We are so excited to have Elizabeth Pagel-Hogan join us today to share information about Milestones Picture Books!
Hello! I’m Elizabeth Pagel-Hogan.
I’m the author of books and stories for young and young-at-heart readers. My stories inspire readers to have hope, take action, and laugh. My books include Animal Allies: 15 Amazing Women in Wildlife Research and The Science and Technology of Leonardo da Vinci.
I love creating crafts, stories, and recipes for numerous magazines, including Highlights for Children. I’ve also written textbooks, atlases, and online educational content. I’m proud to be represented by Miranda Paul from Erin Murphy Literary Agency.
I love writing about history and science, especially nature and the environment. And sports. And baking. (The list goes on!) I live in Pittsburgh, PA, with my family and our schnoodle. I’m a birder, a community scientist, a runner, a board game fan, and I love baking desserts.
Picture book writers have a challenging task. We write books for children to love. They are our audience. But we’re also trying to create books that adults want to buy. They are our market. If you want to write a beloved book, you’ve got be especially creative and consider how to tell a story that your audience and market will both adore.
If you want to write a book honoring a milestone in a child’s life, it’s time to get really thoughtful and consider how a milestone matters to both the child and the adult in their life.
So many people love books about milestones. They relish the moments that mean a young person has developed a new ability or experienced a new part of life. Baby’s first tooth, toddler’s first steps, first day of school are common ones. Some are more subtle, like the first time a child recognizes themselves in a mirror. Some are just fun, like their first taste of ice cream. Milestones mark a moment of change. And it’s not just the child who is changing. The adult changes, too. Some milestones were wonderful for me as a parent. Others were quite hard.
These three special books help me process my feelings about milestones.
Mel Fell by Corey R. Tabor is a unique and delightfully perspective-challenging book about a young kingfisher spreading her wings for the first time. Mel, our brave main character, dives headfirst into life despite warnings from her friends and neighbors. And her parent is nowhere to be found! Reading this story gave me anxiety. Where was her parent? Why wasn’t anyone keeping her safe? I felt my panic rise until the ending when I felt a rush of pride for a little fledgling who showed everyone what she was ready to do. I needed to accept that Mel was ready for more than I realized - and I needed to realize I will not always be present when my children hit certain milestones in their lives. I won’t be there to catch them if they fall. They have to learn to save themselves, and I have to learn to be OK with this.
This book taught me to change how I see my children, and to change my expectations for my role in their lives. They won’t always need me, and I won’t always be there physically with them.
One Big Pair of Underwear by Laurel Gehl and illustrated by Tom Lichtenfeld is one of those books that uncovers a hidden milestone you may not even know your young person has hit yet: empathy. I love reading this book to groups of young people. This book begins with a series of scenes that all include one animal being left out and excluded. The turning point in the book is when a clever group of pigs figure out how to include everyone. This moment often elicits an exasperated shout of “FINALLY!” from my young audience because they know how it feels to be excluded or left out. And they know how to fix this problem. Kids hit the empathy milestone quite early. Parents and teachers love to celebrate when young children share.
This book made me wonder, what if we celebrated the first milestone of being selfish? Once a person knows there is choice between sharing and not sharing - and the first time they choose not to share - is a painful, upsetting moment to notice. Many people would rather forget this moment in their lives. It’s not marked in a baby book, or recorded in the family photo album. No one’s framing a photo of the first time you overlooked an injustice. But it’s a part of growing up and realizing we all have choices in life. Maybe if we faced these moments more openly, people would choose kindness more often.
Finally, Real to Me by Minh Le and illustrated by Raissa Figueroa is a book I cannot read without crying. I’ve tried about ten times, and I have not yet succeeded. Even writing about this book right now is making my throat tight and my eyes sting a little with tears. It’s about a milestone moment when many people abandon their imaginary friends, for whatever reason. We often want to forget the painful milestone of being abandoned by a friend, or being forgotten. It’s a heartbreaking moment. And this book dives deep into the painful feelings of being left behind. It also gives readers the chance to explore how to forgive, and keep going. That’s another overlooked milestone, in my mind, that moment when we learn to let go of hard feelings and continue to find the beauty in the world. Three milestones in one - this book is something special.
We often think milestones are about growing up and leaving childhood behind. I like to think of milestones in a different way. Milestones are about acknowledging a change in how we interact with the world and each other, in either a positive of negative way. I hope there are more milestones ahead in my journey. As you write your book, think about the many ways different people experience a milestone, and add those layers to your story. Make it rich and complicated, joyful and painful, and real.