Have you signed up to be a DIY MFA Radio Insider yet? This is an exciting new monthly newsletter, especially for our podcast listeners. Every month, you’ll get an email from our podcast producer with recaps of the most recent episodes, a curated Listening List of episodes on a particular theme, and other fun goodies we only share via email. Best of all, it’s free to join! The theme for August is Middle Grade, and you can become an insider by signing up with your email at diymfa.com/insiders.

In this episode Patrice Gopo and I discuss:

• Leaving room in your writing for your illustrator to heighten the story.
• Recognizing the themes that reappear in your life and your work.
• How to turn an emotionally resonant image into a whole story.

Plus, her #1 tip for writers.

About Patrice Gopo

Patrice Gopo is the child of Jamaican immigrants and was born and raised in Anchorage, Alaska. She is an award-winning essayist and the author of All the Colors We Will See: Reflections on Barriers, Brokenness, and Finding Our Way (a Fall 2018 Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers selection). Her ties to Jamaica and other parts of the world sparked her early desire to travel to the cities and countries she traced on a globe. In time, as she began writing about her experiences, Patrice became interested in how places contribute to the people we become. Ultimately, she hopes her stories celebrate the beauty of living a multifaceted life. Patrice lives with her family in North Carolina—a place she considers another home. All the Places We Call Home is her first picture book.

You can find her on her website, subscribe to her newsletter, or follow her on Facebook and Instagram.

All the Places We Call Home

Fall in love with this lyrically written and lushly illustrated exploration of identity and home that celebrates all the places and people who make us who we are.

“And where shall we go?” Mama asks as she tucks me in.

“South Africa. Where I was born.”

My answer summons Mama’s stories, stories that send us soaring back in time to when I was a baby. Out my window. Down my street. Across water. Across continents.

Where do you come from? Where does your family come from? For many children, the answers to these questions can transform a conversation into a journey around the globe.

In her first picture book, author Patrice Gopo illuminates how family stories help shape children, help form their identity, and help connect them with the broader world. Her lyrical language, paired with Jenin Mohammed’s richly textured artwork, creates a beautiful, stirring portrait of a child’s deep ties to cultures and communities beyond where she lays her head to sleep.

Ultimately, this story speaks a truth that all children need to hear: The places we come from are part of us, even if we can’t always be near them. All the Places We Call Home is a quiet triumph that encourages an awakening to our own stories and to the stories of those around us.

If you decide to check out the book, we hope you’ll do so via this Amazon affiliate link where, if you choose to purchase via the link, DIY MFA gets a referral fee at no cost to you. As always, thank you for supporting DIY MFA!

Link to Episode 421

(Right-click to download.)

If you liked this episode…

Head over to iTunes, Stitcher Radio, Spotify, or Google and subscribe so you’ll be first to know when new episodes are available.

Also, remember that sharing is caring so if you know anyone who might enjoy this podcast, please tell them about it or leave us a review so other listeners will want to check it out.

Until next week, keep writing and keep being awesome!

The post Episode 421: From Essays to Picture Books: Applying Tools of the Craft Across Genres and Forms – Interview with Patrice Gopo appeared first on DIY MFA.

Now, I’m sure we are all familiar with picture books. Big illustrations, short stories, lots of heart, and humor are sometimes packed into the briefest story. But what really makes a picture book? What’s the word count range? What is the audience’s age range? Is there a difference between board books and regular picture books? Don’t worry, we will be tackling all of that and more! 

I have recently (within the last two years) gotten into writing picture books, and man, it. Is. Hard. 

I would say it is harder than writing a novel. With so few words to work with, your idea has to shine, your prose has to glow, and above all, your manuscript needs to be so refined that it begs to be illustrated. 

I’ve attended a couple of wonderful conferences recently where picture book authors and agents have shared with me the details of what makes up a picture book, so let’s get started. 

Remember, this is not necessary a post about how to create a picture book or how to get to the point where your prose glow, but it is a post about knowing what type of manuscript you intend to create, learning who your audience would be, and providing you with more resources to advance your picture book writing career!

Types of Picture Books

If you are looking to write picture books for children, it’s important to know the different types of picture books before you start. Determining what type of picture book you are aiming to create will greatly impact how you tell the story and vice versa. Sometimes an idea takes shape on the paper or laptop screen first, and then in the revision process, you need to determine what kind of picture book it is in order to pitch it to the right agent who will scoop it up and love it as much as you do! 

This overview is in no way meant to be a comprehensive look at picture books but more of a broad look at the elements that typically make up a picture book. Honestly, the more you delve into the world of picture books, the more you will see how different each picture book can be.

The Standard Picture Book

Okay, I’m using the word standard here, but it’s worth noting that there are literally so many different types of picture books. But for the sake of simplicity, I’m just going to call this section standard and group together all fictional picture books aimed at toddlers through kindergarten. 

A standard picture book text can take many forms: rhyming, lyrical, narrative, concept, humor-based, simple storytelling with lots of onomatopoeia, etc… 

Picture books also come in many forms and tackle many different subjects such as emotions, school, family, STEM, fantasy, and racism. But at the heart of every book is a child’s story. These books tell stories for children, especially those who cannot read. The illustrations play a crucial role in the book by showing the young reader the meaning behind the words they are hearing (maybe for the first time!). 

Picture books are also typically large to accommodate both the illustrations and the parent who is holding the book with the child typically seated in their lap. All in all, they are designed with the child in mind!

Word Count: 400-900 (Although this can fluctuate depending on the story you are writing)

Age Range: 2-7

More Examples: Saturday by Oge Mora, There’s a Dragon in Your Book by Tom Fletcher, Mustache Baby written by Bridgett Heos and Illustrated by Joy Ang, and Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus by Mo Willems.

Board Book

These little cardboard books with few words and a large focus on the picture or illustration are great for little ones who might be more inclined to gnaw on the book than listen. 

Board books range widely from concept books about things like numbers, letters, and colors to simple stories. Touch and feels books are popular in the board book format for babies who are exploring senses. 

Some board books are republished from bigger picture books. For example, we have a copy of The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear by Don and Audrey Wood in both board book form and regular picture book form in our house. At some point, the original picture book was reprinted into board book format although it wasn’t initially intended to be a board book. 

Some popular board books include the hundreds of board books by Sandra Boynton, Sock and Shoe by Frida Bing, and Big Red Barn by Margaret Wise Brown. These little books are created to be short for babies and toddlers, who typically have short attention spans. They are a great way to introduce children to books from an early age and help build a love of literacy and reading.

Word Count: 10-200 words (although typically they are far less than 200)

Age Range: 0-2

More Examples: The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle (board book version), Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown, Huggy Kissy by Leslie Patricelli, and Baby Touch and Feel: Animals by DK

Wordless Picture Book

Wordless picture books are only really done by illustrators, but they are beautiful! The illustrations guide the story, and the reader is free to determine what is happening. Though as a parent, sometimes I have to get creative with the story I craft from the pictures when reading to my sons. 

Wordless picture books often carry strong emotional weight despite the lack of words. One of my favorite wordless picture books is 2007 Caldecott Medal winner Flotsam by David Wiesner. The book depicts underwater life in the ocean and a child’s interaction with it via a camera he finds on the beach. The gorgeous illustrations vividly depict all sorts of creatures, making it a beautiful piece of art as well as an open-ended story.

Word Count: 0

Age Range: 4-7 (though remember that these are just suggestions and not absolutes)

More examples: Journey by Aaron Becker, Door by Jihyeon Lee, and Bye, Penguin! by Seou Lee

Nonfiction

Nonfiction picture books can cover a variety of topics from people to science and in-between. These books are typically longer and aimed at older children. 

One thing that sets nonfiction apart from fiction picture books is research. I’ve heard nonfiction picture book authors at conferences talk about how much research they did to craft their picture book. Since you are telling a real story or presenting information on a real-world topic, it is important to research accurate information because if you don’t, I guarantee you an editor will, and you want to make sure you’ve done that work yourself ahead of time. 

Nonfiction picture books are fantastic for sharing history, people, and places with children who are taking all of these concepts in for the first time.

Word Count: 500-2,000

Age Range: 5-8

More Examples: Bones in the Whitehouse: Thomas Jefferson’s Mammoth by Candice F. Ransom and illustrated by Jamie Christoph, Teatime Around the World by Denyse Waissbluth and illustrated by Chelsea O’Byrne, and Digging for Words: Jose Alberto Gutierrez and the Library He Built by Angela Burke Kunkel and illustrated by Paolo Escobar

What Type of Picture Book Creator are You?

A few important questions to ask yourself if you are interested in creating picture books are are you an author? An illustrator? Or an author-illustrator? 

In the publishing industry, there are different approaches to how you can create a picture book and find the right agent for it. If you are an author, you will only write the manuscript with sparse illustrator notes, leaving a lot of flexibility for an illustrator to come in and work their magic. 

If you are an illustrator, you might be contracted through a publishing house or through your agent to illustrate for a manuscript that is being published. Illustrators typically have portfolios that display their various artistic pieces and their distinct style. 

If you are an author-illustrator, you write the story and illustrate it. This is typically done by creating a story dummy that shows an agent or editor what the story and art will look like. 

Whatever you are, always make sure you are putting your best work forward!

Now that you know all the different types of picture books, as yourself what kind of picture books are you interested in writing? If it’s nonfiction, that will require more research and a unique angle from which to tell the story, which is different from writing a fictional picture book with lots of humor. Determine the type of book you want to write and learn more about the type of picture book as you work on your draft.

Good Resources for Picture Book Writers

So, where can you go to learn more about picture books and refine your craft? Here are a few great places to get you started!

• Writing Picture Books: A Hands-on Guide from Story Creation to Publication by Ann Whitford Paul. I love this book. It has been my guiding light as I navigate the world of picture books writing. Ann Whitford Paul, a well known children’s picture book author gives all sorts of great exercises and seasoned advice on how to craft, draft, revise, and then query your manuscript.
• The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI). This international organization provides so many resources for both new and experienced children’s book writers and illustrators. From virtual conferences, regional critique sessions, and The Book (a book created by the society full of agents, query suggestions, and manuscript formatting guides).
• 12×12 Challenge. I just learned about this fabulous challenge this year from a critique partner of mine! 12×12 is a year-long challenge where members try to write a complete picture book each month for the entire year. Believe me, it’s way harder than it sounds!
• Reading lots of different picture books. There is honestly no better way to learn about picture books than by reading them! Read lots of picture books of different kinds. Read some by author-illustrators. Read some by authors and a separate illustrator. Read funny picture books, sad picture books, rhyming picture books. Just read. I can guarantee it’s one of the quicker and more enjoyable ways to improve your craft.

Now, while I’ve outlined for you things like word count ranges, types of picture books, etc. know that in writing, a lot of things are flexible, such as word count. I’ve been to conferences where agents and editors have reminded me that just because a certain type of picture book has a word count range doesn’t mean you can’t bend that a little to tell your best story. Hopefully, this gives you a jumping-off point for your writing!

Next up, I will be covering chapter books!

Tell us in the comments: Are you a picture book writer or interested in writing picture books?

Olivia Fisher is a children’s lit writer and freelance editor with an English degree from BYU-Idaho. When she isn’t dreaming about living in a treehouse or chasing down her two young boys, she enjoys curling up with a book, watching Star Wars, writing her next adventure, and trying to live in the state of child-like wonder that we all secretly, or not so secretly, miss. Follow her adventures on Twitter or Instagram, or hire her for your next editing escapade on Fiverr.

The post All about Picture Books appeared first on DIY MFA.

You’re in luck! I’ve compiled several key questions into a survey and asked parents, grandparents, and teachers for their input. Based on their responses, I’ve summarized the top five best tools recommended for writing a children’s story.

I asked those in the survey what their favorite picture book was of all time and why they loved it. In asking my participants to recall their favorite picture books from their childhood, their responses came from a time when they were children and from that warm, cozy place of reading bedtime stories with their own children and grandchildren. That’s the feeling all children’s book authors want to invoke in their readers.

1. Characters and Their Interpersonal Relationships

Magical, resilient, powerful, clever, and sometimes hilarious characters, and the friendships between them are an integral part of creating a beloved children’s story. Every person surveyed mentioned character development. It was that important.

But how do we create these types of characters? My best advice is to get out into the world, look around, and listen. Don’t forget to bring a journal so you can write your observations on how children interact with each other and their world. 

Write down how they speak. I find children have such rich dialogue and a lot of it is worth writing down. Write down how they resolve conflict with each other and the adults in their lives. Write down the wonder of discovering new things. So much in this world is new to children. 

2. Rhyming and Repetitiveness

While I’ve read from many professionals that writers should ditch the rhyme, parents in the survey disagree. They adore stories with rhyme and repetition. Those books from their childhood are imprinted upon their hearts and minds.

Writing in rhyme is complex. You’ll need to make sure it has rhythm and meter, and this is done by understanding syllables and where they are stressed in the words you’re creating to tell your story. When writing rhymes for children, avoid near rhymes because at a young age, children should first learn the predictability of rhyming words through their phonetic relationships.

Don’t be afraid of repetition or redundancy in children’s picture books. Just think about how young children watch their favorite movies over and over and you’ll learn that children enjoy and need repetition in order to make connections and remember patterns. Repetition is simple; and, according to those surveyed, it’s an important element in a children’s story.

3. A believable Plotline

Parents and teachers commented that a believable plotline was also key to determining their favorite children’s story of all time. Let your story draw from real life and identifiable characters from which they can learn something about themselves. 

Many in the survey said their favorite children’s book taught a moral, and they felt that was important. As a children’s writer, study folk tales of various cultures and then consider writing one of your own. There are so many great morals for children to learn. Weave a moral into your story.

4. Great Artwork

It’s important as an indie author to collaborate with an artist who shares your vision and captures in their art your voice, uniqueness of the characters, and the story setting. Your readers rely on a balance between text and illustrations to develop their story comprehension skills. 

That brings me to another point.

When I skimmed the pages of the favorite picture books of all time listed in my survey, the illustrations had one thing in common: they were realistic. This might be just as important as a believable plot. Consider colors and lines when collaborating with an illustrator, and keep it realistic.

5. Give your reader an adventure

The final tip I gleaned from the survey: your reader is looking for an adventure. You’ve developed unique characters and outlined a believable plot illustrated in captivating colors and lines. Now, through concise, repetitive, and perhaps rhyming words, take your reader by the hand and lead them on a wondrous adventure to a place they’ve never been before. 

Tell us in the comments: What’s your all time favorite children’s story? What did you love about it?

S.J. Rosson is releasing her first children’s picture book, The Lamb, in May 2022. She believes this story comes at a time when children need to hear a positive message about unconditional love and its redeeming work. She weaved in math counting concepts for fun. To learn more about pre-orders and exclusive, limited-time rewards, visit her website at: www.sjrosson.com.

The post #5onFri: Five Tips for Writing a Children’s Story appeared first on DIY MFA.

Traci is the author of the critically acclaimed book We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga. She is an enrolled citizen of the Cherokee Nation and lives in northeastern Oklahoma, where her tribe is located. Today we’re talking about her picture book Classified: The Secret Career of Mary Golda Ross, Cherokee Aerospace Engineer (Illustrated by Natasha Donovan).

Carole is the author of numerous award-winning books including the Newbery Honor book Box: Henry Brown Mails Himself to Freedom (illustrated by Michele Wood), and R-E-S-P-E-C-T: Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul (illustrated by Frank Morrison). Today we’re discussing her picture book Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre (Illustrated by Floyd Cooper).

When she’s not traveling or visiting museums, Carole is mining the past for family stories, fading traditions, and forgotten struggles. She lives in North Carolina.

In this episode Traci, Carole, and I discuss:

• Why they each decided to tell these forgotten stories as middle grade picture books.
• The deliberate and unique choices they made in structuring their narratives.
• How they created a distinct sense of time and place to ground their books.

Plus, their #1 tip for writers.

About Traci Sorell 

Traci Sorell is the author of Sibert, Orbis Pictus, AILA American Indian Youth Literature Award, and Boston Globe–Horn Book Honor Book We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga. She is an enrolled citizen of the Cherokee Nation and lives in northeastern Oklahoma, where her tribe is located.

You can find Traci on her website or follow her on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Goodreads.

Classified: The Secret Career of Mary Golda Ross, Cherokee Aerospace Engineer

Mary Golda Ross designed classified airplanes and spacecraft as Lockheed Aircraft Corporation’s first female engineer. Find out how her passion for math and the Cherokee values she was raised with shaped her life and work.

Cherokee author Traci Sorell and Métis illustrator Natasha Donovan trace Ross’s journey from being the only girl in a high school math class to becoming a teacher to pursuing an engineering degree, joining the top-secret Skunk Works division of Lockheed, and being a mentor for Native Americans and young women interested in engineering. In addition, the narrative highlights Cherokee values including education, working cooperatively, remaining humble, and helping ensure equal opportunity and education for all.

About Carole Weatherford

Carole Boston Weatherford is the author of numerous award-winning books including and Box: Henry Brown Mails Himself to Freedom, illustrated by Michele Wood which received a Newbery Honor; R-E-S-P-E-C-T: Aretha Franklin, The Queen of Soul, illustrated by Frank Morrison which won the 2021 Coretta Scott King Illustrator Book Award. When she’s not traveling or visiting museums, Carole is mining the past for family stories, fading traditions, and forgotten struggles. She lives in North Carolina.

You can find Carole on her website or follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre

Celebrated author Carole Boston Weatherford and illustrator Floyd Cooper provide a powerful look at the Tulsa Race Massacre, one of the worst incidents of racial violence in our nation’s history. The book traces the history of African Americans in Tulsa’s Greenwood district and chronicles the devastation that occurred in 1921 when a white mob attacked the Black community.

News of what happened was largely suppressed, and no official investigation occurred for seventy-five years. This picture book sensitively introduces young readers to this tragedy and concludes with a call for a better future.

If you decide to check out these books, we hope you’ll do so via these Amazon affiliate links for Classified and Unspeakable where if you choose to purchase via the link DIY MFA gets a referral fee at no cost to you. As always, thank you for supporting DIY MFA!

(Right-click to download.)

If you liked this episode…

Head over to iTunes, Stitcher Radio, Spotify, or Google and subscribe so you’ll be first to know when new episodes are available.

Also, remember that sharing is caring so if you know anyone who might enjoy this podcast, please tell them about it or leave us a review so other listeners will want to check it out.

Until next week, keep writing and keep being awesome!

The post Episode 375: Bringing Omitted BIPOC History to Light through Middle Grade Picture Books – Interview with Traci Sorell and Carole Boston Weatherford appeared first on DIY MFA.

Rajani was born in India, raised in Kentucky, and now lives in the Boston area, where she practices medicine and writes award-winning novels and picture books. 

She has always been an omnivorous reader, and now she is an omnivorous writer of fiction and nonfiction, novels, picture books, prose and poetry. 

She finds inspiration in her family, her childhood, the natural world, math, science, and just about everywhere she looks.

In this episode Rajani and I discuss:

• The importance of showing different approaches to problem solving and thinking.
• How she represented sibling dynamics in her picture book, Bracelets for Bina’s Brothers.
• Why she starts with a story and her unique approach to character building.

Plus, her #1 tip for writers.

About Rajani LaRocca

Rajani LaRocca was born in India, raised in Kentucky, and now lives in the Boston area, where she practices medicine and writes award-winning novels and picture books, including Midsummer’s Mayhem (2019) a Massachusetts Book Award Honor; Seven Golden Rings (2020), the 2021 Mathical Prize Winner for Grades 3-5; Red, White, and Whole (2021), an Indie Next Top Ten and Junior Library Guild Selection with multiple starred reviews; Bracelets for Bina’s Brothers (2021) part of the Storytelling Math series, Much Ado About Baseball (2021), a Junior Library Guild Selection with a Kirkus starred review, and more. 

She’s always been an omnivorous reader, and now she is an omnivorous writer of fiction and nonfiction, novels and picture books, prose and poetry. She finds inspiration in her family, her childhood, the natural world, math, science, and just about everywhere she looks. 

You can find Rajani on her website or follow her on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Goodreads, and Clubhouse. You can also find her as @rajanilarocca on Clubhouse.

Bracelets for Bina’s Brothers

For the Hindu holiday of Raksha Bandhan, Bina is determined to make beaded bracelets for her brothers all by herself. She finds out which colors her brothers like and dislike and sets to work. Working with her every-other-one beading pattern causes Bina to discover something new about patterns–and her brothers.

Storytelling Math celebrates children using math in their daily adventures as they play, build, and discover the world around them. Joyful stories and hands-on activities make it easy for kids and their grown-ups to explore everyday math together. Developed in collaboration with math experts at STEM education nonprofit TERC, under a grant from the Heising-Simons Foundation.

If you decide to check out the book, we hope you’ll do so via this Amazon affiliate link, where if you choose to purchase via the link DIY MFA gets a referral fee at no cost to you. As always, thank you for supporting DIY MFA!

Link to Episode 372

(Right-click to download.)

If you liked this episode…

Head over to iTunes, Stitcher Radio, Spotify, or Google and subscribe so you’ll be first to know when new episodes are available.

Also, remember that sharing is caring so if you know anyone who might enjoy this podcast, please tell them about it or leave us a review so other listeners will want to check it out.

Until next week, keep writing and keep being awesome!

The post Episode 372: The Magic of Math and the Art of Picture Books – Interview with Rajani LaRocca appeared first on DIY MFA.

Amy lives in Chicago with her husband, two children, a dog and her four puppies, a parakeet, sometimes chicks and a part-time fish, but, as of today, no elephants or peacocks. Check back.

Her writing has won the Annie Dillard Award for Creative Nonfiction, the Christopher Award, and the SCBWI-Illinois Laura Crawford Memorial Mentorship, and her essays and poetry have appeared in collections and literary journals including The Bellingham Review, Creative Nonfiction and River Teeth.

She has an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from the University of Pittsburgh. She teaches calculus and number theory classes at Northwestern University. She is the managing editor for the SCBWI-IL Prairie Wind. And she is the writer-in-residence at St. Gregory the Great, where she has a little office in a big building with a bad internet connection, where she tries to get work done (in theory).

In this episode Amy and I discuss:

• How the relationship between the Zhou brothers inspired her book.
• What Amy had to do to find the perfect illustrator for her book.
• Why Amy believes it is important to get the blessing from the real-life figures that inspire your writing. 

Plus, her #1 tip for writers.

About the Author

Amy’s writing has won the Annie Dillard Award for Creative Nonfiction, the Christopher Award, and the SCBWI-Illinois Laura Crawford Memorial Mentorship, and her essays and poetry have appeared in collections and literary journals including The Bellingham Review, Creative Nonfiction and River Teeth. She has an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from the University of Pittsburgh. She teaches calculus and number theory classes at Northwestern University. She is the managing editor for the SCBWI-IL Prairie Wind. And she is the writer-in-residence at St. Gregory the Great.

You can find out more about Amy on her website or follow her on Twitter.

Flying Paintings

First there was one Zhou brother, and then there were two. They lived in a bookstore with their grandmother, Po Po, whose stories of paintings that flew through the air and landed on mountain cliffs inspired them to create their own art. Amid the turbulence of China’s Cultural Revolution in the 1970s, the Zhou Brothers began painting together on the same canvas. Today, ShanZuo and DaHuang Zhou are icons in the art world, renowned for working side by side on all their paintings and sculptures.

In this extraordinary biography, author Amy Alznauer joins with the Zhou Brothers to tell the story of their unique and often difficult childhood and their pursuit of a wild, impossible dream. The lyrical writing blends elements of legend, while the brothers’ dramatic illustrations soar with vibrant colors and surreal imagery from ancient Chinese cliff paintings. An inspiration for young artists and dreamers of all kinds, this deeply felt collaboration explores how art can bring people together, as well as set them free.

The epic story of two Chinese brothers who became art-world legends, illustrated with stunning paintings by the artists themselves.

If you decide to check out the book, we hope you’ll do so via this Amazon affiliate link, where if you choose to purchase via the link DIY MFA gets a referral fee at no cost to you. As always, thank you for supporting DIY MFA!

Also by Amy Alznauer

The Boy Who Dreamed of Infinity

In 1887 in India, a boy named Ramanujan is born with a passion for numbers. He sees numbers in the squares of light pricking his thatched roof and in the beasts dancing on the temple tower. He writes mathematics with his finger in the sand, across the pages of his notebooks, and with chalk on the temple floor. “What is small?” he wonders. “What is big?” Head in the clouds, Ramanujan struggles in school — but his mother knows that her son and his ideas have a purpose. As he grows up, Ramanujan reinvents much of modern mathematics, but where in the world could he find someone to understand what he has conceived? 

Author Amy Alznauer gently introduces young readers to math concepts while Daniel Miyares’s illustrations bring the wonder of Ramanujan’s world to life in the inspiring real-life story of a boy who changed mathematics and science forever. Back matter includes a bibliography and an author’s note recounting more of Ramanujan’s life and accomplishments, as well as the author’s father’s remarkable discovery of Ramanujan’s Lost Notebook.

The Strange Birds of Flannery O’Connor

When she was young, the writer Flannery O’Connor was captivated by the chickens in her yard. She’d watch their wings flap, their beaks peck, and their eyes glint. At age six, her life was forever changed when she and a chicken she had been training to walk forwards and backwards were featured in the news, and she realized that people want to see what is odd and strange in life. But while she loved birds of all varieties and kept several species around the house, it was the peacocks that came to dominate her life. Written by Amy Alznauer with devotional attention to all things odd and illustrated in radiant paint by Ping Zhu, The Strange Birds of Flannery O’Connor explores the beginnings of one author’s lifelong obsession.

(Right-click to download.)

If you liked this episode…

Head over to iTunes, Stitcher Radio or Google Play and subscribe so you’ll be first to know when new episodes are available.

Also, remember that sharing is caring so if you know anyone who might enjoy this podcast, please tell them about it or leave us a review so other listeners will want to check it out.

Until next week, keep writing and keep being awesome!

The post Episode 326: Painting, Math, and Tiny Houses: Writing the Picture Book Biography – Interview with Amy Alznauer appeared first on DIY MFA.

And then we learn to write the alphabet, make words, sentences, eventually draft novels, right? No. Not right. That’s not how we learn to write. Instead, we take a crayon or a paint brush or a pencil and we draw. We say apple, then we draw apple. And so on.

Acquiring written language is a journey through drawing.

The Special World of Picture Books

It’s no wonder then that storytelling for children who are just beginning to grasp words for themselves takes the form of picture books: stories told with visual language.

I grew up on picture books. My favorites were by Maurice Sendak and Dr. Seuss, as well as the A.A. Milne stories of Pooh Bear that were gracefully illustrated by Ernest Shepard. When my children were little, I started their picture book library with these author/illustrators. I loved going to bookstores to find new titles to add to their literary development. Like Willy the Dreamer by Anthony Browne, every page a delight in paintings that imagine all the things that Willy can become in his dreams, each one a funny interpretation of famous artists as portraits of an ape boy. My son and I spent most of our time finding the hidden bananas within the paintings, as a ballerina’s toe shoes, Elvis’s microphone, a mermaid tail, the Cheshire Cat’s grin.

This year, my children will cast their votes for President, so it’s been a good long while since we searched for bananas in Willy the Dreamer or for the mouse in Margaret Wise Brown’s Goodnight Moon. These days, I read plenty of books with pictures targeted for an adult audience: graphic memoirs, graphic medicine, graphic novels, comics poetry. I love these books.

But still, I miss the adventures into the world of children’s picture books that I used to take with my kids. It’s harder to get to that magical world without a child to guide you, to help you dispense with the urge to tell a story, but to instead dive into the page and roam about, checking under rocks and behind curtains for the hidden surprises the illustrators tuck away for you to discover.

Finding New Picture Books

So, I gave myself a homework assignment for this post. I would do a bit of grown-up research on new picture books and then I’d browse bookstores for the same. Based on this investigation, I would pick one book and review it.

I chose Small in the City by Sydney Smith. Why? The cover is hauntingly wonderful, for one. Mirroring the illustrations in the book’s interior, I was drawn to the loose line work and muted colors. The mix of ink and pigment is fantastic. And then there is the opening line: “I know what it’s like to be small in the city.” I was instantly transported to my kid-self, quiet, shy and usually alone. Or feeling alone, even in a crowd, even in the bustle of a city.

Small in the City

Small in the City conveys a story in 300 words…37 pages…and 50 illustrations. I hesitate to call them illustrations, because this term brings to mind the idea that the images are simply there to enhance the written narrative. Or, to supply decoration, as Ernest Shepard’s drawings were described in my worn edition of Winnie the Pooh. 

The drawings in Small in the City are far beyond decorative. Eleven pages (about 30% of the book) have no words on them or on the opposing page. The images carry a huge portion of the storytelling. And they, along with the spare and quiet sentences, create a story that reads like the muffled quiet of snow that falls throughout the book.

You feel the cold. You sense the isolation of being alone in the city. The words and pictures come together on the page to invite you to walk through the city with this child, searching for…well you’ll have to get the book to find out what’s been lost.

Small in the City is Sydney Smith’s first book as both writer and visual artist. He is a children’s book illustrator from Halifax, Canada, whose other projects include Town is by the Sea, written by Joanne Schwartz and Sidewalk Flowers, written by JonArno Lawson. Smith has a wonderful writing/drawing voice and I look forward to more books from this talented author/illustrator.   

Rebecca Fish Ewan, a poet/cartoonist/writer and founder of Plankton Press, teaches in The Design School at Arizona State University. She grew up in Berkeley, California, and now lives in Arizona with her family. She wrote/drew a cartoon/free verse memoir, By the Forces of Gravity, and has a book forthcoming, Doodling for Writers (Books by Hippocampus, 2018 and June 2020). You can connect with her at rebeccafishewan.com 

The post Children’s Picture Books: Small in the City by Sydney Smith appeared first on DIY MFA.

Virginia Loh-Hagan is an educator and author. She is the 2016 recipient of California Reading Association’s Marcus Foster Memorial Award for outstanding achievement in reading. Currently, she is directing the Liberal Studies program at San Diego State University. She has a B.A. in English and a Masters in Elementary Education (K-8) and Special Education, specializing in Learning Disabilities (K-12), from the University of Virginia.

She earned her Doctorate in Education with an emphasis in Literacy and her dissertation was a qualitative study on the cultural authenticity of Asian-American children’s literature. She serves on various book award committees and is the Cover Editor and Book Nook columnist for “The California Reader,” the premier professional journal for the California Reading Association.

She has published over 300 children’s books and academic publications. She especially likes to write about her Chinese-American heritage. After all, she was born on Flag Day in the Year of the Dragon. She’s also interested in writing fun facts about monsters, weird bodily noises, urban legends, hot dogs, and anything else that’s strange and awesome.

In this episode Virginia and I discuss:

• The inspiration behind Nian the Chinese New Year Dragon
• How a career in teaching informed Dr. Loh-Hagan’s writing
• Reading for comprehension versus reading for craft
• Using the rule of three in a picture book
• Staying true to the world you create

Plus, her #1 tip for writers.

About Dr. Virginia Loh-Hagan

Dr. Virginia Loh-Hagan is an educator and author. She is the 2016 recipient of California Reading Association’s Marcus Foster Memorial Award for outstanding achievement in reading. Currently, she is directing the Liberal Studies program at San Diego State University. Previously, she was a credential program leader and faculty member for the School of Teacher Education at SDSU. Prior to working at SDSU, she was a K-8 teacher, community college reading instructor, and program chair for an online university. She has a B.A. in English and a Masters in Elementary Education (K-8) and Special Education, specializing in Learning Disabilities (K-12), from the University of Virginia. 

Upon graduation, she received the “Outstanding Woman Scholar in Education” award. She earned her Doctorate in Education with an emphasis in Literacy from SDSU-USD in May 2008; her dissertation—for which she received a ChLA Beiter Graduate Student Research Grant award from the Children’s Literature Association and for which she has published peer-reviewed articles and conducted presentations—was a qualitative study on the cultural authenticity of Asian-American children’s literature. She serves on various book award committees and is the Cover Editor and Book Nook columnist for “The California Reader,” the premier professional journal for the California Reading Association. She is a multi-published author with over 300 children’s books and academic publications. She writes books about things that geek her. She especially likes to write about her Chinese-American heritage. After all, she was born on Flag Day in the Year of the Dragon. She’s also interested in writing fun facts about monsters, weird bodily noises, urban legends, hot dogs, and anything on the odd side.

Visit her website, or connect with her on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Nian the Chinese New Year Dragon

Mei hates springtime. Why? Because it’s only in the spring that Nian, a fierce dragon, is able to leave his mountain prison under the sea to terrorize the local village. When the villagers hear the rumblings of Nian’s hungry stomach, they know that winter has ended and spring is coming. But this year on the night before the first day of spring, a magical warrior visits Mei in her dreams. He tells Mei that it is her destiny to face and defeat Nian. But she must do it within 15 days or the dragon will be free forever. Author Virginia Loh-Hagan (PoPo’s Lucky Chinese New Year) gives this retelling of the Nian legend an original twist, while explaining the origins of Chinese New Year traditions.

If you decide to check out the book, we hope you’ll do so via this Amazon affiliate link, where if you choose to purchase via the link DIY MFA gets a referral fee at no cost to you. As always, thank you for supporting DIY MFA!

Link to Episode #284

(Right-click to download.)

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Until next week, keep writing and keep being awesome!

The post Episode 284: Adapting Legends While Staying True to the Story — Interview with Virginia Loh-Hagan appeared first on DIY MFA.

Born in Baltimore, Aaron moved to California to attend Pomona College where he scored his first illustration job designing t-shirts for his water polo team. Since then, he’s traveled around the world, from Kenya to Japan, Sweden to Tahiti, looking for good things to eat and feeding his imagination. He now lives with his family in Amherst, MA where he’s busy at work on his next book project. You can find out more about what he’s been up to lately at storybreathing.com.

Aaron and I will be talking about his wordless picture book trilogy, Journey, Quest, and Return, as well as his picture book A Stone for Sascha and his newest picture book, You Are Light.

In this episode Aaron and I discuss:

• The story behind the Journey, Quest, Return trilogy
• Navigating second book syndrome
• How different age groups approach wordless picture books
• Changing tones for a second story arc
• Crafting a picture book inspired by stained glass
• Using different mediums to craft picture books

Plus, his #1 tip for writers.

About Aaron Becker

Born in Baltimore, Aaron Becker moved to California to attend Pomona College where he scored his first illustration job designing t-shirts for his water polo team. Since then, he’s traveled to Kenya, Japan, Sweden, and Tahiti backpacking around while looking for good things to eat and feeding his imagination. He now lives with his family in Amherst, MA where he’s busy at work on his next book project. You can find out more about what he’s been up to lately at storybreathing.com.

If you decide to check out his books, we hope you’ll do so via the below Amazon affiliate links, where if you choose to purchase via the link DIY MFA gets a referral fee at no cost to you. As always, thank you for supporting DIY MFA!

You Are Light

Open this beautiful book to find a graphic yellow sun surrounded by a halo of bright die-cut circles. Now hold the page up to the light and enjoy the transformation as the colors in those circles glow. In an elegant, sparely narrated ode to the phenomenon of light, Aaron Becker follows as light reflects off the earth to warm our faces, draws up the sea to make the rain, feeds all the things that grow, and helps to create all the brilliant wonders of the world, including ourselves.

A Stone For Sascha

This year’s summer vacation will be very different for a young girl and her family without Sascha, the beloved family dog, along for the ride. But a wistful walk along the beach to gather cool, polished stones becomes a brilliant turning point in the girl’s grief. There, at the edge of a vast ocean beneath an infinite sky, she uncovers, alongside the reader, a profound and joyous truth. In his first picture book following the conclusion of his best-selling Journey trilogy, Aaron Becker achieves a tremendous feat, connecting the private, personal loss of one child to a cycle spanning millennia — and delivering a stunningly layered tale that demands to be pored over again and again.

Journey

A lonely girl draws a magic door on her bedroom wall and through it escapes into a world where wonder, adventure, and danger abound. Red marker in hand, she creates a boat, a balloon, and a flying carpet that carry her on a spectacular journey toward an uncertain destiny. When she is captured by a sinister emperor, only an act of tremendous courage and kindness can set her free. Can it also lead her home and to her heart’s desire?

Quest

A king emerges from a hidden door in a city park, startling two children sheltering from the rain. No sooner does he push a map and some strange objects into their hands than he is captured by hostile forces that whisk him back through the enchanted door. Just like that, the children are caught up in a quest to rescue the king and his kingdom from darkness, while illuminating the farthest reaches of their imagination. Colored markers in hand, they make their own way through the portal, under the sea, through a tropical paradise, over a perilous bridge, and high in the air with the help of a winged friend.

Return

Failing to get the attention of her busy father, a lonely girl turns back to a fantastic world for friendship and adventure. It’s her third journey into the enticing realm of kings and emperors, castles and canals, exotic creatures and enchanting landscapes. This time, it will take something truly powerful to persuade her to return home, as a gripping backstory is revealed that will hold readers in its thrall.

(Right-click to download.)

If you liked this episode…

Head over to iTunes, Stitcher Radio or Google Play and subscribe so you’ll be first to know when new episodes are available.

Also, remember that sharing is caring so if you know anyone who might enjoy this podcast, please tell them about it or leave us a review so other listeners will want to check it out.

Until next week, keep writing and keep being awesome!

The post Episode 273: Words, Pictures, and How Story Brings Them Together — Interview with Aaron Becker appeared first on DIY MFA.

There’s a great DIY MFA post here with the details of writing for each age group—what the age groupings are, who they are for, and how many words you have to play with. It’s a great starting place when you’re trying to decide where your story belongs.

But there are some things common to all kidlit, that help make it distinct from writing for adults.

Aim for young readers—and adults

When you write for kids you’re often aiming for a dual audience of kids and adults.

When an adult reads out loud to a child you have to entertain both toddler and grown-up. When a book entertains the adult as well as the child, you have a winner. Very young kids often fixate on favorite books and want to read them over, and over, and over, and OVER again…so whoever’s doing the reading needs to find enjoyment in it as well.

Books for older kids, middle grade and young adult, are often read by adults for pleasure. A 2012 study found that 55% of YA readers are over 18.

The book probably has to appeal to “gatekeepers”—parents, librarians, teachers, and other adults who make decisions about what kids should be given to read. Gatekeepers take their responsibility to kids seriously, and they often have to juggle the demands of other adults. For instance, a school librarian may think twice about a book with swearing in it if they know parents will complain.

As kids grow, some parents choose to read the same books their kids do so they can know what their kids are reading and even discuss them, like an in-family book club.

Remember, kids “read up”

While adults read about characters of any age (not all books about kids are for kids), kids tend to prefer to read books about kids who are a few years older than they are. If your main character is 16 they’re going to be read by 14-year-olds. If the main character is ten their readers will be seven or eight. The books should be written with those younger readers in mind.

Kids like getting a taste of what’s to come. Reading about a slightly older protagonist is a preview of what the reader may someday face, and helps to prepare them for the future. Reaching up just a couple of years makes the characters accessible for the younger reader.

Make kids the heroes

It’s important to give your young protagonists agency. While it may be tempting to have Mom or Dad swoop in and save the day, that infantilizes your characters—keeps them dependent and ensures they don’t learn or grow. Kids are looking for role models, and those role models should be the kids in your story. Let them be clever enough to figure out the solution. Let them have the strength to save the day. Let them be heroes.

Don’t talk down

Kids. Are. Smart. They know when the author thinks they aren’t. They know when the author is shoveling bull-puckey. And they resent it. Kids won’t stick with a book that treats them like they’re younger than they are.

When writing for kids, respect both their capabilities and their limitations. Yes, they lack context and experience but they are also highly adaptable and empathetic. Play to their strengths rather than rubbing in their weaknesses.

Focus on voice, not vocabulary

It used to be that publishers would provide lists of acceptable vocabulary, especially for their youngest readers. Books like the Dick & Jane series and Dr. Seuss’s Cat in the Hat (which uses only 223 words!) were written using deliberately limited vocabulary to be “easy” for kids.

Afraid you can’t use “big words” in your kidlit? Think again! Reading is a great way to expose kids to new vocabulary, so make sure you give them plenty of context clues to make an educated guess about a word’s meaning. Curious readers can always look words up in the dictionary (which is even easier when reading ebooks), but even if they don’t they will take away many positives from reading new words.

What’s important is that the word choice should suit the characters. A five-year-old might say “Daddy” where a ten-year-old might say “Dad”—but if you’re writing about a certain kind of kid, or a kid in a culture where this is the norm, they might both call the guy “Father” or “Paw.” A precocious kid might use the word “precocious” where their peers just call them “smart” or “brainiac.”

If your character’s voice is authentic you can use any language that’s appropriate for that character.

Handle subject matter appropriately

Books for very small children tend to stay clear of dark topics, but they may imply their presence in the background. Adults are more likely to pick up on what’s really going on, and that can open a door for discussion.

On the Nickelodeon show Hey Arnold! Helga’s mother shows signs of being an alcoholic, but her “smoothies” are never directly addressed on the show. Instead Helga works around her mom and the way her mom’s drinking impacts her is shown without explanation. Adult viewers recognize the root problem where children may not.

Other books for young kids may revolve around difficult subjects, like a parent in jail. These books are designed to help kids cope with and speak about the things they’re going through in a healthy way. If you want to write such a book, it’s a wise idea to include psychologists, counselors and teachers in your research.

As kids age, more things appear on the page. In middle grade books, a serious problem is more likely to happen to a character who isn’t the protagonist. The younger the main character is, the more distant the problem will be. For instance, a friend or a parent may struggle with addiction but not the child protagonist.

In young adult books the protagonist can be the one with the dark problem, so instead of a mom with an addiction, the teen protagonist themselves has the addiction. In YA there are almost no limits on what can appear on the page so long as it isn’t gratuitous—gore or sex just for the sake of titillation. (Editor Kate Brauning has a great Twitter thread about writing sex through the YA lens.)

Include hope: The secret to a great ending

Not all stories end happily. Even kids know this, and the stories written for them can reflect this. But even in a bittersweet ending or a tragic ending there should be a glimmer of hope. The protagonists don’t have to get everything they want, but they should still see potential for a better future.

In Angie Thomas’s The Hate U Give, Starr suffers two major blows toward the end of the book, but by the final pages she is determined to keep fighting for justice in her community. Even in the face of rising stakes, she sees a way forward. Both Suzanne Collins’s The Hunger Games  trilogy and J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series end with the next generation, and a promise of a world without the chaos that defined the books.

Remember, your young protagonist is the hero. Even if they fail at some things, they must persevere in others. Tomorrow is always another day.

Bronwen Fleetwood writes fiction for young adults, and nonfiction for writers. Bronwen studied creative writing at Eugene Lang,The New School for Liberal Arts, has acted as leader of the Princeton Writing Group, and as a Municipal Liaison for National Novel Writing Month. Bronwen currently lives on the Whale Coast of South Africa, between the mountains, the sea, and a lake. You can connect with her at bronwenfleetwood.com.

The post Defining Kidlit appeared first on DIY MFA.