What Makes Your Characters “Tick”?
Let’s look at the beginning of a picture book story.
The initial step is introducing your main character. Can you tell us what he/she is thinking?
What is their prime directive? What motivates them? What problem are they confronting in your story?
I love sharing this series of spreads created by graphic design pioneer Bruno Munari — an Italian Paul Rand — who loved children’s picture books. This is from his book The Elephant’s Wish.
Here’s Elephant, who wishes he could be as carefree as a bird…
Bird wishes he could swim. Can you guess why?
Snake wishes he could graze majestically like a bull . . .
Bull wishes he could be like the elephant. Why? Then he could swish away those pesky flies! We come full circle by the end of the book.
Artist Laurent Moreau contemplates himself!
By Laurent Moreau. A girl dreams of being by the sea
Here’s the cover, which hints at the animals’ thoughts, while intriguing us with an unusual graphic.
Check out how Laurent Moreau lets us in on his characters’ thoughts:
The cover from “What Are You Thinking?” by Laurent Moreau
Ah, a play on line textures and far away thoughts by Laurent Moreau…
This woman is full of jealous thoughts. By Laurent Moreau
What a little girl in costume imagines, by Laurent Moreau
What an absorbing story! Could she be lost into it? By Laurent Moreau
Subconscious memories from a famous
folk tale, by Laurent Moreau
What a boy thinks
by Laurent Moreau
What one young woman
pines for, by Laurent Moreau
It’s all math to some people!
What a beautiful mind!
A nature lover!
Try it yourself! This one is by Marcia Sorini,
an elementary school teacher (see part 2, below)
Check out what other students have created here!
Drawing a story? Do this exercise with each of your characters first.
Check out more results here!
Troo and his friend, Keewa, want to swim in a calm pool, but Rilla the water rat won't tell them where her pool is...
"...She'll never tell," said Keewa. "Her pool is her biggest secret..."
So Troo decides to make his own pool by damming up the river, but how will his "play-time" effect the rest of the rain forest critters? Find out in,
Troo Makes a Splash by Cheryl Crouch.This is a perfect book for your young emergent reader. It isn't only fun, but it illustrates God's principle of putting other's before ourselves. The illustrations by Kevin Zimmer add flavour to the story and will keep your child amused to the very last page.
For more information on,
Troo Make a Splash or any other Rain forest Friends -
I Can Read Series check out
Zondervan Here's your chance to win all three Troo books! Just leave me a comment in this or any of the Troo blogspots. I will draw for a random winner on Monday April 25'th.
Good Luck!
Hi! I am stopping by from the weekend hops. I am a new follower. Great blog. Blessings...
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