
She needed more room.
She had to get out.
She had to explore.
You won’t find these words in the research. That’s me, letting go, telling Isabella’s story my way. It made all the difference.
So, the next time you’re writing a picture book biography, remember the good stuff. The best stuff. And treat yourself to a chewy, chunky chocolate chip cookie.
We are giving away a copy of Lori’s new book AWAY WITH WORDS: THE DARING STORY OF ISABELLA BIRD!
Leave one comment to enter.
A winner will be selected at the end of the month.
Good luck!
Lori Mortensen is an award-winning children’s book author of more than 100 books and over 500 stories and articles. Recent releases include her picture book biography, Away with Words, the Daring Story of Isabella Bird (Peachtree), about the first woman inducted into the Royal Geographical Society, If Wendell Had a Walrus (Henry Holt), Chicken Lily, (Henry Holt), Mousequerade Ball (Bloomsbury) illustrated by New York Times bestselling illustrator Betsy Lewin, and Cowpoke Clyde Rides the Range (Clarion, 2016) a sequel to Cowpoke Clyde & Dirty Dawg, one of Amazon’s best picture books of 2013. When she’s not letting her cat in, or out, or in, she’s tapping away at her computer, conjuring, coaxing, and prodding her latest stories to life.
For more information about her books, events, critique service, and upcoming releases, visit her website at lorimortensen.com.
Picture Book Confessional
by Jacqui Robbins
Here is a confession: I have problems. And I want you to have them too.
I know it’s PiBoIdMo. But I don’t get ideas, really. I get problems, and characters that have them.
It starts with a voice whispering. Usually it’s one line.
“Kayla and Melanie are two of a kind.”
There’s a rhythm in the line and it gets stuck in my head. I try to ignore the voice, but it chases me around. It talks at me while I drive, when I run, when I’m on my fiftieth game of Sorry with my son. I hear the voice, and I start to fall in love with the character behind it. “Who is this poor girl who wants so badly to be the third in the two of a kind?”
Well, once I’m in love with my character, I can’t just leave her there, stuck in her problem. I have to write her out of it.
“What can she do?” I ask myself. And the book is born.
You’ve been thinking of picture book ideas all month. If you’re anything like me, you’ve used up your “been saving this one a while” ideas. You’ve gone through your “Hmm, that might be good” ideas and are starting in on your “well, it’s something, I guess” ideas. By next week, you’ll be on your “please, lord, don’t let anyone read this even if I’m dead I’ll be so embarrassed” ideas.
So today, try this. Start with a character.
Who is he? Where does he spend most of his time? What does he think about? What does his voice sound like in your head?
Now, what does he love more than anything else in the world?
Well, he can’t have it.
Why?
Ooh, now he has a problem. Poor guy. You can’t just leave him there. There’s only one thing to do.
Write him out of it.
Jacqui Robbins has filed resumes, sold books, written grants, worked the grill at a snack bar, and taught students from ages 6 months to 65 years.
Jacqui’s first book, The New Girl…And Me was published in June, 2006 (illustrated by Matt Phelan, Atheneum/Richard Jackson Books). Jacqui’s next book, Two of a Kind, came out in July, 2009 (also illustrated by Matt Phelan, Atheneum).
Writing for Kids (While Raising Them) 