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by Sheri Dillard
At the beginning of every year, my agents, Liza and Ginger, schedule a phone call with all their clients. They call it the State of the Union, and it’s a “check-in,” of sorts. We talk about manuscripts on submission, reactions to any responses so far, and thoughts on current projects.
On one of those calls, we brainstormed story ideas. My debut picture book COWHIDE-AND-SEEK had just come out, so most of our ideas were game-inspired. The conversation was fun and lively, and I took lots of notes. But it wasn’t until Liza said, “How about tic, tac, toe?” that something clicked for me.
A story about three friends popped into my head. Three BEST friends who were always together—three in a row! But what would happen if one of those friends got left out in some way?
As a preschool teacher, I love watching young children make new friends. The kids tend to bond quickly as they explore the classroom and playground. For many, school is the first time they are around other children without their parents nearby. And sometimes, whether it’s a group of peers or a one-on-one friendship, managing new social situations can be tricky.
In my new picture book TIC, TAC, AND TOE, we see three friends having fun together. But when they find a tandem bike and it becomes clear that it won’t work with three, Tic and Tac leave Toe behind. They don’t even realize that Toe feels hurt and left out. They ride around, have fun, and sort of forget about their friend Toe. It’s only when they see something they think Toe will love that they remember him. When they find him sad and alone, they realize what they’ve done.
While reading this story, the reader might stop and say, “Oh, look at Toe. How do you think he’s feeling? Why do you think he’s feeling that way?” Asking questions while reading books can be like “practice” to help children learn how to recognize others’ feelings in real life, too. Stories about friendship, empathy, and kindness can guide kids on what it means to be a good friend.
I love how my books, so far, are connected to some of my favorite childhood games. (And I’ve got more game-inspired stories that I hope to publish someday! Maybe I’ll have my own three-in-a-row? Fingers crossed!)
What are some of your favorite childhood games? Maybe there’s a story idea in there somewhere? Good luck and have fun!
Thanks, Sheri!
TIC-TAC-TOE will be published this coming Tuesday, November 4, by Reycraft Books. But you can win a copy right here!
Leave a comment and a winner will be randomly selected next month!
Sheri Dillard is a children’s author and preschool teacher/librarian, and she hosts regular storytimes at her local indie bookstore. She is the author of several picture books, including two game-inspired ones, COWHIDE-AND-SEEK and TIC, TAC, AND TOE.
Sheri lives in Atlanta, Georgia, with her husband Mark, and has three sons who are always (mostly) happy to join her for a board game or two.
When people ask me when I first knew I wanted to be a writer, I share a story about a dream I had over 12 years ago. An actual dream. A dream that woke me up at 2am and had me jumping out of bed to write it down so I wouldn’t forget. I wasn’t trying to be a writer at the time. I’m guessing I just wanted to share my dream with my husband and sons. But I loved it. LOVED it. So I wrote it down.
My dream was about a cow who accidentally left her farm and (unknowingly) created chaos wherever she went. I thought this was funny because whenever I see cows, they never really seem to be doing anything. They’re just sort of standing there. Not playing. Or frolicking. I’ve rarely even seen them walking. I thought it could be funny to have a picture book with a cow character who is “just standing there” but in an unusual place for a cow to be. What sort of chaos would that cause?
I’ve always been charmed by cows. They seem so sweet and curious to me. One of my favorite photos of my husband Mark was taken during a trip to England. I had wanted to get a picture of the beautiful scenery, but before we knew it, Mark was surrounded by cows. I joked, “Maybe they think you’re the farmer?” In the photo, I imagine the cows thinking, “Hey, what’s going on? Can we play?”
I think a lot of cow humor, like in Doreen Cronin and Betsy Lewin’s CLICK, CLACK, MOO (one of my favorite picture books) and even with the Chick-fil-A cows, is how the cows are acting like cows for the most part, but there is a suggestion that there is more going on than we can see.
One of my favorite Far Side comic strips illustrates this perfectly…
In early drafts of my manuscript, hide-and-seek was just a small part of the story, the opening scene. All the cows were playing together, but Bessie got distracted and accidentally left the farm. (I had a running list of “cow games” that I could possibly use for other Bessie stories, like “cow patty-cake” and “cow tag.” 🙂 The idea was that these cows were doing more than we realized, just like the Far Side cows. But in my early versions, after Bessie left the farm, she wasn’t playing the game anymore.
After I joined a critique group and started getting feedback from other writers, I noticed that the game of cowhide-and-seek was getting the most attention and compliments. Several revisions later, I finally realized the entire story could be about the game. And that the reason Bessie accidentally leaves the farm could be because she is looking for the perfect hiding spot.
So back to my dream. I wasn’t a writer at the time, but something about that idea got me started. I probably did share the dream with my family, but I also started writing. I feel like I learned how to be a writer with Bessie. Bessie and I have been through a lot—revisions, submissions, rejections, more revisions, and so on. But how special to have the idea that inspired me to become a writer end up as my debut picture book. It’s a dream come true. Literally.
Thanks for sharing your journey, Sheri…and congratulations on COWHIDE-AND-SEEK…which releases TOMORROW!
You can win a copy of Sheri’s debut! Just leave a comment below to enter. A winner will be randomly selected very soon!
GOOD LUCK!
Sheri Dillard is a children’s author and preschool teacher/librarian. She lives in Atlanta, GA, with her husband Mark, three sons, and a 100-pound puppy named Captain, who is not so good at hiding. Cowhide-and-Seek is her first book.
Visit her at sheridillard.com, on Twitter @sheridillard and Instagram @sheridillard.
Writing for Kids (While Raising Them) 