We are so excited to have Dan Yaccarino join us today to share information about writing circular picture books!

Children the world over know Dan Yaccarino's children's books and award-winning animated series. In addition to his own stories, Dan's bold, stylized illustrations add wit and energy to the work of such distinguished authors as Margaret Wise Brown, Jack Prelutsky, and Kevin Henkes.

He's also the creator and producer of several animated series based on his books, Doug Unplugs (AppleTV), Oswald (Nickelodeon), Willa's Wild Life (NBC and Qubo), as well as the character designer behind The Backyardigans (Nickelodeon). Animation Magazine hails him as "an American original."

Dan's internationally recognized art style has earned him a large following in Japan, exhibits in New York, Los Angeles, Tokyo, and Bologna, and a visit to the White House. He is also a contributing children's book reviewer for the New York Times.

Dan's books have been translated into many languages, and in addition to animated series, his work has inspired toys, ebooks, children's musicals, and video adaptations.

His work has been recognized with a host of prestigious awards, including the Bologna Ragazzi, The New York Times 10 Best Illustrated, ALA Notable, and the Parents’ Choice Award. Over 2.5 million of his books have been sold to date.

Stand back far enough, and you’ll see the repeating pattern of life.

I believe we mostly perceive time as linear, which is reflected over and over in stories with a beginning, middle, and an end, but I feel that it’s a short-term way to look at it. Occasionally when I create a story, I’ll take the long view, which is that time is cyclical.

According to the tenets of Hinduism and Buddhism, time doesn’t end. It’s only recently that we as humans perceived time as linear, but we know it really doesn’t stop there. It begins all over again. And again. And again. And again.

Classics like If You Give a Mouse a Cookie and Chicka Chicka Boom Boom are great examples of circular stories. They end as they begin. I love that! I get a feeling of satisfaction when the story renews itself and the reader turns back to the first page to continue to experience the story.

In my autobiographical picture book, All the Way to America- the Story of a Big Italian Family and a Little Shovel, not only did the text in the beginning mirror the text at the end, but the cyclical nature of the story is mirrored visually as well, which is evident in the first and last images. However, as the book moves from generation to generation, the theme remains the same, “Work hard, enjoy life, and love your family.”

My picture book, I am a Story, is a journey through time examining the different ways stories are told. It begins with a clan of prehistoric humans gathered around a fire in rapt attention as one of them tells a story. Then we move through history, from cave paintings, hieroglyphics, and illuminated manuscripts, to printed books and digital devices, then finally to a contemporary family gathered around a campfire in rapt attention as the father tells a story. Full circle.