Pam Calvert's Blog, page 4

Picture Book University: Sign Up Today!

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!

Picture Book Analysis: Sweet Baby Feet by Margaret O Hair

Sweet Baby Feet by Margaret O HairFor 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, most of my published friends sell rhyming text even though editors (as well as agents) say they don't want this type of book.

HOGWASH!

There. That felt good.

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 upmorning activities: getting dressed, feeding time, walking/toddling aroundgame time--hide and seek, watching tv, playing with pets, finger paintstaking a bathClimax--baby races mama, tiring her outTwist 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 AABA 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 seekA sense of rhythm: you bounce along with the baby. Ex: Love this song!/Feel the beat./Tap those chubby/baby feet!If you take a look at the book and focus on each stanza, you will find a lively text that is adorable in execution that's really hard to do. 
I hope this helps you understand a different genre that you might not know is out there. It's a growing market.    Of course this is just one example of the board book market. I hope to show you many different examples because I've heard this market is needed out there.
If you like these posts, feel free to click the like button below or tweet it to your friends. I hope to post one analysis per week. I will also be doing what I will entitle, Picture Book University, where I will go over different aspects of picture books and really hone in on how to practice these elements and offer book examples for you to look at--a sort of mini-workshop. If you read all the posts, it should be like taking a picture book class. Only for free! 
Happy writing!

Picture Book Analysis: Nugget and Fang by Tammi Sauer

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.
Sounds simple. Right? Most picture book plot elements ARE simple. That's the key. But what sets this picture book apart from what could have been an overdone plot (Finding Nemo, anyone?) is the way it's written which makes it FRESH! Let's analyze that.
Style Elements:
Catchy opener/introduction--using rhythm.Use of onomatopoeia--glug, glug, ping, etc.Mega use of puns--in fact, I'm not sure if I've seen this many puns in one story. Editors LOVE this (and kids do, too!)  Simple, rhythmic writing styleGreat use of thinking in pictures-each page is a different scene which could be hard considering this is in the ocean with a blue background. Tammi thought about changing scenes when she wrote about all the problems Fang was having--for example, in one scene, Fang is dressed up like a mermaid. CUTE! Use of double entendre and irony--for example, when Fang sends an invitation to dinner, the minnows think they're the main course!Rule of 3--three opening rhythmic lines (in the front and back part of the story). Three ways Fang tries  to impress Nugget on the third day of trying to impress. Three classes Nugget attends to show him sharks aren't friends, etc.Reversal--this is about a minnow and a shark being friends (which is the opposite way it happens in the real world.)Likeable characters--these are strong characters that you can't help love. Especially Fang who earnestly wants his friend back.Visual Humor--For example--Fang looks silly dressed up like a girl mermaid! Now take a look at your manuscript. Does it have many of these elements? 
I hope this helps you take a fresh approach in analyzing your own writing. 
If you know of a new release that you'd like me to analyze, please let me know. I'm always on the look out for great picture books!
Happy writing!

And the Winners Are...

It's Monday and time for me to announce the winners of my picture book critique giveaway! I used RandomPicker to randomly choose my winners because the old fashioned way of cutting up strips of paper seemed unfair. I always hate it when some people's strips would get larger or smaller and then I'd probably choose the largest. SO everyone was on equal footing here!

Here are the five and I know some of you, so I'm very excited to see your work!



Cindy B.

Aodle

Ruth Shiffman

Sue Frye

Melissa Payne

Congratulations! Just email me at pam@pamcalvert.com, attaching your picture book manuscript or you can paste it at the end of the email--whatever is easiest for you. I will get back to you with my critique this week.

Thank you to all who participated. I'm very excited to restart this blog and focus on picture books. There aren't enough blogs out there for picture book writers (when compared to say...YA!) and I feel more is always best. If you'd like to start following, just click the follow button at the top. My new postings won't start until June when the blog is finished, but I'll be starting off with a bang--author interviews and listing of picture book agents, so you won't want to miss out.

Happy writing!

Woven With Pixie Dust is getting a new look!

Win a free picture book critique!Oh, about two years ago, I made a New Year's resolution to revamp my blog. Two years came and went and then the spiderwebs and dust accumulated around here and well...

Yeah. My blog is in desperate need of a spring cleaning.

SOOO...I've hired Designer Blogs to redo the look. That will be coming in June.

Along with this new look, there will be new material aimed at picture book writers. If you are an aspiring picture book writer, I will be giving away five free picture book critiques. All you will have to do is sign your name at the bottom of this post, and I'll put your name in a drawing. Once you receive the critique, I'll just ask you to link my blog when the new design is finished. That's it!

My new blog will have picture book tips and tricks, interviews of picture book authors, and a few random insider secrets about school visits, marketing, etc. I'm also hearing about new opportunities for writers in the app world and let me tell you, it's exciting!

I will also list agents who represent picture book authors. This list is very tiny, but I will be posting on how a picture book writer can snag an agent and what it takes to do this seemingly impossible task.

Multiplying Menace--A Scholastic Book!

When I set out to write math books, I read all I could. The top publishers producing these types of books were my publisher, Charlesbridge, with their brilliant math adventure line, Stuart Murphy, and of course, the great Marilyn Burns. I'd talked with another math author at the time when I was about to send out my manuscript--she told me to contact her publisher (Scholastic's Math Solutions by Marilyn Burns). They really liked Multiplying Menace, but it wasn't quite right for their line. I sent it off to Charlesbridge, and the rest is history.

But what's very interesting is that Multiplying Menace is now a Marilyn Burns book being licensed by Scholastic, and I'm very happy to announce this! It is online in the collection here for 5th graders: Math Reads.

It will also be in the Scholastic Book Clubs catalog.

You just never know--a rejection letter doesn't always mean no. Multiplying Menace proves it.

Picture Books that inspired the young me...

The other day I was at the library, researching picture books for my next manuscript. Always, I have my idea, I write it then I go see what's in the marketplace that might be similar. I really don't want to redo something that's already been done. I've gotten into trouble by not checking out books that could be similar to mine...SO!

I noticed a book I'd been looking for since I started on this writing journey. I couldn't think of the name but remember the images vividly from my childhood (back in the 70's). This book is entitled, The Big Tidy Up, by Norah Smaridge. After perusing the rhyming text, it most decidely has a moral--Jennifer's room is a big mess! Mom lets her drown in her own mess until at the end, Jennifer decides she better clean up her act.

What transfixed me the most was the artwork done by Les Gray. It was a Golden Book, which is not surprising since my family wasn't rich and all of my books came from the grocery store. I doubt I'd ever entered a bookstore until I was an adult!

Although this book probably couldn't get published today (the moral is way too overt), it's one of those books that brings back heartwarming memories to me. I'm thrilled I found it! (And it's very PINK!)

Here are some of my favorite inside pages:



Jennifer in her state of MESS! (notice the desheveled hair!)















Here's Jennifer all cleaned up. I loved how the illustrator made her match. I, too, liked wearing dresses at the time (I was four) and matching hair ribbons. I never owned a pair of shoes like these, but I slipped into Jennifer's world whenever I'd read this.















Do you have a favorite childhood book?

Another cute-ism from a school visit!

I just got back from another week of visits. :-) Kids are the BEST!

And to go along with the holidays, I thought I'd share this cute-ism. When I start my program, I always ask kids what they want to be when they grow up. This varies from grade to grade, but the kindergarten and 1st grades are always funny. Usually, what one says, all the rest will mimic. "I want to be a firefighter!" And then I'll get ten more firefighters.

This time, one kid said, "I want to be one of those people who stand outside and ring the bell."

I said, "You mean, like the Salvation Army people for Christmas?"

His face brightened and he pointed at me. "Yes!"

And then I got a bunch of kids wanting to be bell ringers when they grow up. CUTE!

How Did You Become Famous? And Other Funny Questions...

[image error] Okay, I'm back from a whirlwind of five school visits last week and I must say, I've been laughing at some of the funniest things that were said to me. Kids are so perfect. I wouldn't want to write for anyone else!

Here are some hilarious things that were said to me (the funniest is at the bottom of this post):

1.  CK1 (Cute Kid #1): Wow! We just saw your limosine outside. What does it feel like to ride in one of those?

Me (gasping, eyes wide): Limo? Outside? Mine? Erm...

CK2: Yeah!  We saw it!

Me (gasping some more, eyes huge now): Oh, well, that wasn't mine...and anyway, people rent limos all the time. They aren't that expensive.

CK1: To YOU! I live on a street that looks like the hood. No one keeps their houses nice. It was funny when I saw a limosine drive down my street.

Me (feeling ultra stupid and tiny): Um, well, I just drove here in my very old car. Heh...

(I guess they were used to celebrities. The last author that came to visit them was Marc Brown who, btw, charged the Title 1 schools $3500 for ONE SESSION! He did two schools per day and made $70K that week last year. Some librarians broke their budgets to bring him in...)

****

2. CK 3: How did you become so famous?

Me (gasping, tongue tied): Who me? Famous? I think I'm famous only to my mother.

****

3.  CK 4: Are you rich?

Me (gasping, choking on my gum): Rich? Me? Nah...

CK 4 hits CK 5: See? I told you she wasn't rich.

****

4. CK 6 (pulls bangs up): SIGN MY FOREHEAD!

Me (thinking about what his mother will do to me when he shows up with my name scribbled on his head): I don't sign heads, but I will sign your arm. (I use a ballpoint pen.)

CK 6: OW!! That hurt!

Me: Oops.

****

5. I'm walking down the hallway after my presentations are over and after I signed some autographs (probably about fifty as kids surrounded me in a flurry.)

CK 7: Ms. Calvert, you signed an autograph for me, didn't you?

Me (wide eyed, had-no-idea-if-I-did, smiling): Oh, well, yeah, of course!

CK 7: THANKS!

CK 8 (shakes head): Un uh! He forged your signature and is charging kids $2 an autograph!

Me (stomach plunges)

Here are some pics of those cute kids. I'm going back and doing five more visits in November. I wonder what other things they'll have to say! HA!

[image error]

Princess Peepers Paperback is Here!

I'm happy to announce that Princess Peepers, the only princess who wears glasses, is finally now in paperback. At $7.99, it's more affordable for a princess to enjoy. In fact, if she tatters one, you can buy another one for a total of less than the list price of the hardcover!
Stock up!

And make sure to check out the sequel: Princess Peepers Picks a Pet, if you haven't already. There's lots of pets plus a BIG surprise your princess is sure to love.

Happy reading!