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As a mom, nothing makes my heart skip like feeling my boys snuggle up close or unexpectedly slip one of their hands in mind.
In celebration of Mother's Day on Sunday, I thought I'd share two new books that remind me of all those quiet little moments that make my heart swell.
Waiting Out the Storm
By Joann Early Macken,
illustrated by Susan Gaber
Candlewick Press, 2010
$15.99, ages 4-8, 32 pages
A mother tells her anxious little girl not to fear the rumblings of a storm in this breathtaking poem about having someone near to get through scary times.
As the first gusts of the storm stream through her hair, the rosy cheeked girl timidly calls out from behind a tree to her mother, who is kneeling in a field clipping daffodils for her basket.
The girl asks her mother why the sky is carrying on so, and her mother explains that the wind is calling out to the raindrops to play and the thunder is stumbling around, but not to fear, for it is only a sound.
But what will the turtles do, the ducks, chipmunks and chickadees, when the rain pours down and the lightning flashes? Not to worry, the mother comforts her, they too have someone near.
Macken's lyrical words transform a dark day into something playful, while Gaber's illustrations envelop you with warmth.
At times you almost feel raindrops skipping off the page, and when the girl holds tight to her mother's shirt, you feel the depth of their connection.
I Love Mom
Written and illustrated by Anna Walker
Wow! We’ve got a lot to cover today. First, a continuation of my previous post about Waiting Out the Storm.
After my manuscript was accepted, Candlewick Press generously involved me in the search for the right illustrator by sending me samples of possible illustrators’ work and asking for my opinion. I loved them all! Several illustrators turned the project down, though: one was too busy, one was working on her own books, one had recently illustrated a book with a similar theme. At one point, we discussed the possibility of making the characters animals instead of people. Finally, in April 2007, a year after the manuscript acceptance,
Susan Gaber accepted the illustration project.
I pored over her
portfolio online. Her work was gorgeous, luminous, perfect, and absolutely worth the wait.
And then I waited some more, trying not to be too anxious about what I knew had to be a time-consuming process. In the meantime, I revised the manuscript, cutting the text from 363 words to 311 in March 2008. The first sketch dummy was due that April, and the final artwork would be sent to the printer the following spring. My editor regularly sent me copies of updated art; I carried them around with me so I could show them off. When I received my first author copy of the finished book, I cried. Even though Federal Express had bent it in half, it was the most gorgeous book I’d ever seen.
As
Jeanne Marie mentioned, the
Washington Post gave
Waiting Out the Storm a lovely review. I’ve posted it and several others (including a starred one from
Booklist!) on
my web site. I’m thrilled that
Waiting Out the Storm is receiving such positive responses, and I’m thoroughly enjoying reading it to children in schools and libraries.
April is National Poetry Month. (Read all about it
here.) Our own April is celebrating by taking part in the Poem-A-Day Challenge, writing a poem every day and posting them all
here. (Good luck, April! As my husband says, break a pencil!) Feel free to post your own encouraging comment.
Finally, today, April 2, is
International Children’s Book Day—a fitting day, I think, to announce our raffle winner. Ticia was chosen at random from the qualifying entries. She wi
By:
Carmela Martino and 5 other authors,
on 3/29/2010
Blog:
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Congrats to our own JoAnn Early Macken on the fabulous review of Waiting Out The Storm in The Washington Post this weekend. (She might be too modest to mention it, but I am not! She also happens to be in excellent company.) If you'd like to win a copy of this terrific read-aloud for young kids, post a comment here by 11 pm Thursday, CST.
Thanks to Mary Roy for the following question:
"I am writing a children's story for the first time. I've published articles in local magazines and special sections, but not yet a book. I am starting at ground zero with this story. I feel that I probably need a class. For certain I need direction, and that's really what I'm asking for. Where should I start? How do I develop the basic story into a charming book for children?"Mary, this is a question that bears repeating and is something I still ask myself all the time.
One good place to start is this
post by Esther Hershenhorn.
I will echo her sentiment that one of the most important things to do is read, read, read. Study what's out there. Has a topic similar to yours already been covered in a published work? How did other skilled writers solve the same problems you face in your own writing?
I like to visit the bookstore (support indie bookstores!) and see what's new -- what books are being marketed heavily, which ones are facing outward, etc. It is always fun to find a friend's book on the shelf and give it a little marketing boost by making its place more prominent. :)
Bear in mind that what is trendy today (hello, vampires) will almost certainly be well on its way out by the time anything you write now could be published in, say, two to three to four years.
I also go to the library. They might not have the best selection of what's new, but they almost always have the classics. Check out the works of
Esme Raji Codell and
Anita Silvey for books every children's author should know.
Google is also my friend, and I often search on
http://www.amazon.com/ or
http://www.indiebound.com/ for card catalog-type information so that I can get a general sense as to what books are "out there."
Do you know whether you are writing a picture book, a middle grade novel, or a YA? Do you have characters in mind? Plot? Beginning, middle, end? I find it hard to begin writing until I have a somewhat solid sense as to all of the above, even though these elements may change significantly in the writing process. There are so many ways to go about fleshing out a story -- of course you have to find what works for you. You already have good writing habits, or you would not be a published author. You will likely find that many of these habits apply to writing fiction as well.
When I write mystery novels and soap operas, I outline. In fact, all TV writers and screenwriters outline (or write treatments, as they're ca
My brand-new picture book Waiting Out the Storm was released by Candlewick Press this month. Yippee! My generous fellow Teaching Authors offered to organize a series of brand-new-book interviews like we did for April’s New Year at the Pier (starting here) and Esther’s S is for Story: A Writer's Alphabet (starting here). But spring is a busy time for me—especially this year! School visits and teaching fill up my days and nights in March and April. So I’ll write this week about the beginning of the process and continue the story in next Friday’s post. In the meantime, you’ll have a chance to win an autographed copy of Waiting Out the Storm. See the Giveaway Guidelines link below. I’ll post the winner next Friday.
Waiting Out the Storm began as a need to do something in response to the terrible events of September 11, 2001. Like many other writers during that time, I had trouble focusing on my work. I was wordless. I couldn’t stop thinking about the children affected by the tragic events, and the only thing I thought I might do was try to offer some comfort. But how?
I couldn’t write about terrorism. Not only did I feel it was not appropriate for the audience, but I knew I wasn’t equipped for such a task. A thunderstorm seemed a common childhood fear that symbolized a vague threat but that parents could explain and reassure children about. I’d write about a storm.
As for each of my books, personal experience went into the creation. Years before in Florida, I’d heard our friend Susan call her baby son “Buttercup.” I'd saved the memory of that delightful name, and I used it in the book. I researched animals, played with rhythm and rhyme, and kept trying to focus on my goal of providing comfort to children during a difficult time.
Between September 2002 and June 2003, I submitted the manuscript five times. Even though the rejection letters included positive comments, they still stung. One said it “felt too sentimental.” Another called it “not quite special or unique enough.” Ouch! I still cringe when I read them.
What did I do next? I put the manuscript away. I must have been discouraged. I kept writing, though. I submitted other manuscripts.
23 Comments on Waiting Out the Storm, Part 1: Inspiration to Acceptance, last added: 3/30/2010
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23 Comments on Waiting Out the Storm, Part 1: Inspiration to Acceptance, last added: 3/30/2010
Excellent read!
Hi April,
Thank you for sharing about "Dayenu." How very interesting. I went to synagogue a couple of times, but didn't understand any of the language. However, I did enjoy listening to it.
I've also read books which quote the Talmud. Yet, my knowledge of Jewish religion is pathetic. So, thanks for helping fill in the blanks.
You have made an auspicious start to your poem a day! My hat is off to you just for taking on such a humongous task!
And thanks for the link! All I did was put together a list for National Poetry Month. It is all of you talented folks at Kidlit Central that make NaPoMo rock!
Laura Evans
all things poetry
April: Your birthday poem in honor of your son is special. The concreteness of your memories are such a great tie that binds.