Two Picture Book Workshops at SCBWI-C

Most of my faithful blog readers know that I've been working on a novel for many years. What you might not know is that novel started as a picture book. Although that is another story, I continue to love picture books.

Recently, I've reviewed a number of nonfiction picture books  including some biographies. It appears to be a growing (perhaps limitless) trend in children's books. As I wrote HALF-TRUTHS I came across two historical figures that became mentor figures to Lillie and Kate. As I mentioned here, they each could be an inspirational subject for a picture book. 

With that in mind, I attended two workshops on picture books at the SCBWI-Carolinas conference. Here are some of my takeaways:

Tara Luebbe

Picture Book Workshop #1

Tara Luebbe spoke on "Mining Nonfiction for Fiction Picture Books." Each of her books, written with her sister, Becky Cattie, started with a real fact. Although this isn't exactly what I have in mind to write, her workshop was informative and inspirational.  

Tara brainstorms as many unusual facts as she can find and then digs deeper. She tries to marry different ideas together and thinks, "What can I add to make this marketable and kid-friendly?" She researches to make sure that the idea hasn't been taken, does more research into the subject, and even finds jokes related to the topic. Her wide range of picture books are a testimony that this process works!

She mentioned submitting back matter with your manuscript and to use art notes as needed, particularly for action. "Don't overuse them. If the script doesn't make sense without them, then it's okay."

Picture Book Workshop #2

The second picture book workshop I attended (there were others, these were the ones I selected) was, "Bringing Your Voice to Nonfiction" with Lina Maslo and Alice Ratterree. Lina is the author illustrator of Free as a Bird and an upcoming biography Through the Wardrobe: How C.S. Lewis Created Narnia. Alice has illustrated several books but focused on Dangerous Jane, the biography of Jane Addams. 

Lina Maslo

Alice Ratterree

Lina and Alice stressed that the person you are writing about inspires you. And as you write, remember to:

#1 Discover! Learn something new! Play!

#2 Cross pollinate as you write. Draw from other areas of your life. 

#3 Always ask yourself,  "Who am I creating for?"

All three of these points resonated with me. It is easy to lose the sense of play and discovery when we're writing so I appreciated the reminder. 

I   Writers are also encouraged to consider the character's natural environment, his or her time period, and the city, town or village where your character lives. Nonfiction biographers must constantly consider what influenced their character. I was particularly interested in how Alice demonstrated that the color palette she used in Dangerous Jane reflected the colors in Jane's life.

Speaking of nonfiction, here's one more slide from Vicki Selvaggio's intensive:

She told me, "This varies for picture books as you usually don't need a proposal for a nonfiction picture book. This information applies mainly for middle grade and young adult books." Depending on the topic of book, Vicki always determines what to send in her proposal based on the publisher's submission guidelines and the type of nonfiction project. 

Is there a nonfiction picture book in your future? If so, I hope these tips will help you on your journey. Keep me posted on your progress--we can compare notes along the way!

Next Up: Small With Big Dreams

Badger's Perfect Garden - A Review, Author Interview, and A Zoom Author Visit Giveaway

When Sleeping Bear Press asked me if I was interested in joining Marsha Diane Arnold's blog tour, I was happy to agree. I blogged about May I Come In? here, and look forward to sharing her other new book, Mine. Yours. next month. Diane is a prolific picture book author with over a million copies of her books sold!

REVIEW

When Badger decided to plant a garden with all the different seeds he had stored in the spring, he received help from his friends Red Squirrel and Dormouse.

Badger made sure that the bumpy seeds were planted in one row, round ones in another, and whirly ones in a third. He was excited thinking about his perfectly planted garden with its orderly rows.

Until...a huge storm came. 

Badger grabbed his umbrella and rushed outside. He ran up and down the rows, trying to cover his seeds...The ground began to slide.

His garden and his hopes are ruined. Badger's friends tried to comfort him with hopes of future plantings, but to no avail.

One summer day Badger's friends drag him out of the house to see a wonderous sight.

"It looks like a celebration, it's the most wonderful garden of all!" 

This picture book, beautifully illustrated by Ramona Kaulitzki, will delight both children and the adults who read the book to them. The message of joy in spite of what looks like hopeless disaster, can be a great starting point for a conversation.

INTERVIEW

Carol: What was your inspiration for Badger’s Perfect Garden? 

Marsha: When I lived in Sonoma County, California, I had a wondrous half acre flower/fruit tree garden and a manzanita/oak forest that was home to forest creatures. That may have been the impetus to begin this story about gardens and sweet animals.

Images from Marsha's garden and forest in California.
Truly inspirational!

Carol: Were you trying to “educate” your readers about being open to new possibilities when something doesn’t work as they expected?

Marsha: I don’t think of my writing as “educating,” but simply writing a story my readers will enjoy. Naturally, my values and personality peek through. For much of my life I have been somewhat of a perfectionist, so the story is about “letting go,” about surrender, and about appreciating the “imperfections” in life, imperfections that are “perfect” in their own way, like Badger’s jumble-tumble garden. 

Carol: Years ago, anthropomorphized animals were frowned on in the children’s publishing industry. Obviously, your books break that rule and I suspect you’ve had no problem selling them! Do you ever receive negative feedback about this? 

Marsha: I see this warning fairly often in essays with titles like “Ten things not to do when you write a picture book.” 

I suspect these warnings spring from editors having read too many substandard stories with talking animals. But many popular writers anthropomorphize animals, food, and even furniture! It’s all in how you write the story. Editors have their preferences and some do not appreciate anthropomorphism. The lesson is to read popular and award winning authors and see what they’re doing and to know what a particular editor’s preferences are.

Carol: Do you take care to make sure your animals show some of their animal traits? For example, Red Squirrel seems friendly and curious. 

Marsha: I like my animal characters to possess characteristics of the real animal, but the story is always my highest priority. Squirrels, though timid, are also curious and social, like Red Squirrel in my book. Badgers can be quite aggressive, but that’s not at all like my Badger. 

I also like my fictional animals to be from the same country or ecosystem. The animals in Badger’s Perfect Garden can all be found in England - the European Badger, Red Squirrel, Dormouse, and Weasel. 

GIVEAWAY

We're switching up the giveaway this time.  Marsha is giving away a free 15-minute Zoom video chat with an educator and his or her classroom. Please leave me a comment by March 21 if you would like to be entered, along with your email address if you are new to my blog. Media specialists--this includes you! Please share this blog post with your favorite teacher or librarian. 

Guest Instructor #2: Tameka Brown and a Giveaway!

Congratulations to Barbara Younger who was last week's winner of Emily Pearce's book, Isabel and the Miracle Baby. By the way, for those of you who are in the middle of that interesting/challenging/unavoidable time of your life called menopause, Barbara runs a fun and informative blog on the subject!

In this second blog featuring my guest instructors, Tameka Brown shares some advice with my Writing for Children class at Central Piedmont Community College.

Tameka is a FTM (full time mother) who started writing picture books because she enjoyed reading them with her three daughters. She studied the craft, joined SCBWI, and published her first book Around Our Way on Neighbor's Day in 2010.  That was followed by My Cold Plum Lemon Pie Bluesy Mood in 2013 which received the prestigious Charlotte Zolotow Honor award. Read more about how Tameka developed this book which shows a day's worth of emotions, in my previous blog about her.  She currently has another picture book out on submission and is mulling around other projects. 

• For picture book writers, sometimes getting an agent is tougher than getting a publisher. She and her agent, Jennifer Rofe at Andrea Brown Literary, sent out Around Our Way on Neighbor's Day for a year before it was purchased by Abrams.
• Bed time stories allow children to use their imagination as they come up with the pictures which accompany the stories.
• Young children practice pre-reading and fine motor skills as they pinch, grasp, and turn pages. 
• Publishers want books that children will pick up on their own-not just because their parents have picked it. 
• A good illustrator will dovetail his work with the author's. They'll add another layer of meaning to the book. For example, Shane Evans added gray swirls that showed Jamie's emotions when his mood turns black. (see sample illustrations by clicking on "Look Inside" here.)
• Many picture books are character driven (like the Fancy Nancy series) but so far, Tameka's books have been more literary, focusing on language and using free verse to tell her stories. 
• A moral should be written into a story so that the child draws it out herself. Stories should have a takeaway which shows the character's solving a problem herself and/or her growth. 
• Even if your book is first in a series, market it as an individual title. It needs to be able to stand alone. 
• As writers we need to make personal connections to our story. More than including details of real events from our lives, we want to insert the emotions we've experienced that may be universal to our readers.
• When you're asked if you are willing to revise, the answer should always be "Yes!" Around Our Way on Neighbor's Day started out as an ABC book--but didn't end up that way! 

To win an autographed copy of My Cold Plum Lemon Pie Bluesy Mood, please leave me a comment by April 25. Open to U.S. addresses only. Share this on your social media of choice or become a new follower and I'll enter your name twice!