I'm thrilled to show you the first mockup of my character driven story, Brianna Bright Ballerina Knight's cover! And it's SO CUTE!!!! **swoon**

Okay...I've recovered now.

The illustrator, Liana Hee, has done an amazing job. I can see little girls wanting to emulate her bravery right now. And her pink poodle sidekick, Pixie, is PERFECT.

SO...here she is:

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I'm beyond excited to share that Princess Peepers Picks a Pet was nominated for the Iowa State Goldfinch Award. That means librarians got together and made a master list of the best books for ages K-3rd. The children will read them all and then vote on their favorite. I am thrilled librarians thought so highly of my book!


What makes Princess Peepers a character that children love to read about? For one thing, she really wants to please other people and although the other princesses are mean to her, she doesn't retaliate. In the end, she always does her own thing and that's the message of the book.

There will be a new Princess Peepers coming out. I'm so excited to share about this. But I can't reveal it yet. In this one, Princess Peepers will be taking a stand for true beauty on the inside!

If you want to learn more about how to write books like Princess Peepers Picks a Pet, check out my article on character driven stories. These are the types of books editors want to see!

Happy Reading and Writing!

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Hope all of you are busy writing outside on these beautiful spring days! As it happens, I've just had the wonderful experience of participating as a judge for a picture book contest. I read about 100 manuscripts and it gave me some ideas on supplemental material blog posts I can give beginners. SO...fair warning to all of my regular readers. PBU EXTRA is for beginning writers. If you've been writing for a while, these won't be for you. I do have several more regular PBU posts to do, so please watch out for those in the near future.

I've had many people come to me, asking for advice--from friends to friends of friends to my critique clients. I can tell by the first page whether someone has just decided to venture into this business sight unseen--meaning with no training at all. I want to make it clear that writing picture books, although seemingly simple, is anything but easy. In fact, I had been published in Highlights for Children (here's one of my stories: Just My Size) and I still couldn't break into picture books. Why? Because I'd had no training in writing them! I didn't know how to set them up, even though I'd read a lot of them.

If you want to get published, you will have to invest in this as a career. If you don't want to be bothered with extra education, then you really need to think of something else to do. I mean, if you're a professional, didn't you go to college to learn your trade? A doctor goes to med school, a lawyer goes to law school, a business person gets their business degree. Why in the world wouldn't a picture book author learn the art of picture book writing? Yet time and time again, I see picture books written by people who obviously have never taken a class about writing for children.

Is this you?

Are you writing and writing and writing, sending out manuscript after manuscript and either getting silence or rejection? Or are you the person who on a whim has this funny joke or idea and thinks kids will like it? So you write it out and feel it must get published. Your kids laughed after all!

If you think you don't need training, I will wish you great good luck and send you on your way. But if you just didn't realize there were classes out there, and you really want to succeed, then I have some great advice for you!

1. Take Institute for Children's Literature--I cannot be any more clear or loud about this school. It
will teach you everything you need to know about writing for children. I say start here because if you don't, your learning curve will be high and long. They will pair you up with a published author that will mentor you through many manuscripts and you will start "seeing" like a child and therefore, write better for them. I was published in a children's magazine only 9 months after taking this course! But I couldn't write picture books well, so if you want to write those...you will need even more education.

2. Do my free PBU workshop--This is a great start for you and it won't cost you a cent! I would advise doing the lessons one at a time and at the end of each lesson, do the assignment. They can be done at your own pace, but DO THEM! By the time you're finished, you will have a better understanding of how to set one up. And you will have read and studied over 80 picture books! After you're done with this...you STILL need more help! (Sorry...but you will...)

3. Take a picture book class--The one I can endorse is Anastasia Suen's Intensive Picture Book Workshop. She will go through one of your manuscripts through this intense class while you and seven others critique as well. It's amazing how she can fine tune a manuscript. I put PRINCESS PEEPERS through her second workshop and sold it! I would never have been able to write that manuscript if I hadn't taken the first course, though.

4. Other classes--I've heard from around the blogosphere of other picture book classes. I cannot vouch for them, but I know good things about the teachers themselves and they are either editors or highly accredited authors. So I will list them here:

Picture Book Academy--Many different authors participate as mentors.

Writer's Digest picture book workshop--ongoing classes. Check to find availability.

The Loft--picture book course--taught by picture book author, Molly Beth Griffin

Revising and Reimagining Your Picture Book--by Harold Underdown and Eileen Robinson. The workshop is full but they are offering a discount for those who want to join in on the recordings.

5. Join a critique group--Only after you've done all that, NOW you are ready for a critique group. You have to get the basics down first before others can even start making your work better. A great way to get a group is in Anastasia Suen's class. It's set up like a critique group and in my class, we started one. ALL of my fellow critique group members became published: Katherine Rollins, Barbara Kaninnen, Dianne White. How's that for rate of return?

6. Get a professional critique--I only advise this if you've done all of the above yet you still can't get an agent and you still can't get published. Having a professional look at your work is amazingly better than having someone on your writing level review it. A GREAT way to find out if you have a good story is to join Rate Your Story. For a minimal annual fee, you can have one manuscript a month reviewed by a professional. If you score a 6 or better, I'd say your manuscript is worth paying a professional to help you.

I happen to offer a professional critique service. I must say that all those who do pay for my service are well on their way to achieving their dream. Why, you say? Because people who are not ready to invest in their work are not ready to succeed. I can say I'm very proud of all of my clients. They really are a cut above the rest! It's fun being the mentor to these talented writers. :)

I hope this post is helpful to you. I can honestly say that over the years, those who don't give up do get published. They keep honing their craft, keep learning, and one day...they get that fabulous call.

Someone wants to publish your work!

Crack open the celebratory libations! HOORAY!

Happy writing,

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There's a cool contest out there I wanted to let you know about from RATE YOUR STORY. If you don't know about this awesome, informational website and tool, you should check it out. They have a wonderful newsletter jammed with insider information as well as the ability for you to get your stories rated by professional authors--every month!

I am one of the authors who participates in rating these stories--for free!  So, if you have a wonderful manuscript just waiting out there, send it in! A win in a contest like this will get you noticed as having something that an agent/editor might want.

If you'd like to check it out, go here: RATE YOUR STORY WRITING CONTEST


Some of the things a judge will look for:

1. Marketability--is it unique? Will children love it?

2. Emotional connection--did it make them feel something? Laugh? Cry? Bond with the characters?

3. Understanding of how to write picture books--meaning, the author thinks in pictures and the story will be enhanced by illustrations. In fact, without pictures, it wouldn't be a whole package.

4. Under 600 words. This is not a hard and fast rule, but I've found in rating lots of stories and through my own critique service that if a story goes over 600-650 words, usually, it needs to be cut or the story needs to be restructured.

5. Style elements. How does the author use these to delight their readers? Are they cleverly used? If you're not sure what I'm talking about, please read my post about style elements here: PBU Style Elements.

6. A unique, twist ending--something that surprises the reader, makes them say, awww, or just knocks it out of the park!

If you want examples of stories I think would help you and are wonderful to study, go through my PBU workshop and see the picture books I highlight. All of them are masterpieces in my opinion.

You have until March 31st to get your entries in!



Happy writing and...

GOOD LUCK!

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If you've done all my lessons up to now, you should have a pretty good grasp of how to write a picture book. You've read at least 85 picture books--right? If not, go back and do the lessons you missed. ;-)

Now I want to draw your attention to your latest WIP (work in progress). I've noticed in some of the manuscripts I critique, the new writer often forgets who their audience is--KIDS! Usually, a grandmother will write about characters suffering from arthritis or the plot will focus around adults and adult wants and needs. Or the jokes will be funny only to grown ups. That has no place in children's literature. Sure, you'll see the double entendre here and there just for adults (even the ending of Princess Peepers has a pun specifically for adults), but the focus is always kid centered. I think of it as a camera lens. Is your camera on yourself? The parent? The grandparent? If so, bring the lens down...keep going...yes, there! To that kindergartner running around your house. See the world the way they see it. If your manuscript doesn't pass the kindergartner test, you need to go back and revise.

If you don't have a child to study, I suggest you get one. Rent a kid! Ha! Well, not really, but maybe you could go out with your friend and ask to bring along their kindergartner/first grader. Volunteer at church to teach Sunday school for the K-2 crowd. My youngest child is 13 now and I no longer have elementary kids around, but I've always taught K-3rd graders at church. In fact, I teach K-3rd on Wednesdays and 4th-6th on Sundays--I know my audience. I watch and observe them. I know how they think. Don't have a church? Volunteer at a local library for reading time on the weekends (or weekdays if you don't have a 9-5 job). It's important for you to understand what's important to your audience. Otherwise, you have no business writing for them.

The best example of an author who really gets the mind of a child is Kevin Henkes. He's a great author to study for kid centered stories. One of my favorite picture books is Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse. It's a wonderful book to study for other elements, too, such as rhythm, plot, etc., but for our purposes here, I'm going to show you how Henkes makes sure his camera is on the child.

Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse by Kevin Henkes

Genre: Character driven, humor

Synopsis: Lily loves a lot of things, especially her teacher, Mr. Slinger. That is until he takes away her favorite purse. In order to seek revenge, Lily draws nasty pictures of her teacher, but her teacher, in turn, writes a sweet note which makes Lily feel bad. In the end, she apologizes, making everything better.

I'm not going to go over plot and style elements but I'd advise you to do that! You could learn a lot about rhythm and repetition from this story.

Kid Centered Elements:

• Lilly loves things a child would love--school, pointy pencils, squeaky chalk, shiny hallways, etc. and her teacher. We don't see her loving things like a massage of her sore hands. If you have a character that needs a massage--please revise this. Children are like rubber. They don't get aching muscles!
• Lilly describes her teacher as a child would--about things a child would like--his interesting glasses and shirts, how he greets the class, the inviting way he arranges the classroom, and the snacks! 
• Lilly pretends to be her teacher--she plays with her brother--exactly what a child would do at that age.
• Lilly liked to draw--and the drawings are very much like what a child this age would do.
• She rides the bus, and raises her hand and volunteers in the classroom
• Lilly gets a wonderful, musical purse that she adores. This is so much like what a kid would care about and become obsessed over.
• Lilly indeed obsesses over this prized object and gets in trouble with her beloved teacher. She can't wait for show and tell to show off her purse.
• Lilly is embarrassed, but after she loses her beloved purse, she almost cries and then she gets angry exactly how a child would. I know. I've taken up things from children before and if it's special, it's hard for them not to cry and get upset.
• Lilly seeks revenge like a child would--Lilly loved to draw pictures of her teacher--so she drew a mean one that called him a big fat mean Mr. Stealing Teacher. All the things she writes shows her emotions--she deals with her anger and grief exactly the way a 5 year old would. 
• Even though the teacher is nice to her when he gives her back the purse, she's still angry and tells him so by saying she doesn't want to be a teacher when she grows up (when earlier she wanted to be like him.)
• But when Lilly gets a sweet note from her teacher, she feels bad just like a child would when they thought about their actions.

 

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In honor of rhyming Wednesday, I've decided to do a picture book analysis of a non-rhymer that has rhythm--so much so that it can be classified as poetry. And if you want to write something like this, you need to do it well, so let's see why I think this book is so great structurally.

Today's book is entitled, Daddies Do It Different by Alan Lawrence Sitomer.

• In the morning, getting dressed--ways Daddy is different from Mommy
• breakfast time
• going shopping
• making lunch
• going to the park
• birthday parties
• playing dress up
• bath time
• bed time
• hugs and kisses

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Sorry I've been out of the loop. It's school visit season and I'm BUSY! But I will do two more PBU posts to finish out the workshop this month, and then I'll do some PBU tips until next summer where we'll have a PBU 2.

Anyway, I just wanted to share my newest excitement and a tip for you pros out there doing school visits. I had the privilege of seeing a Mother Goose puppeteer at work at a school where they contracted five authors for one big day of reading for their students. I always wanted to have a presentation that wowed the K-2nd grade set with my math books, and although I am dynamic in my presentation where I act out the part of Rumpelstiltskin to them, I noticed how mesmerized kindergartners were with Mother Goose. Why? Because she had...PUPPETS! Her words weren't unique or even inspiring, but the puppets amazed the kids.

A huge light bulb exploded above my head. HA! That's when I knew I needed puppets to enhance my performances for the younger set.

In my math performance, I teach Kindergarten-2nd grade how to multiply by using a funny part in my book, Multiplying Menace. In order to teach multiplication, I now use finger puppets so they can see the concepts. After we finish reading the book, I give each child a worksheet (could be up to 150 kids--teachers help with this), that has a face without a nose on the sheet--and I tell them this is their face and they are to draw hair on it. THEN I tell them that Rumpelstiltskin is going to visit their school. Usually, they'll squeal with delight until I ask them do they REALLY want Rumpelstiltskin to visit? Their squeals turn to scared giggles. At this point, I whip out my Rumpelstiltskin puppet, and he wreaks havoc on the children's noses using his multiplication stick. They LOVE this! We do the multiplication on a document camera where they figure out how many noses he's multiplied on their face. I also use students to be Rumpelstiltskin's minions. It's so much fun!

Here's a few pictures of my puppet. He was pricey as I used a puppet artist who used to work for Jim Henson, but it's worth it. Four days worth of school visits will pay for the puppet, but the puppet has already helped me book more new visits for next year! Worth every cent!!!

If you're interested in getting a puppet for your book, here are some worthy creators to check out:

• Russ Walko
• Luna's Puppets
• Axtell Expressions
• Pavlov's Puppets
• James Kemp Puppet Building

 My creator took around 5 months to complete--he was from Creature Clones (the artist did the professional photos for me) and he has a year wait time, mostly. Other makers might not be that inundated with work, so you may want to check with them if you're in a hurry.

If you have any questions about school visits, feel free to post! I'm hoping I can put up a new PBU next week!

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Today I'm going to go over a genre that allowed me to receive that first picture book contract, and it's something my agent has said editors want--creative nonfiction. Because of the new Common Core Standards that most states have adopted, teachers are now clamoring for books in science and history that can be taught using literature. Science is a biggie since in the Common Core, any science in the elementary grades will be taught through the reading program. History/social studies will be taught that way as well, so this could be a huge boon for publishers who are smart enough to produce books that help teach those subjects. And that means, YOU, dear author, can also start writing books that will help educate our little ones.

But what if you're like me and the thought of writing a nonfiction book leaves your mouth dry like a piece of moldy toast? That's where CREATIVE nonfiction can actually fulfill your need to write something with  pizzazz AND also reward you with that coveted picture book contract. If you're smart, you'll do some digging on what exactly you'd like to "teach" creatively.

What is creative nonfiction exactly? It's a nonfiction subject that is told or shown in a creative way. In order to discuss this further, I'll show some categories and examples to get your juices flowing.

• Teaching a nonfiction topic through a fictional story--The focus here is on a fiction tale that hones in on the nonfiction subject--and the nonfiction subject must be the star of the book. In Charlesbridge's math adventure line, highly sophisticated math subject matter is conveyed through exciting stories. When I set out to write a math adventure, I studied all of their books to get the idea. Math had to  not just be a bunch of set problems--it had to be almost a character in itself. For my first book, Multiplying Menace, the magic in the story WAS the math! One author to check out for creative nonfiction titles is Trisha Speed Shaskan. Her music families series titles are genius. She tells a story of a certain "type" of instrument family all the while teaching about the different musical instruments and sounds. This kind of story could be done on any subject. She also has other creative nonfiction books. Check them out! 

• Teaching a nonfiction topic through a surprising format--Apart from the hum drum, this type of book uses an idea and runs with it creatively. One example is the book, What to Expect When You're Expecting Larvae. It's told as a self help book for expecting bug parents. Within the pages conveys a lot of buggy facts that makes this
  
  topic funny, accessible, and entertaining. Another series of books that's told in a surprising way is the If You Were a _____ (fill in the blank). Some examples of these books are If You Were a Quadrilateral, If You were a Fraction, If You Were a Compound Word, etc. These books creatively use the child as the star and has them imagine themselves as the actual nonfiction topic. Very clever. Another knock out surprising format is using a parody--Lane Smith's, John, Paul, George & Ben, nails the creative nonfiction genre. He uses the Beatles as an underpinning analogy to our United States founding fathers. Parents are pleased with the references and kids are pleased by the silliness. That's a great one to check out.

• Teaching a nonfiction subject through rhyme/meter--This is a favorite in the trade/school market. If you can use great meter or rhyme to teach a subject, then it will sell. Some glorious classic examples are Math Curse, Science Verse by Jon Sciescka, Grapes of Math series by Greg Tang, and Verla Kay's  metered verse history books. One of my critique partners just sold a book that was told in rhyme that highlighted a historical parade. You never know! If you can think up a great subject and you can write rhyme well, go for it!

Assignment 8:

• Go to the library and see if some of these examples are there. Are they in the nonfiction section or fiction? I've found librarians don't know where to place them. My books are often in both, but usually in nonfiction so teachers and students will have access to them when finding a subject. Ask your librarian if they know of other examples. Some other authors to look up are Robin Pulver, Loreen Leedy, and Brian P. Cleary. 

• Check out as many as you can of various subjects that inspire you. Can you find different formats? One of each (story, surprising format, rhyming text)?

• Next, brainstorm at least three new ideas in your writing journal. If one calls to you, start your research and then write!

Did you find a book that didn't fit my definitions or know of a great book to check out? If so, please share!

If this post helped you, please share by clicking the twitter bird, fb like, or google plus!

Missed a few PBU posts? Click here: PBU

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Because of Labor Day, I'm a bit behind this week. I don't want to shortchange you, so I'll post the next installment of PBU next week! Because I don't want to leave you hanging, I figured I'd do another picture book analysis of an awesome new picture book that would be a GREAT, AMAZING gift for not only a child but a family as well. It's entitled, Kohola: King of the Whales. Written as a folktale from the Hawaiian islands, Vince Daubenspeck masterfully weaves a tale of the journey of a young humpback whale from lonely outcast to magnificent hero that underscores the theme of being yourself and never giving up.

The book's illustrations are breathtaking throughout which matches the beautiful words. It's a piece of art through and through!

Okay, can you tell I'm in love with this book? Onto the analysis.

SPOILER ALERT! My picture book analyses will reveal the climax/ending to every story. So be forewarned!

• Intro: The story opens with a child seeing a whale jump out of the water. His grandfather tells him the tale of Kohola to explain why they do this.
• Problem: Kohola is born with extra large fins and is an outcast.

• Escalating problem: Because of Kohola's large fins and athleticism, he dives very deep into the ocean causing alarm among his clan.
• More problems: Kohola decides to dive deep then rise out of the water which his parents forbade because it's dangerous. He goes against his parents' wishes and becomes an expert jumper.
• Climax--Dangerous killer whales threaten Kohola's life.
• Solution--Kohola uses his skill of jumping out of the water to frighten them away.
• Ending--Kohola protects his clan and teaches them the skill thereby gaining the respect of all whales.
• Folktale connection--This is why you see all whales trying to jump out of the water. They want to be like Kohola, king of the whales.

• Folktale narration: Told from a third person omniscient format, this story feels old and yet not too distant so a child would be interested.
• Vivid language: sparkling sea, flashing storm clouds, clear shining light, crashing waves, long, clumsy fins, etc.
• Kid connection: The story opens with a child's question. In the middle, you see the child wanting to act like Kohola--you can feel the excitement and are emotionally attached to the story at this point as seen through the child's eyes.
• Great use of imagery: the killer whales are not named as such since this is told from the perspective of the whale. They are called, "dark lights" since they blot out the light when their large dark bodies swim in front of the sun, streaming through the water. He uses language like "waves of fear" as a nod to the water but also gives you the foreboding feeling.
• Circularity: The story closes as it opens with the child and the grandfather. You get a sense of completeness when you see the child look again at a whale rising out of the water.

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I'm pleased to be able to announce the winners of Chieu Urban's wonderful book, AWAY WE GO!

Drumroll please....








TADA!




Just email me at [email protected] and I'll give you instructions on how to receive your book!

Hooray and congratulations! Thank you to all who participated!

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Today I'm going to highlight a picture book that some editors are saying they're looking for: picture books for very young children--preschoolers, toddlers, infants. This particular book, when analyzed, comes in many different types, but all are simple. So simple, in fact, that it boggles the mind. And because of this, it makes them VERY hard to write and even harder to sell (if you're not an amazing illustrator as well as writer.)

SO, why am I going to talk about them? Because they are needed in the marketplace. And if you hit on a great idea, you very well could have a series potential on your hands.

Last week, I interviewed a board book author/illustrator, Chieu Urban. If you haven't read it, check it out! In this interview, she revealed that if you aren't an illustrator, you should write a straight picture book first and then it may have a chance to become a board book later. This has happened to one of my friends, Margaret O Hair with her book, MY PUP. It first came out as a picture book and then went to board later. In her latest book, it came out as a board transitional--I highlight what that is in my picture book analysis : SWEET BABY FEET. Check it out if you haven't already. In both cases, she set out to write picture books--but they were for a very young child--ages 3 and under.

So what makes these young books tick? It's all about what it's all about. LOL! Yes! The world of an infant/toddler/preschooler is close to home. Very close. Their world is usually what they see every morning, noon and night, so that's what the story should be about. Also, concept books are perfect for this age. I highlight what a concept book is in lesson 1. ABC books, counting books and question/answer books are also good for this age. Because those books are fairly easy to look up, but not easy to sell, I won't be highlighting them.

Since this is a full blown picture book story, you still have to think in terms of sixteen spreads, but you'll need to keep your word count down to between 150-300 words. Now that's not a lot of words to work with, I know. But the way to get around this is to tell your story in rhyme! Yes! Rhyme! Rhyme has been tossed around as a dirty word by editors and agents alike but I have soooo many friends who sell tons of picture books in rhyme. They sell them because they know how to write them. If your meter is just a tiny speck off, you CANNOT SELL this. I've received tons of rhyming stories for critique and let me just say, almost every author has allowed one or two lines of bad meter because they wanted it to fit, but that just won't work and you'll get a rejection.

Another way to get around the word count is to use rhythm in a cycle story. In Karen Baicker's story, I CAN DO IT TOO!, she uses a repetitive line plus lots of rhythm that follows a little girl going about her day. What sets this apart are her word choices and rhythm.

Another writer to study is Sue Fliess. She's sold half a dozen books in the span of a few months. What's her
secret? RHYME! RHYTHM! CYCLE! Get my point? I'm going to analyze the first book that sold that launched her very lucrative career as a preschool author. She actually started writing YA's of all things, but didn't sell a book until she shifted her focus onto one of her talents--rhyme. (Probably because everyone always says not to rhyme!)

• Perfect meter and unforced rhyme scheme--"Feet got bigger/heel to toe./ Time for new shoes./Off we go!"    This meter and scheme is the same throughout. It's what we call an ABCB scheme and the meter is catchy and upbeat. 

• Funny or active pictures--Even though Sue didn't think of a cute hippopotamus as her main character, the darling anthropomorphism works. All the shoes and the activity of the little girl makes for fun pictures. The girl tiptoes, hops, taps, etc.

• Use of active verbs, adjectives and onomatopoeia throughout--for example, shoes clip, slip, flip, snap, sparkle, tap, etc.

• Use of metaphor and humor--for example, "Fuzzy, furry/shoes that quack?/I'm no duck./Please put those back."

• Nice rhythm that will keep kids entertained--you can feel the girl actually trying on all these wonderful shoes and see her doing the activities that the shoes would employ such as splash in a puddle.

• Cyclical--the ending uses the same line as the beginning and it became the title--"Shoes for me!" If you can come up with something catchy like this, you've got a winner! 

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I'm on vacation this week, so Picture Book University will resume next week. And to get you in the mood for the topic, I am excited to be able to share with you an interview by board book illustrator and author,

Chieu Urban! She is also offering some wonderful surprises at the end of the interview, so don't miss it!!!

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Welcome to the sixth lesson! Today, I'm going to focus on something very specific to picture books. If you get a handle on this, you'll see writing picture books in a whole new way! Many times I hear new writers often ask what is the difference between writing a picture book and a short story. I've seen this in the submissions for critiques as well. Instead of submitting a real picture book, they've written a short story because it's text/dialog heavy and the story develops in one place or two.

A picture book must be very visual. Even though you're not an illustrator, you still must visualize your story throughout its conception. There must be AT LEAST 16 different scene changes throughout your story. And when I mean scene changes, I mean the story isn't in one room and the main character is doing something different--I mean the scenery around your character must change! Have you ever picked up a book and the scenery is the same on every page? Have you ever read a book like that to a child? They become bored and antsy. The words are not enough to keep them attracted. That's the whole concept of a picture book--the child needs to be stimulated as they are listening to the words.

When I approach writing a new picture book, I always start with pictures to facilitate ideas. If my story isn't visual, then I abandon it. I use a storyboard pad in order to draw pictures. Here's a link to a page you can just print out on your own: Storyboard Pad or you can buy some here: Levenger storyboard pads

Here's a picture from MULTIPLYING MENACE DIVIDES where I work out the way the division math would work. I had to think in fractions. Here’s one page example when I had to show how the division magic worked with dividing twelve kittens. I brainstormed some ways I could show this on the storyboard paper:







I could never have figured out the math without my storyboard pad that encouraged pictures.

Now, I never brainstorm a story without this pad. Here's one of my newest manuscripts. It's very visual and the whole story depends on how visually appealing it is--in words.







My daughter found my pad and started drawing her own version of the character, too!



Assignment 6:

Check out at least five picture books that are in the same genre as your current work-in-progress. How did the author think in pictures throughout? Did they do a good job on making the pictures interesting? (And even though you're not the illustrator, your story will create the pictures surrounding it. It's pretty amazing to see this happen when you get the illustrations back from the publisher.)

Now look at your manuscript. Are there at least 16 or more different scenes? If not, how can you create new places for your story to go? Can you focus on your story's character? Make them do something zany? Something visually funny or charming or interesting?

If you like this post, please post it on twitter or like on Facebook.

New to PBU? Don't miss a lesson. Go here for the archives: PBU

Have a great writing day!

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1. Rhythm--This is usually overlooked in newbie manuscripts. Often, people will write without regard to this
because, hey! They're not writing a rhyming story. If you look closely at the best books, they will often have a rhythmic line or two within the text. Often, they'll have a bunch. What is rhythm? It's a metered pattern of words. They sound poetic and have a beat. For example, in Kevin Henkes' book, OWEN, he uses a lot of rhythm throughout. After Owen proclaims his blankie, Fuzzy, goes where he goes, Henkes writes where it goes: Upstairs, downstairs, in-between/Inside, outside, up-side-down. Notice it doesn't rhyme, but has a nice beat. On the next page, Henkes describes how the blankie likes what the child likes: Orange juice, grape juice, chocolate milk/Ice cream, peanut butter, applesauce cake. See the rhythm? It's important for your manuscript to have this even if you don't rhyme. I always try to place some rhythm in my manuscripts--fiction or nonfiction.
why after you read a story for the twentieth time, they want it read AGAIN! In CHICKEN SOUP by Jean Van Leeuwen, the story begins with repetition: Pssst! Cow told Sheep. Pssst! Sheep told Pig. Pssst! Pig told Goose. Goose told all the chickens! Pssst! The rest of the book doesn't use this, but it's a great way to open a story. She also uses repetition with  onomatopoeia. CLOMP! CLOMP! CLOMP! is used throughout as a repeating line that helps give dramatic tension as the farm animals are all worried the farmer is about to make chicken soup and the chickens are in danger. This repeating line is the sound of the farmer's boots. Children will love to yell this line as a parent or teacher is reading to them. See if you can use this in your manuscript--one repeating phrase or line throughout. We can all remember the line from CLICK CLACK MOO! by Doreen Cronin. It's what made that book famous.

3. Puns--this is when you use a word that has a double meaning that's meant to be funny. Editors love puns. Not all manuscripts have them, but if your manuscript has the right tone, a pun can really make your story sparkle and add even more humor. In Dian Curtis Regan's book, BARNYARD SLAM, the use of pun is over-the-top and actually at the center of her story. Every page has some form of pun on it from the ducks being a bunch of quacks all the way to the goose dancing Swan Lake. Many of these puns are only ones adults could understand, but that's okay. Adults are the ones who are buying and reading these stories, so if you have a few puns for the older folks, editors will still like it (but not too much! Always think like a child when writing stories.) I'll never forget a workshop I attended that was taught by an editor from Chronicle. She showed how the manuscript went through 17 revisions and with each revision, they put more and more puns within it. That led to the many puns I put in my manuscripts including PRINCESS PEEPERS and MULTIPLYING MENACE DIVIDES.

4. Circularity--this is where the beginning and ending are either similar or the exactly the same. The story completes a full circle. This can either give closure to the manuscript or even surprise the reader because the
story seems to be starting all over again which will give little ones a reason to read it AGAIN! In Chris Gall's book, THERE'S NOTHING TO DO ON MARS, the book opens as the title suggests, a little boy who lives on Mars is bored--there's nothing to do. Throughout the journey (as this is a journey book), there's TONS to do and yes, he learns something until he ends up on Saturn and guess what? There's nothing to do on Saturn. The ending is full circle--although it's not exactly how it opens, it's very similar (and it could set up a sequel...one never knows!)

5. Onomatopoeia--now I wouldn't put this down if it weren't SOOOO important in picture books. You should have learned about this from 5th grade language class. But I'm going to put it out there that almost every picture book should have some form of this in their story or manuscript (nonfiction, too!!!) Why? Because kids LOVE to say these words and they give sound and vibrancy to a book. Also, it's FUN for the art director to place HUGE text of these sound words within a story. I'll never forget when I put in WHOOSH in PRINCESS PEEPERS PICKS A PET how that one word made such a difference in the page spread. Kids love this.


Assignment 5:

I'd love for you to get your hands on the book ANIMALS DON'T, SO I WON'T by David G. Derrick, Jr. He has almost every element I talked about today and the story is very cute--one you should study. He's a DreamWorks storyboard artist and knows what he's doing to delight children.

For this week:

• Check out ten different books, either nonfiction or fiction or both and see if you can spot some of these elements. Are there other elements that the author used to set it apart? Beautiful language, rhyme, alliteration, etc.? 
• Take a look at your work-in-progress. Is there a way you can infuse at least two of these elements within it? Can you try to use all five? See what happens! You might be amazed where these could take your manuscript!

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Just wanted to pop in to tell you that Picture Book University will be back next week. I'm on vacation in Colorado this week. I'll be posting on Wednesday, July 6. 

See you then!

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I'm excited to announce the winner of the PBU critique giveaway! Thank you to all who participated. The traffic to my blog has been phenomenal and I'm so glad my posts have been beneficial!

So, let's all slap our knees for a drumroll....



The winner is...


You may email me at [email protected] and I'll give you instructions on how to submit your manuscript. If you're not ready to receive the critique just yet, please let me know you saw this posting. If you don't respond in a week, I will do the drawing again.

Thank you, everyone! I'm on vacation next week, so I won't be posting, but I will be doing another picture book analysis this week.

Happy writing!

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Welcome back! I hope you almost feel like a picture book expert by now. Through the last three weeks, you should have read no less 40 picture books. That's amazing, isn't it? If you've missed the previous lessons, just click here: PBU Lessons.

This week, I'll be highlighting different ways to tell your story. I'm going to be honest here--illustrators (who are also writers) can normally get away with these types of books as well as very established picture book authors. Since you are straying away from the "traditional" and what editors say they're looking for (which by and large is character driven, funny, quirky books with a surprising twist!), you must have a spectacular idea to turn their heads.. (This can happen, so I don't want to discourage you.)

If you've studied the market at all, you may have noticed some extremely successful books that are told in a surprising way. I'm going to list a few different "types" of books and their examples. This is definitely not exhaustive. I will try to give author only examples as much as I can. Usually, they will be author/illustrator.

1. Cycle Stories: These stories follow the main character along throughout the day. Normally, they're told from when the child gets up and ends when he goes to sleep, but not always. It can also be told through seasons. Normally, it ends the way it began. Any story can have a cyclical element where the opener mimics the ending. This is a style element, though, not a cycle story. A few examples include Me With You by Kristy Dempsey, Pajama Pirates by Andrew Kramer, Snow! Snow! Snow! by Lee Harper, and Red, White, BOOM! by Lee Wardlaw.

2. Journey Stories: This is similar to a cycle story in that there isn't a beginning main problem. The story follows the main character through a series of events. There is a big beginning and there are things that happen throughout the story and there is even a climactic event with the story ending in the journey's end (which often times is a surprising twist), but the traditional story arc is not there. What is intriguing about a story like this is the journey itself. Beautiful language or rhyme can enhance this type of story as well. Tell Me Something Happy Before I Go to Sleep by Joyce Dunbar, Squeak, Rumble, WHOMP! WHOMP! WHOMP! by Wynston Marsalis, and Where is Catkin by Janet Lord.

3. Poetry: This is a story told in poetic form. It can either be describing a concept through a series of poems or telling a tale in rhyme. It can also be one large poem. Always there needs to be a good beginning with a climactic surge at the end and a twist or satisfying ending. Poetic language is key to selling this type of story. Examples include Once Upon a Twice by Denise Doyen, Atlantic by G. Brian Karas, Mirror Mirror: A Book of Reversible Verse by Marilyn Singer, and Pumpkin Butterfly by Heidi Mordhorst.

4. Cumulative stories: This is where a story is told building upon itself until it gets to a surprising twist ending or it can end in a cyclical way--back to the beginning. A Dog is a Dog by Stephen Shaskan, How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight series by Jane Yolen, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie series by Laura Numeroff.

5. Journal entries or diary format: Popular almost ten years ago, many authors have been successful writing these and kids love them. This is a story told through a series of diary entries or letters or journal notes. Examples include Diary of a Worm series by Doreen Cronin, Dear Mrs. LaRue series by Mark Teague, Diary of a Wombat by Jackie French, Memoirs of a Goldfish by Devin Scillina, and Help Me, MR. MUTT! by Janet Stevens and Susan Stevens Crummel. Another take on this that doesn't show only letters but is about correspondence between an alien and a human boy is the delightful Earth to Clunk by Pam Smallcomb.

6. Funny spoofs of classics: This is where an author takes a well known book and puts his/her own twist or spin on it. Many new revisionists include Goodnight Goon, Runaway Mummy by Michael Rex,The Very Hungry Zombie by Michael Teitelbaum,  A Creature Was Stirring: One Boy's Night Before Christmas by Carter Goodrich, and Frankenstein by Rick Walton that spoofs the Madeline series.




Assignment 4: Go to a bookstore and peruse the newest titles. Try to find at least one of each of these types of books. Are they written by an author/illustrator or an author only? Any by new authors? What types of trends in picture book storytelling do you see?

If you don't have access to a bookstore, go to your library and check out 2-3 of each type. Which type do you like the best? Is there a type you think you'd like to try? Go for it!

If you like these posts, please don't forget to tell your friends by hitting the twitter bird and liking it on Facebook. A blog mention is always welcome!

Don't forget, I'll be drawing names for my free picture book critique tomorrow. If you want to find out details, click this link: PBU Critique Give Away

Do you want to see other PBU posts? Click here: PBU

Happy perusing!

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Okay, now that things have settled down a little, I was able to post your names on my blog as a participant in Picture Book University workshop. I've linked your blogs as best as I could. If you'd like me to change your name or link or remove you from my list, please let me know.

Now onto the good stuff. If you've liked the posts so far, please let others know that you're participating or share about what I'm doing.

You can place this button on your website by first right clicking on the image and saving it then adding it and linking it to this part of my blog: Picture Book University. Your blog should resize the image for you, but if you have trouble, I can send you a smaller scale of the button above. I will be updating this page to include all the lessons so if people stumble upon it in the future, they won't miss a post.

If you decide to post this on your website or blog, please let me know, and I'll enter you for a chance to win your choice of a free critique or one of my books. Also, if you make a post talking about the workshop, I'll add two more entries for you.

I will also be doing picture book give aways for picture book authors I interview as well, so be on the lookout for those coming up in August.

Thank you, fellow pb writers!

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Hello, again! Hope your week was productive. I just spent five days with a bunch of tweens at a church camp and am a little tired, but I'm excited to dive into the next lesson! Each of those kids was so cute and this gave me the idea to highlight one of the best selling types of picture books--character driven. If you look at most agents who rep picture books, you'll find they often call for this type of book.

So, what is a character driven picture book exactly? I define it as a story that is more about who the character is than about the plot that drives the character. This makes that character memorable and live in the heart of a child. The reason why editors clamor for these types of books is because they not only sell but they can have marketing tie-in's if the book goes well plus, of course, there will be sequels which will make more money for the publishing house.

Some great recent examples of character driven picture books are Vampirina Ballerina by Anne Marie Pace, Otis by Loren Long, Fancy Nancy by Jane O'Connor, Big Mean Mike by Michelle Knudson, and Otto the Book Bear by Katie Clemenson. You can tell if the story is character driven by the title--it will be the main character's name. I wrote one--Princess Peepers! The sequels will often have the character's name plus the adventure, but the title book will most often be the character's name.

How do you go about writing one? When I set out to write Princess Peepers, I didn't know I was writing a character driven book, even though I'd studied them. After I'd finished, I had entitled the book, The Princess Who Wore Glasses, emphasizing wearing glasses. Once the story went through revisions, I noticed my focus shifted off the glasses and onto Princess Peepers herself and then I re-titled it. Because of Peepers' personality, she really has the ability for many more sequels and stories. You know you have a character that is memorable when this happens.

What are the qualities you must have for a true character driven book?

Must haves:

• Unique characteristics that go outside the box
• Have an emotional connection with children
• The "star" of the book
• Big internal conflict that outweighs the external conflict
• Story focus is on the main character not on the plot (although most title character driven books have wonderful plots!)
• If you take that particular character away from the story, it falls apart or you wouldn't have a story.
• Character image is instantly recognizable (this is beyond a writer's control, but if you've written your character well, you won't have to worry about this.)

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Welcome back! I hope you had a great Fourth of July celebration. I know I did and so...I'm a little behind on everything! But I didn't forget about you. :-)

So, today we'll be looking at something that's very important in the world of picture book writing--storyboard. You may have heard about this from an illustrator friend or maybe you watched a making of an animated movie and noticed the writers use storyboard. We are much like animators--we are bringing characters to life. And like those animators, we must sweep our readers into the story or unfortunately, they will snap the book shut and run off and play with a video game. It's true.

Writing any story is very visual. If you can't think in pictures, it will be very hard for you to even write a picture book. In order to help you think of your story visually, you will need to create a story board for your manuscript. So, what is storyboard?

A typical picture book contains 32-40 pages. As the e-book realm gets stronger, I believe this will change, but for now, we need to stick with this type of thinking until publishers stop asking for this type of book. The whole reason we need to think of our story in 32 published pages is because that's the standard amount of pages the publishers order from the printer. Either that or 40 pages. Anything different will cost them big bucks, so they won't do that. Easy readers and board books don't follow these rules, but they do have rules of their own. I'm not going to go over that here, but I will touch on board books in a future post.

I'm going to show you what should happen on each page of a typical picture book story. Not all books follow this structure and there are many ways to tell your story. We'll go over that in another post. But for now, I'm going to show you what should happen in your story and how it may unfold in your book. I've had to section out some of my picture book manuscripts for submission to foreign publishers. They make you know this, so it's prudent for you to be able to take any manuscript and section out the pages.

I'm going to use Princess Peepers Picks a Pet for an example. It has 32 pages.

Page 1--endpaper--pretty pink!

Page 2-3--endpaper and title page

Page 4-5--CIP and dedication--the CIP is the Cataloging in Publication page where all the publishing information about the book is displayed. This actually is an author's tool--you should be checking every book's CIP whenever you pick it up. You can see when the book was published, where, and by whom. In my book, even my editor and book designers are listed.

Page 6-7--Introduction of characters and setting. Story problem could be introduced here as well. I chose to  only to introduce my character. I do this almost always for every book. In Princess Peepers Picks a Pet, three things happen to introduce you to her. Notice the story doesn't start until page six!

8-9--Problem one starts or overarching problem. In this story, Princess Peepers doesn't have a pet for the pet show. And she's the only princess who doesn't own a pet. Big problem.

10-11--Main character tries to solve the first problem. Peepers finds a bumble bee, but the other princesses do not approve. Failure.

12-13--Second try to solve the problem. Peepers finds a frog. But the other princesses don't think a frog is an appropriate pet. Failure.

14-15--Third try to solve the main problem. Peepers goes into the woods to find a pet but her glasses fall off. Failure and another bigger problem is introduced. Peepers can't see without her glasses.

16-17--Introduction of second story problem. Here is the moment when Peepers finds her pet, but she can't see that she's in love with a large dragon! Most people would be afraid and so would Peepers but she thinks it's a flying unicorn. Notice the overarching problem seems to be solved, but it isn't because everyone knows the other princesses wouldn't approve of a scary dragon. (Although my illustrator drew an adorable dragon!)

18-19--second and third attempts to solve second problem--Peepers is having trouble with her "unicorn". It doesn't act like a unicorn because it breathes fire and seems to have mudcaked fur (dragon scales).

20-21--third problem--Everyone is wondering where Peepers is. She's late!

22-23--First attempt at solving the third problem. Peepers flies into the theater so she won't be late.

24-25--Second attempt at solving the third problem. Peepers soars over the frightened crowd.

26-27--Third attempt at solving the third problem (and overarching problem). Peepers arrives on time and wonders if her pet will win and if the princesses will approve.

28-29--Climax--announcement of awards and Peeperes finds out her pet is a dragon. My climax comes up a bit early. Many times the climax will happen on pages 30-31. For this book, there is an emotional climax that happens.

30-31--Emotional Climax--Peepers falls in love with her dragon. Awww...

32--Ending. Peepers is roasting marshmallows in her dragon's fire breath. :-)

Notice the rule of three within the story structure. And by the time the story ends, all problems are solved by either within the story or one thing fixes the overarching problem.

Assignment 2:

Go to the library or your home library and pick out three stories that you can see follow this type of story structure. Storyboard each one, paying close attention to how the author uses this structure. Also, many books don't use this structure at all because it won't work for it. I will go over other types of stories later. If the book you chose doesn't use this structure, find another or look and see how the different structure worked!

Now, take a look at your manuscript. Does it follow this structure? Is something missing? Can you write a story using this structure?

I hope this helps you see picture books in a whole new way.

If you like this post, as always, please hit the like button below or the twitter bird! I always welcome your comments, too.

Do you want to see other PBU posts? Click here: PBU

Happy reading and writing!

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7. Humor--This actually could be a sub-category of all genres, but the genre of humor means that the whole reason the author wrote the book is to make children laugh. Doreen Cronin is a master craftsman when it comes to making children laugh. Other authors to study are Tom Lichtenheld, Jon Scieszka, and Trisha Speed Shaskan. When writing humorous picture books, you want to use comedy in the pictures. Visual humor is the best way to make children laugh. I could teach a whole lesson on this. A great example to study would be Tom Lichtenheld's What Are You So Grumpy About?  and Interrupting Chicken by David Ezra Stein.

8. Realistic--this has a contemporary setting and humans act like humans and animals as well as spoons, trains, etc. are all doing what they should in the real world. These often highlight a concept that might be hard for a child to understand such as getting over a death or struggles with peers. Purplelicious is an example of realistic fiction where the main character (Pinkalicious) is being made fun of for her pinktastic tastes and it shows how she can resolve her problems. Notice this is still a fun, fictitious character, but it's still set in the real world.  Julia Cook has great examples of this type of book. You should check them out!

9. Poetry--these are books that have many or just one poem within it. Boyds Mills Press has an imprint dedicated to poetry books called Wordsong. Take a look at their offerings for some great examples. A good example of a book that is basically a concept book but is told through one long poem is Atlantic by G. Brian Karas. Nursery rhymes and songs are examples of these types of books as well.

10. Nonfiction--whether it's highlighting some historical figure or a science concept, nonfiction is the most sought after type of book. Nonfiction is factual--it gives information about a subject. Teachers and librarians want nonfiction because of the change to common core standards. Soon, almost all states will adopt this standard and teachers will be using more literature to teach subjects like math and science. A sub-category of this genre is creative nonfiction--that's where a nonfiction subject is taught through a fictional story. A great example of the type of book editors are looking for is What to Expect When You're Expecting Larvae. By using a take on the What to Expect When You're Expecting books, this one highlights everything you'd ever want to know about larvae creatures. It's FULL of squirming facts. If you gravitate toward facts rather than fiction, the sky is the limit for you! I've heard editors are really searching for science because of Common Core.

Whew! That's a lot to think about. Now here's what I want you do do this week.

Assignment 1:

• Go to your library and check out your limit of picture books. Anything you want! But I want you to try to choose books that have been published recently--within the last five years. Older books, while they have their strengths, are not always good examples for you to read because what editors want are modern books with modern slants. 
• Take them home and read each one. 
• Using a word processor program, notebook, anything you can scribble on, write out the name of the book, the year it was written, and list the genres you think it encompasses. If you want a gold star, take note of the publisher and see if the editor is mentioned in the front of the book. (I know my editor as well as art director are mentioned in my Princess Peepers books.)
• Think about the genres you are most attracted to. 
• Go back to the library and check out your limit of the top three genres you're interested in writing. Take them home and read them. 
• List qualities you think make these books special. Keep this journal for future reference.
• Go back to the library and check out three genres you didn't check out before. Read them and take note. Did you like that genre? Are there reasons you don't gravitate toward a certain genre over another?

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I'm so excited to tell you about my newest postings--Picture Book University. This will be like a mini-picture book workshop. Every Monday, I will post about one aspect of picture book writing so you can hone in on that topic and really learn how to do it well or understand something you may not have noticed before. At the end of each post, I will give you an assignment to do for the week. Ideally, by the time I finish with these posts, it will be like taking a mini-picture book workshop.

To make it more fun (and also to help you complete the assignments), just sign your name on this post, sort of committing yourself to the workshop. If you'd like, I will put your name and a link to your blog on the right side of this website. Also, please post on your blog about this workshop, too. I'd really like to help other writers out there who might want to learn more about the art of picture book writing. If you don't want to miss a post, subscribe to this blog via email to the right. Or follow.

My first blog entry will be about picture book genres. That will be on Monday.

If you like this idea, please don't forget to press the like button below, or announce it on twitter by clicking the little birdie!

Happy Writing!

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Sweet Baby Feet by Margaret O Hair

For my next analysis, I decided to do a 180 from the previous book, NUGGET AND FANG. Instead of humor for a more sophisticated child, I wanted to highlight a book for little ones. And when you're writing for children ages baby-3, you need to do the unthinkable: RHYME!

Yes! Editors want you to rhyme for this age group. In fact, many of my published friends sell rhyming text even though editors (as well as agents) say they don't want this type of book. One friend even was asked to change her prose INTO rhyme. Wow.

Before I go into the analysis of SWEET BABY FEET by Margaret O Hair, I want you to take a look at that baby on the cover. Can we just say a collective AWWWW!!! SO CUTE!!! I normally won't highlight the illustrator in these kinds of posts, but Tracy Dockray draws the most precious babies on the planet. :-)

Now the real reason editors go out to conferences and tell you they absolutely don't want to receive a rhyming text is that like singing for American Idol, most people don't do it well. And you need to have the talent to rhyme or forget it. Margaret O Hair is by far the most talented rhymer I've ever read. She's actually a rhyming genius. If you give her a theme or topic, she can come up with a funny rhyme that works in an instant. She does this at parties. Everyone loves her! And at the very least, if you're interested in rhyme, you should pick up one of her books and study how flawless her rhyme scheme is.

SPOILER ALERT! My picture book analyses will reveal the climax/ending to every story. So be forewarned!

Genre: Baby board transitional, Concept, Rhyming text

Synopsis: Follow the footsteps of baby as he scampers from morning until nap time with his busy little feet.

Plot elements: A Cycle of the Day story.

• Morning time--wake up
• morning activities: getting dressed, feeding time, walking/toddling around
• game time--hide and seek, watching tv, playing with pets, finger paints
• taking a bath
• Climax--baby races mama, tiring her out
• Twist Ending--naptime (for Mama, not baby) Twist 

Most books in this genre are cycle of the day stories or journey stories where the text takes you on a journey from one place to another. There is still much going on, although the climax isn't as apparent. In this story, the climax is just a heightened activity that will set up the twist ending. And as in most fiction picture books, there needs to be a twist at the end or a surprise. In this story, Mama is so tired from chasing baby all day long, she's ready for a nap, but not baby.

Now what made this very simple story a keeper in the eyes of the editors? The writing! Are you amazed? LOL! But it is more than that. Margaret looked at the market and found that there weren't any books celebrating baby's feet. FEET! Not only are baby's feet cute, but it's an original concept. It also lends itself to a sequel about maybe baby's hands, too! Hmm...I wonder if we'll be seeing that book in the future?

Style Elements:

• Perfect meter and unforced rhyme scheme--"Morning time!/Feet are bare./Stretch them,/ wave them/Through the air.   This meter and scheme is the same throughout. It's what we call an ABCCB scheme and the meter is catchy and upbeat. You can almost hear the pitter patter of the feet with the rhythm of the text.
• Funny or active pictures--Margaret thought about each picture and how it might delight babies and parents. For example: baby is throwing food, toddling with his dog, crying, hugging mama, etc.
• Use of active verbs and adjectives throughout--for example, baby is tumbling, on tippy toes, peeking, playing, waddling. Baby's feet are chubby, cuddly, bouncy, etc.
• Use of metaphor and surprise--for example, baby's shoes are the ones playing hide and seek
• A sense of rhythm: you bounce along with the baby. Ex: Love this song!/Feel the beat./Tap those chubby/baby feet!

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Instead of doing the standard picture book review that you can see on any old blog, I decided to do something different for my picture book writing readers. I'm going to take some newly released picture books (that I think knock it out of the book-park) and look at it with picture book author reading glasses. That way, maybe you can see more clearly what the author was trying to do and apply these lessons to your own work.

For my first analysis, I decided to use an almost PERFECTLY done picture book, NUGGET AND FANG by Tammi Sauer. There's so much to love and analyze that I think you should go out and buy this book right now. Keep it on your shelf to remind you how Tammi wrote such a keeper of a story that, quite possibly, could earn her a title series that may delight readers for decades. Yes. It's that good.

SPOILER ALERT! My picture book analyses will reveal the climax/ending to every story. So be forewarned!

Genre: Humor, for ages 4-7

Synopsis: Nugget has a problem. It seems that everyone knows  sharks and minnows can't be friends. So where does that leave Fang in the pool of friendship? It's up to Fang to win back his friend's trust and maybe the rest of the school of fish, too.

Plot elements:

• Intro: Nugget and Fang (an unlikely pair--a minnow and a shark) are best friends.
• Problem: When Nugget goes to school, he's taught to fear sharks.
• Escalating problem: Fang loses his best friend, Nugget.
• More problems: Fang tries to prove he's a best buddy, but each time he fails (three days of tries--rule of 3!) Fang is at a demoralizing moment of failure. All is lost!
• Gear shift--a beginning to the solution: a net drops--to give Fang an idea.
• Climax--the net is about to haul away Nugget and his minnow friends.
• Solution--Fang uses his sharp teeth to free Nugget and friends.
• Twist ending--Fang thinks the minnows will reject him, but they want to be friends. 
• Circularity--the ending sounds exactly like it began.

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