Add a Comment
new posts in all blogs
By: Maryann Yin,
on 8/7/2015
Blog: Galley Cat (Mediabistro) (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Reviews, Publishing, Dr. Seuss, Diane Muldrow, J. Ryan Stradal, Add a tag
By: Maryann Yin,
on 11/13/2014
Blog: Galley Cat (Mediabistro) (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Jeff Kinney, Coming Attractions, Diane Muldrow, GalleyCat Reviews, Michael Connelly, Add a tag
By: Mark G. Mitchell,
on 5/10/2012
Blog: How To Be A Children's Book Illustrator (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Illustration, Lisa Yee, Arts, Maurice Sendak, Cynthia Leitich Smith, YouTube, Greg Leitich Smith, Random House, children's book illustrators, Little Brown, Golden Books, portfolios, Pictures worth a thousand words, Patrice Barton, Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, Mark Mitchell, Book Writers, Shutta Crum, Diane Muldrow, Patti Ann Harris, St. Edwards University, "Marks and Splashes" course, children's book author-illustrators, children's book illustration course, "Make Your Splashes - Make Your Marks!" online course, "Mine!", Amy Rose, Add a tag
.jpeg?picon=2287)
By: Martha Brockenbrough,
on 8/8/2011
Blog: The Official SCBWI 10th Annual New York Conference Blog (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: pacing, diane muldrow, picture books, craft, Add a tag
Diane Muldrow is the editorial director at Golden Books/Random House, editor of Little Golden Books, a sweet, classic line for preschoolers, and the author of the smart and elegant WE PLANTED A TREE (as well as many books about Barbie, Bambi, Pinocchio and other favorite characters).
She started off our intensive session on picture book pacing by sharing a little of her background, including the fact that she was once a professional dancer who performed au naturel on a famous New York stage.
“Anything is a cakewalk after you’ve performed naked,” she said.
Anything, perhaps, but picture-book pacing. During the three-hour master class, she shared a terrific list of tools we can use to make sure our manuscripts unfold in the right way on the page.
Pacing is a central challenge of picture books.
"You have to fit information and good storytelling and beautiful pictures into a very specific format."
Trade picture books are usually 32 pages, while Little Golden Books are 24, for example.
She encouraged us to take a trip to the bookstore or library and really study the formats, taking ownership over what we're writing.
“This is your lump of clay when you’re working on it. It belongs to you because it’s your idea. What I want to see more of … is when writer hopefuls don’t take enough ownership of their idea, let alone their manuscript," she said.
Once you've figured out your format, think in pictures, and don't be shy about including art notes that are essential to conveying your vision. (Non-essential ones are coincidental details, such as the color of a character's shoes when that is not of thematic significance.)
The best picture books come from thinking visually, she said--something most writers don't really do.
In addition, keep the page turns at the top of mind. “In a picture book, it’s all about the turning of the page,” she said. That's what gives a story its building sense of suspense, and what keeps the child on the lap--the one we're writing for--engaged.
As you work, consider using these tools:
But it was challenging as the exercise was, it's a revolutionary way for writers to take their work to the next level. If you have a chance to take a master class with Diane, do. She's a master of the format and a compelling teacher as well.
By: James Preller,
on 4/28/2011
Blog: James Preller's Blog (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Dana Reinhardt, april Pulley Sayre, Donna Gephart, Candace Fleming, Carol Lynch Williams, Diane Muldrow, Barry Moser, Devin Scillian, Annie Patterson, Brian Pinkney, Ann E. Burg, Around the Web, Debbie Levy, Adam Gidwitz, Andy Mulligan, Bystander, Andrea Pinkney, Mo Willems, Justina Chen Headley, Jarrett J. Krosoczka, Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, James Dashner, Margaret Mahy, Jim Murphy, Kate Messner, Loren Long, Polly Dunbar, Patricia Polacco, Julie Danneberg, Marilyn Singer, Nic Bishop, Jill S. Alexander, Margaret Stohl, Kami Garcia, Jon Muth, Preller Bystander, Laura E. Williams, Josee Massee, Margie Palatine, Michael Tunnell, New York State Reading Association, Roseann Thong, 2012 Charlotte Awards, Audrey Couloumbis, Charlotte Award Ballot, Charlotte Awards, Tricia Tusa, Eleanor Davis, Tim Bowers, Ellen Potter, Thad Krasnesky, G. Brian Karas, Geoffrey Norman, Steven Sheinkin, Vicky Alvear Shecter, Add a tag
By: CocoaStomp,
on 7/31/2010
Blog: The Official SCBWI 10th Annual New York Conference Blog (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: picture books, craft, diane muldrow, LA10, Premium Workshop, Add a tag
Sat in on the first session of Diane Muldrow's Premium Workshop yesterday, and I am really excited for those 20+ attendees. They are going to get some ultra-polished picture book manuscripts out of these hours with Diane. And not just traditional, 32-page hardcover trade manuscripts. Diane is teaching the group about board books, Golden Books, novelty books, all sorts of formats.
Diane starts with a history of her career as a children's book editor and an author. She invites the class to reformat their manuscripts the way she lays them out, which is, at times, a radical departure from what most of us have learned is industry standard formatting. The caveat, however, is you do this only on your personal copy of the manuscript to see how it informs your self-editing. And all authors must self-edit, says Diane, so who better to teach us how than an editor! Her ideas are superb, making authors who don't draw think visually, mapping out every single page turn and writing up all possible illustrations ideas.
The class looks at the evolution of Diane's book, WE PLANTED A TREE. A gorgeous hardcover illustrated by Bob Staake. She hands out a copy of her original manuscript. A story she thought about for ten years before actually putting pen to paper. Diane credits the powerful ideas and images in Nobel Prize winner Wangari Maathai's book about the Green Belt Movement in Kenya as being the inspiration behind WE PLANTED A TREE.
The next few sessions, attendees will be doing in-class exercises using existing picture book texts as well as their own manuscripts to learn about format, pagination, and art notes. Diane says all stories start out as lumps of clay and she's going to provide tools (like how to have good flow, suspense and mood in your story) to help attendees edit themselves and build stronger books.
This is going to rock! It sold out on the first day of conference registration, so here's hoping they do this again.
One attendee I recognized from my local SCBWI WWA was John Deininger. Check out his artwork in the portfolio show tonight, or on his site.
.jpeg?picon=3103)
By: Jenny Miller,
on 4/5/2010
Blog: Where The Best Books Are! (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Bob Staake, Earth Day, 2010, Diane Muldrow, We Planted a Tree, Add a tag
Posted on 4/2/2010
Blog: A Patchwork of Books (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Diane Muldrow, Poetry Friday, Add a tag
Viewing: Blog Posts Tagged with: diane muldrow, Most Recent at Top [Help]
Results 1 - 11 of 11
By: Maryann Yin,
on 8/7/2015
Blog: Galley Cat (Mediabistro) (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Reviews, Publishing, Dr. Seuss, Diane Muldrow, J. Ryan Stradal, Add a tag
By: Bianca Schulze,
on 12/1/2014
Blog: The Children's Book Review (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Pascal Campion, Seasonal: Holiday Books, Rudolph Red Nosed Reindeer, Best Kids Stories, Daphne Benedis-Grab, Claudia Rueda, Paul Czajak, Wendy Grieb, Putnam Juvenile books, Keith Andrew Finch, Lisa Ann Marsoli, Bloomsbury USA Books, Christmas Tree Books, Holiday Gift Guide Kids Books, Reindeer Books, Scarletta Kids Books, Ages 0-3, Ages 4-8, Ages 9-12, Christmas, Book Lists, Gift Books, featured, Alison Mcghee, Stephen Krensky, Jan Brett, Silver Dolphin Books, Diane Muldrow, Peter Reynolds, Dial books, Deborah Underwood, Add a tag
Blog: The Children's Book Review (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Pascal Campion, Seasonal: Holiday Books, Rudolph Red Nosed Reindeer, Best Kids Stories, Daphne Benedis-Grab, Claudia Rueda, Paul Czajak, Wendy Grieb, Putnam Juvenile books, Keith Andrew Finch, Lisa Ann Marsoli, Bloomsbury USA Books, Christmas Tree Books, Holiday Gift Guide Kids Books, Reindeer Books, Scarletta Kids Books, Ages 0-3, Ages 4-8, Ages 9-12, Christmas, Book Lists, Gift Books, featured, Alison Mcghee, Stephen Krensky, Jan Brett, Silver Dolphin Books, Diane Muldrow, Peter Reynolds, Dial books, Deborah Underwood, Add a tag
In the spirit of the most wonderful time of the year, we've put together a list of the best new kids' Christmas books that capture the holiday magic. We know you'll love our Christmas Books booklist!
Add a Comment
By: Maryann Yin,
on 11/13/2014
Blog: Galley Cat (Mediabistro) (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Jeff Kinney, Coming Attractions, Diane Muldrow, GalleyCat Reviews, Michael Connelly, Add a tag
We’ve collected the books debuting on Indiebound’s Indie Bestseller List for the week ending November 09, 2014–a sneak peek at the books everybody will be talking about next month.
(Debuted at #1 in Children’s Fiction Series) Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul by Jeff Kinney: “A family road trip is supposed to be a lot of fun…unless, of course, you’re the Heffleys. The journey starts off full of promise, then quickly takes several wrong turns. Gas station bathrooms, crazed seagulls, a fender bender, and a runaway pig—not exactly Greg Heffley’s idea of a good time. But even the worst road trip can turn into an adventure—and this is one the Heffleys won’t soon forget.” (November 2014)
New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.
Add a Comment
By: Mark G. Mitchell,
on 5/10/2012
Blog: How To Be A Children's Book Illustrator (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Illustration, Lisa Yee, Arts, Maurice Sendak, Cynthia Leitich Smith, YouTube, Greg Leitich Smith, Random House, children's book illustrators, Little Brown, Golden Books, portfolios, Pictures worth a thousand words, Patrice Barton, Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, Mark Mitchell, Book Writers, Shutta Crum, Diane Muldrow, Patti Ann Harris, St. Edwards University, "Marks and Splashes" course, children's book author-illustrators, children's book illustration course, "Make Your Splashes - Make Your Marks!" online course, "Mine!", Amy Rose, Add a tag
Erik Kuntz, Amy Rose Capetta and Nick Alter made this video of the Austin Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators 2012 Regional Conference, Something for Everybody. I get a kick out of how the thumbnail on YouTube shows me in the crowd, getting a hug from illustrator Marsha Riti. So of course I had to include it here. Erik, [...]
0 Comments on A party in February as of 5/10/2012 11:08:00 PM
Add a Comment
By: Martha Brockenbrough,
on 8/8/2011
Blog: The Official SCBWI 10th Annual New York Conference Blog (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: pacing, diane muldrow, picture books, craft, Add a tag
 |
| Diane Muldrow |
She started off our intensive session on picture book pacing by sharing a little of her background, including the fact that she was once a professional dancer who performed au naturel on a famous New York stage.
“Anything is a cakewalk after you’ve performed naked,” she said.
Anything, perhaps, but picture-book pacing. During the three-hour master class, she shared a terrific list of tools we can use to make sure our manuscripts unfold in the right way on the page.
Pacing is a central challenge of picture books.
"You have to fit information and good storytelling and beautiful pictures into a very specific format."
Trade picture books are usually 32 pages, while Little Golden Books are 24, for example.
She encouraged us to take a trip to the bookstore or library and really study the formats, taking ownership over what we're writing.
“This is your lump of clay when you’re working on it. It belongs to you because it’s your idea. What I want to see more of … is when writer hopefuls don’t take enough ownership of their idea, let alone their manuscript," she said.
Once you've figured out your format, think in pictures, and don't be shy about including art notes that are essential to conveying your vision. (Non-essential ones are coincidental details, such as the color of a character's shoes when that is not of thematic significance.)
The best picture books come from thinking visually, she said--something most writers don't really do.
In addition, keep the page turns at the top of mind. “In a picture book, it’s all about the turning of the page,” she said. That's what gives a story its building sense of suspense, and what keeps the child on the lap--the one we're writing for--engaged.
As you work, consider using these tools:
- Start your story with an opening spread (putting all the title information on that right-hand page).
- Consider paging the story out as you go. Tip: The illustration should be of whatever is the first line of text on the new page.
- Have images in mind and write to them. No talking heads. If you can't see the art, that's maybe a cue there's not enough happening visually in your idea.
- Write in a way that reaches a very young ear.
- If you get stuck as you're writing, figure out your last line? You want one with impact: beauty, humor, or some other thing.
But it was challenging as the exercise was, it's a revolutionary way for writers to take their work to the next level. If you have a chance to take a master class with Diane, do. She's a master of the format and a compelling teacher as well.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4082597367384086450-614060
</p>
<div class="post-comments">
4 Comments on <em>Diane Muldrow: pacing the picture book</em>, last added: 8/12/2011</div> <!-- end post-comments -->
<a class = "displaycomment" href="javascript:toggleLayer( "View comments for this post"){kind=small}
Display Comments
By: James Preller,
on 4/28/2011
Blog: James Preller's Blog (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Dana Reinhardt, april Pulley Sayre, Donna Gephart, Candace Fleming, Carol Lynch Williams, Diane Muldrow, Barry Moser, Devin Scillian, Annie Patterson, Brian Pinkney, Ann E. Burg, Around the Web, Debbie Levy, Adam Gidwitz, Andy Mulligan, Bystander, Andrea Pinkney, Mo Willems, Justina Chen Headley, Jarrett J. Krosoczka, Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, James Dashner, Margaret Mahy, Jim Murphy, Kate Messner, Loren Long, Polly Dunbar, Patricia Polacco, Julie Danneberg, Marilyn Singer, Nic Bishop, Jill S. Alexander, Margaret Stohl, Kami Garcia, Jon Muth, Preller Bystander, Laura E. Williams, Josee Massee, Margie Palatine, Michael Tunnell, New York State Reading Association, Roseann Thong, 2012 Charlotte Awards, Audrey Couloumbis, Charlotte Award Ballot, Charlotte Awards, Tricia Tusa, Eleanor Davis, Tim Bowers, Ellen Potter, Thad Krasnesky, G. Brian Karas, Geoffrey Norman, Steven Sheinkin, Vicky Alvear Shecter, Add a tag
This is amazing good news. Great news, in fact. I’m happy and proud to say that my book, Bystander, is included on the ballot for the 2012 New York State Reading Association Charlotte Award.
To learn more about the award, and to download a ballot or bookmark, please click here.
The voting is broken down into four categories and includes forty books. Bystander is in the “Grades 6-8/Middle School” category. Really, it’s staggering. There are ten books in this category out of literally an infinity of titles published each year. You do the math, people.
For more background stories on Bystander — that cool inside info you can only find on the interwebs! — please click here (bully memory) and here (my brother John) and here (Nixon’s dog, Checkers) and here (the tyranny of silence).
Below please find all the books on the ballot — congratulations, authors & illustrators! I’m honored to be in your company.
-
GRADES pre K-2/PRIMARY
Bubble Trouble . . . Margaret Mahy/Polly Dunbar
City Dog, Country Frog . . . Mo Willems/Jon J Muth
Clever Jack Takes the Cake . . . Candace Fleming/G. Brian Karas
Lousy Rotten Stinkin’ Grapes . . . Margie Palatini/Barry Moser
Memoirs of a Goldfish . . . Devin Scillian/Tim Bower
Otis . . . Loren LongStars Above Us . . . Geoffrey Norman/E.B. Lewis
That Cat Can’t Stay . . . Thad Krasnesky/David Parkins
Turtle, Turtle, Watch Out! . . . April Pulley Sayre/Annie Patterson
We Planted a Tree . . . Diane Muldrow/Bob Staake
-
GRADES 3-5/INTERMEDIATE
The Can Man . . . Laura E. Williams/Craig Orback L
Emily’s Fortune . . . Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Family Reminders . . .
Add a Comment
By: CocoaStomp,
on 7/31/2010
Blog: The Official SCBWI 10th Annual New York Conference Blog (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: picture books, craft, diane muldrow, LA10, Premium Workshop, Add a tag
 |
| photo from http://patricianewmanbooks.blogspot.com/ |
Diane starts with a history of her career as a children's book editor and an author. She invites the class to reformat their manuscripts the way she lays them out, which is, at times, a radical departure from what most of us have learned is industry standard formatting. The caveat, however, is you do this only on your personal copy of the manuscript to see how it informs your self-editing. And all authors must self-edit, says Diane, so who better to teach us how than an editor! Her ideas are superb, making authors who don't draw think visually, mapping out every single page turn and writing up all possible illustrations ideas.
The class looks at the evolution of Diane's book, WE PLANTED A TREE. A gorgeous hardcover illustrated by Bob Staake. She hands out a copy of her original manuscript. A story she thought about for ten years before actually putting pen to paper. Diane credits the powerful ideas and images in Nobel Prize winner Wangari Maathai's book about the Green Belt Movement in Kenya as being the inspiration behind WE PLANTED A TREE. The next few sessions, attendees will be doing in-class exercises using existing picture book texts as well as their own manuscripts to learn about format, pagination, and art notes. Diane says all stories start out as lumps of clay and she's going to provide tools (like how to have good flow, suspense and mood in your story) to help attendees edit themselves and build stronger books.
This is going to rock! It sold out on the first day of conference registration, so here's hoping they do this again.
One attendee I recognized from my local SCBWI WWA was John Deininger. Check out his artwork in the portfolio show tonight, or on his site.
2 Comments on Premium Workshop - An Editor Over Your Shoulder: Polishing Your Picture Book with Diane Muldrow, last added: 8/2/2010
Display Comments
Add a Comment
By: Jenny Miller,
on 4/5/2010
Blog: Where The Best Books Are! (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Bob Staake, Earth Day, 2010, Diane Muldrow, We Planted a Tree, Add a tag
By Diane Muldrow and illustrated by Bob Staake
Golden Books, 2010
$17.99, ages 4-8, 40 pages
You don't need to plug it in. All you do is plant it and give it water. A tree, one of the most efficient air cleaners we have, and perhaps the most sublime.
In this rosy, exuberant book, author Muldrow and award-winning illustrator Staake celebrate the simple act of planting a tree and get us energized to plant one too.
The story follows two families of four, one from a typical American city, the other from rural Kenya, as they nurture a sapling and follow its growth through the years.
From the moment each family buries the root ball, their eyes and smiles grow wide and joyous, reflecting all of the possibility that the trees hold.
Each day sunshine pours onto leaves, bringing food to the trees, and soon plump buds appear at the tips of branches and pink blossoms spring open.
As summer settles in, the American children sit under a cooling canopy of leaves beside their napping dog; the branches are like broad shoulders and it feels as though the tree watches over for them.
Across the world, the Kenyan family tends a vegetable garden they've planted near their tree. They know the tree will keep soil from blowing away and help rainwater collect in the ground, and are thankful to the tree for helping them grow their own food.
At times the story cuts away from the two families to show other people and animals enjoying the splendor of trees, widening the celebration.
In a big city greenway, a broad tree shadows the path of joggers and horse-drawn carriage, as children run around a baseball diamond surrounded by trees that help to cleanse their air (a wonderful opportunity to explain to kids how trees remove the heat-trapping gas carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and use it to make wood for their growth).
0 Comments on We Planted a Tree as of 1/1/1900
Add a Comment
Posted on 4/2/2010
Blog: A Patchwork of Books (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Diane Muldrow, Poetry Friday, Add a tag
Jacket description:
"In this simple poem illustrated by award winner Bob Staake, two young families in two very different parts of the world plant a tree. As the trees flourish, so do the families...while trees all over the world help clean the air, enrich the soil, and give fruit and shade.
With a nod to Kenya's successful Green Belt Movement, Diane Muldrow's elegant text celebrates the life and hope that every tree everywhere-from Paris to Brooklyn to Tokyo-brings to our planet."
Whether you read this as a poem or a picture book is really up to you, as works well as either. It's really a beautiful poem with such a brilliant and important message to our children and even to us adults. Trees are such important beings in this world and we need to appreciate them as such.
The text is easy to read/listen to and teaches a lesson...always a nice combo. The illustrations are bold and bright, perfect for little eyes and easily distracted kiddos. Add this to your Earth Day display or units or just bring it home and read it to your own children. It's a lovely book.
Overall rating: 4 out of 5
We Planted a Tree
Diane Muldrow
40 pages
Poetry/Picture Book
Golden Books
9780375864322
March 2010
Borrowed from my local library
To learn more or to purchase, click on the book cover above to link to Amazon. I am an Associate and will receive a small percentage of the purchase price. Thanks!
0 Comments on Poetry Friday: We Planted a Tree as of 1/1/1900
Add a Comment
By: Bianca Schulze,
on 3/31/2010
Blog: The Children's Book Review (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Events, Science, Klutz, Current Affairs, Peter H. Reynolds, Roxie Munro, Earth Day, Jonah Winter, Linda Smith, Joanna Cole, Ages Four to Eight: Books for pre-school to second grade, Goodie Bag: Books to share and give, Ages Nine to Twelve: Books for third through sixth grade, Book Lists: Specialty picks, Ages Baby to Three: Books for infants and toddlers, Diane Muldrow, Cultural Wisdom: Books that teach, Biscuit, Environment & Ecology: Earth conscience, Aidan Potts, Alyssa Satin Caucilli, Jess M. Brallier, Seymour Simon, Add a tag
Blog: The Children's Book Review (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Events, Science, Klutz, Current Affairs, Peter H. Reynolds, Roxie Munro, Earth Day, Jonah Winter, Linda Smith, Joanna Cole, Ages Four to Eight: Books for pre-school to second grade, Goodie Bag: Books to share and give, Ages Nine to Twelve: Books for third through sixth grade, Book Lists: Specialty picks, Ages Baby to Three: Books for infants and toddlers, Diane Muldrow, Cultural Wisdom: Books that teach, Biscuit, Environment & Ecology: Earth conscience, Aidan Potts, Alyssa Satin Caucilli, Jess M. Brallier, Seymour Simon, Add a tag
The following books, no matter how simple or complex, have been selected to motivate the earth-conscious spirit within all of us ... Read the rest of this post
Add a Comment
By: Samantha Clark,
on 3/13/2009
Blog: Day By Day Writer (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: books, Dr. Seuss, Cat in the Hat, Writing, Peter Pan, Wizard of Oz, Where the Wild Things Are, Allyn Johnston, classic children's books, Elizabeth Law, Madeline, Alexandra Penfold, SCBWI Houst Editor's Day, Alida Allison, Amy Lennex, Diane Muldrow, Narnia books, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Add a tag
Blog: Day By Day Writer (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: books, Dr. Seuss, Cat in the Hat, Writing, Peter Pan, Wizard of Oz, Where the Wild Things Are, Allyn Johnston, classic children's books, Elizabeth Law, Madeline, Alexandra Penfold, SCBWI Houst Editor's Day, Alida Allison, Amy Lennex, Diane Muldrow, Narnia books, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Add a tag
A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about the SCBWI Houston Editor’s Day, where five editors — Simon & Schuster’s Alexandra Penfold, Beach Lane Books’ Allyn Johnston, Golden Books/Random House’s Diane Muldrow, Egmont USA’s Elizabeth Law and Sleeping Bear Press’ Amy Lennex — talked about what they look for when they’re considering a book to publish, and the theme that came out of the day was books that resonate. Everyone seems to want books that kids will want to read over and over again, even when they become adults.
So what are these books that resonate? CNN yesterday posted an article offering some excellent examples: Children’s books: Classic reading for fans. The article talks about The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Dr. Seuss’ Cat in the Hat, the Madeline books and Where the Wild Things Are.
The interesting thing is, the article says that often these books weren’t shoe-ins to publication. Dr. Seuss, perhaps one of the most famous picture book writer, was rejected 25 times before his first book, And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, was picked up. And Where the Wild Things Are, although a Caldecott Medal winner, was controversial for its artwork.
For all of you who have gotten rejections, remember, DON’T GIVE UP.
If you have a story that you love with all your heart, even if it’s a little unorthodox for the genre — within reason, of course, in the case of children’s books — don’t let rejections get you down. Keep sending it out. One day, you’ll find the right editor and/or agent who will be the book’s champion, just like these books did.
Another interesting point of the CNN article is a quote by Alida Allison of the San Diego State University, who says all these classic books describe stories that follow a pattern of “home, away, home.” hmm Here are some other classic books that follow that pattern: Peter Pan; The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe (in fact all the Narnia books); and Wizard of Oz. Maybe there’s something in that.
In the CNN article, Allison says: “If you think of all those stories, there’s a loving parent … allowing a transgressive kid a leash to investigate the world and come back.” And through the child’s eyes, parents find their sense of wonder renewed, she adds.
When I was a kid — and still now, I have to admit — any book is exactly that: an opportunity to investigate the world, any world, and come back.
What are your favorite classic children’s books?
Write On!
0 Comments on Timeless stories as of 1/1/1900
Add a Comment
What a wonderful post! It sounds like an essential class for picture book people!
I agree! All of this has been extremely helpful!
Excellent advice. Thank you!
Really wonderful stuff here, Thank you
Kit Grady