Novelty Books with Jennifer Preston Chushcoff

We are so excited to have Jennifer Preston Chushcoff join us today to share information about Children’s Novelty Books!

Jennifer Preston Chushcoff’s writing experience includes fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. Her writing has appeared on television, in art galleries, anthologies, magazines, a letterpress print, and in her award-winning books, Snowflakes, Easter Numbers and WA is Water. 

There's nothing that pleases her more than connecting with readers and writers through story.

In addition, Jenn is also a painter, photographer, and digital designer. She's completed art installations in large buildings, window displays, and pop-up art shows. Her work sells as both fine art and in commercial and editorial markets. Her paintings and prints are in private collections and have been featured in galleries and art exhibits.

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Novelty books are one of my favorite formats, pushing the boundaries of how a book is defined. Examples include: lift-the-flaps, pop-ups, moving parts, board books, and books packaged with audio and activities.

My first experience with novelty books was working with the book packager, Becker and Mayer. From concept to print, a book packager either pitches ideas to publishers, or they are hired to create a specific product. It was my job to research images to illustrate stories and secure permissions. I worked on a variety of books, from sober recollections of the Holocaust to the American Girls series.

Years later, online research led me to the company Jumping Jack Press. They had a line of pop-ups and were looking for story concepts about winter without a religious or holiday theme. I knew immediately that snowflakes would make an excellent subject, plus I adore them. Everyone remembers cutting out paper snowflakes in elementary school. Envisioning how they could be incorporated into a pop-up book was exciting! 

I wrote a poem and added a proposal to include scientific facts about snowflakes along with a short bio about Wilson Bentley (1865 – 1931), the first person to photograph snow crystals. I was awarded the contract and dug in. I read books like The Snowflake: Winter’s Secret Beauty, by Caltech physicist Kenneth G. Libbrecht, and multiple biographies about “Snowflake Bentley.” Mixing poetry with art and science and distilling complex ideas is my “happy place.” How wonderful that these subjects are getting the attention they deserve, even acquiring their own hashtag, #STEAM.

While writing picture books requires room left for the illustrator, novelty books also require thinking in 3-D. What a fun challenge! The publisher handled design in-house, so after I delivered my manuscript, they took care of the rest. Their artist, Yevgenia Yeretskaya, created the beautiful illustrations and paper engineering. Rather than treating the facts and bio as backmatter, they incorporated them by creating smaller pop-ups within the spreads.

Soon after, Jumping Jack Press was working on the counting book, Easter Numbers, and struggling with the rhyme. They asked if I’d take a look and shared the mockup. The story had multiple interactive features, including lift-the-flaps, pop-ups, and pull tabs. I made suggestions to alter a few details and wrote an accompanying poem. Approaching the format from the opposite direction was another wonderful challenge. 

Many delightful novelty books are available now, with quite a few written for older kids, like me.

Warne Publishing reintroduced readers to the fabulous artist Cicely Mary Barker (1895- 1973) and her series: How to Find Flower Fairies, Flower Fairies Magical Doors, and Fairyopolis: A Flower Fairies Journal (co-authored by Glen Bird and Liz Catchpole). Contemporary designers wove Cicely’s original paintings into immersive worlds, full of paper ephemera and interactive features.

In similar fashion, Candlewick’s Ology Series resemble explorers’ journals, complete with sketches and “samples.” Monsterology even contains a “cabinet” with room to attach discoveries. 

Since novelty books are art and format driven, publishers will often want a mockup. People interested in becoming paper engineers, or just curious, can carefully open books to see how they are put together. Paper artists do this to learn new skills. 

Given their complexity, it’s almost impossible to self-publish a novelty book. They take a team to bring them to life, are expensive to manufacture, and have a low profit margin. It’s best to search for publishers already invested in the format. Do this by looking at novelty books you admire to see who publishes them. You can also search for agents or independent presses that accept novelty book submissions. 

Writers determined to pursue this type of publishing can also work with a freelance paper engineer, like Renee Jablow, credited with engineering over 70 children’s books.

My next project takes books “outside the box” by placing them back in it. The Boogie Monster is a square tissue box printed with a silly green monster and a fun, bouncing rhyme encouraging kids to blow their nose. It’s designed so that the opening is his “mouth,” and the tissue is his “tongue.”

“Where will it go, what can you do

when you cry or leak? ACHOO!!

Have no fear, I’m guarding you.

I’ve got a tissue for a tongue.

Now, blow your beak and feed me some!”

(excerpt)

Now, to decide next steps . . . 

Whichever direction you decide to travel, I hope you enjoy the journey!

Jenn

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Thanks so much for joining us, Jenn!

You can find Jenn on her website at www.byjenn.com, Twitter @byjenn, or Instagram @byjenn.

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Links:

American Book Producers Associations, a list of book producers: 

https://abpaonline.org/find-book-producer/

Becker and Mayer: https://www.quartoknows.com/BeckerMayer

Bird Songs: 250 North American Birds in Song by Les Beletsky: https://www.amazon.com/Bird-Songs-North-American-Birds/dp/0760363269/ref=sr_1_

Flower Fairies: Magical Doors by Cicely Mary Barker: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0723263515/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i4

Kenneth Libbrecht’s website: http://www.snowcrystals.com/books/books.html

The Snowflake: Winter’s Secret Beauty: https://www.amazon.com/Snowflake-Kenneth-Libbrecht/dp/0896586308/ref=sr_1_4

Children’s Book Council, a list of publishers mentioning if they accept submissions and in what formats: https://www.cbcbooks.org/publishers/our-members/

Chronicle Books: https://www.chroniclebooks.com/pages/submissions

Monsterology by Dr. Ernest Drake, edited by Dugald A. Steer and illustrated by Wayne Anderson, Douglas Carrel, Tomislav Tomić and Helen Ward: https://www.amazon.com/Monsterology-Complete-Book-Monstrous-Beasts/dp/0763639400/ref=pd_bxgy_img_2/146-2574845-0393553

Renee Jablow, freelance paper engineer: http://www.reneejablow.com.

Snowflakes: A Pop Up Book by Jennifer Preston Chushcoff: https://www.amazon.com/Snowflakes-5th-Anniversary-Pop-Up-Book/dp/1623482631/ref=sr_1_2

Easter Numbers: An Interactive Counting Book by Jennifer Preston Chushcoff: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1623482038/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i5

Flurry: A Mini Snowflakes Pop Up Book by Jennifer Preston Chushcoff: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/162348653X/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i2

Up With Paper: https://upwithpaper.com/careers/

Two more “Out of the Box” examples:

Explore a T.Rex by Dennis Schatz, illustrated by Davide Bonadonna and Christian Kitzmüller https://www.amazon.com/Explore-T-Rex-Dennis-Schatz/dp/1626863954/ref=sr_1_17

How to Build the Human Body written by Richard Walker and illustrated by Mark Ruffle https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/160710413X/ref=as_li_tl

Creating Novelty and Board Books with Nina Laden

We are so excited to have Nina Laden join us today to share information about Children’s Novelty and Board Books!

Nina Laden is an award-winning, best-selling children’s book author, illustrator, and cartoonist who lives on Lummi Island, WA. The daughter of two artists, Nina grew up in the New York City area and received a BFA from Syracuse University’s College of Visual and Performing Arts. She has over twenty books in print, including “The Night I Followed the Dog,” “When Pigasso Met Mootisse,” and “Roberto the Insect Architect.” “Peek-A Who?” has sold over a million copies. She has a graphic essay in “Drawing Power” which has won an Eisner Award. Her most recent book is “You Are A Beautiful Beginning,” written by Nina and illustrated by Kelsey Garrity-Riley. More books are coming soon. We’re grateful to have her with us today!

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I wasn’t planning to do “baby books” when I started out. My plan had been to write and illustrate picture books, and I was doing great with my early books, “The Night I Followed the Dog,” “Private I. Guana,” and “When Pigasso Met Mootisse.” Then all of my friends starting having babies, and I wanted something to give them. I didn’t like board books that were basically, “A is for Apple, B is for Ball, etc…” I wanted to create something clever and interactive- and I had no idea that I was going to accidentally come up with a million seller…

“Peek-a Who?” came out in 2000. My publisher, Chronicle Books, wasn’t really doing board books back then, but my editor liked the dummy I created for “Peek-a Who?” (more about this coming) and asked me if I could create a second book to go with it and they’d give me a contract for both. So I came up with “Ready, Set, Go!” but it wasn’t the pure idea like “Peek-a Who?” and never sold well. 

Board Books are Not Simple

Kids always ask me how long it takes to write my books. Some of them take years, decades, even… but “Peek-a Who?” came to me whole, and I wrote it in twenty minutes. It is repetitive- and uses the “oo” sound. “Who, Moo, Boo, Zoo, Choo-Choo, You.” But- it builds- and it is a guessing game- as the child guesses what they are looking at through a window, and when they turn the page, there is a reveal… and the piece de resistance: on the last page there is a mylar mirror so they see themselves, Peek-a YOU! I know that children love to see themselves in the mirror- and I wanted to end the book on the child. I glued a piece of aluminum foil into the book when I submitted it- wondering if they could put in a mirror.

From my original dummy.

The actual book.

The Illustrations

The writing for “Peek-a Who?” was simple, but the illustrations were not. Most board books are brightly colored. Babies love bright colors and especially a lot of contrast. I was bored by just big areas of color. I wanted texture, too, so I created my own technique to fake the look of woodcut. I painted the paper black, and then painted over it, leaving outlines and little flecks to give the art energy. It became a signature look for all of my board books. 

Peek-a Zoo from “Peek-a Who?”

We Want Some More

My publisher wanted more novelty/board books from me after “Peek-a Who?” and I came up with “Grow Up!” which had kids guessing “little to big.” Then I did “Who Loves You, Baby?” so babies could see themselves as cute animals. “Daddy Wrong Legs” was a mash-up book with mix and match tops and bottoms. Then my editor finally convinced me to do more “Peek-a Books,” and I did four more: “Peek-a Zoo!,” “Peek-a Boo!,” Peek-a Choo-Choo!” and “Peek-a Moo!” I have a very cool interactive novelty book coming out in ’22 called “Trainbow” that is an accordion fold that teaches the colors of the rainbow and the different cars on a train.

Novelty books must engage the smallest readers, be interactive in some way, be universal and appeal to any child, and have a simple concept that is immediately understood. That’s a pretty tall order for a small book. But if you can connect with your own inner child and remember what sparked your imagination, you can create a book that you can both read and play with. That’s a good novelty book.

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Thanks so much for joining us, Nina!

You can find Nina on the following:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nina.laden

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nina.laden 

Her Facebook Public Page: https://www.facebook.com/NinaLadenBooks 

and visit her website here: http://www.ninaladen.com

Children’s Novelty Books with Susan Claus

We are so excited to have Susan Claus join us today to share information about Children’s Novelty Books!

Susan Claus is a children’s librarian, writer, and illustrator from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She is happiest outside on slightly rainy days. Susan makes sure to let her inner child out every day to play.

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Reading material is brain food for children. Chapter books are the healthy carbs. Narrative non-fiction is the meat. Informational texts are the veggies, and graphic novels are dessert. In this healthy reading diet, novelty books are the bag of gummy bears your grandpa slips you when nobody’s looking.

Known in the library world as Toy/Moveable books, these literary confections break the rules of standard book format in every way imaginable. Forget multiple pages layered between two covers, reading (in the West) from right to left, front to back, sequentially. These books have built-in features, usually physical, that break the tidy-pages-between-two-covers format.

The definition of novelty is something new, unexpected, and surprising. In novelty books, anything goes. The only constant is charm and delight.

Here are some of the most recognizable novelty styles, with an example or two of each. (ISBNs are included if you would like to look them up.)

Touch-and-Feel / Tactile Books

Board books with fabrics and different textures glued on, for very young children. Little or no narrative is needed. 

Lift the flap

The most basic style of novelty books, with physical flaps that lift up to reveal a hidden part of the illustration. Often marketed for babies and toddlers. Examples abound, but let’s go with the Spot books as a wonderful exemplar.

• Where’s Spot! By Eric Hill ISBN 978-0-3992-4046-1

Pop-Up books

Pop-Up books are marvels of paper engineering with complex figures that go from flat to three dimensional as the cover opens or at page turns. Often there are pull tabs that create an animation. Robert Sabuda has designed a shelf-full of these treasures, many fairy tales, classic children’s books, and a non-fiction series with author Matthew Reinhart. (The one below was new to me, and I intend to order it for the library tomorrow.)

• Ten Horse Farm by Robert Sabuda ISBN 978-0-7636-6398-8

See-through Books

See-through books have holes in the page that reveal a part of the illustration on the following page or all the way to the last page of the book. One well-trofdden trope is a book where a parent or grandparent glues a picture of the child on the inside back cover, so the hole makes the child’s face appear on every page. Others, like Allan Ahlberg’s Peek-a-Boo, hint at the action on the following page.

• Peek-a-Boo by Janet and Allan Ahlberg ISBN 978-0-6708-7192-6

Altered Books

Back in the 1920s, a manic artist named Peter Newell wrote and illustrated some delightfully subversive children’s books. In The Rocket Book, a hole drilled through the pages shows the path of a bottle rocket blasting its way from the basement of an apartment building up through many floors and the mayhem it creates on its way to the roof. The Hole Book is similar, but follows a stray bullet through many walls and misadventures.

• The Rocket Book by Peter Newell ISBN 978-0-8048-0505-6

• The Hole Book by Peter Newell ISBN 978-0-8048-1498-0

More recently, John Scieszka and friends created Battle Bunny in a standard book format, but the illustrations make it seem that a kid has taken a sweet little book about a Birthday Bunny and used a marker to change the story. The two stories overlap in a comical and (dare I say) novel way.

• Battle Bunny by John Scieszka, Mac Barnett, et al. ISBN 978-1-4424-4673-1

Transparent/Projectable books

Projectable books are printed on plastic or acetate, and are meant to be read in a darkened room. The reader shines a flashlight through the page, and an image is projected onto a ceiling or wall.

Whoo’s There: a bedtime shadow book by Heather and Martha Zschock ISBN 978-1-5935-9904-

Toy books

Toy books are books that can be played with as toys. Some have wheels and can be zoomed along the floor. Carousel and House books stand up on their own when the front and back covers are attached together with laces or magnets, and are made to look like a dollhouse or other building. 

Way back in the 18th century, children just learning to read used hornbooks, and some enterprising publisher realized the paddle-like books could be made slightly bigger to be used as a racket in a badminton-like game (presumably when the teacher was busy elsewhere)!

• DK Wheelie Books: Tractor ISBN 978-0-7894-4307-6

• A Victorian Dollhouse by Maggie Bateson ISBN 978-0-3120-6228-6

• 18th century Battledores (if interested, you may start down this antiquarian rabbit-hole by searching for Hornbooks on the internet. You’re on your own!)

Shape Books

Shape books were popular in the late 1800s. The covers and pages were die-cut in the shape of animals or toys, but the stories inside could just have easily been printed in a standard format.

• Only a Doll  https://maxwell.bridgew.edu/exhibits/shape/only.html

The shape had no influence on how the story unfolded. Unlike…

… Peter Newell again! The Slant Book, has a skewed cover that creates a big “V” when opened. The story involves a baby in a baby-buggy, and the odd cover shape gives the illusion that the buggy is careening downhill.

• The Slant Book by Peter Newell ISBN 0-8048-0532-0

Interactive books

These books are novel because of the way the reader interacts with them. The Choose Your Own series requires the reader to make decisions about what should happen next in the story. This results in one book being able to be read a different way each time through. I have heard them described as a maze book. (And I suppose books with actual mazes, and seek-and-find books could land here, as well.)

Press Here by Tullet asks little readers to push, shake, and clap to make things happen on the next page. Minimalist and extremely low-tech, this book is a marvel. [If you are ever full of ennui or down in the dumps, search out Herve Tullet on YouTube and watch him marshal a whole bunch of little kids in a giant art project. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xCcKk_wNUE   ]

Pat the Bunny could be shelved here, or back with the Touch-and-Feel books.

• Choose Your Own Adventure series

• Press Here Herve Tullet ISBN 978-0-8118-7954-5

• Pat the Bunny by Dorothy Kunhardt ISBN 978-0-3071-2000-7

Books With Accessories

Some books come with little extras that are necessary to tell the story. In There’s a Mouse About the House, the reader manipulates a little cardboard mouse (with string tail) through holes in the pages to find a snack while avoiding the cat. 

The Jolly Postman by Janet and Allan Ahlberg follows a postman around fairytale country as he delivers letters. Tiny envelopes contain letters from the characters that add a second layer of story to the book. 

• There’s a Mouse About the House by Richard Fowler ISBN 978-0881101546

• The Jolly Postman by Janet & Allan Ahlberg ISBN 978-0-3161-2644-1

Bath books/cloth books

Waterproof and/or chewable, these books seldom have more than six pages.

Books with Sound

These books, with buttons to push as a kind of aural rebus, are the bane of my existence. Every once in a while (usually by mistake), one of these noisy books makes it on the shelf at the library and hoots/moos/clankity-clanks/wee-oh-wee-oh-wee-ohs until the battery wears out. It is an excellent gift choice for the child of a frenemy.

But wait! There’s More! This is not an exhaustive list of all the kinds of books that could be considered novelties. There are some novelty books that defy categorization. Sam’s Sandwich by David Pelham comes to mind. (ISBN 978-0-7636-7808-1) Is it a shape book? Toy book? Lift the flap book? Where do we put The Little Fur Family by Margaret Brown (ISBN 978-0-0607-5960-5)?

(Actually, I can answer that question. We should put The Little Fur Family into the hands of every four-year-old on the planet.)

Are you intrigued? Has this sparked some ideas for books you would like to make?

Here is some real world advice from author Salina Yoon, in response to a question about writing novelty books. (If you aren’t familiar with Salina Yoon’s books, stop reading and run to a library or bookstore. Go. Right. Now. Finish reading this later.)

“Did someone say NOVELTY??? I’ve been alerted… and snuck out of my work cave to answer this question.

…I am an author/illustrator/designer of novelty books…and I can assure you that a novelty market exists. But I can also tell you that publishers rarely acquire novelty-text only, unless you are a bestselling, well-known author. (I am not one of these… so I’ve never sold text-only to anyone!)

When I submit novelties, the entire package is created. In fact, I hand-build a dummy that looks like a finished, printed book so that the publisher can see, touch, and feel how well all three elements work together: the format, the art, and the concept/text.

Most publishers either create novelties in-house OR (more commonly), they are bought from the book packagers who’ve already developed the novelties… and publishers simply get to choose from a catalog what they’d like to add to their list. This makes novelty acquisitions even trickier.

This is to say unless you have a complete vision for this book, it would be a very tough sell. Most novelty books are art and format driven… so art and format is KEY in making a decision about a novelty submission. Also, novelties are super expensive to produce,…BUT…they have to keep the retail price low… so the profit margins are much less than a traditional picture book. This means the expectations on a novelty (sales qty wise) is much higher… meaning, … it’s a very tough sell.

Board books are a completely different animal. These are typically board-book editions of previous picture books. Many classic picture books have board book editions. If you see a 24 page board book (or longer), it was mostly likely a picture book first. If you want to go this route,… you must sell your ms first as a picture book. And if it’s age appropriate, it could have a life in board book edition down the line. But typically, a storybook doesn’t go straight to board.

So… my advice is this. If you strongly feel this should be a novelty book, develop it that way! And show it that way. Even if you can’t draw, put together a dummy and include the flaps, and do a rough sketch to show what’s beneath the flaps… to explain the Interactive experience. You can find the imprints that publish novelty simply by looking at published novelties, and see their info. Most major houses require agents.

Best of luck!!!

PS: My experiences are only with the major houses (Scholastic, S&S, Random House, Macmillan, Penguin…) so it may not apply to smaller presses. Perhaps smaller presses or book packagers take novelty ms? I do not know.

Back to my cave…”

[August 17, 2012 03:13 PM       SCBWI.org/boards/index.php?topic=64071.0]

And a little bit more…

John Newbery’s Pretty Little Pocket Book (1744) could be considered one of the first novelty books for children. The book itself was straightforward, but came with a ball (if the recipient was a boy) or a pin-cushion (if the recipient was a girl) that was red on one side, black on the other. Pins were meant to be stuck in one side or the other for good and bad deeds. I’m guessing even in the 18th century a child would give an eye-roll on being given this as a gift.

More early novelty books can be explored at the National Library of the Netherlands. Genieten! (Enjoy!)

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Thanks so much for joining us, Susan!

You can find Susan here:

Instagram @fernpondart

Facebook @fernpondstories

Website

From Inkling to Inked: Crafting a Haiku Collection with Betsy Snyder

We are so excited to have Betsy Snyder join us today to share information about crafting a haiku collection!

Author and illustrator Betsy Snyder made her publishing debut in 2007 after several years working as in-house artist and trend group leader at American Greetings. She has since created over twenty picture and novelty books, teaming with a diverse mix of publishers and earning recognition from groups such as the Society of Illustrators, The New York Times, Amazon Best Books lists, Scholastic Parent & Child Magazine, Indie Next List, and the Cooperative Children’s Book Center. Betsy’s smile-inspiring art has also been licensed for other products including games, puzzles, greeting cards, gift wrap, party goods, plush, decor, fabric and wallpaper.

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From Inkling to Inked: Crafting a Haiku Collection

by Betsy Snyder

The inkling

I wasn’t a prolific poet or haiku guru—my interest in haiku came more from my artist side, sparked by a love of Japanese woodcuts and their nature-related subjects. Alongside this passion, I saw an opportunity—in researching the market, I didn’t see many, if any, haiku books meant for baby. What if I could make the art of haiku more friendly and accessible to the youngest readers?

Like most elusive book ideas (aren’t they all?), the inkling of Haiku Baby twinkled in my heart and mind for some time until I was finally called to capture it on paper. That calling was quite literally a phone call from my agent—an editor at Random House was interested in my art, in search of baby book ideas, and inquiring if I had any writing of my own to share. I said “Yes!”, panicked a little because I didn’t (yet), and got to work.

The pitch

I hadn’t quit my day job (yet), so I moonlighted, working to shape my inklings into more concrete concepts. In a few weeks, I sent my first-ever book pitches out into the universe, including the one shared below. Soon after, I received an email from my agent with the subject line “Get out the champagne!!!” Much to my surprise and delight, I had been offered a three-book contract with that inquiring (and so talented) editor, Heidi Kilgras, at Random House. Haiku Baby would be my first authored book, a mini board book collection centered around baby’s first experiences with nature.

The collection

I had an editor who shared my vision and a signed contract. But now what? In addition to honing my haiku writing (I share some haiku-specific writing advice here), I needed to find a way to string each poem together into a cohesive whole. I created an arc, ordering my poems from spring to winter, and also day to night. In the art, I gave readers a bluebird to find and follow through the scenes and seasons.

Voice was another tool that helped hold the collection together and set it apart from other haiku books. I sought word choices that felt playful, bouncy and more approachable to my young audience.

Paying homage to haiku’s Asian roots was important to me. True to haiku, I incorporated a kigo, a season word, into my poems. Each haiku was paired with a first word in English and its calligraphic kanji counterpart. In my illustrations, I adopted nuances of Japanese woodcuts into my imagery, line work, sky gradients and collage patterns.

The tabbed board book format also helped support the collection’s theme. Side tabs featured icons for each haiku and helped guide little hands through the pages. The book’s small size created a more intimate, cozy reading experience.

The companion

Nine years after Haiku Baby was published, I was asked to create its companion book, which became Haiku Night. I already had a formula and format to follow, but this theme presented some new challenges. One hiccup was that some of the kanji for the night animals and icons I was considering were two or more characters long—I had to omit the options that felt too clunky in the layout. And landing on the correct kanji wasn’t always straightforward—sometimes there were multiple kanji options for the English word, and some had negative connotations in the Asian culture. I consulted friends and experts to help me translate.

I also struggled with choosing the right little critter to follow throughout the book (like the bluebird in Haiku Baby). I liked the idea of a moth, but it didn’t feel quite right alongside some of my featured night animals (for example, wouldn’t the bats eat a moth?). Fortunately, I had an epiphany that suddenly seemed so obvious—a metamorphosis! The moth could begin as a hatching caterpillar, transform into a cocoon (hanging upside-down with the bats!), and finally emerge as a moth in the final spread. As it turned out, a moth was the perfect character to unite my night collection—I just needed to see it in a new light.

The insight

Looking back, it’s much easier to see what brings a collection together. But when I am in the midst (and sometimes muck) of writing, the answers aren’t always so clear. I was new to haiku, but I found resources along the way and learned as I went—and you can, too! So, I’ll part with some collection-writing tips and tricks I gleaned along the way that may help you craft your poetry collection.

•Find your glue

What is that special something that holds your poems together as a family? What’s at the core? This will be your ultimate barometer when curating your collection.

•Seize the opportunity.

Are there gaps in the marketplace? Can you answer a publisher’s need? Shape an opportunity into the hook for your book.

•Remember your muse.

Who is your audience? I always start and go back to this. You may have written the best poem ever, but is it right for this collection and audience?

•Start with the title

Feeling stuck with where to start? Many of my best book ideas have been sparked by a catchy and original title. Play with words, rhymes, alliteration, puns, idioms—even make up your own words! Get creative and you may find your collection. Or, maybe a subtitle would help? Motor Goose: Rhymes That Go! (by Rebecca Colby, illustrated by Jef Kaminsky) is a great example of a strong title hook.

•Build an arc

Can you create more continuity by ordering your poems in a certain way, or giving your collection a beginning and end? The whole collection of When Green Becomes Tomatoes: Poems for All Seasons (by Julie Fogliano, illustrated by Julie Morstad) follows a calendar through the seasons, with each poem dated as if it is a journal entry. It has a brilliant circular arc, ending with the same poem it begins with. 

Or—would a recurring character, or cast of characters, help your arc? (Remember, the art can pull a lot of weight here.). All the World (by Liz Garton Scanlon, illustrated by Marla Frazee) has smaller arcs within a bigger arc, with families of characters woven throughout the art, and brought together at the end.

•Pay homage

Does your poetic form have roots in a certain culture? Can you make creative choices that feel authentic to your theme?

•Physical Format

If your book is for babies, toddlers or preschoolers, is there a unique format or feature that might help hold your collection together? You can include format ideas in your book pitch (or editors often have their own ideas for this).

•Challenge yourself

Are you procrastinating, or feeling overwhelmed? Create your own mini assignments and make yourself accountable! One year for National Poetry Month, I committed to writing and tweeting one haiku per day. My haiku writing improved quickly, and I ended up with extra, unused ideas in the hopper for next time. I also found it made me more observant and tuned into my everyday life.

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Thanks for joining us, Betsy!

You can learn more about Betsy and her books at www.betsysnyder.com.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/betsysnyderart

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/betsysnyderart/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/betsysnyderart

Poetry with Allan Wolf

We are so excited to have Allan Wolf join us today to share information about his poetry collections!

Allan Wolf is the author of picture books, poetry, and young adult novels. A skilled and seasoned performer for the past 30 years, Allan Wolf’s dynamic author talks and poetry presentations for all ages are meaningful, educational, and unforgettable. Florida Reading Quarterly calls Wolf “the gold standard of performing poetry.” Wolf believes in the healing powers of poetry recitation and has committed to memory nearly a thousand poems. Wolf has an MA in English from Virginia Tech, where he also taught. He moved to North Carolina to become the artistic and educational director of the touring group Poetry Alive!. Wolf is considered the Godfather of the Poetry Slam in the Southeast, hosting the National Poetry Slam in 1994, forming the National Championship Team in 1995, and founding the Southern Fried Poetry Slam (now in it’s 27th year). He has won many awards, including Bankstreet College’s prestigious Claudia Lewis Award for Poetry. His latest book of poems for kids, The Day the Universe Exploded My Head: Poems To Take You Into Space and Back Again, is now in bookstores!

Welcome, Allan!

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So You Wanna Write a Poetry Collection? by Allan Wolf

Okay, let’s cut to the chase. Poetry is a “hard sell” in ANY economy, so keep that in mind. Even if you are the best of the best, your best may not make you a household name in the world of children’s book publishing. That, of course, never stopped me. Nor does it stop the very dedicated, talented, and prolific group of poets writing for kids today. Just check out any of the titles from WordSong Press (a press devoted solely to children’s poetry). The first thing you’ll notice is that 99.9% of the poetry collections published today are “thematic.” Poems about the seasons, poems about the weather, poems about bugs, poems about sports, etc, etc. That’s because it is the theme, and not your unknown name, that will be THE main marketing hook to sell your book. Sorry folks, unless you are Shel Silverstein or Jack Prelutsky, you’ll need to get thematic. 

At first this may seem limiting—(Q: How many poems about penguins can a poet write? A: Check out Antarctic Antics by Judy Sierra!)—but in the end, you will find that it will make each individual poem more focused, and it will give the overall collection cohesiveness and continuity. I have written poetry collections about anatomy (The Blood-Hungry Spleen), about the solar system (The Day the Universe Exploded My Head: Poems to Take You Into Space and Back Again), and about a school garden (Welcome to Our Magic Garden—due out in 2023). See what I mean? So, find a topic that has some potential, see what other books are already out there, and then go to it. 

The Day the Universe Exploded My Head almost wrote itself. Automatically I knew I had to write a poem for each planet, and so I had to figure out what made each one special. You can see, already, how the ideas might begin to just spring from the research. Did I say research? Yep. Research is your bestest friend. All fancy springs from facts. Consult other nonfiction books on the topic and you’ll see how other authors have divided up the content. You can write all your poems in the same format or vary the format to fit each poem’s subject. I usually do the latter. Longer poems are better suited for older elementary. Shorter for younger elementary and pre-K. I LOVE to rhyme cause that’s how I’m wired, but rhyme is dangerous if you have to force it. Rhyme without rhythm is a clunky train wreck. When in doubt, try free verse. Free verse can be beautiful, lyrical, and even contain musical internal rhymes that turn your poetry into flow-etry. Finally, remember that kids are not stupid, so don’t write stupid poems. 

Good luck with this month’s PB writing challenge. Keep it simple. Have fun. And metaphors be with you!

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You can find Allan on his website, on twitter @AllanWolf100, or instagram @allanwolf100.

Thank you for joining us, Allan!

The Joy of Writing (and Reading) Picture Book Poetry Collections with Sam Smith

We are so excited to have Sam Smith join us today to share the joy of writing (and reading) picture book poetry collections.

Sam Smith is a freelance commercial writer and children’s book author. Her first picture book, CATE’S MAGIC GARDEN, celebrates the power of positivity. It was published by Two Hoots Press in 2017. Sam has served on the SCBWI PA WEST Leadership Team, participates in two writing critique groups and loves writing poetry for people of all ages. She lives with her husband and their two sons in poetry-loving Pittsburgh. 

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Picture books are poetry to me. They’re usually sparely written with meaningful breaks and pauses, they feature word plays, metaphors, similes and even distilled dialogue — and when the stories are combined with art, there is real poetic magic in the marriage. Both picture books and poetry sometimes feature rhyme. Both beg to be read aloud. Both evoke emotions. And both tend to be brief — but powerful. That’s why there is such a natural fit for poetry inside picture books, whether the picture book itself is a poem or it houses a collection of poetry. 

So How Do You Write a Collection of Poetry for Children?

Author Darcy Pattison provides excellent advice on how to start. She recommends that you: 

• Review poetry collections to familiarize yourself with what’s popular and then find the ideas that haven’t happened yet. You might mine curricula for fresh thoughts — or brainstorm ideas on your own. 

• Stick to about 15-30 poems on a topic so you’ll also be categorized as a poetry collection for classrooms as well, and teachers will be able to find your book easily. 

• Use different types of structures to keep the stories interesting. Or, you can stick with one genre but cover different topics.

• Mix rhyming and prose, structured haiku and iambic pentameter; concrete (shaped) or mask (from the POV of an animal, object or person that is not you); or play with a rhyme scheme all your own.  

The best part about writing poetry for children is that there are no real rules, but creativity rules it all! 

Get Inspired with Shel Silverstein

Poetry collections abound! One of the most well-known writers of poetry collections for children is Shel Silverstein. He definitely inspired me to become a poet when I was younger! Although Silverstein didn’t initially plan on writing poetry for children, his style is irresistibly child-friendly. His poetry is clever and features stories about children and animals that are often silly, outlandish and just plain fun — and brought to greater life with charming pen and ink drawings. Silverstein’s poetry often rhymes but does not always have a standard — or discernable meter. That’s part of the magic.

Here is a sampling of his books you must try:

Where the Sidewalk Ends
“If you are a dreamer, come in,
If you are a dreamer,
A wisher, a liar,
A hope-er, a pray-er,
A magic bean buyer …

Come in! You’ll enter directly into a child’s imagination, where you’ll find a girl who eats a whale one bite-at-a-time, a boy who turns into a TV set and a place where you can plant diamond gardens. It’s greatly entertaining and limitless in possibility.

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Everything On It

If you’re game for another wild ride, this poetry collection lives up to its title. It espouses the joys of growing down, getting tongue-tied with Stick-a-Tongue-Out-Sid and what happens when you get a case of the Lovetobutcants. 

And don’t miss his A Light in the Attic, Falling Up and The Missing Piece (not a collection, but a poem in itself), which are always wonderful companions with which to curl up.

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Get Inspired with Jack Prelutsky

Our first Young People’s Poet Laureate (2006-08), Jack Prelutsky has authored more than 50 poetry collections and is a well-loved figure in the children’s poetry sphere. He says he hated poetry while growing up, but loved to draw imaginary turtles. Upon a friend’s prompting, he submitted the turtles to a publisher and at the last minute added some poetry. A star was born! He was amazed that they chose the poetry that took him two hours, but not the turtles that he had labored over for months….

Some of Prelutsky’s poetry collections include Stardines Swim High Across the Sky and Other Poems, The Swamps of Sleethe: Poems From Beyond the Solar System and Be Glad Your Nose Is on Your Face and Other Poems. He has also edited collections of poetry for children, including The 20th Century Children’s Poetry Treasury. Prelutsky wrote the book Pizza, Pigs and Poetry: How to Write a Poem for kids, but adults can find great advice for writing for kids here too.

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Be Glad Your Nose Is on Your Face and Other Poems: Some of the Best of Jack Prelutsky 

You’ll enter a magical world where ogres run wild, frogs wear red suspenders in a rainstorm of pigs and noodles and Scranimals gallivant under a pizza the size of the sun. Crazy rhymes and hilarious stories run rampant in Prelutsky’s most beloved tales!

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Celebrate Diversity

Thinker: My Puppy Poet and Me

Written by Eloise Greenfield and Illustrated by Ehsan Abdollahi

A new collection of poetry for kids from Coretta Scott King Book Award winner Eloise
Greenfield. In this book, even the puppy is a poet!

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Words with Wings: A Treasury of African-American Poetry and Art 

Compiled by Belinda Rochelle

This beautiful collection features African-American poetry and art from the the nineteenth century through the present, with twenty poems from distinguished African-American poets and twenty works of art by acclaimed African-American artists. Renowned poets and artists such as Maya Angelou, Langston Hughes, Rita Dove, Countee Cullen, Jacob Lawrence and Paul Lawrence Dunbar grace the pages.

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The Poetry of Us: More than 200 Poems that Celebrate the People, Places, and Passions of the United States

Edited by J. Patrick Lewis 

Former U.S. Children’s Poet Laureate J. Patrick Lewis chronicles the wonders of America’s people and places through 200+ inspiring poems and stunning photographs, contributed by Langston Hughes, Dorothy Parker, Robert Frost, Naomi Shihab Nye, Walt Whitman, and more.

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Concentrate on One Genre or Subject

H Is For Haiku: A Treasury of Haiku from A to Z

Written by Sydell Rosenberg and Illustrated by Sawsan Chalabi 

The late poet Sydell Rosenberg, a charter member of the Haiku Society of America and a New York City public school teacher — and illustrator Sawsan Chalabi have put together an A-Z collection of haiku that finds the fun and poetry in everyday moments.

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Shaking Things Up: 14 Young Women Who Changed the World

Written by Susan Hood and Illustrated by Sophie Blackall, Emily Winfield Martin, Shadra Strickland, Melissa Sweet, LeUyen Pham, Oge Mora, Julie Morstad, Lisa Brown, Selina Alko, Hadley Hooper, Isabel Roxas, Erin Robinson, and Sara Palacios.

This collection of poetry honors the stories of women who changed the world, from a brave six-year old who helped to end segregation in the South to a 21-year old whose design for a war memorial won — yet she had to defend her right to create to Congress.

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Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices 

Written by Paul Fleischman and Illustrated by Eric Beddows

This book was written to be read aloud by two voices — sometimes alternating, sometimes simultaneous; these poems celebrate the insect world, from the short life of the mayfly to the love song of the book louse.

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Let Your Imagination Loose

The Ice Cream Store 

Written by Dennis Lee and Illustrated by David McPhail

Completely kid-focused, this light-hearted verse roams from digging holes to foreign lands to searching for the perfect pet.

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Let Art Inspire You

World Make Way: New Poems Inspired by Art from The Metropolitan Museum 

Edited By Lee Bennett Hopkins

“Painting is poetry that is seen rather than felt, and poetry is painting that is felt rather than seen.”

—Leonardo da Vinci
Inspired by this simple statement, poets including Marilyn Singer, Alma Flor Alda, and Carole Boston Weatherford wrote new poems to pay homage to some of the most popular works in the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

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Ready to Write?

There are many, many more collections to explore. And we are on the cusp of National Poetry Month, which kicks off in April. It’s the perfect time to get inspired and then try your hand at this genre of unlimited possibilities — to play with words and pictures until they are poetry to your ears. Enjoy the ride, and let us know how you fare!

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Thanks for joining us, Sam! You can find Sam’s book here and here and you can also check her out on Twitter @samsmithofwords.

Meghan Browne's Picture Book Biography Journey

We are so excited to have Meghan join us today to tell us about her journey to becoming a picture book author! She has graciously offered to give away a picture book biography critique (up to 1,000 words) to one lucky winner! Please comment below to enter.

Meghan P. Browne is working towards her MFA at the Vermont College of Fine Arts. Her debut picture book, Indelible Ann will be released June 22, 2021. Meghan lives on and runs a farm in South Austin, Texas, called the Honey Browne Farm. Visit her on Instagram and Twitter at @meghanpbrowne or www.meghanpbrowne.com

Welcome, Meghan!

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Stef, thank you so much for inviting me to “chat” with your readers about picture book biographies.

I stumbled upon this form accidentally in 2018, but it has been a fun (and important!) part of my writing and publishing journey. After taking my first-ever class in writing for children at The Writing Barn, I was eager to keep my creative momentum high. I signed up for a picture book weekend intensive that was months away, only I didn’t realize I’d accidentally signed up for the Picture Book Biography intensive. Whoops.

Rather than ask for a refund, I decided to try my hand at biography. When I couldn’t decide whom to write about, I went back to my roots: What was I interested in reading about as a kid? What kinds of nonfiction stories excited me?

Rewind Time

When I was young, I desperately wanted to be a pilot.

Meghan (L) and cousin Seána wearing their grandfather’s leather flight caps for a game of cards

Meghan and Dorothy Smith Lucas, April 2018

When it came time for a semester-long research project in eighth grade, my grandmother suggested I interview her friend, Dorothy Lucas, who flew for the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) in World War II. My mom drove me to a town two hours away so that I could interview Mrs. Lucas in 1998. Fast forward two decades to the year of the accidental biography intensive, and I decided I needed to interview Dorothy again. At the time, Dorothy was a spirited 96 years old, and we got to catch up at her home in San Antonio.

I continued my research all summer, and my first picture book biography manuscript, The Brave Life of Dorothy Lucas, was born. The work sold to Tamar Brazis at Viking, whom I met that fall at The Writing Barn, and illustrator Brooke Smart has been brought to illustrate. That book is due out in Spring 2022, and I cannot wait for Mrs. Lucas to hold it in her hands. She’ll be 99 years old when it is released.

Dorothy Smith Lucas, WASP

So, what are you passionate about?

 I firmly believe that any story, written from a place of passion, is viable for publication. There are many folks who believe that picture book biography has had its heyday, the market is saturated, and that biography is not selling right now. I think there is some truth to that – of course editors with one or more biographies on their list will be searching for other kinds of stories. However, there are still so many interesting life stories yet to be told. Writers and illustrators from underrepresented communities telling #ownvoices stories are especially needed in the kidlit landscape. Also, lives of lesser-known history makers continue to beg to be told. True creative passion about any subject, no matter how niche, can make for irresistible storytelling. 

Finding the Story Portal

When I’m brainstorming story ideas, I try to get back into the head of my younger self and the more playful side of my adult brain to figure out which elements of a story are the most exciting and memorable for my intended audience. When I was researching Dorothy Lucas’s life, I found myself on Ancestry.com looking at her high school yearbook. Next to her portrait, teenage Dorothy had listed “pineapple ice cream, learning to dive, and being a jitterbug” as a few of her favorite things.

Dorothy Smith Lucas’s high school yearbook photo, courtesy of Ancestry.com

I just knew those details had to make it into the story. My agent, Alyssa Eisner Henkin told me later that the pineapple ice cream bit was one of the most delicious mid-century Americana details in the manuscript for her. One of my favorite parts of writing non-fiction is the treasure hunt of finding the kid-centric details of a subject’s life that can act as a story portal for a child reader.

 Indelible Ann cover by illustrator, Carlynn Whitt

Gather up your Awkwardness!

In working on my debut picture book, Indelible Ann: The Larger-than-life Story of Governor Ann Richards, my editor Ann Kelley at Random House Studio and I were hoping to get a jacket blurb from a few power-hitting women in the world of politics and pop culture. I felt extremely self-conscious about asking anyone with a very busy and important schedule to read my work and do me the huge favor of offering a public endorsement. I managed to gather up my awkwardness anyway and send out those requests. I didn’t always get the response I was hoping for, but I was able to secure one extraordinarily kind and important blurb for my efforts.

This act of feeling nervous and awkward but moving forward anyway has been an important practice in my journey as a writer. It doesn’t ever seem to get easier, but it has helped me land incredible interviews (see image below), and perhaps more importantly, it’s allowed me to share my work with people who have helped me make my writing better.

Meghan beekeeping on the rooftops of Paris after gathering up her awkwardness to interview the Notre Dame beekeepers for The Bees of Notre Dame (Illustrated by E.B. Goodale), due out Fall 2023 from Random House Studio.

I hope you’re feeling excited to try your hand at writing picture book biography. Be sure to return to your childhood brain, find your passion, get your hands dirty in the research, and buckle up for some out-of-comfort-zone adventures.

Be great! I’m rooting for you!

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Thank you, Meghan! You can preorder her book here! And remember to write a comment below to enter to win a manuscript critique! Good luck!

Picture Book Biographies with Guest Mandy Yokim

Mandy Yokim is a nationally published writer based in the Pittsburgh area. Her work has appeared in magazines, newspapers and online publications across the United States and in Canada. She is a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. She’s striving to get her picture books published and into the hands of young readers. You can find her online posting photos on Instagram, occasionally tweeting random stuff on Twitter, and sometimes musing about life on Facebook.

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A picture book biography is just what it sounds like: a true story about a person, written for children in a concise, picture book format. This genre has exploded in popularity in recent years because, in just around 32 pages, these books can teach young readers about important people who have contributed something valuable to our world. It is a pleasure to read a picture book biography with the kids in your life and discover at the end that you’ve both learned something new. 

Writing a picture book biography can be exhilarating if you enjoy research. Even though the picture book is short, the information that you draw upon needs to be broad enough to provide a good grasp of your subject but also specific enough for you to create a compelling narrative that makes your story stand out. If you’re a naturally curious person, this genre can be fun to explore. 

This genre is extremely challenging to write well because, once you have pages and pages of research, you must find the focus. What are the connections in your research? What will your theme be? It is helpful to know that you do not have to start from a person’s birth and tell their whole life story. You can choose to focus on a particular event in the person’s life, an intriguing relationship, or the source of inspiration that motivated the person. There is room for creativity when crafting your unique approach to the subject. 

The best way to learn how to write picture book biographies is to read lots and lots of them. Are you interested in books about amazing women? What about famous people from Pittsburgh? Maybe you just want a broad overview of 100 biographies about a variety of different topics? 

Here are some specific examples of various approaches you can take when writing in the picture book biography genre:

• New angles on a popular person

  • Dancing Hands: How Teresa Carreño Played The Piano for President Lincoln by Margarita Engle

  • Lincoln Clears A Path: Abraham Lincoln’s Agricultural Legacy by Peggy Thomas

• Unconventional narrators

  • Sylvia’s Bookshop by Robert Burleigh 

  • Stonewall: A Building. An Uprising. A Revolution by Rob Sanders

• Same subject, different books

  • Dorothea’s Eyes: Dorothea Lange Photographs the Truth by Barb Rosenstock

  • Dorothea Lange: The Photographer Who Found the Faces of the Depression by Carole Boston Weatherford

• Unique structures 

  • Eliza: The Story of Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton by Margaret McNamara

  • The Girl Who Thought in Pictures: The Story of Dr. Temple Grandin by Julie Finley Mosca

• Special relationships

  • Martin & Anne, The Kindred Spirits of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Anne Frank by Nancy Churnin 

  • Lincoln and Douglass: An American Friendship by Nikki Giovanni

• Heavy topics

  • Jars of Hope: How One Woman Helped Save 2,500 Children During the Holocaust by Jennifer Roy

  • Thirty Minutes Over Oregon: A Japanese Pilot’s World War II Story by Marc Tyler Nobleman

• Light and fun topics

  • Whoosh! Lonnie Johnson’s Super-Soaking Stream of Inventions by Chris Barton

  • The Crayon Man: The True Story of the Invention of Crayola Crayons by Natascha Biebow

Remember that the point of writing a picture book biography is to engage young readers in a story that both informs and entertains. Who will you write about? What story are you excited to research?

I can’t wait to hear what inspires you!

Fracturing Fairytales is Twisted Fun

Sue Fliess is the author of over 35 books for children! She has written multiple fractured fairy tales, and her newest book, Goldilocks and the Three Engineers, comes out this spring. Thank you, Sue, for sharing your wisdom with us!

Sue will be giving away a signed copy of one of her fractured fairy tales! To enter, drop a comment below about how your FFT is coming along this month! Winner will be chosen 2/1/21. 

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Fracturing Fairy Tales is Twisted Fun

by Sue Fliess

When I do school visits and kids tell me they don’t know what to write about or how to get started, I often suggest fracturing a fairytale. For starters, you already have something to work with, almost like having a rough draft—woohoo! But how you fracture it is where the magic comes into play.

 I have three fractured fairy tales, a fractured nursery rhyme, and a fractured Christmas song (We Wish for a Monster Christmas) within my resume of published books. Proof that you can fracture just about anything! Here are some ways to go about it (though I’m sure there are many more!):

         1. Start with a fairy tale that you love and brainstorm ideas, using the What if? model. What if Sleeping Beauty had insomnia? What if Rapunzel rescued herself? What if everything Midas touched turned to jelly?

         2. Think about what kind of story you want to write, and search for a fairy tale that is somewhat linked or related. For example, you want to write a female empowerment story, so you take a story told from the POV of a boy and make it a girl. Or take a tale and infuse it with your culture in order to shed light on your ancestors or traditions, while keeping it linked to the original story.

         3. And this one is my favorite—take the title of a fairy tale and see if you can change just one or two words. Maybe you can include interesting wordplay. This will very likely dictate the story, which is why I love this method! I did this with Mary Had a Little Lab. I happen to have 2 Labrador retrievers, so Labrador was the first thing that came to mind. But that seemed silly. Then the obvious route hit me. Lab could be short for laboratory! Because there was already a lamb in the original, that book felt like it wrote itself. What would Mary make in her lab? A sheep, of course! I did the same with Little Red Rhyming Hood, and The Princess and the Petri Dish. With Little Red and Petri Dish, I really had to sit down and hash out storylines to go with those fun new titles.

Once you’ve chosen your starting point, as much as you need your story to be completely new and your own, you still need to sprinkle in aspects of the original tale so that it is recognizable to readers. I learned that many kids were not that aware of the original Princess and the Pea story, and my Princess Pippa’s harrowing story of unruly pea vines was enough to stand alone as a story. But to please those who knew of the fairy tale (and likely editors, too), in my mind, peas needed to be integral. With Mary Had a Little Lab, Mary is a lonely inventor who creates a pet sheep, which gains her friends. In Little Red, she speaks in rhyme, which makes her unusual, but she finds acceptance in her daily visits with Grandma, who discovers a poetry contest where Red could shine. Presto! Your twist becomes your 2nd hook. If you can weave in a third hook, more power to you.

I have a new fractured fairy tale launching in April called Goldilocks and the Three Engineers. This one took many, many, many attempts to get right. I finally landed the right story when I decided to have Goldilocks (an inventor) be the one who goes for a walk, and the bears (who are engineers) stumble upon her place. I hope you’ll check it out!

Whatever tale you choose to fracture, remember to keep it fun, don’t be afraid to take chances or push limits, have it nod to the original just enough, and most of all, make it your own.

Visit Sue at www.suefliess.com and follow her on Twitter,  Instagram, and Facebook.

Natasha Yim's Goldy Luck and the Three Pandas

Natasha Yim is the author of the fractured fairy tale Goldy Luck and the Three Pandas, as well as numerous other books for children. She was so kind to share her thoughts with us today about her process of writing her fractured fairy tale. She is even offering one winner a signed copy of the book! Details about that at the end. Thank you for sharing your journey, Natasha!

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The journey for my picture book Goldy Luck and the Three Pandas began about fifteen (or so) years ago, when I learned about fractured fairy tales at a writing conference. I was intrigued by the idea of rewriting a familiar tale from a different perspective. After checking out some books at the library, I played around with a few fairy tales. But something about the Goldilocks story had always stuck with me. Here was a little girl breaking and entering into the three bears’ home, destroying their stuff and leaving a mess, never to be heard from again. How rude! And what kind of message does this story give kids?

I wanted to rewrite this story with a more compassionate protagonist and satisfying ending. My first few attempts told the story from Papa Bear’s perspective (I believe it was called “Papa Bear’s Good Deed”). The story began from the moment Goldilocks ran away, leaving her hat behind, and followed Papa Bear’s journey to find Goldy and return the hat to her—and all the people he inadvertently frightened along the way (because he was a bear), even though he had set out to do a good deed. It went on for about 2,000 words—not even close to publishable. And it didn’t have the unique angle I was looking for or the resolution that I felt was missing from the original story.

Then, a title and a “what if” question popped into my head. What if Goldilocks wasn’t a little girl with blonde ringlets, but Chinese? I asked my aunt to help me come up with a Chinese name that sounded phonetically similar to Goldilocks and hence, the first seeds of a story called “Go Dil Lok and the Three Chans” began to germinate. But I wanted the book to be about more than just Goldy having a different ethnic background. I wanted the story to also offer some insights to Chinese traditions and culture. So, Go Dil Lok began her fictional life in a skyrise apartment in Hong Kong (where I had spent my adolescent years), preparing to celebrate the biggest and most colorful Chinese festival of the year, Chinese New Year.

In its nine-year route to publication, this story passed through the hands of my writing group multiple times, not to mention five different editors from two publishing houses who have all contributed greatly to shaping the book. This meant changing the name from the hard to pronounce Go Dil Lok to Goldy Luck (“Luck” serving the double purpose of being a Chinese last name as well as mirroring the theme of good luck in the book) and relocating Goldy from an international location to an American one (which one editor felt kids in the US can better relate to.)

In the end, the location wasn’t identified in the book, so that readers could relate to the story from anywhere in the world. In my attempts to give the mundane beds and chairs a modern twist, earlier versions of the book included an aquarium (Goldy smudged the glass), an oriental rug (she spilled fish flakes all over it) and a computer game (Goldy beat Little Chan’s record). And a greatly detailed Chinese New Year parade with lion dancers. I thought it’d make for really fun illustrations, but another editor wisely suggested I simplify the story and revert back to the original three bowls/chairs/bed structure. Still, I wanted a slightly different spin. Enter my uncle’s massage chair and my parents’ Tempur-pedic® electric bed (as a writer, I never know what everyday event or object creeps into a story!). The really fun part was implanting the traditions and rituals of the New Year (receiving “lucky” red envelopes, eating turnip cakes) into the story and thinking up ways to make Goldy’s experiences more culturally relevant (“She felt like stuffing in a pork bun,” “The mattress felt as hard as a week-old almond cookie”).

Finally, illustrator Grace Zong added her fabulous artistic touch and brought Goldy Luck and the Three Pandas to vibrant life. So, how many people did it take to make this children’s book? One writer, five editors, four readers in a writing group, one agent, one illustrator, one publisher, not to mention the cast of people behind the scenes, from the art director to the marketing personnel. Yes, an entire village. Writing may be a solitary endeavor, but publishing is not. I was initially offered a publishing contract with Tricycle Press, which was bought out by Penguin Random House and became one of their imprints. This was short-lived, however, when Penguin Random House decided to shutter the imprint (a week after I signed the contract), and it was back to square one for me. I’m grateful to Charlesbridge Publishing and my editor, Alyssa Mito-Pusey, for taking on this project. Alyssa and I also worked together on my just-released picture book Luna’s Yum Yum Dim Sum (Charlesbridge Publishing, Dec. 2020).

My 3 tips for writing a fractured fairy tale: Find a unique angle to a traditional tale. If you’re from an underrepresented culture, there’s so much you can mine there for adding elements that would introduce kids to something new about a culture or tradition they may not be familiar with. Or find a traditional cultural folk tale and give it an American twist. Rewrite the story from a different character’s point of view, as in Jon Scieszka’s The True Story of the Three Little Pigs from the big, bad wolf’s perspective. Enhance your story with interesting and informative backmatter. It’s a fact - editors, teachers, librarians, and parents LOVE backmatter! Goldy Luck and the Three Pandas included a note about the traditions and rituals of Chinese New Year, information about the Chinese zodiac, and a recipe for turnip cakes.

You can connect with Natasha on:

Twitter: www.twitter.com/natashayim @natashayim

MeWe: https://mewe.com/i/natashayim

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/natashayim.author/ @natashayim.author

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authornatashayim/

PRIZE TIME!

To enter to win a signed copy of Goldy Luck and the Three Pandas, comment on this blog post with your favorite fairy tale! Winner will be chosen on 2/1/21. Good luck writing!

Fractured Fairy Tales

A fractured fairy tale is a classic fable, folk, or fairy tale that has been twisted or changed. This genre is especially popular because it centers on stories people already know and molds them into something new and fresh.

Writing a fractured fairy tale can be helpful if you struggle with coming up with plots and/or characters, because starting with something that already exists and changing it is often easier than coming up with completely new material. It can also be fun to take a story you loved as a child and come up with a clever or humorous twist.

The problem with writing fractured fairy tales is that there are so many already published. However, they obviously continue to sell well.  My advice would be to do a quick Google search and/or library check once you’ve got your idea to make sure it hasn’t already been done.

So… how to create that fractured fairy tale idea? The first thing you need to do is pick which fable, folk, or fairy tale you want to fracture! For ideas, check out some of these lists:

Ivy Tech Library Guide to Fable, Folk, and Fairy Tales 

Fairy Tales List 

Sur La Lune Fairy Tales 

Once you’ve figured out your story, there are plenty of ways to change it. Here are some ideas with examples:

• Gender reversal 

  • The Gingerbread Girl by Lisa Campbell Ernst 

  • Prince Cinders by Babette Cole 

• Point of View switch

  • Goldilocks and Just One Bear by Leigh Hodgkinson 

  • Seriously, Snow White was so Forgetful as Told by the Dwarves by Nancy Loewen

• New setting 

  • Interstellar Cinderella by Deborah Underwood

• Different conflict

  • Jack and the Beanstalk (and the French Fries) by Mark Teague

  • Mary Had a Little Lab by Sue Fliess

  • Mary Had a Little Glam by Tammi Sauer

• Different ending

  • The Princess and the Packet of Frozen Peas by Tony Wilson

  • Ninja Red Riding Hood by Corey Rosen Schwartz

• Mash up of multiple tales

  • The Princess and the Pig by Jonathan Emmett

  • Little Red Gliding Hood by Tara Lazar

  • The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales by Jon Scieszka

• Different characters

  • Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs by Mo Willems

  • Cinderelephant by Emma Dodd

• Origin Story

  • Jack Frost by William Joyce

• Continue the Story

  • After the Fall (How Humpty Dumpty Got Back Up Again) by Dan Santat

  • The Frog Prince, Continued by Jon Scieszka

• New culture

  • Goldy Luck and the Three Pandas by Natasha Yim

  • La Princesa and the Pea by Susan Middleton Elya

Of course, you can also combine any of these ideas and fracture the story in multiple ways! The point is to try to change enough elements in your story that it feels like something new, but keep enough of the story so that it is still recognizable.

I’d love to hear which story you pick and how this goes for you! Happy fracturing! 

2021 Picture Book Writing Challenge

My picture book critique group has been meeting monthly for 3 years now, and I feel so blessed to have these ladies in my life. After a rough 2020, we decided we wanted to kick it up a notch in 2021 with a new challenge. 

For VCFA grad school last year, I was able to participate in a semester-long picture book intensive. Each month we were required to write a picture book in a new genre. I found it super challenging and rewarding at the same time. I tried nonfiction, a grief story, a frame story, and more. I wrote stories with structures I didn’t even know existed. Were they all great? Of course not. But I learned so much and had so much fun at the same time. 

I shared this with my critique group, and we decided that each month in 2021, one of us will teach the others about a different genre of picture book. Following that meeting, we will use the next month to write a picture book in that genre.

Then I thought, maybe other people would like this challenge as well, and the 2021 Picture Book Writing Challenge was born. If you’ve always been curious about picture books but have never tried writing one, come join us! Or, if you’re a seasoned picture book writer, maybe this will spark some new ideas for you!

How it Works:

Register by commenting on this blog post. On the first day of the month, I’ll share a blog post with information about that month’s genre of picture book and will provide examples. I will also do my best each month to share a guest post from an author who writes that type of picture book. Challenge yourself by writing a complete picture book manuscript in that genre! It doesn’t have to be perfect! No one else has to see it! Have fun with it! (This is a personal challenge for yourself, and no critiquing or sharing manuscripts is involved.)

Outcome:

By the end of the year, you’ll have 10 new picture book manuscripts! And hopefully you will have been pushed out of your comfort zone, tried something new, and had fun doing it. And if we’re really lucky, there will be prizes!

The list:

January: Fractured Fairy Tales

February: Biographies

March: Poetry Collections

April: Novelty Books

May: Lyrical Stories

June: Circle Stories

July: Break! (We all need time off, right?)

August: Metafiction

September: Narrative Nonfiction

October: Grief

November: Humor

December: Break! (Who has time to write in December?)

I hope you join us! Happy writing!