While living in Europe, the Far East and the Middle East, Jane considered herself a “professional tourist.” She is now a resident of Florida. Her first novel, The Ride, was released in 2008. Her second novel, Reigning Cats and Dogs, is due to be released later this year.
The Ride received a five-star review from Midwest Book Review. It has been described as a funny but poignant mis-adventure of a desperate housewife who is taken on the ride of her life—in more ways than one.
Jane Kennedy Sutton discusses hook beginnings for children’s books:
As an author of adult novels, I don’t believe there’s anything harder than coming up with the perfect first line that sets the stage for all that’s to come in a story. As a grandmother, I’ve discovered that books for children are no exception to the, “capture the reader with the first line” rule. In fact, I’d say it’s even more important for a young audience.
Through the many books I’ve read to my grandson, I’ve noted that there are several effective methods used by children’s authors to grab the attention of their young audience.
1) Start the book in the middle of the action (this is one of the best ways to begin regardless of the age of the audience)
“Where's Papa going with that ax?” said Fern to her mother as they were setting the table for breakfast.” (Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White)
The night Max wore his wolf suit of one kind and another, his mother called him WILD THING and Max said, ‘I’LL EAT YOU UP!’ so he was sent to bed without eating anything.” (Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak)
2) Clever use of description
Pirates have green teeth—when they have any teeth at all. (How I Became a Pirate by Melinda Long)
In the great green room There was a telephone And a red balloon And a picture of The cow jumping over the moon (Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown)
3) Sound Effects
Chug,chug, chug. Puff, puff, puff. Ding-dong, ding-dong. (The Little Engine that Could by Watty Piper)
Zum. Zum buzzz, Zum. Zum. Buzz. (Berlioz the Bear by Jan Brett)
4) Ask a question
"Is your mama a llama?" I asked my friend Dave. (Is Your Mama A Llama by Deborah Guarino)
How does a dinosaur say good night when Papa comes in to turn off the light? (How Do Dinosaurs Say Good Night? By Jane Yolent and Mark Teague)
5) That old favorite, “Once upon a time,” always seems to work
Once upon a time in the dark of the moon there was a little raccoon. (Wait Till the Moon is Full by Margaret Wise Brown)
Once upon a time there was a little boy named Jeremy who lived with his mother in a small house near the sea. (The Little Baby Snoogle-Fleejer by Jimmy Carter)
Do you know other effective ways to begin a child’s story? What are some of your favorite opening lines?
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I love the first line from Charlotte’s Web. Talk about hook beginnings—what child wouldn’t want to find out what Papa is doing with that ax.
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Great hints about first lines Jane. I agree, if you don't hook kids in the first line they just get up and play.
Thanks for hosting me today, Karen.
Kathy, you are so right. My grandson loves to be read to, but if he doesn’t find the first line interesting he’ll take off in search of a different book or toy.
LOL, that's my grandson also. There's got to be action in the beginning to hold him or he's causing his own action!
Great article.
The first tip is my favorite: "Start the book in the middle of the action." Effective tool for screenplays, as well as books for all ages!
Thanks, Jane and Karen.
Deb, I agree, starting with the action is so important.
Great tips for how to start a book and keep the kids interested. I would add that some of them, particularly the first, work well for adults, too!
Thanks, Jane, for all the helpful advice. You must be a good writer yourself.
Debra, I think that’s one bit of advice that writers sometimes ignore, but it’s probably the best way to start any project.
Nancy, so true – especially for adults like me wiith short attention spans.
Thank you, Janet. I enjoy writing and can only hope that those who read my work, enjoy it also.
Nancy and Janet, thanks for stopping by.
And, Nancy, you're right. Adults have much shorter attention spans now and need to be hooked quickly!
Jane, great tips for writing kids' books!
And everyone should read The Ride. I loved it!
These are great tips for grabbing the readers' attention. Works for kids and some adults :)
Darcia and Brigitte,
Thanks for stopping by. The Ride is on my to read list!
Thanks for the plug, Darcia!) I'm so glad you enjoyed The Ride.
And, thanks Accountant, Author & Freelance Writer - I like how you menioned it works for 'some' adults.
Karen, I really appreciate you hosting me - it's been fun.
Better late than never! Great going Karen and Jane. And, yes. We tend to wind into things with all our writing. Short stories. Essays. Novels. And it often takes someone else to point out that we've done it! (-:
Best,
Carolyn
Tweeting writing tips @frugalbookpomo
Carolyn, that's so true. Sometimes we have to step back and ask ourselves if this is where we should be heading.
The writing road can take us many places!
I love reading Dr. Suess to my kids. Tongue twisting fun for sure. Kids love action adventure. Suspense too but with a happy ending of coarse.
Stephen Tremp
Stephen, I agree, a happy ending in young children's books is a must!
I agree - hook 'em first and keep them interested. Thanks for the insight of hooks for books - lol. If I'm not hooked in the first couple of sentences, I usually don't continue reading. I try to pretty much start my stories with dialogue in the middle of things, so hopefully I'm hooking my readers but time will tell for my books.
Thanks for this - see you all in the postings - E :)
Elysabeth Eldering
Author of the Junior Geography Detective Squad, 50-state, mystery, trivia series
Where will the adventure take you next?
http://jgdsseries.blogspot.com
http://www.junior-geography-detective-squad.weebly.com
Love your tips. I'm sure I'll refer to them time and again. It's always nice to be able to refer to tips when your mind goes blank.
Martha Swirzinski
www.movementplus.com
I agree. The first line is important. My wife thought so, too, when she gave me the first line to my book "Abandoned". It starts off, "Some people think I'm crazy." I thought it interesting enough to follow it up with 600 more pages.
Nice interview. I enjoyed it.
Thanks for stopping by, All.
Wow, Dana, a 600 page book! That's a lot of writing . . . and reading! :)
Great tips! Yes, beginning lines are always tough to come up with!
Lots of great tips! Thank you for sharing. All great first liners.
Mayra and Susanne, thanks so much for stopping by!
Thanks Karen and Jane. Loved your hints, comments and people's notes about their kids, grandkids, etc. My granddaughter Sammie was non-hearing...it really brought home the action/drama point.
Maraya/Suzanne St. Onge
http://marayawriter.blogspot.com
Maraya,
I'm glad you enjoyed the comments. Sometimes you can learn quite a bit through them.
I'm sorry to hear that your granddaughter is non-hearing.
Terrific tips! I'll definitely be passing these along!
Hi, Dallas,
Thanks for stopping by. They are great tips!