Moira Butterfield's Blog, page 41

Digging Deep to Find Your Character's Emotional Journey by Natascha Biebow

<!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"ＭＳ 明朝"; mso-font-charset:78; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:1 134676480 16 0 131072 0;} @font-face {font-family:"ＭＳ 明朝"; mso-font-charset:78; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:1 134676480 16 0 131072 0;} @font-face {font-family:Palatino; panose-1:2 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611969 2013274202 341835776 0 403 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin:0cm; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"ＭＳ 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-ansi-language:EN-US;} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family:"ＭＳ 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-fareast-language:JA;} @page WordSection1 {size:595.0pt 842.0pt; margin:72.0pt 90.0pt 72.0pt 90.0pt; mso-header-margin:35.4pt; mso-footer-margin:35.4pt; mso-paper-source:0;} div.WordSection1 {page:WordSection1;} -- </style> <br /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-y7dyTRzX5CU..." imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="273" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-y7dyTRzX5C..." width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> </span><br /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Writing is hard. Not only because you have to put your bum on seat and dedicate the hours, not only because you have to dream up super-original ideas with a new take on what’s already been published in a very crowded marketplace, not only because you invest in a story and then someone may not share your vision, but because you have to dig deep inside yourself to be able to seamlessly convey how it really feels to be your character.</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">So how do you do this? I’ve previously blogged on the importance of asking your characters difficult questions to discover their true <a href="http://picturebookden.blogspot.co.uk/..." target="_blank">motivation</a>, so you can <span style="background-color: yellow;">write from a place of knowing. </span>This is an important first step. But, now how can you use this to take readers on a <b>compelling and satisfying emotional journey?</b></span></div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The trick is to BE the character. If you ARE the character, you don’t need to tell the reader all the external stuff that is going on, because they will be in the character’s shoes as well. So you can <a href="http://picturebookden.blogspot.co.uk/..." target="_blank">show</a> not tell.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-x5_IFiYaak..." imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="251" data-original-width="261" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-x5_IFiYaak..." /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Get into your character's Olympic running shoes! (From S<i>ky Private Eye and <br />the Case of the Runaway Biscuit </i>by Jane Clarke & Loretta Schauer)</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: yellow;">Stories are about change.</span> So, if there is no conflict, there is no gripping story. In picture books, authors have to set up the problem and resolve it quickly within just 32 pages. There isn’t time or space to ‘tell’ . . . The relatively easy bit is often figuring out <span style="background-color: cyan;">the plot arc, the <b>external</b> journey of change</span>. For example, the story is about a runaway gingerbread biscuit, the farmer who has some cows that type, the time Arthur met The Truth, or what happened at Lily and Blue Kangaroo’s birthday party. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The action in these plots could be interesting . . . but so what?</span></div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SzZJQJNS21..." imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="142" data-original-width="148" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SzZJQJNS21..." /></a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">IF the author writes from a place of knowing and adds a<span style="background-color: cyan;"><span style="background-color: white;">n </span><b>internal</b> emotional journey of change,</span>the story will be one that has heart. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Readers will experience the character’s <span style="background-color: yellow;">thoughts, beliefs and behaviours in the face of adversity.</span> They will become so engulfed by being in the main character’s shoes that they <u><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">become</i> the character.</u> So, when the character is sad or uncertain, the reader cries and worries for them. When the character laughs, the reader laughs, too.</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">It can be helpful to break these two story arcs down in two strands, using the three-act structure. </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">For example, in HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU, BLUE KANGAROO!</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> by Emma Chichester Clark:</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jLus1cADBc..." imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="342" data-original-width="274" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jLus1cADBc..." width="256" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> </span><table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="mso-cellspacing: 0cm; mso-padding-alt: 0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184;"> <tbody><tr style="mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0;"> <td style="padding: 0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm; width: 128.0pt;" valign="top" width="128"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br /></span></td> <td style="padding: 0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm; width: 128.0pt;" valign="top" width="128"> <div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">ACT ONE</span></span></div></td> <td style="padding: 0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm; width: 128.0pt;" valign="top" width="128"> <div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">CONFLICT</span></span></div></td> <td style="padding: 0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm; width: 128.0pt;" valign="top" width="128"> <div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">ACT TWO</span></span></div></td> <td style="padding: 0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm; width: 128.0pt;" valign="top" width="128"> <div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">BLACK MOMENT</span></span></div></td> <td style="padding: 0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm; width: 128.0pt;" valign="top" width="128"> <div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">ACT THREE</span></span></div></td> </tr><tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 1;"> <td style="padding: 0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm; width: 128.0pt;" valign="top" width="128"> <div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Plot arc</span></span></div></td> <td style="padding: 0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm; width: 128.0pt;" valign="top" width="128"> <div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Best buddies, Lily and Blue Kangaroo are having a birthday party. The theme is pink. Lily dresses top to toe in pink.</span></span></div></td> <td style="padding: 0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm; width: 128.0pt;" valign="top" width="128"> <div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Everything is pink themed! Lily is so caught up in her party, she forgets Blue Kangaroo. </span></span></div></td> <td style="padding: 0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm; width: 128.0pt;" valign="top" width="128"> <div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Lily’s friends arrive in pink party clothes, give her pink presents, and a magician even conjures up a pink rabbit. Lily loves it!</span></span></div></td> <td style="padding: 0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm; width: 128.0pt;" valign="top" width="128"> <div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Mum brings in the birthday cake. It is a <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">pink kangaroo!</b></span></span></div></td> <td style="padding: 0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm; width: 128.0pt;" valign="top" width="128"> <div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Blue Kangaroo tries to make himself pink. When he can’t, he hides in the bedroom. Lily finally misses her special friend. When she finds him, alone wrapped in a blue sock she understands immediately. </span></span></div></td> </tr><tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 2; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;"> <td style="padding: 0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm; width: 128.0pt;" valign="top" width="128"> <div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Emotional arc</span></span></div></td> <td style="padding: 0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm; width: 128.0pt;" valign="top" width="128"> <div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Blue Kangaroo shares everything with Lily – even birthdays.</span></span></div></td> <td style="padding: 0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm; width: 128.0pt;" valign="top" width="128"> <div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Blue Kangaroo isn’t sure he likes the pink ribbon Lily ties round his neck. </span></span></div></td> <td style="padding: 0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm; width: 128.0pt;" valign="top" width="128"> <div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Blue Kangaroo is the only one who is blue. He bets Lily wishes the magician could make him pink, too.</span></span></div></td> <td style="padding: 0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm; width: 128.0pt;" valign="top" width="128"> <div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Blue Kangaroo is NOT pink . . . Lily’s forgotten about him – he falls off the chair in the excitement of the birthday cake moment.</span></span></div></td> <td style="padding: 0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm; width: 128.0pt;" valign="top" width="128"> <div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Lily changes into a blue outfit and declares, “I love blue and I love you!” She recognizes that she needs to include Blue Kangaroo. Her friends all admire him, but there is only one Blue Kangaroo – and he is Lily’s.</span></span></div></td> </tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">When you write from the heart, you are right there in the moment with your main character. You don’t have to tell the reader what the character is doing or feeling. The narrative <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">shows</i> it. Like this: </span></div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QCIOrQIzYb..." imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="513" data-original-width="698" height="470" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QCIOrQIzYb..." width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jmk8zEFwyY..." imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="472" data-original-width="700" height="430" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jmk8zEFwyY..." width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aXhiy1t-Ba..." imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="493" data-original-width="707" height="446" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aXhiy1t-Ba..." width="640" /></a></div><br />When you successfully tell a story that has <span style="background-color: cyan;">a compelling emotional journey</span>, everyone – agents, editors, librarians, booksellers, parents, grandparents and children – will say 'aw' and want to READ IT AGAIN AND AGAIN!<br /><br /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PEg3srFepU..." style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="294" data-original-width="379" height="248" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PEg3srFepU..." width="320" /></a></span><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Palatino;"> </span><span style="color: purple;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">________________________</span></span><br /><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "palatino";">Natascha Biebow</span></b> </span></span> </span><br /><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "palatino";">Author, Editor and Mentor</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JUjF0_ceKFA..." style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="131" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JUjF0_ceKF..." width="200" /></a><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://www.blueelephantstoryshaping.c... Elephant Storyshaping</a> is an editing, coaching and mentoring service aimed at empowering writers and illustrators to fine-tune their work pre-submission.  </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">Check out my <a href="http://www.blueelephantstoryshaping.c... coaching Cook Up a Picture Book courses</a>! <span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"></span>Natascha is also <span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">the</span> author of <i>The Crayon Man </i>(coming in 2019!), <i>Elephants Never Forget</i> and <i>Is This My Nose?,</i> editor of numerous award-winning children’s books, and Co-Regional Advisor (Co-Chair) of SCBWI British Isles.  </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div>

A Moment in Time - The wordless spread in picture books by Garry Parsons

In the early 1980s, the world was gripped by the threat of nuclear war. Soviet leaders were convinced that the US and its allies were a finger touch away from a pre-emptive strike and as a schoolboy living in Berkshire it felt like we were right in the middle of it. I remember seeing foreboding images of giant mushroom clouds on posters and T shirts and reading books on building fall-out shelters. 
I also remember watching a film, which might have been “The Day After” (whatever it was I wasn’t meant to be watching it), depicting a full-scale nuclear exchange between the United States and the Soviet Union, and it was terrifying! My friends and I would role-play what we would do the day after a nuclear attack, build shelters in the woods and store supplies of cheese sandwiches and crisps. And with cruise missiles being delivered to the nearby Greenham Common airbase it only fuelled our imaginations.
To add to the nuclear smorgasbord I read “When the Wind Blows” by Raymond Briggs. 

The recent quarrels between the United States and North Korea brought back my memories of the nuclear '80s and prompted me to re-read Briggs' graphic novel. Isn’t it funny how things come around!
“When the Wind Blows” follows pensioners James and Hilda Bloggs, as they naively prepare for a nuclear attack under the guidance of “The Householder’s Guide to Survival” which James has found that morning in the local library. The strike is predicted over the radio to arrive “in three days time”.
The tension and apprehension of the ensuing attack increases over each page as the couple fumble to construct their makeshift shelter out of doors and cushions.
Panel by panel the couple are edged closer and closer to the moment of impact…

Until…

While it’s tempting to write “BOOM” it is not necessary. The emptiness is all this spread needs and I found it as astonishing and as powerful as I remember I did on my first reading as a schoolboy. And it is this spread that has prompted me to write this post.
But what is it that makes this page turn so arresting?  After all, it is a spread with no words and virtually nothing on it at all - just a pale pink edge to an empty white .
But that’s just it. The eerie silence after all the busy chatter is shocking and the simplicity of the white is exactly how those film clips I saw as a boy described what the nuclear flash would look like when it hit, and within the story the timing is perfect. This empty nothing has so much impact.
With the visual power of Briggs' wordless double spread in mind I hunted through my picture book collection for other wordless double spreads to enjoy. Here are a few of my favorites, some familiar and some less so, some light-hearted, some contemplative and a couple biographical. 
The first is the forest made of rubbish from “The Tin Forest” by Helen Ward and illustrated by Wayne Andersen. (Templar 2001) Here are two spreads from the story. The first shows the reality of the old man's garden


 ...and then its transformation later in the book, into his dream paradise.


The inimitable “Where the Wild Things Are” by Maurice Sendak. (Harper & Row 1963)Three wordless double spreads in a row of the “wild rumpus”. Not only giving the reader the raucousness of Max and his subjects messing about but also a sense of time passing and that they play until they can’t play anymore.



Another dream image, this one the imagined journey mapped out by a young Christopher Columbus in “Follow the Dream” by Peter Sis. (Knopf 1991)



A cruel blizzard sets in on Elephant island. From “Shackleton’s Journey” by William Grill. (Flying Eye Books 2014)




In the entrance to the upturned barn she has converted into an ark is Norah, calling to the animals as the rain begins to start.
And later them all waking up to see how high the waters had risen during the night. From “Norah’s Ark” by Ann & Reg Cartwright. (Puffin1985)


The sudden capture of the spider in Carson Ellis’ “Du Iz Tak?” When you first read this book, this page is startling and takes you and the characters totally by surprise. (Walker 2016)



The terrifying roar of the lion after having “eaten the whole of the London Symphony Orchestra for breakfast, instruments and all.” Kit Williams  "Book Without a Name" (referred to by Williams as "the Bee Book" Knopf 1984)

The unnoticed Elliot from “Little Elliot Big City” by Mike Curato. The sudden shock of lonelinessin a crowded city. You just want to jump in there and rescue him. (Henry Holt & Co 2014)



The mystery uncovered  as Bear's secret paper making machine is discovered  in Oliver Jeffers “The Great Paper Caper” (Harper Collins 2008)


And lastly the double fold out spread from “Grandpa Green” By Lane Smith where “the garden remembers for him.” (Roaring Brook Press 2011)




What all these examples have for me is a sense of impeccable timing within the narrative.  A moment where the story almost stops, where the reader might take a breath, absorb and be suspended by, or simply fall into the illustration. Something wonderfully unique to picture books and akin to a moment in a film where there is silence, where the camera pans back to allow the viewer space to consider and ponder what's going on, and perhaps a subtle message for anyone whose finger might be hovering over a red button.
I love these wordless spreads, not just because as an illustrator they give full reign to the image but because they sit so well within the words adding another visual moment of texture and depth to the story.
 If you have any favourites, let me know.


Garry Parsons is an illustrator. You can see his work here and follow @icandrawdinos
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A FIREBIRD’S JOURNEY - a guest post by Saviour Pirotta

A picture book’s journey from idea to publication is somewhat different from that of a chapter book or a novel, especially if you’re a writer rather than a writer/illustrator.

With chapter books, you usually write a treatment or a synopsis and the first three or four chapters of the story. Some writers include notes about the main characters and the setting but it’s not essential. If you’re a first-time author, or you’re known for another kind of book, you might have to write a first draft before your agent can submit your book to editors. But there’s enough there for the publisher to decide in favour or against the project. Your book lives or dies on the strength of your ideas and your writing.


I find the process is much trickier with picture books if you’re a writer who doesn’t illustrate his own books. Your proposal is hauled up in front of a busy editor with the most important ingredients missing: the visuals. When submitting picture books early on in my career, I always assumed that my carefully chosen words would project the same images in an editor’s mind as in mine. I quickly learnt that this was way off the mark. Everyone ‘sees’ words differently and very often, what I thought would appeal, didn’t. I’ve given up counting the times I had a project turned down, only to see a very similar story published successfully by someone else. Nearly always that picture book was the work of an author/illustrator who could submit text and illustration roughs.

As I gained confidence in my writing, I turned to anthologies. They were still heavily illustrated but the stories did not depend on the illustrations to work. An editor could see the potential in my work without the pictures. Most of these books were commissions anyway, and the publishers had an illustrator in place before I was even asked to come on board.  I do very well with them so  I decided that I’d only attempt another picture book if asked by publishers to write something about a specific subject, and then I would not limit myself to perceived ideas of what a picture book should be. I would follow my own instincts and push the envelope.


The opportunity came when Templar asked me to adapt The Firebird as a celebration of the ballet’s centenary. They had an illustrator attached to the project already, the wonderful Catherine Hyde who’d just done an incredible job on Carol Ann Duffy’s The Princess’ Blankets. The sample pictures I was sent had a sophisticated, hypnotic quality to them. They looked earthy and mysterious. The characters in them looked almost posed, like people in a play. I thought they would appeal to adults as well as children, and I wanted to provide a text that would have the same expressionist quality.

The ballet is adapted from several Russian folktales. I chose one to work with, Prince Ivan and the Grey Wolf. Amanda Wood, who at the time headed the Templar team, is a fearless editor. She let me break so many rules. My text stretched to 3000 words rather than the customary 800 or under. I used difficult words, hard-to-pronounce names, and I changed the ending of to include an anti-hunting ‘message’.

Critics loved it but very few shops stocked it.  They complained that the book was too big to fit on the shelves. It didn’t look like a normal picture book; they didn’t know which shelf it should go on. Was it aimed at adults or kids?


For a few years, it looked like the poor Firebird was going nowhere in a hurry. There was no talk of a paperback edition. The US edition went out of print. I consoled myself with the fact that the book won an Aesop Accolade in the States, that the few people who had seen it, totally got it.  I moved on, producing more anthologies and writing, my first middle grade novel.

But somewhere along the line, things started to change for the Firebird. I started to get emails from teachers who were using it in class with upper KS2 kids. I’d walk into a school and there would be a display of the children’s own firebirds, inspired by Catherine’s work. I started offering free Skype visits to classes who were using the book. Before I knew it, the Firebird had risen from the ashes. Sales picked up and recently the Literacy Trust produced teaching notes to go with the book. I now get more emails and letters about Firebird than any other picture book I’ve written. In February I am visiting a school that is dedicating two whole weeks to activities based on it.

It just goes to show that you should always follow your heart and your instincts, not the market and certainly not received wisdom about what a picture book should be.  After all, that’s why we’re writers. To push the envelope of creativity, and to broaden people’s horizons.




Saviour Pirotta’s latest middle grade novel, Secret of the Oracle, is published by Bloomsbury and available now. His next picture book, The Unicorn Prince, illustrated by Jane Ray and will be published by Orchard Books in September 2018. Follow him on Twitter at @spirotta.

Magic and Storytelling – Mini Grey

My latest book is all about a magic show, and while I was making it I got really interested in the history of magic and how illusions are made. So that’s what this post is about.




Yearning for Magic
When I was small I used to long for something magical to happen: for the biscuit bear I’d just baked to come to life, to find a mysterious lamp-post or cupboard full of fur coats that would transport me to another world (I was obsessed with Narnia), to make a potion & find it actually worked, for my cat to talk.

Here is my cat C1973. In a basket. I’m the one holding the bicycle
But I never seemed to find the magic that I was looking for. My cat never spoke a word to me, my potions made nothing happen and all I ever found round the other side of the lamp-post …was the other side of the lamp-post.
A likely-looking lamppost    
But why this yearning to witness magic?When magic happens in books and films it seems so easy. We’re used to seeing magic whooshing out of Harry Potter’s wand and extraordinary transformations happening onscreen and on the page. And with the dark arts of cameras and drawing and special effects anything is possible. But what about Real Life Magic?

Harry summons his patronus
Real-life magic is harder. Real-life magic is really hard work. Real-life magic is putting in more practice than anyone would ever believe to make something seem effortless.


Here are some acrobats doing something that looks just about impossible. But I suspect that this feat has been achieved not with magic but with an astonishing amount of practice, skill and hard work. (Plus nerves of steel.)

So one ingredient of magic is a lot of hard work, invisibly hidden away. But magic tricks done by magicians use the way our brains and vision work so that our brains are helping the illusion to happen – our brain is being the magician’s assistant.

And since our brain is being the magician’s assistant, the magician won’t have to distract or misdirect us necessarily, but will want to be directing our attention towards the magical effect…which means we do the magic – in our heads, with our story-telling brains.

Our vision is constantly trying to make a story it can understand about the world – to work out what is going on so we can predict what might happen next, and we know what to do. Optical illusions are a great way to see this in action.


Here’s a grey bar on top of a grey gradient. Look at the grey colour on the bar, and what happens if I cover the gradient background, first the top:


And now the bottom:


The grey bar that seemed to have such a definite shading from light to dark at first – has gone flat. Which it was all along. Our eyes couldn’t help attempting to construct an image using our ideas of relative light and shade.  




Here’s an invisible triangle – what can you see? Can you see its edges? Is it really there? To our eyes, a triangle is a better idea of what might happen than a non-triangle.

With optical illusions you can see your eyes and brain at work constructing the world.


The Vanishing Card


 Let’s say a magician makes a card disappear and shows you that it had, then produces it out of someone’s ear. He’s shown show both sides of his hand after the disappearance – but you can’t see both sides at the same time, so have you seen there’s no card? Your brain invents a story, and the story you see is the card has vanished. The story is not that the magician has practiced flipping a card round his hand more times than you can imagine so he or she can do it with supernatural unbelievable skill. Remember those acrobats: what they do is incredible, magical – but we know how they did it – an incredible amount of working at it.

When your brain’s story & the evidence don’t match, you either change your view of what’s going on, or call it magic… The fascinating thing about magic is it reveals how our brains work: how we are storytelling all the time, constructing stories, taking shortcuts and filling in the gaps.

Arthur C Clarke famously said “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” The history of magic really runs parallel with technological innovations. For example, making a ghost appear on stage wasn’t possible until the invention of plate glass – in big sheets. The Pepper’s Ghost Illusion meant hiding a huge sheet of glass in front of the stage, angled to reflect a figure hidden below the stage – when they were illuminated with a strong light they’d magically appear. Nobody watching was expecting to see huge sheets of hidden plate glass – so they didn’t see it – and Pepper’s Ghost was a sensation.



But back to books.

Books are masters of disguise – they can be like so many things. A book can be like a door, a museum, a time-machine, a theatre show.


Chris Riddell showing how books are like doors
Every reading of a picture book is like putting on a new performance. When I made the Bad Bunnies’ Magic Show I wanted to make a book that was like a theatre performance, and I wanted the reader to be the audience.

At first I wanted the bunnies’ magic tricks to be proper pop-up paper-engineering, because playing around with pop-ups is such a lot of fun. I managed to make a cabinet that could make Lovely Brenda appear and disappear.




Here’s the Brenda Cabinet in action. It’s a fold-up thing called a tetraflexibook
But I realised the transformations I wanted to happen would be really complicated to engineer -  and the complicatedness of the mechanisms might limit their visual impact. So as often happens – I found that less is more, and just cutting into the page edge with a magical sort of shape could be all the magic I needed.

Here is Cadabra doing some knife throwing



and a bird-to-beast transformation.

The bunnies’ plan is foiled     and here they are being blasted.  

I also had to make a stage to work out what was behind the curtain!

My model bunny theatre   So, to return to my childhood hunt for real magic – what it would mean to see something truly inexplicable and magic happen? What if my cat did start talking to me?


It would mean I’d have to rethink my entire world model…which would be weird and exciting, but alas still hasn’t had to happen.


The Great Randi, Uri Geller and the Spoons

Uri Geller is an illusionist who did a lot of spoon bending, and explained that it was happening through the force of his mind.

James Randi (the Great Randi) was an incredible magician who also put a lot of time into exposing the deceptions of fraudsters and confidence tricksters. Randi studied Geller’s performances, and worked out exactly how he was producing the illusion of a spoon bending to his will. Randi could demonstrate spoon bending exactly like Uri Geller, but when he did it, people said – “Oh that’s just a trick.” “But what about Uri Geller?” they might be asked.  The reply would be “Oh no - when he’s doing it, it’s magic.”

To me, magic shows the power of our story-telling minds. Storytelling is how our brains are constructing our worlds. Storytelling is how our brains construct our pasts and predict our futures – and decide what to believe.





Mini Grey is the author and illustrator of "Biscuit Bear", "Hermelin", "Three By The Sea"  and the inimitable "Traction Man" amongst others. Mini lives in Oxford with her family and cat Bonzetta.
"The Bad Bunnies Magic Show" is out now from Simon & Schuster

See more of Mini's work on her website here

Scissor Happy! by Jane Clarke

Yesterday, I went into a charity shop and discovered a pile of old magazines. Yay!
They’re now on my coffee table and I can feel excitement bubbling up when I look at them.  I can’t wait to find a nice quiet moment (hopefully lots of nice quiet moments) to get my hands on them properly.  National Geographics, especially old ones, make me feel the same sense of discovery - as do Ranger Rick’s. 

So what’s in store for these old mags? Well, I’ll read them, of course, and I might scribble the odd word or two down in an ideas book, but that’s only the start of it. Look away now if you’re of a nervous disposition. Most of these magazines are going to get dismembered.




Pictures are very useful as triggers for children's creative writing when I visit schools, and they have often inspired me, too.



I put large clippings in a file, smaller cut-outs tend to get stuck in note books where I begin to collect ideas around them. Some may inspire almost immediately inspire stories or poems, but more often they stay there, sometimes for years, composting.
Ideas composting







Although I especially love wildlife magazines,  I’ll use any sort of magazine (including the free ones that drop through my letterbox) to cut out words and mess around with them, and sometimes I’ll discover a poem or be surprised by an interesting idea that might make a picture book story.



There’s something about having a physical magazine in my hand that I can cut up and mess about with that I find very inspiring. I'm sure I can't be the only one. Are you scissor happy, too?




This month, Jane’s over the moon to have signed a contract with Nosy Crow for a third and fourth neon picture book to be illustrated by the wonderfully talented Britta Teckentrup. The first, Neon Leon, is already in print, the second, Firefly Home will be published next year.


The science magazines will be very useful for Al's Awesome Science, a new series she's writing for Five Quills, illustrated by James Brown.

Is it worth making a picture book trailer for your picture book? Why some books might benefit more from them than others (plus a little bit about the how) by Juliet Clare Bell.

I’ve been thinking about picture book trailers a lot recently. And it’s been fun looking at different ones. I love picture books and I love short videos that show you about things (I’m the one who always gets to the cinema early so I can watch all the adverts and all the trailers). So picture book trailers? Sounds perfect. And I love the idea of having trailers for my books, but as my children might say:
What is the actual point of a picture book trailer…?
I was very fortunate to be awarded an Arts Council National Lottery Grant for the creation of Dave Gray’s and my latest picture book, Benny’s Hat. As part of the application, we requested funding to make a trailer for the book. Here’s the trailer:



But why make a trailer?
Making a trailer is really interesting, it’s fun, and it’s exciting to have something that you can show people about your book. But for something that will take time, resources and very often, money, there have got to be really sound reasons to do it. Here were ours:
[1] We wanted people for whom the book is relevant and who might otherwise not know about the book to find out that it exists;
[2] We wanted it to be really clear from the trailer -to people for whom the book is relevant- if this is a book that they (or others they know) would benefit from reading;
[3] We wanted to let people know how to get hold of the book if they wanted it
From looking at lots of picture book trailers, the trailers that work best for me –in making me want to get hold of the book- are the ones where the books themselves have clear themes, issues or concepts, and where these are clearly shown in the trailer. They’re the ones –should I stumble across them- that I might want to use in an educational context, for example, rather than ones that I would love for their story or even their artwork. They are the books that I wouldn’t necessarily go and get hold of unless I liked the way the theme, issue or concept was executed. And a good trailer will make that clear.
Here are a few that I think work really well in making me want to get hold of a copy of the book. There are big differences between the trailers in how simple/complicated, cheap/expensive, quick to make/time-consuming:

After The Fall by Dan Santat
I love pretty much everything about this trailer –I’d never heard of the book until I saw the trailer but I’ll be buying the book as a direct result of having stumbled across it. It’s simple, with no animation at all –using only the pictures from the book (it appears); a simple tune that everyone knows (Humpty Dumpty) and is done really well; some quotes from reviews, and a very clearly spelt out message: Life begins when you get back up. I love the illustrations which help, but–given that I have older children now- I wouldn’t buy the book without there being a theme that I can use in my work with schools.  

Beautiful Oops by Barney Salzberg
This has been viewed more than 142,000 times, and again, it’s extremely well done as it shows exactly what the book is about and the message is clearly stated: “Hooray for mistakes!” Again, there’s nothing tricky –no animation, just a video of someone interacting with the book, with a song playing. The song has been created from the book’s text and it’s actually not a song that appeals to me at all (and the book isn’t intended to be a song) and yet I think it’s a great trailer –because I can see exactly what the book’s about.
Here’s Michael Hall’s Perfect Square:



This trailer is more complex than the others with some animation and various tricks for what is a very clean, simple book with sparse text and simple pictures. And yet it works really well, with another clear cut message: “… a celebration of imperfection”.
The next one works –for me, at least- because the author/illustrator, Mo Willems, is (or takes on very convincingly) a zany character that matches the fun of the book. It’s been viewed over 62,000 times –which doesn’t necessarily make it effective at encouraging people to read the book, but I suspect that it is…

Mo Willems' The Thank You Book

And here’s a very different trailer for One Plastic Bag by Miranda Paul and Elizabeth Zunon. This is extremely simple, probably using free software and it looks very homemade. No one’s going to watch it for the sake of the video, but again, it’s very clear what the book is about, and it makes me want to read the book, straightaway:

“Let her story inspire you”
There’s a really clear reason for having each of these videos.
But I wonder whether there’s a point in trailers for all picture books?
When I looked up Julia Donaldson trailers on YouTube, I came across this one for What The Ladybird Heard Next (illustrated by Lydia Monks)


Given how many books she sells, the number of views for the trailer seem very small (just shy of 16000 views). My guess is that when you’re as big a name as Julia Donaldson and your books are guaranteed plenty of space in bookshops and are always in the Amazon best-selling lists, a trailer isn’t going to make much impact on whether people choose to go out and get hold of a copy of your book. And people may not be looking to 'try before they buy' as they're already confident about their choice.
But for us, we knew that we wouldn’t get space in bookshops without going in and arranging it in person as we’ve published the book ourselves –albeit with the financial backing of the Arts Council. And we wouldn’t have a major publisher backing us and promoting us –although we have bereavement charities who are championing the book. And we did have a very clear theme of the book –bereavement in general, and sibling bereavement in particular.
If we could make a short video that we could target effectively at the people who might benefit from reading the book, then it would be worthwhile.
Who is the trailer for?
We had to think properly about who we were really aiming the trailer at –and I learned a lot from the process of making the trailer (with Dave Gray and Steve Holdsworth). I had written the script for the trailer, keeping it at around 100 words long (as suggested by the film-makers), and the first part (voiced over by a young girl, speaking as Friz) was kept as I had written it. But when Steve (who put the trailer together) got me to read the second part out loud, he pointed out that it didn’t seem to be aimed clearly at a specific audience. So we had to work out who was this trailer really for? Obviously it would be nice if lots of people within the general public liked the book and chose to read a book about bereavement, possibly increasing their empathy with bereaved families. But they aren’t the target audience. So we thought about the target audience: bereaved families and organisations where bereaved families might seek help –so bereavement organisations, hospitals, schools, counselling practices, children’s hospices, etc. And then we thought about who the trailer would be more useful for, which was the bereaved families. We can target bereavement groups through articles in relevant journals and publications and organisations, but we felt that we wanted something aimed at families who may not be accessing official help with their grief but who may be looking for relevant materials on the internet. So the final part of the voiceover spoke directly to families (and we hope that it will not discourage practitioners and the general public).
Candy Gourlay has written two extremely useful blogposts on How to Make A Book Trailer (part 1 and part 2), and she gives lots of useful tips on what to include (part 1) and how (part 2). As picture book writers, we have a massive advantage for our trailers over those who are making trailers for novels in that the visuals are already there for us. In our case, it was simpler again because the book uses the first person throughout so we could use parts of the actual text for the voiceover and just make sure to use a young enough girl for the voiceover (my middle daughter, Esther, who loves acting).
So is it worth making a trailer for your next picture book?
You could ask yourself some questions (which I’ll be asking myself for all of my books in the future):
Is your picture book one that may not be widely distributed in physical bookshops/supermarkets?that has a clear theme or concept that people who are looking for books or resources might try and look up online?
And if the answer is yes, then it might be extremely valuable to have a trailer. Remember that for picture books, the people who would need to see the trailer and be interested enough to want to go out and get hold of it –on behalf of the child reader- are likely to be the parents (in stark contrast to book trailers for older children/teens/young adults).
If your book is going to be in lots of bookshops and supermarkets and you have big backing from a publisher, then you might choose to spend your time promoting the book in different ways –unless, of course, you love making trailers that are a work of art in themselves, like Sam Zuppardi’s The Nowhere Box:


or you know you’d have lots of fun making a free one:

7 Ate 9 by Tara Lazar and Ross MacDonald   
I love that Tara Lazar has made free trailers using the movie trailer part of iMovies for one of her recent books, where you simply choose a trailer template, drop in a few of your own pictures, choose some simple effects and add in some captions.
For any book that comes out in the future, I will make a trailer (having learned lots about it from this current one, and having now done a wonderful course on making your own videos which I’m looking forward to putting into practise soon: www.myovdo.com) –if there is a clear theme or concept and it’s something that people might find from googling that theme or concept. If it’s a straightforward fictional picture book that is likely to be found mostly by friends and family and fellow writers, because it’s not so clearly an issue book (as my last few have been) then I might try an iMovie one –just for fun.
It might be hard to evaluate whether a trailer has done enough of a good job to have warranted the time, resources and money spent on it. I think in our case, because it’s not on general release in bookshops and because it may at some point end up being found if people type in ‘children’s books about bereavement’, and because it was written absolutely to be found by people who might need it and we were funded for that on the understanding that it would reach as many people for whom it might be beneficial as possible, then I think it’s definitely been very much worthwhile.
Have you ever made a trailer for one of your picture books, and if so, has it been worth it? And could you share any picture book trailers that you think are particularly good? Please leave a comment in the comments section, below.
My latest picture book, Benny's Hat (illustrated by Dave Gray) is out now and available from www.pomelopip.com, Amazon, www.edwardstrust.co.uk and selected bookshops.
www.julietclarebell.com www.pomelopip.com

Playing with Poetry • Lynne Garner

I'm not only a writer but I also teach on a part time basis. Thankfully my employer is forward thinking when it comes to CPD (Continued Professional Development) and they provide us with a small budget to spend on learning something new. So, this year I decided I'd do a poetry course. I have no plans to write a picture book that rhymes (if you do then read this fab post that appeared on the Picture Book Den in 2012 - How *not* to write a rhyming picture book story). However, I've always believed if you can write poetry well and understand the process this will help your picture book writing skills.
Granddad looking very dapper
Also I feel I have a family tradition to keep up. You see my granddad used to write poetry and so does my mum. Here's a sample of their work.

The first written by my granddad (who sadly died many years ago). Written after I demanded he write me something, I was very young. As far as I know it's untitled.

To write a rhyme is sometimes hazy,In fact, it almost drives one crazy!But sitting here you start to thinkis it me, or the drain that stinks!Then you give up, in complete despairand decide not to write it,
SO THERE!!!
Here's a poem written by my mum entitled 'An Ode to Our Dad'

Yep, that's how I remember my dad! 

I’ve got a brand new cisternso wouldn’t it be greatIf you should get a sudden urgeto start to decorate,a strip or two of papera ceiling shining bright.I’m only just a ‘wee’ roomno need to quake in fright.In just a few short hours I could be bright and new.No need to wait and worryshould someone say to you,‘Please may I use your toilet, I really cannot wait.’Only to be confronted with me in this sorry state.So come on now get crackingdon’t sit here and dreamreally make me sparklyabove all MAKE ME CLEAN!

I recently completed the first assignment and I'm now working on my second. For this I have to write twelves lines of blank verse and twelve lines of rhyme. Now, I don't normally do this, share a work in progress. But time is not on my side so I'm sharing this first draft (so do be kind). Working title is 'Balls.' 

Tasha with her collection of found balls!
Golf, volley, squash ball and hockeyRugby, tennis, golf ball and cricketShe'll jump into ditches, ponds and streamsWeave through grass, nettles and thicket
She can spot them in tall grass.Spy one hidden under a bush.She'll pick up one with ease,But will manage two, at a push.
Balls of all descriptions are fair game.She emerges to be congratulatedFor rescuing the once round ballWhich is now very deflated.
In the ditch, knee deep in mud."No, no!" She ignores my call."How did you spot that?" "Great, another dirty football."
I realise this stands at 16 lines and not the 12 set in my assignment. But as I polish this first draft I'll decide which four lines have to go (something picture book writers often have to do, cut lines) and hone my writing skills as I work. Which, with fingers crossed will make me a better picture book writer.
Lynne
P.S. If any poets are out there can explain 'metre' to me I'd be very grateful.

To check out my books please simply click here.
My latest collection of short stories 'Ten Tales of Brer Rabbit' is available in paperback (£4.45) and as an ebook (just 99p).

‘The more that you read, the more things you will know’- How picture books help children to learn language- by Lucy Rowland

 (Illustration by Oliver Jeffers)                       Back in April I wrote a blog post for Picture Book Den called ‘The Power of Again’ which looked at the importance of repetition in picture books and, more specifically, at repetition as a way of supporting children to learn language.
As I’ve previously mentioned, as well as being a picture book author, I am also a Children’s Speech and Language Therapist.  Fortunately, I feel these two professions go together quite well. We know there is a huge amount of research showing the positive link between early reading, language development and later academic success.  Book Trust has undertaken many research projects and case studies into the wide-ranging benefits of reading, not only academic but also those related to encouraging families' enjoyment of book sharing.  Book Trust has written about their research here https://www.booktrust.org.uk/why-reading-matters/

But in summary... reading is important….Roald Dahl knew it….

And so, too, did Dr Suess….

But what is it exactly that makes picture books the perfect tool to support language learning?  I’m currently working with my Speech and Language Therapy colleagues to produce some training on this very subject and we found a great article by Lauren Lowry (a Speech and Language Therapist) on the Hanen Centre Website.  The article explains that children learn new words best...
·         When they hear words often (The power of Again!)  Picture books frequently use repetition and repeated refrains and are generally read over and over again!·         When they are interested. When adults respond to them-  ‘It is easy to join focus during a picture book and to notice what the child is looking at and talking about.  Sometimes it’s best to abandon the story for a little while and follow the child’s lead to talk about the things that interest him or her.'
·         When the meaning is clear (e.g. an adult reading ‘She whispered…..’ in a whispered voice).  Parents can use the beautiful illustrations in picture books to help children learn new words.  We know that using pictures and talking about things in the ‘here and now’ is extremely helpful when children are learning language.  Children learn words best when they can see, hear or experience them.·         When vocabulary and grammar are learned together in sentences.·         And crucially, Lowry also stresses how children learn language best when they are having fun!
Picture books allow for all these elements!
A proud moment for me, after the release of my first picture book ‘Gecko’s Echo’ (with illustrator, Natasha Rimmington), was when a Speech and Language Therapy friend told me that her 2 –year-old son had learnt the word ‘Gecko’.  (‘Gecko’ is not a word that many 3-5 year olds in this country are familiar with. When I read this book at events, children’s guesses about what the animal on the cover might be, range from ‘frog’ to ‘crocodile’ to ‘dinosaur’! ) My friend told me that, together, she and her son will shout out ‘GECKO’ as they walk through the tunnel near their house, just to hear the gecko’s echo come back.
As authors and illustrators, we often use the funny things that children say to spark ideas for stories. Lauren Child is particularly good at using a very child-like voice in her wonderful Charlie and Lola series. ‘I will not ever, never eat a Tomato!’ 

But what about using picture books to teach specific language concepts or themes? While ALL picture books are useful in supporting children’s language development, I came across a great website site called www.booksharetime.com.  It is run by Cecile Ferreira (an Australian Speech and Language Therapist).  This site helps people to choose picture books that target specific language concepts, themes, plots and even grammatical structures and speech sounds.  Whilst, these last areas may be a bit ‘Speech and Language Therapy- specific’, I was wondering whether anyone has used picture books to teach language in a deliberate way?  A specific concept perhaps? By reading early concept board books? Have you used a picture book to link with new topics that your children are learning about at school? Or, alternatively, have you ever used something funny that a child has said to spark a whole new story of your own?  



 My latest picture book with illustrator, Mark Chambers, is 'Jake Bakes a Monster Cake.'  It teaches children extremely useful vocabulary (such as 'bogey-green slime!) and comes with additional 'scratch and sniff' stickers!  

So much effort for something so small • Paeony Lewis

Picture book authors accept (begrudgingly!) that only a percentage of their stories will see publication. It varies, but even A-list authors might only get one in eight manuscripts published. What happens to all those unpublished stories? This is the tale of one of those stories.


Back at the turn of the century (literally) I sent a story to a publisher. It was called Blue Thingy and in 470 words it told the story of two kangaroos in the Australian outback who are given an umbrella and haven’t a clue what to do with it.
 


The editor felt there was potential, although she said kangaroos were a problem, especially as the Australian setting wouldn’t be acceptable in the American market and I’d need to use more universally familiar animals. Also, the ending was flat and a bit pointless.

So I rewrote the story and Blue Thingy with kangaroos was transformed into Red Thingy with rabbits (450 words). Again, the editor thought it had potential, but was too episodic, lacked a real climax and was similar to another picture book they’d done which hadn’t been successful. She felt it needed a stronger storyline with the two rabbits setting out on a journey.


Once again I rewrote the story and Red Thingy became Big Carrot (530 words). There was a new underlying theme and it became an adventure story about young rabbits searching for a big carrot (obviously an orange and green umbrella looks very like a carrot!).
Unfortunately, the editor had now gone a bit cold on the umbrella idea and felt the story was too contrived. Therefore I filed it away and wrote new stories. That's life. 

Then, a year later, I had a lovely surprise. A new editor at a different publisher asked me if I’d like to send her my unpublished story about rabbits and an umbrella. She’d remembered reading it in her previous job and had liked it despite the fact it had been rejected by the other editor.

Unfortunately, Big Carrot still didn’t make it into publication. Instead, all the umbrella stories languished in a file for over fifteen years until I received an email from another publisher about a new series of reading scheme books.




Unlike many stories, I’d never forgotten my original story about kangaroos and an umbrella. So when I was thinking about stories that would be fun, simple, and have a strong visual element, the mysterious umbrella seemed to have potential. However, a reading scheme book isn’t the same as a picture book.

Now I had to write a story that children would read for themselves (unlike picture books that are written to be read by adults to children and  can use richer, more complex language). Reading scheme books might appear ludicrously simple to write, but they’re not. Absolutely not! Plus the story has to engage and inspire children to persevere with their fledgling reading skills and also give opportunities for discussion. 

From Hans in Luck, an OUP reading scheme book
 I had a word count of just 125 words. Yikes! Plus the publisher had meticulous lists of phonic sounds appropriate to specific reading levels and apart from a few key words, there could be no deviation from the lists. Thankfully this wasn’t new to me and in the past I’d enjoyed playing with words until they fit both the story and the restrictive list of permitted phonic sounds. It’s like doing a word puzzle. For example, I could use the decodable word ‘lightning’ but not ‘so’ or ‘said’. I could use ‘hot’ but not ‘cold’. ‘Lizard’ but not ‘mouse’. It makes sense when you know the progression of the phonic sounds though it can be hard to ensure the story sounds natural despite the restrictions.

I rewrote the story and changed the kangaroos to goats (a permitted word). Perhaps fortunately, the publisher already had a story in the series about goats so I had to think of a new animal that would live in an African desert (this time the publisher was keen to introduce an environment that wouldn’t be overly familiar to the reader). 





Phew, I was permitted to pick an animal that didn’t fit the phonic sound restrictions. Therefore I researched fennec foxes, sand cats and meerkats. The first two were cute but nocturnal, which would have been tricky for the illustrations. The editor liked meerkats, so I stopped worrying that we’re more familiar with meerkats in the UK because of a certain advertisement. Now the story was about meerkats discovering a mysterious thing in the Namibian desert (the reader knows it’s an umbrella, but not the meerkats).

Series editors and educational consultants then discussed my story and eventually we all agreed on the final text. Now it was time for the illustrations and testing by children.




The publisher commissioned Jonny Lambert for the illustrations and I like his style of digital collage and the delightful little extras he slips into the images. I suspect I’d be staggered if I knew everything that was done behind the scenes at the illustration stage.

FINALLY, seventeen years later, Thing is published. You won’t find it basking on the shelves of Waterstones, though you should find it in many schools around the world. Thing is only 125 words and looks small and flimsy. On the surface it might appear insignificant. However, now you know how deceptive appearances can be. Rather like mysterious umbrellas! 
 



Paeony Lewis www.paeonylewis.com

Thing by Paeony Lewis and Jonny Lambert is published by Oxford University Press.
Oxford Reading Tree Level 3, Story Sparks, for 4-6 years. ISBN 9780198 414971

Our Wildest Book Dream: by Pippa Goodhart

Is it just me who gets annoyed when writers and bakers and actors who win things say that they ‘never in their wildest dreams’ thought of winning such a thing?  How could they achieve those things if they didn’t imagine that goal and strive for it?  Was winning truly just an accident?’  My gut instinct is to not believe them.  So I am confessing here that I do dare to dream wild dreams.  In my wildest dreams I write books which win a prize.  In my wildest dreams I write books that particular children love in that wonderful child way that absorbs the book into their very beings, pondering it and sharing it again and again, still thinking about them many years on into their lives.   The book of mine for which those wild dreams actually came true was, and is, You Choose.  But the way in which the wild dream has unfolded hasn’t gone at all according to how it did in those wild dreams.  Did my (then) agent love the idea and the text for the book?  No.  Did publishers set up a bidding war for it?  No.  One after another, they turned it down.  But then lovely Penny Walker at Transworld DID like it, and she even asked who I’d like to illustrate it.  The dream twitched into life!  And became true when my dream choice of illustrator, Nick Sharratt, agreed to take on the book.  But did the resulting book get reviewed and showered with prizes?  No, not a single review for years.  Not a single prize long-listing, let alone win … at least for the first nine years after its publication.  So how did You Choose manage to stay in print long enough to eventually get noticed in those sorts of ways?  Largely because Wendy Cooling chose it as a book to be given to hundreds of thousands of children through the Bookstart scheme.  My wild dream hadn’t thought of that move!  But that was vital to eventual success.  When sales of You Choose hit a million, did the publisher send me a golden book to hang on my wall?  Flowers, perhaps?  Champagne?  No, no, and no.  The fact that You Choose had sold over a million copies was something that I only discovered when that boast got printed on a new edition of the book, and I queried it.  ‘Oh, didn’t you know?’  No, I didn’t!  So that moment had passed me by.  But lovely things certainly were happening with You Choose.  Nick and I have seen so many used to bits tatty copies of the book, such as this one, and that’s a real compliment to a book -

And, nine years after publication, You Choose finally did win a prize, and a particularly lovely one.  It was voted to be The Best Picture Book of All Time by the readers of York’s libraries.  Thank you, North Yorkshire! 

And the publishers accepted a further book in the You Choose style.  Just Imagine came out nine years after You Choose.  And now both You Choose and Just Imagine have been chosen by Dolly Parton’s imagination Library as book gifts she buys in huge numbers to give children.  I certainly never dreamed of the very lovely letters I’ve received from Dolly herself in relation to that!     


And now, da daaaa!, a third such book, You Choose in Space, is newly published.  Nick Sharratt excels himself with his aliens and spacecraft in this beautiful book full of things to spot and talk about and enjoy.



So, for all my cynicism about that phrase about ‘wildest dreams’, and the users of it, I can genuinely say that to get to this moment of publication of a third book in the You Choose family (that, yes, IS being reviewed already), the Dolly Parton endorsement, and the ongoing many many kind comments from people about the books truly is ‘beyond my wildest dreams’!   Thank you to Nick Sharratt, Penguin Random House, Wendy Cooling, and all the many many children, parents, teachers and librarians who have cheer-led this family of books.  Thank you, and, as Dolly would say, do, yourselves, dare to dream!