Teddy, Let's Go! A Debut Picture Book Review, Author & Illustrator Interviews, and a Giveaway!

 Today, I have the honor and delight to introduce a fellow Matthews, North Carolina writer, Michelle Nott. Michelle is celebrating the publication of her debut picture book, Teddy, Let's Go (Enchanted Lion Books: December 2022). After the review, make sure you read my interviews with Michelle and Nahid Kazemi, the illustrator. It'll make you want to pass this sweet multi-generational book along to your child or grandchild.

REVIEW

I have reviewed hundreds of picture books, but I can't remember any that open with three wordless pages. These pages depict Teddy's "birth." 

Here is one of the spreads:

Following these sewing scenes, the reader meets Teddy's creator. "The wavy-haired woman with love in her eyes pulled me close and whispered in my ear."

Teddy "floats" into his new home and is introduced to his owner. "This...is Teddy," the wavy-haired lady says. 

A nose as small as mine rubbed against my cheek.
We were made for each other.

Teddy goes everywhere with the little girl.  They eat mushy vegetables together and both need a bath. They celebrate their first birthday with cake and party hats. When she begins to talk, Teddy names her.

She soon had a name for everything. "Here's my Rabbit and my Giraffe
and my Teddy and my...my...my."
So I called her by her favorite word: My.

No matter what they did together, Teddy always listened for his name and knew what would come next, Teddy, let's go."

My grows up and...

One summer, I climbed into My's backpack
and we rode a bus to camp.

Teddy was often left behind in the cabin (which he guarded) and tried to figure out what he was supposed to do next. He watched and the screen door sprung open, and laughter blew in. (I had to include that line because I love it!)

Teddy and My return home after camp and Teddy hiked to the top of her dresser. 

Some days I didn't see much of My. 

But when she noticed me alone, she always

 reminded me how strong I was 

and how high and how far I could go.

And when it was time to settle down, I listened.

"Teddy, let's go!"

After their seventh birthday when "Teddy whispered happy dreams in her ear," he felt something different. Days and nights passed. He listened. Then one day, A small voice cried. My went still. I stretched out my arms and legs so My would know I was still there.

My scrubs Teddy and sews some loose stuffing back inside of him. Then she says, "Teddy, let's go!" She closes one door and opens another.

"This," she said ,"is Teddy."

I floated down to our first bed and to a new baby. This was our moment. 

I listened...and whispered happy dreams in his ear. 

                                                    ****

I love so much about this sparsely written and beautifully illustrated picture book. I love how the author brings the story full circle in the same way that Bevan, A Well-Loved Bear did. I love Michelle's lyrical language, her use of repetition, and the threads that connect the grandmother to her granddaughter and then connect My to her baby brother. And as a daughter who learned to sew on my mother's Singer sewing machine and has made her share of stuffed animals and pillows with my own daughters and granddaughters... I love how My sews up Teddy just like her grandma. 

As a special treat, you are going to hear how both Michelle and Nahid drew from their own childhood experiences to write and illustrate Teddy. AND you'll also hear how their vision for the wordless pages was exactly the same without ever consulting with one another. 

AUTHOR INTERVIEW

Carol: What was the inspiration for Teddy, Let's Go!

Michelle: I was inspired to write this story by the teddy bear that my grandmother hand-made for me when I was born. I still have it right here on a shelf in my office. But I was sitting in my children's bedroom, when they were around kindergarten age, with them and Teddy when I started to think about all the adventures this bear has been on through my childhood. I then envisioned different scenarios that he may experience with my own children. Although the book is not autobiographical, it is heavily inspired by childhood imagination, milestones, and intergenerational love. 

Carol: What was your path to publication?

Michelle: As mentioned, the idea for this story occurred when my children were quite young. At first, I wrote it as a bedtime story for them. Once I discovered SCBWI and CBI, I revised and shaped it in hopes of publication. After querying it for  a couple years, I often read that it was lovely but "too quiet." So, I put it away. 

Fast forward to my daughters in high school, I queried Essie White with a middle grade novel who really liked my writing and asked if I also wrote picture books. I sent her three --two that were more commercial and Teddy Let's Go! She signed me for Teddy. A couple years later, she sold the manuscript to Enchanted Lion Books with Nahid Kazemi as the illustrator. I could not have been more thrilled!

In a very early draft, I had paragraphs describing the grandmother sewing and stitching Teddy together. All that description was lovely for an oral story at bedtime, but entirely too much for a book. Nor would it be necessary. I cut it all before submitting it to agents. I didn't even add an illustration note. And then, I saw the PDF of the final art by Nahid. She had brilliantly illustrated in the first wordless spreads just what I had imagined in my head.

ILLUSTRATOR INTERVIEW

Carol: What medium did you use? I love how the images are soft and almost pastel-like. How did you achieve that effect?

Nahid: I use chalk pastels in a way that looks like watercolor. In order to get this effect, I've made them powdery. For the red, I used cotton instead of a brush. When I illustrate, I use stuff like cotton, brushes, tissue paper, and cotton swabs.

Carol:  Out of curiosity, why did you picture the grandmother with a very old Singer sewing machine? The story appears to be a contemporary story except for the hand-turned machine. (Reader: this illustration is not pictured in my review.)

Nahid: Your question about a hand-turned Singer sewing machine is very good. This machine belonged to my mother when I was a kid and we made a lot of creative stuff with it. 

Carol:  I was wondering about the wordless pages in the beginning. Was that something you and the art director came up with?

Nahid: It was my suggestion. I wanted kids to know how Teddy was born. Indeed, I wanted to depict giving birth to Teddy so that it might be a metaphor for giving birth to the baby. This book was a very challenging book. It took a few years to work on the illustrations and I changed most of them a few times in order to get the best result.

                                                    *****

Now you know some of the layers that went into creating this special book.

PREORDER! AUTHOR SIGNING!

As I have mentioned in previous blogs, you help authors when you preorder their books. You can find Teddy, Let's Go at your local bookstore or here and here. 

If you live anywhere near Charlotte, NC, come meet Michelle and purchase a copy of her book at Park Road Books on November 19. 

GIVEAWAY

If you are interested in winning this book (and who wouldn't?) please leave a comment by October 27. This time, if you are a parent or grandparent OR are expecting a baby or grandchild in the near future, I'll put your name in twice. U.S. addresses only. Remember, if you are new to my blog, don't forget to leave your name and email address! 

Congratulations to Emily Weitz, a new subscriber to my blog, who won Bug On the Rug from last week's blog.

Science Fiction YA Authors Panel Rocks!

Congratulations to Rosi Hollenbeck, my most faithful blog follower on the west coast and an amazing blogger. She won an autographed copy of Sundee's book, "The Other Half of My Heart." Check out her blog for writing resources, book reviews, and giveaways. 

Beth Revis, Amie Kaufman, & Megan Spooner
enjoying the spotlight at Park Road Books

One of the fun parts about writing a book for young adults is meeting authors. Recently Park Road Books, Charlotte's own indie bookstore, hosted Beth Revis (Across the Universe trilogy) Amie Kaufman and Megan Spooner (These Broken Stars). They talked fast and furious about their books, advised new writers, and offered insight into collaborating on a book. Since I didn't bring my laptop, I took notes. Their paraphrased remarks are below: 


Little Known Fact About Beth:  Part of what inspired Across the Universe was an Agatha Christie book, Murder on The Orient Express.  She thought about how Christie's murder took place in the close environment of a train. Then she went on to think, "What if there was a murderer on board a spaceship?" 




Researching Your Book: There were was much laughter when all three authors shared some of the strange research they've done. Beth seemed to find a lot of information from Russian astronauts who apparently have tried more things than Americans--including surviving (for a very short time) in space without a spacesuit. 


Words of Wisdom from Megan: Look all around you for ideas. When you get one, chew on it for a while. Play, "what if?" Stories can get built out of small ideas. 


Question from Amie: All writers come back to certain questions or themes that fascinate them. What are the ones you inserted into your stories?

   Beth "Mine is finding your place in your world. What is home?"

   Megan "People from different worlds must work together to survive." 




On Collaboration: Megan and Amie played with their characters first. They e-mailed back and forth for at least a year imagining their adventures before they decided to write a book together. They each took one of the characters and wrote the chapter from that person's point of view. During the revision stage, they each worked on the entire book so that at some point, they no longer could identify who wrote what.


On a Character’s Motivation: Don't get your characters what they want. Or give it to them and then make sure the character hates what he or she received.


Advice to young writers: Read. Everything. Don't worry about publication. This is not a race. Beth added, "This is about creating art. When in doubt, make better art." Meg said, “Get used to showing other people your work as soon as possible.”


On Creating Imaginary Worlds: Make an encyclopedia and maps. Include as much information as possible. You'll be thankful later on that you did. Beth said that after Across the Universe was written, her editor asked for a map of the ship. She was forced to admit that one didn't exist.


On Creating Dialogue: Realistic dialogue should be a cross between what we think we sound like and what we really sound like.




Amie's Advice on writing Your First Chapter: Don't spend a month re-writing it. It will get changed a lot. Get it out and move on. 


*******

How about you? What do you learn from other authors--either ones you meet in person or via their books or in cyberspace? I'd love to hear your tidbits too!

Guest Blog with Tameka Brown and a Giveaway!

It is my honor to host Tameka Brown, a local Charlotte, NC picture book author. Her latest book,  My Cold Plum Lemon Pie Bluesy Mood was just released last week. Here she talks about the inspiration for the book and the impact she hopes it will have on readers. At the end you'll see how you can win a copy of this kid-pleasing and wonderfully illustrated book that belongs in every family and school library! 

Carol: I love your title. What is the story behind My Cold Plum Lemon Pie Bluesy Mood? Did the title just come to you? Any events in your own life prompt the story?

Tameka: Actually, the title was a major group effort. Along with myself there was my editor, my agent, the art director, and several sales and marketing folks involved in coming up with it. I love it, too.

For this story, I happened to be thinking to myself one day, “Boy, am I in a mood.” My writer’s ear zoned in on the “in a mood” part; it sounded like a great first line or title for a picture book. That was the spark that resulted in the story of a boy and his emotion-filled day...complete with two, pushy older brothers. Personally, I’m a lover of bright colors because they make me feel so alive; I suppose I intuitively married the concepts of color and emotion together.

Carol: If you could wave a magic wand and create the takeaway from this book, what would it be? In other words, what are you hoping readers (both little and big!) will gain from reading it?

Tameka: I hope to encourage readers to own ALL of their feelings, the good and the not-so-good. I want them to recognize that they have a right to feel each and every one of their emotions, to express them verbally or in writing, in a constructive (maybe even a creative) way.  At the very least, I hope they will focus on identifying and acknowledging their true feelings to themselves. That’s a necessary life skill that precedes effective problem-solving.

Carol: What was your path to publication? How long did it take to go from the idea to the book? Did Jennifer Rofe' make editing suggestions?

Tameka: My Cold Plum Lemon Pie Bluesy Mood is my second picture book. I secured an agent (Jennifer Rofé of Andrea Brown Literary Agency) with my first book, Around Our Way On Neighbor’s Day.  Jen is what is known as an “editorial” agent, which means that she critiques all of my manuscripts before submitting them to editors to ensure that they are as strong as they can be. Not all agents are editorial and when seeking representation, a writer should consider which they would prefer. Although it may add an extra stage to the submissions process, I have learned to truly value Jennifer’s astute feedback. Even if an editor feels a manuscript of mine isn’t a good fit for their current list, they almost always request to see more of my work. Jen’s focus on making sure I put my best foot forward plays a significant part in that.

Here was my path to publication:

·         I wrote a story called In a Mood and worked with my critique group to get it in the best shape possible.

·         I sent it to Jen. She didn’t have any revision suggestions (a rarity!), so we sent it out on submission.

·         The amazing Joy Peskin, expressed interest on behalf of Viking Children’s early in the process.

·         Joy bought my manuscript and worked with me on minor revisions.

·         An illustrator (Shane W. Evans) was secured.

·         Joy left Viking.

·         My project was reassigned to Joanna Cardenas—who took great, loving care of both me and my book.

·         Sales & Marketing suggested that we change the title because buyers might assume the plot was something it’s not.

·         After a great team effort, a new, dynamic title was developed.

·         On March 7, 2013 My Cold Plum Lemon Pie Bluesy Mood was officially born into the world!

Congratulations, Tameka, on birthing your second picture book and for a great review in Publisher's Weekly!

Here are the giveaway rules:

• Post a link to this blog on your favorite social media site OR become a follower of my blog.
• Leave me a comment as to which you did. If you are a new follower PLEASE leave your email address. If you don't, I'll have no way to contact you if you win!
• Enter by midnight on March 15th. Winner will be drawn on March 16th.  

If you live in or around Charlotte, Tameka will be autographing books at Park Road Books on March 23 at 2 PM. Hope to see you there!

Being Frank and Giveaway #1

In my next three blogs I am introducing three books that are coming out this month. Each author has generously agreed to give away a copy of her book. Details on how to enter follow this post. But first, here is Donna Earnhardt who is jumping out of her skin to share her new baby with you. Take it away, Donna!

Carol: How and when did you get your idea for Being Frank? Did anybody in your family inspire the story?

Donna: Some people do creative thinking while cleaning or exercising. I happen to know some wonderful folks who get great ideas while mowing. Me? I usually get them while I’m taking a shower or when I’m praying. I just happened to be doing both when the first line of Being Frank popped into my head! The whole book is inspired by my family. Even the main character’s name. My dad’s first name was Frank! 

Carol: How many rewrites/revisions did you go through? Did  editorial input shape the story?

Donna: I went through a couple of revisions on my own before I queried Shari Greenspan at Flashlight Press. But my changes were not big ones. For about a year or so after she received my manuscript, Shari gave me input and asked for revisions. Her insight was incredible and she saw things that needed changing which I couldn’t see. She has great ideas and they definitely helped the story become what it is today.

Carol: How did you find your publisher? 

Donna: I had already submitted  several things to Shari, but none of them were right for her. As hard as it was to receive rejections, it was nice to know that Shari was quick and honest in her feedback. If she didn’t like it, you knew pretty quickly. She had rejected another book, Pirate Stew, which I revised and resubmitted. She still didn’t like it! J BUT… I believe that interaction was a blessing! It wasn’t too long after that rejection that I sent Being Frank. Obviously, she liked it!

Carol: It sounds as if your back and forth interactions was the basis for a good working relationship between the two of you.  How do you feel about how the book was illustrated?

Donna: Andrea Castellani is incredible!  He surpassed anything I had imagined and completely “got” my story. He captured Frank’s personality and made him come alive! Matter of fact, I think my husband fell in love with Andrea’s work even more than my story! You can see more of Andrew’s work HERE. 

Carol: How long did the entire submission to publication process take?

Donna: I am relying on my memory here, so let’s see...

a.     Idea, rough drafts: Wrote it during NaNoWriMo 2009 over two days

b.     Initial revisions on my own, then query submission: two days

c.     Request for entire MS from editor then frantic submission to critique group for feedback: 2-4 days

d.     Submission of entire manuscript (with more revisions) sent to Shari: 3-5 days after critique group’s feedback.

e.     Positive response from Shari indicating she was interested in considering it: Not long. Perhaps a week after submission.

f.      Revisions and rewrites via email: 15 or so revisions (with editor) over the course of a year.

g.     Contract: May 2011!!!

h.     Happy dance: still happening!

Carol: What's next? Another book Flashlight Press, looking for an agent, or just trying to keep the dust bunnies under control at this point?

Donna: I am in the process of looking for an agent for my other picture books and chapter books. After submitting to agents I am now waiting. J If I don’t find an agent that fits (or who totally loves my books), then I’ll submit to houses on my own.

As for the dust bunnies? They are incorrigible. First they staged a coup, now they have created their own production company. They’ve already made up their first two romantic comedies -- Some Like it Hop and Bringing up Bunny.

Carol: When is your book launch?

Donna: Park Road Books on Saturday, September 22 from 11:30-1:30. 

Carol: Thanks, Donna, for sharing the backstory of your book. I can't wait to get copies for my grandchildren. No home should be without this book!

Donna: I appreciate the opportunity to be on your ultra-cool beans blog!

 

 *************

To enter this giveaway: 

1. Please share this on your social media site of your choice and/or become a follower of this blog.

2. Leave me a comment, with your email address, indicating which you did.

3. Winner's name will be drawn September 19th after 6 PM.

Donna with Sean, her husband of 17 years and
one of the many Franks in her life.  

When Donna isn't homeschooling or battling the laundry, she's writing children's stories, poetry, songs, and mysteries. You might find her fishing the Pee Dee River, hiking in the mountains with her family, or visiting her hometown of Cordova, NC. She lives in Concord, NC, and Being Frank is her first picture book.