Easy Readers: So Hard to Write!
I'm currently celebrating the release of 12 new nonfiction books! All are rebus books designed for beginning readers and are published by the incomparable
Marshall Cavendish
. If you aren't familiar with rebus, they are comprised of a sentence or two per page. Two nouns in each sentence are replaced with photographs, easing the beginning reader into learning written words and sentence structure.
A complete rebus book is about nine lines, so you'd think these titles would be a snap to write, right? Wrong. So, so wrong. These little babies are incredibly challenging!
The goal is to tell a fun story, using simple words and verb repetition. The nouns you select to rebus (or turn into photos) must be easily identified by the child the instant he/she sees the photo. For instance, a photo of a carton of milk could be interpreted as "carton," "milk," or even just the word "drink," so precision is a must. I spent, on average, about three weeks writing each book. Then my editor and I would carefully go through them to make sure every sentence was simple, easy to understand, and met the criteria for repetition and storytelling. We simplified things that were too complex, re-arranged sentences to create better flow, and made sure we had the final blessing of a skilled reading consultant. It was, truly, a collaborative effort. When we, finally, put these 12 books to bed, I was exhausted - and exhilarated!
Writing rebus isn't for everyone. It may mean struggling over one sentence for hours on end or creating eight great lines only to have to start all over again when the ninth line just won't come. Sometimes, I'd be so certain I had a perfect manuscript only to get that crushing e-mail from my editor, "This won't work."
Would I do rebus again? In a heartbeat. Rebus has taught me every single word in a sentence is precious, even the small ones (especially the small ones). It's taught me to say what I mean in a clear, concise way. It's taught me that every puzzle has a solution, though it may take hours or days (or a night of fitful dreaming) to figure it out. So far, I've written 24 rebus titles. I hope I'll have the chance to write more (if my editor is out there, that's a blatant hint!). More than the challenge they represent, there is no better feeling than knowing that somewhere out there, the words you fought so hard to find are opening up the world of books to a new reader.
Here are the titles in the two series' (the photos are quite stunning!) ...
HOLIDAY FUN :HanukkahChristmasKwanzaaThanksgivingHalloween
Valentine's Day
OCEAN LIFE :JellyfishOctopuses Sea HorsesSea TurtlesStarfishSharks
Drop me a line if a young reader in your life is reading any of these titles! I'd love to hear from you.
Read On,Trudi
A complete rebus book is about nine lines, so you'd think these titles would be a snap to write, right? Wrong. So, so wrong. These little babies are incredibly challenging!
The goal is to tell a fun story, using simple words and verb repetition. The nouns you select to rebus (or turn into photos) must be easily identified by the child the instant he/she sees the photo. For instance, a photo of a carton of milk could be interpreted as "carton," "milk," or even just the word "drink," so precision is a must. I spent, on average, about three weeks writing each book. Then my editor and I would carefully go through them to make sure every sentence was simple, easy to understand, and met the criteria for repetition and storytelling. We simplified things that were too complex, re-arranged sentences to create better flow, and made sure we had the final blessing of a skilled reading consultant. It was, truly, a collaborative effort. When we, finally, put these 12 books to bed, I was exhausted - and exhilarated!
Writing rebus isn't for everyone. It may mean struggling over one sentence for hours on end or creating eight great lines only to have to start all over again when the ninth line just won't come. Sometimes, I'd be so certain I had a perfect manuscript only to get that crushing e-mail from my editor, "This won't work."
Would I do rebus again? In a heartbeat. Rebus has taught me every single word in a sentence is precious, even the small ones (especially the small ones). It's taught me to say what I mean in a clear, concise way. It's taught me that every puzzle has a solution, though it may take hours or days (or a night of fitful dreaming) to figure it out. So far, I've written 24 rebus titles. I hope I'll have the chance to write more (if my editor is out there, that's a blatant hint!). More than the challenge they represent, there is no better feeling than knowing that somewhere out there, the words you fought so hard to find are opening up the world of books to a new reader.
Here are the titles in the two series' (the photos are quite stunning!) ... HOLIDAY FUN :HanukkahChristmasKwanzaaThanksgivingHalloween
Valentine's DayOCEAN LIFE :JellyfishOctopuses Sea HorsesSea TurtlesStarfishSharks
Drop me a line if a young reader in your life is reading any of these titles! I'd love to hear from you.
Read On,Trudi
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