Wrapping Up Our Series on Frequently Asked Questions

Image by Margo Lipa from Pixabay

Happy August!  

It's hard to believe that summer is already waning here in the northern hemisphere and students and teachers will soon be returning to classrooms. Today, I'm closing out our latest TeachingAuthors series. At the end of this post, I also share one of my poems and a link to this week's Poetry Friday roundup.

I've enjoyed reading all my fellow TeachingAuthors' responses to the prompt: "Share a question you often get from your students or readers." I must admit, though, that the post that most resonated with me was April's, in which she talks about someone approaching her with an idea and asking her to write the book. I, too, have received that request many times, not only from my students, but also from strangers I've met at social functions and even via email from random people who found me online.

But there's another question I've heard far more frequently from those same sources: "How do you get a book published?" In fact, when I first started teaching classes in writing for children and teens over 25 years ago, the question was frequently worded as "How much does it cost to get a children's book published?" Back before self-publishing became prevalent, many people assumed you simply paid a book publisher like Scholastic or Random House to publish your book. These same people also typically assumed that if you were a writer and not an artist, you had to hire someone to illustrate your picture book before submitting to that publisher. 

If the person asking the question was not a student in one of my classes, I simply directed them to the Frequently Asked Questions page of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) website. But over the years, the answer has gotten increasingly more complicated, and the SCBWI FAQ page isn't as helpful as it used to be. Thankfully, Jane Freidman has a great resource: "Start Here: How to Get Your Book Published," that covers publishing books for adults as well as for children. The post describes three publishing paths: traditional publishing, hiring a company to publish for you, and self-publishing, and she updates the information periodically. 

There are now all sorts of books on writing for children, too. Two of my favorites include Ann Whitford Paul's Writing Picture Books: A Hands-on Guide From Story Creation to Publication and Writing Irresistible Kidlit: The Ultimate Guide to Crafting Fiction for Young Adult and Middle Grade Readers by Mary Kole, both published by Writer's Digest Books.     

How about you, Readers? Do you have any questions we haven't addressed in this series? If so, please let us know in the comments. 

Now for the poem I promised. Earlier this summer, I had the honor of having two poems accepted for publication at The Dirigible Balloon, a UK-based online magazine that publishes poetry for children--my first time being featured there! Here's one of them, which you can also see on their site here: 

      On the Launchpad (An Etheree)    
      by Carmela A. Martino

      Preparing for takeoff! I fuel up 
      on determination so I can 
      blast past expectations and climb
      skyward, higher and higher—
      beyond the stratosphere—
      to where earthly fears
      won’t weigh me down.
      Here I go—
      THREE, TWO,
      ONE …

  © 2025 Carmela A. Martino. All rights reserved.

As noted above, this poem is an Etheree. If you're not familiar with the form, you can learn about it on the Shadow Poetry site.  And you can read my other poem, "Puppy Litter," on this page of The Dirigible Balloon.

Don't forget to visit this week's Poetry Friday roundup hosted by Jane Whittingham for more terrific poetry.

Happy writing!

Carmela 

Looking for our Giveaway Winner: Lynne L

The good news first: we had a record-breaking number of entries in response to our giveaway of Ann Whitford Paul's revision edition of Writing Picture Books! And the Rafflecopter widget has picked our two lucky winners.

The not-so-good news: we haven't heard back from one of those winners: Lynne L.

We've sent Lynne multiple emails without a response. If we don't hear from her by 11:59 p.m., (Central time) Tuesday, November  13, we'll have to chose another winner to take her place.

So, Lynne L, if you're out there, please check your inbox and Spam folders and reply to the email we sent you. If you can't find the email, or you're not sure you're the right Lynne L, email us at TeachingAuthors [at] gmail [dot] com for more information.

Happy Monday, all.
Carmela

A Nation's Strength

Don’t forget, award-winning author, poet, teacher and mentor Ann Whitford Paul has revised and expanded her 2009 go-to hands-on guide on writing picture books, aptly named WRITING PICTURE BOOKS!Writer’s Digest releases this 2018 edition November 13. You can win a free copy in our Book Giveaway! Be sure to check the entry details at the end of Esther’s post!


For these weeks leading up to Thanksgiving, we at Teacher’s Authors continue our tradition of giving thanks. This week, I give thanks to our most fundamental characteristic that defines our American way: we have a voice in our destiny. As Michael Waldman, president of the Brennan Center for Justice (New York University) suggests, the American democracy “remains a living, breathing idea, a work in progress…American democracy is not perfect, but it is perfectible. For all of us… America is not just an actuality but a potentiality, too.” This week, don’t forget to use your voice, your right to have a say in what defines us as a people and a society.

Meanwhile, I found a wonderful resource in teaching civic education to help students build their basic civic knowledge and understand their role as active citizens. Civics in Literature  is a production between the National Constitution Center and the Rendell Center for Citizenship.We the Civics Kids offers a selection of lessons and activities that enable students to find their voice and work as a change agent in their community!



A Nation's Strength
What makes a nation's pillars high
And its foundations strong?
What makes it mighty to defy
The foes that round it throng?

It is not gold. Its kingdoms grand
Go down in battle shock;
Its shafts are laid on sinking sand,
Not on abiding rock.

Is it the sword? Ask the red dust
Of empires passed away;
The blood has turned their stones to rust,
Their glory to decay.

And is it pride? Ah, that bright crown
Has seemed to nations sweet;
But God has struck its luster down
In ashes at his feet.

Not gold but only men can make
A people great and strong;
Men who for truth and honor's sake
Stand fast and suffer long.

Brave men who work while others sleep,
Who dare while others fly...
They build a nation's pillars deep
And lift them to the sky.

-- by William Ralph Emerson. Born in 1833, Emerson was an architect and  the second cousin to Ralph Waldo Emerson. "A Nation's Strength" first appeared in Our Little Kings and Queens at Home and at School (Louis Benham & Co., 1891). This poem is in the public domain.

"I will tell you that we are not powerless... Every single one of us has something that, if done in numbers too big to tamper with, cannot be suppressed and cannot be denied.” -Oprah Winfrey

Bobbi Miller

READ ALL ABOUT IT! ANN WHITFORD PAUL REVISES AND EXPANDS WRITING PICTURE BOOKS! + BOOK GIVEAWAY!

I’m happy to report: award-winning author, poet, teacher and mentor Ann Whitford Paul has revised and expanded her 2009 go-to hands-on guide on writing picture books, aptly named WRITING PICTURE BOOKS! Writer’s Digest releases this 2018 edition November 13.
I’m even happier to report:  YOU can win a free copy in our Book Giveaway!  Be sure to check the entry details at the end of this post.

This news is truly headline-worthy for anyone writing a picture book today.  Our world and thus children’s book publishing have changed in ways that impact both the stories we tell and how we tell them in the picture book format.
Think: the turbulent financial times 2008 brought us.
Think: WeNeedDiverseBooks.  STEM.  Common Core. Graphic illustrations.  Herstory. #OwnVoices. Meta books.
Pete the Cat’s Misadventures still appeal to young readers.  Mo Willems’ fans grow mightily on an annual basis.  Tomie DePaola remains beloved.
Our stories still need to offer Universal Truths and recognizable sentiments so they connect with readers.
The picture book, however, has changed with the times.

Fortunately, Ann’s attention to the process, from story creation to publication, hasn’t lessened. (Note: read my 2009 Thumbs Up review.)
Idea generation.  Character creation.  Point of View.  Beginnings and Endings.  Plotting. Word count. Rhyme and more.  Ann’s easy-to-grasp instruction once again shines.
As for the rich and relevant examples and hands-on revision exercises, again, Ann understands HOW we as writers learn – and hone – our craft.

“What’s new?” you ask, "..revised...expanded?"
That is but one of the questions Ann graciously answers in the interview that appears below.
You have my word: the 2018 edition of WRITING PICTURE BOOKS is every bit as right-on and write-on as the first edition.  Be sure to enter our Book Giveaway so you might win a copy. And if you don't, you can always pre-order. :)

I offer Ann my sincere thanks - for sharing the details of her newest edition with our TeachingAuthors readers, for donating two copies for two Book Giveaways but more importantly, for writing this invaluable textbook. She makes a challenging task – i.e. writing picture books, easier.

Happy Reading and Picture Book Writing!

Esther Hershenhorn
P.S.
Thanks to A JOURNEY THROUGH THE PAGES for hosting this week’s Poetry Friday Roundup..


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What prompted you and Writers Digest to revise your 2009 edition of WRITING PICTURE BOOKS?

Writer’s Digest approached me about a revision, because we were approaching the ten-year
anniversary. We’ve both been thrilled with the response to the first edition and I jumped at the opportunity because so many changes have occurred in the business since the first edition. Also, I’ve learned a lot of things through my own writing and wanted to share this new knowledge with writers.

How did your revision reshape the book’s organization as well as content? What additions and/or enhancements can the reader expect to find? What subtractions might they miss?

The organization remains the same but with additional chapters—on basic plots, page turns, finding an agent, the business of publishing. In addition, all book examples were replaced with books published within the last ten years. I also rewrote all the examples and quizzes so that writers who might have read the first book, would have additional illustrations of concepts to help solidify their knowledge. The one thing you won’t find in the new edition of the story is the No-no’s in a Manuscript Quiz. There simply wasn’t room. But I also did write a new one and will post it on my web-site after the book comes out.

IMHO: WRITING PICTURE BOOKS is the #1 go-to text on how to write a picture book. I’ve used it with my students and writers since 2009.  Can you share a few glowing responses, a few Fan Letters you’ve received from writers who learned and honed their craft via this book? 

Oh, darn! I should have saved some fan letters, but sadly I have not. I can tell you that periodically people e-mail me about how the book has helped them, how they’ve done the exercises, and sometimes even sold a book. I LOVE getting those notes and probably should have saved some of them. I do respond to each one, but, unfortunately, I have a niece who is a professional organizer and she has taught me to purge, purge, purge! I’m grateful though to anyone who writes—the truth is that a positive letter makes my day and spurs me to keep writing. So please don’t be shy. Let me know how my book has impacted you.

You noted in your 2009 edition that you wrote WRITING PICTURE BOOKS in memory of the unforgettable Sue Alexander and that a portion of the proceeds of this book would help fund the SCBWI Barbara Karlin Runner-Up Grant.  How has this support “recognized and encouraged the work of aspiring picture book writers” and how will it continue?

I’ve spoken to many recipients of this award and they all say how much it boosted their self-confidence and sometimes even led to publication. It was a pleasure to be able to support picture book writers.

In honor of the publication of this new edition, Writer’s Digest Books and I are establishing through SCBWI the Ann Whitford Paul-Writer’s Digest Most Promising Picture Book Grant of $1,000 to be awarded yearly.
After judging non-specific genre children’s books contests, it became obvious to me that picture book manuscripts were easily ignored. I think the prejudice that short must be simple to write is responsible for that. Writing picture books with their focus, brevity and lyrical prose can be terribly difficult. I struggle sometimes for years to get my stories right. I wanted to recognize that struggle and honor those who write these short, but challenging, manuscripts.

Can you share news of the latest Ann Paul picture books?

 The same year that the first Writing Picture Books came out, so did another book of mine titled IF ANIMALS KISSED GOOD NIGHT. Its sales were good, not spectacular, but still I was surprised when FSG took it out-of-print. Then much to my even bigger surprise, they republished it as a board book with a new cover. The sales sky-rocketed. And then, the publisher asked me to do another IF ANIMALS SAID I LOVE YOU and IF ANIMALS CELEBRATED CHRISTMAS. And next year there will be a fourth IF ANIMALS WENT TO SCHOOL. So I’ve been busy with these.

Finally, picture books do indeed do important work.  Today’s picture books bring so much to the page: diversity, social justice, activism, gender equality.  Yet there still remain bedtime stories, tales of forever maternal love, first-day-of-school titles, just to name a few.  What is your take on the important work this format does and why sales of picture books are again on the rise?

I LOVE this question! I came to writing picture books after years of bed-and-nap time reading to my children. In our too-busy world, those quiet times, sitting skin-to-skin reading together, were a gift to all involved. Adult and child alike were fully committed, focused on the same thing. We shared the tactile experience of the smooth pages, the quiet whoosh of the page turns, the bright visuals and of course, the words, the glorious musical words. No wonder sales of picture books are on the rise! We need those moments of togetherness more than ever.

Picture books are the first introduction for children to reading. They are enticed in by the pictures. The words sneak up on them and suddenly, they are saying them along with us and even pointing specific words out. Studies show that children who are read to come to elementary school well ahead of those who haven’t had those experiences.

Our books let children know they’re not alone when dealing with a bully, that other parents divorce, too, and that there are places in the world where people live differently. When they develop empathy for the characters in our books, they can translate this to real lives.

But it isn’t enough to write just any old book. If our words aren’t compelling and lyrical and tell a powerful story, children’s interest in reading will wither and die. We are the first step on the road to becoming a life-time reader who can discern fact from fiction, and that is an awesome responsibility.
               
                                                                    * * *

So, readers, to enter our drawing for a chance to win your very own copy of Ann Whitford Paul’s 2018 edition of WRITING PICTURE BOOKS (Writer’s Digest), use the Rafflecopter widget below.  You may enter via 1, 2, or 3 options.
If you choose option 2, you MUST leave a comment on TODAY’S blog pose below or on our TeachingAuthors Facebook page, sharing your Favorite Picture Book published between 2009 and 2018.

(If you prefer, you may submit your comment via email to: teachingauthors [at} gmail [dot] com.)

Email subscribers: if you received this post via email, you can click on the Rafflecopter link at the end of this message to access the entry form.

NOTE: if you submit your comments via email or Facebook, YOU MUST STILL ENTER THE DRAWING VIA THE WIDGET BELOW.  The Giveaway ends November 8 and is open to U.S. residents only.

P.S. If you’ve never entered a Rafflecopter Giveaway, here’s info on how to enter a Rafflecopter Giveaway - and the difference between signing in with Facebook vs. with an email address.

Remember: there will be TWO lucky winners!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

POETRY STICKS TO YOUR CLOTHES and PHOTOS OF POETS!

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Howdy, Campers!

And yes, it's National Poetry Month!

But first...midnight tonight is the deadline to enter our book giveaway for a chance to win 30 PEOPLE WHO CHANGED THE WORLD (Seagrass, 2018).  Check out Carla Killough McClafferty’s March 26 interview with the book’s editor Jean Reynolds, then scroll down from the interview to enter our TeachingAuthors drawing.

Esther started off our celebration of National Poetry Month; now it's my turn.

I'm at the Texas Library Association's Annual Conference, #TLA18, having a fabulous time at the Poetry Rodeo created and sponsored by Pomelo Books.  Truly P-o-e-t H-e-a-v-e-n.

Poets included:  KathiAppelt, Jorge Argueta, Brod Bagert, Carmen T. Bernier-Grand, Jen Bryant, Shirley Smith Duke, Margarita Engle, Nancy Bo Flood, David L. Harrison, Juan Felipe Herrera, EricOde, Guadalupe Garcia McCall, Ann Whitford Paul, Greg Pincus, BobRaczka, Laura Shovan, Elizabeth Steinglass, Holly Thompson, Sylvia Vardell, April Halprin Wayland and Janet Wong. Wow, right?

Here are a few photos from My Most Excellent Adventure:

me, ready for the conference!

Janet Wong

Dr. Sylvia Vardell & Juan Felipe Herrrera

David Harrison

Carmen T. Bernier-Grand  & Ann Whitford Paul

 the best 1/2 of Margarita Engle, Kathi Appelt, Nancy Bo Flood, Bob Raczka

my apologies to the rest of my poet friends whose photos were too blurry to share!

Ah, poetry.

Poetry Month inspired me to begin writing a poem a day in 2010...and I've never looked back. Maybe it will inspire you to write a poem each day, too.

This one is from August, 2013:

A POEM STICKS TO YOUR CLOTHES
by April Halprin Wayland

It's like something that clings to your shirt—

one of those blue sticky flowers,

or a foxtail.

At the end of the day,

you take off your jacket

and there it is,

soft like a real fox's tail,

tenacious,

pointed,

and sometimes

painful.

It must be dealt with.

poem (c) 2018 by April Halprin Wayland, who holds all rights

...here's the backstory, which I wrote to my friend Bruce, who also writes a poem a day--we send them to each other:

Gary came home last night and I was frantic because I like to write my poem before he comes home.  At least THAT.  So he came home and I asked him if he had any ideas for a poem, for something that sticks...and as I said it, I got an image of the things that stick to my clothes on a hike and I was off and running.

Sometimes God is good to me.

Well, most times, actually.

Make sure you check out Jama Rattigan's Kidlitosphere Poetry Events Round Up...

Then scoot on over to Amy at The Poem Farm, this week's Poetry Friday host

posted with love by April Halprin Wayland, who is grateful to our kind and inclusive Poetry Friday tribe

PW: Halloween Book has "Luscious Rhymes"

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Howdy, Campers and Happy Poetry Friday! (The link to Poetry Friday is below.)

Be sure to enter our current give-away of Carmela Martino's new novel (inspired by two amazing 18th-century sisters who were far ahead of their time, one a mathematician, the other a composer), Playing by Heart. Details on how to enter are in this post, which introduces the book. The give-away ends October 16th.

Campers--I'm overjoyed to feature one of my former students in today's TeachingAuthors "Student Success Story." 

As soon as Denise Doyen walked into my 2005 UCLA Extension Writers' Program class, "Writing the Children's Picture Book," I knew she was a force of nature. Her writing was so strong, her life energy filled with such forward motion, this gal was going somewhere! She's a perpetual student. Before my class, she'd taken classes with Ann Whitford Paul and Barney Saltzberg. After my class she fit perfectly in Barbara Bottner's critique group.  

Author and poet Denise Doyen with her newest book
photo credit: Michael Doyen

Denise's first picture book, Once Upon A Twice, drew starred reviews (Kirkus raved that it was "Undeniably arrayed in a gorgeous brocade, woven of fresh, inventive wordplay," and a member of the EB White Committee wrote, "Wonderful writing in the spirit of Lewis Carroll. Enchanting. Tickles the tongue and 'comes to life' as a read aloud."). 

And...BOO!  Just in time for Halloween, her newest stellar rhyming picture book is out, illustrated by the fabulous Eliza Wheeler, published by Chronicle Books. Filled with Denise's trademark inventive wordplay, it's earned a starred review from Publishers Weekly which said, "Luscious rhymes and an atmospheric eeriness immerse readers in a neighborhood battle." (Read the whole review here.)

So, let's meet poet and author Denise Doyen, shall we?

Welcome, Denise! We're so glad you stopped by. Could you tell us a bit about how your writing career began?

I had been a director/choreographer for children’s television at Disney. I loved creating entertainment for kids; but production hours are long and Hollywood’s a tad ruthless. I quit so I could closely raise my two sons. Later, when they got to be teenagers (that poignant, inevitable age of detachment, “Mom, drop me off a block ahead!”) I realized I missed having a professional creative outlet. My focus remained children. So, I enrolled at UCLA Extension, in “Writing for the Youth Market.” Over two years, I took in a succession of courses, primarily about picture books.

I really enjoyed your class; we made dummies, visited booksellers and children’s librarians, made fave-book lists, wrote/rewrote stories, read Bird by Bird and generally, got inspired. Great class. After UCLA, I joined SCBWI, and started attending all of its editor/agent days, writing workshops and conferences. I worked hard to make sure I really knew my stuff, then I jumped in! ...and began submitting. 

Boy, you're not kidding you jumped in, Denise. Can you talk a bit more about the critique groups, workshops, etc. you've jumped into? 

I’m in a critique group called GOYA which stands for either the Urdu word for “the suspension of belief created by a good storyteller” or an acronym for Get Off Your Ass! (and get published.) As you mentioned, I also claim a seat in Barbara Bottner’s Master Class, which is sort of a guided critique group with savvy pointers/prompts when you need them. I circled back through UCLA Extension and took novel and poetry classes to expand the scope of my writing. And I still take advanced workshops or seminars when I can find them and fit them in. I think a writer can’t help but keep learning while reading good books, editing, critiquing. But I do consciously search for new tools and shoot for keener insights. 

And how did you connect with your agent?

I went to the Big Sur Writing Workshop hosted by Andrea Brown Literary and Henry Miller Library. The wonderful writer, Meg Medina, was in my group. We synched, liked each other’s work. She rec’ed me to her agent there, Jen Rofe, and we hit it off as well. It was a kind act by a fellow writer, an example of a generous spirit that I’ve continued to find in the kidlit world. And Jen’s proven a true champion of my writing, exactly what one hopes your agent will be. 

(Campers, it's true, we are part of kidlit's generous community, and let me tell you, Denise is one of the most generous--truly.)  Denise, tell us about your new delicious new book.

It’s called The Pomegranate Witch. It’s loosely based on a childhood memory of a mysterious lady in my neighborhood. I told the anecdote to my writing group one Halloween and when I finished they said, “That’s a book!” Hunh. So, I stored that kernel of inspiration in my idea journal and started working on the story the next summer.

How did you go about writing it?

There were underlying themes I wanted to explore/expose: the fact that the hermits, loners or odd cat ladies we sometimes brush by, surely have—on closer inspection—interesting stories, depths or surprising former selves. I also wanted to show kids’ antics and imaginations back in an era of Free Play when an afternoon was full of exploring, scavenging and inventing on your own. Kids back then solved their problems without adult intervention. They learned from successive failures. They kept trying. It’s how one becomes resilient person. In the book, the gang fails time and again before they score a pomegranate—and yet they are thrilled with that singular prize ... because they really, truly earned it. (And yes, presenting those challenges is part of the Witch’s agenda.)

Because all this had a nostalgic feel and the witch and her tree, a legendary vibe – I decided on a traditional ballad form like Casey at the Bat or Paul Revere’s Ride, with their heptameter meter. It took me three months to craft the poem’s 24 stanzas--to make the rhymes unique and the cadences flow. I remember: I was working at a campus café at UCLA every morning from 8:30am – 12:30pm while my son took a pre-calculus course. He’d come out of class and I’d be so happy, “I got a line done!” And he’d be like, “Wait. You’ve been writing for four hours and you got one measly line done? And that’s good?” “Yes!” (Let’s face it: writing a rhyming picture book is a fun but grueling process.)

Then, my insightful editor at Chronicle, Taylor Norman, challenged and goaded and patiently helped me make everything more crisp and clear. It’s an interesting process, figuring out when to defend and when to bend. We worked well together, worked things out. And finally came Eliza Wheeler’s illustrations. <sigh> I was so captivated when I first saw her fantastic, charming, quirky rendition of The Pomegranate Gang! I’m still smitten. Lucky, lucky author here.

The Pomegranate Gang ~ from book, The Pomegranate Witch

I love that--"figuring out when to defend and when to bend." And it's true--writing a rhyming story can be a "fun but grueling" process. Many of our readers know this well.  And finally, Denise, what’s the One Thing You Wished You’d Known as you began your Writer’s Journey? 

Ya know, I naively started out thinking I was already a pretty good writer. But what I actually was―was a natural writer with good potential. I wish I’d gotten down to the nitty-gritty of tackling my craft at a rigorous and professional level sooner, really learning all those boring punctuation and grammar rules, not being content with an overused metaphor, etc. etc. etc. It would have made me competent and competitive years earlier.

That's a great answer--thank you for your honesty, and for stopping by for a chat. I don't want too give much away except to say that your rollicking, rhyming original story make me hungry for pomegranates!

Yum!

Now off you go, Campers, to Poetry Friday at Violet's today--
and oh, what a pumpkin-spiced feast it is!

posted with pomegranate juice stains on her shirt by April Halprin Wayland

3 Terrific Quotes on Character Flaws and a Poem

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Howdy, Campers ~ and Happy Poetry Friday! The link to today's PF host is below, as is my poem.

TeachingAuthors' current topic is Creating Characters. Bobbi started this series, discussing characters' inner struggles. JoAnn gives us the questionnaire she uses to get to know her characters, Carla shows us concrete examples of how small details reveal character in nonfiction characters, and each Wednesday in May, Esther offered us Wednesday Writing Workouts.

And me? I need help pulling 3-D characters from the blank page.

One criticism of my W.I.P. novel in poems is that except for the narrator, the other characters are one dimensional. Ouch! As a teen, I saw everyone as black and white. It's still hard for me to see people as three dimensional, hard to accept the fact that they are/we humans are imperfect. But we all have flaws, darn it.

I'll never forget the example Barbara Bottner gave in a class at Otis Parsons in the 1980's. The gist of what she said is this:

Let's say you want to tell a story about three characters in search of buried treasure. 

Okay--that's fine. 

But what if you told a story about 

Richard Nixon

Lucille Ball 

and Godzilla 

searching for buried treasure? 

NOW you have a story.

(I've forgotten the specific characters Barbara suggested--insert your own favorites.)

Wow. Talk about flawed characters! That's the moment I began to understand the interconnectedness between real characters (with real bitten fingernails and real raspberry jam stains on their clothes, who sometimes stomp on their little brother's toe) and story.

illustration from my book, New Year at the Pier by Stéphane Jorisch (Dial)

Still I struggle--both on the page and in real life--to see flaws in those I love. Or alternately, I dismiss a person entirely if I do discover a flaw.

One evening at a memorial service, I realized that everything that annoys me about my friends will be exactly what I remember fondly when they die. 

Ann Whitford Paul agrees:
"We all have flaws. Our characters must have flaws, too....Think about your imperfections. Think about imperfections in others that annoy you or maybe tug at your heart...Often...the strength and weakness are two sides of the same issue. Think of Frances in Russell Hoban's Bedtime for Frances. Her great imagination is exactly what makes her so fearful. It's what makes her sure spiders and tigers and monsters lurk in her room...Whatever the specifics, the main characters in our picture books must be human, and that means imperfect." ~ Ann Whitford Paul in Writing Picture Books

Ann Lamott makes this point, too:
"[Characters] shouldn't be too perfect; perfect means shallow and unreal and fatally uninteresting...I like them to be mentally ill in the same sorts of ways that I am; for instance, I have a friend who said one day, 'I could resent the ocean if I tried,'and I realized that I love that in a guy." ~ Anne Lamott in Bird by Bird

As does Madeleine L'Engle:

"I like the fact that in ancient Chinese art the great painters always included a deliberate flaw in their work: human creation is never perfect." ~ Madeleine L'Engle

For today's poem I thought I'd describe a character by including a flaw and some eye-poppingly original details. But that's not exactly what turned out. The first line came to me immediately: "She takes out her teeth to chew on that." Hmm, I thought. We know who that must be.

But...you're a writer--you know how it goes. You fiddle and rearrange and think and unthink and finally that first line seems too cliche, so out it goes.
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I didn't include a fatal flaw or raspberry jam on her skirt, but here's a draft that came from my tweedle-dee and tweedle-dumming today:

CLARICE

by April Halprin Wayland

Ding-a-ling-ding, the telephone rings.

Her cat bats away a spec on wings.

She doesn't answer that telephone call.

Forget them all,

forget them all.

She watches this brave day's afterglow

then picks up the cat, tunes her radio,

leans into the umpire's gritty call.

It didn't have to happen at all,

it didn't have to happen at all.

She stares into space, chewing on that.

Her cat jumps into her tired lap.

How can it be the sun still sets

since Daniel's death,

since Daniel's death?

poem (c) 2017 April Halprin Wayland. All rights reserved.

Thank you, Buffy for hosting Poetry Friday!

posted with love by April Halprin Wayland with help from an invisible bee named Spinach.

Science Poems. Poetry Month. Poetry Friday. Oh, My!

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Howdy Campers!

1) Today is the first day of National Poetry Month, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary!
2) Today I'm sharing "a treasury of the greatest science poetry for children ever written"!
and
3) Today is Poetry Friday! (a poem by Steven Withrow and the link to Poetry Friday are both below.)

Lions and tigers and bears--oh, my!

HAPPY National Poetry Month (held in a month near and dear to my heart)! I'm celebrating by climbing a tree and singing praises for Janet Wong and Sylvia Vardell's marvelous new anthology, The Poetry of Science: The Poetry Friday Anthology for Science for KIDS. (Full disclosure: TeachingAuthor Esther Hershenhorn and I both have poems in this book...as do a TON of poets in the kidlitosphere. Poets, give us a shout out if you're in this anthology!)

News Flash...Janet just sent me the whole list of poets...ready? The 78 poets in The Poetry Friday Anthology for Science are (can you say all their names in one big breath?):

Joy Acey, Alma Flor Ada, Linda Ashman, Jeannine Atkins, Carmen Bernier-Grand, Robyn Hood Black, Susan Blackaby, Susan Taylor Brown, Joseph Bruchac, Leslie Bulion, Stephanie Calmenson, F. Isabel Campoy, James Carter, Kate Coombs, Cynthia Cotten, Kristy Dempsey, Graham Denton, Rebecca Kai Dotlich, Shirley Smith Duke, Margarita Engle, Douglas Florian, Betsy Franco, Carole Gerber, Charles Ghigna, Joan Bransfield Graham, Mary Lee Hahn, Avis Harley, David L. Harrison, Terry Webb Harshman, Juanita Havill, Esther Hershenhorn, Mary Ann Hoberman, Sara Holbrook, Patricia Hubbell, Jacqueline Jules, Bobbi Katz, X.J. Kennedy, Julie Larios, Irene Latham, Renée M. LaTulippe, Debbie Levy, J. Patrick Lewis, George Ella Lyon, Guadalupe Garcia McCall, Heidi Mordhorst, Marilyn Nelson, Kenn Nesbitt, Lesléa Newman, Eric Ode, Linda Sue Park, Ann Whitford Paul, Greg Pincus, Mary Quattlebaum, Heidi Bee Roemer, Michael J. Rosen, Deborah Ruddell, Laura Purdie Salas, Michael Salinger, Glenn Schroeder, Joyce Sidman, Buffy Silverman, Marilyn Singer, Ken Slesarik, Eileen Spinelli, Anastasia Suen, Susan Marie Swanson, Carmen Tafolla, Holly Thompson, Amy Ludwig VanDerwater, Lee Wardlaw, Charles Waters, April Halprin Wayland, Carole Boston Weatherford, Steven Withrow, Allan Wolf, Virginia Euwer Wolff, Janet Wong, and Jane Yolen.

218 Poems from the Teacher Edition + 30 Fun Bonus Poems =
A Whole Lot of Science Learning

Co-editor, publisher, author, and poet Janet Wong, who has been appointed to the NCTE Commission on Literature, the NCTE Award for Excellence in Children’s Poetry committee, and the IRA Notable Books for a Global Society committee, and her partner in crime, co-editor, professor, best-selling author, former chair of the NCTE Poetry Award committee and consultant to the Poetry Foundation, Sylvia Vardell write:

Teachers and parents asked us to make a Children's Edition of THE POETRY FRIDAY ANTHOLOGY FOR SCIENCE (Teacher Edition) with the poems grouped by theme--all the Ecosystems poems together, Lab Safety poems together, Math poems together, etc. (instead of grouped by grade level). So we did, and this is it--with 30 more poems than the Teacher Edition! Kids always ask me, "What is your favorite (of your own) books?" For now I have to answer: THIS ONE! Maybe because this one is the brand-new baby, or maybe because I think the illustrations by Frank Ramspott and Bug Wang really fit the text perfectly. I hope you agree!

Well, the National Science Teachers Association sure agrees. Here's what they say about the teacher's edition: "This is a treasury of the greatest science poetry for children ever written, with a twist—it can be used to ignite the spirit of students in a different, out of the box way. ” (NSTA Recommends)

If you were Janet and Sylvia, wouldn't you swoon when you read that review?

Poems in this book are grouped into 24 themes such as “Push and Pull,” “Ecosystems,” “Lab Safety,” “Computers,” and “The Math of Science.”

Use this link to get your paperback copy, and this link to get it as an ebook. I am in love with this anthology. It's so much fun to read. And apparently I'm not the only one...

Janet and Sylvia write:

Ben Franklin loved the poem about him—thank you for your poem “Discovery," X.J. Kennedy! In fact, he loved the whole book and got very excited when we gave him a copy—so excited that he handed his phone to a security guard, asking him to take a photo with his phone, too.  

When I flipped through to find a poem I wanted to share I ended up with a list numbering a million gazillion favorite poems. I finally threw my hands up in the air, closed my eyes and threw a dart into my list.

The dart hit Steven Withrow's marvelous poem. 

Steven, will you please introduce your poem?

Sure! Science, I've learned from working for many years with scientists and medical researchers as a journalist and editor, is a kind of poetry. To communicate science is to use the language of metaphor and symbol, as well as persuasive sound and rhetoric, and it's no surprise that many scientists also write poems.

When talking with children about poetry, I often bring in concepts and images from science. A metaphor is not an equivalence, but a suggestion of likeness, of linkage. As Robert Frost wrote in an essay for The Atlantic Monthly in 1946, “There are many other things I have found myself saying about poetry, but the chiefest of these is that it is metaphor, saying one thing and meaning another, saying one thing in terms of another, the pleasure of ulteriority.”

"What Makes a Turbine Turn" was inspired by the massive wind turbines being constructed close to my house in New England. I hope my turbine poem captures a hint of this pleasurable otherness.

from Morguefile.com

What Makes a Turbine Turn
by Steven Withrow

The formless force
that waggles a flag
and shapes a ghost
from a plastic bag

and levitates
a dragon kite
and wrestles with
the trees at night

is named the same
as that airy motion
which blusters over
field and ocean

and charges up
electric motors
with each revolving
round of rotors.

When next you see
a three-armed beast
who might be facing
north-northeast

don’t worry if
you feel thin-skinned.
“It’s just my pinwheel,”
says the wind.

Copyright © 2016 Steven Withrow. From the book The Poetry Friday Anthology for Science. Pomelo Books. Reprinted by permission of the author.

Wow. The thing that strikes me about this poem is that I see how wind moves...and I am moved, too. Thank you, Steven!

Campers, if you were to write a children's poem about something in science, what topic would you choose? And don't forget: if your work is in this anthology, let us know!

Thank you, dear Amy at The Poem Farm, for hosting PF today!

posted poetically by April Halprin Wayland...with help from Eli, Snot, and Sheldon ~

Making a Picture Book Text Dummy

At our SCBWI-Wisconsin Fall Conference last weekend, several speakers recommended making a picture book dummy before submitting a manuscript. For many years, I resisted the advice I heard about tackling such a project. At first, I thought “dummy” meant one of those pages of little boxes that illustrators use to create storyboards. I’m not an illustrator, so I couldn’t see the point. I could never fit all my text into those teensy little squares!

“How to Make a Storyboard, An Illustrated Tutorial” from Writing with Pictures: How to Write and Illustrate Children's Books by Uri Shulevitz provides an example of that kind of dummy.

Now that I know the difference, I imagine it might help a writer to jot a brief note about what happens in each scene to visualize pacing and be sure there is enough illustration potential. But I’m talking about a different thing altogether. So let me make the distinction between an illustration dummy and a text dummy. Writers can do themselves a big favor by creating a text dummy on plain paper.

I started with 8 sheets of paper cut in half. I stapled them along one short side to make a 32-page dummy. I printed a copy of my manuscript and cut it into chunks.

Each chunk of text that describes a scene and/or creates a potential illustration can take up a page or even a whole spread in a picture book. That’s what you cut out and paste onto the dummy. Then you look at it with an eye to page turns, pacing, and amount of text per page. Even with the understanding that the final book could look completely different, it’s a worthwhile exercise. The concrete visual format makes problems easier to spot.

I found two good sources for text dummy info:

• Darcy Pattison’s blog post, “How to Mock-up a Picture Book,” explains why making a dummy is a good idea and gives detailed instructions on how to make one. Helpful tips explain how to use the dummy to revise a manuscript.

• Writing Picture Books: A Hands-On Guide from Story Creation to Publication by Ann Whitford Paul includes a chapter called “Cut and Paste—Making a Dummy Book.” She specifies three kinds of story changes that create reasons to change the page. She then lists ten important questions to ask when evaluating the text.

Making a text dummy of my work in progress showed me several good reasons to revise. Trying to paste the text in place made me realize that the story had too many scenes for potential illustrations. In addition, some chunks of text were too long to fit on a page. Time to cut!

So try it! Make a text dummy of your picture book manuscript. It certainly helped mine!

Thank you, SCBWI!

We Teaching Authors are honored to be included in the Featured Blog Scroll on the new SCBWI web site. If you haven’t visited our blog before, you can learn more about us on our About Us page. There, you’ll find links to our bios and introductory blog posts. Enjoy!

JoAnn Early Macken