Looking for a hugely entertaining alphabet book that also has an uplifting message of empowerment for young readers? I highly recommend T. REXES CAN'T TIE THEIR SHOES by Anna Lazowski and Steph Laberis, launching June 29th, 2021 from Doubleday Books For Young Readers. The back matter also has an alphabetized factoid list of "all the amazing things animals CAN do!"

This is an alphabet book that can be appreciated by grown-ups as well as young readers, with lots of potential discussion points. The illustrations of animals in ridiculous situations are so SOOOOO FUN --- omigosh, even as I'm writing this post, I went back to look through the digital ARC and can't decide which is my favourite, though I'm leaning toward the "Cheetahs can't chew bubble gum" page.

I asked debut picture book author Anna Lazowski if she had any advice for young writers, and here's what she said:

"Write what you want to write, because as you move through the publishing process, it will become incredibly important for you to truly believe in your work. The rejections in this industry are endless, and they come at every stage. Critique partners might reject elements of your manuscript, agents will reject your work, and once you're on submission to editors, they will reject your work. Then once you're finally published, some reviewers will reject your work. If you don't fully believe in your stories, this will be extremely hard to take. It's hard as it is, so make sure you're all in on the work you're doing. It will make the rest a little bit easier to navigate."

Wise advice. Thank you, Anna! And congrats to you and Steph on your upcoming launch!

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Also see other Advice For Young Writers and Illustrators From Children's Book Creators and my other Interviews With Children's Book Creators.

Image at the top of this post was created for my new #BookADay book journal. For more info about Donalyn Miller's #BookADay challenge, see Donalyn's post in the Nerdy Book Club blog.

Just read (and loved) a fun reimagining of the classic fairytale Goldilocks and the Three Bears: GOLDIBOOKS AND THE WEE BEAR, written by Troy Wilson and illustrated by Edwardian Taylor, published earlier this year by Running Press Kids.

Here is Troy Wilson's advice for young writers:

"My advice? Write badly. Badly, badly, badly. Include words and ideas that shouldn't be there. Leave out words and ideas that should be there. Put things in the wrong order. Have your protagonist act wildly out of character. Why? Because that is what your favorite author does.

"You don't see your favorite author's horrible first drafts. Or horrible second drafts. Or horrible third drafts. For that matter, you don't see their attempted books that never, ever turned out at all. (Some things are just dead ends, even for your favorite author.) No, you only see their final, super-duper-polished work, after they got lots and lots of great feedback.

"Everyone starts with bad writing. Every single writer, every single time - no matter how long they've been doing it. You can't avoid your own bad writing. You can't go around it or over it or under it. You have to go through it. Just get it onto the page or screen. You can always fix it later. Except if you let the bad writing - or the fear of bad writing - stop you from writing. Because you can't fix what isn't there."

Thanks, Troy! 

Related links:

Publisher page about Goldibooks and the Wee Bear

More about Troy Wilson at TroyStory.ca, Twitter and Facebook.

More about Edwardian Taylor at EdwardianTaylor.com, Twitter and Instagram.

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Find more advice for young writers and illustrators from children's book creators.

 

Brian McLachlan is a cartoonist who's worked for Nickelodeon, The Nib and the New Yorker. He writes the monthly comic Spruce Street Squad for Owl Magazine. His book, Draw Out The Story: 10 Secrets to Creating Your Own Comics is an ILA-nonfiction award winner. Each Tuesday he hosts a group of artists in a PG-13 game of Dungeons & Dragons where they live draw what happens in game on Twitch, called Magical Marker ( MM ). You can find Brian at his website, on Twitter, and Instagram.

Synopsis of COMPLETE THE QUEST: THE POISONOUS LIBRARY (Imprint/Macmillan):

Save your kingdom in this interactive role-playing adventure, which reads like a graphic novel but also plays like a game! It’s perfect for fans of all ages who are interested in the exciting world of fantasy gaming.

Q. How did you come up with the idea for Complete The Quest?

Complete the Quest in a brand new mix of role playing game (RPG) and comic. It started as an experiment to see what would happen if I took a Dungeons & Dragons or Chose Your Own Adventure multi-path story and made it into a comic. How would the gameplay change by putting it into a visual space? For me, it was a literal game changer, turning the CYOA anxiety of multiple choices, into a laid-out, laid-back invitation to check all paths for your favourite way forward. It also encourages people to come up with their own, better solution if they want. While I always give the reader a clear path forward, I invite them to forge their own. It's a great introduction to co-operative storytelling.

Q. What was your writing/illustration process?

I draw a scene much faster than I can write about it. A picture's worth a thousand words and all that. So I draw my scripts in rough, laying out out the word balloons, figuring out how much space I need, how the page turns feel, etc. This was especially important for this comic gamebook which also filled with maps for the reader to navigate. We needed to see if the pathing was clear. Creating the tutorial was the most time intensive part, trying to make the most elegant, clear way to ease the reader into how the game part functions. I think we nailed it. I hear from parents who don't play RPGs that they were worried about the reading a gamebook, but they quickly "got it".

Q. What advice do you have for young writers and illustrators?

Advice is hard to give because everyone's different. Some people need to hear "finish what you start" and some need to hear "stop working on that thing, it's good enough". So my advice is to train your inner advice-giver and follow it. What is it about the way you work that you've been putting off improving, but could do right now? Because you know what type of story or art you're making, and if you're trying to make an apple, the best advice in making a banana isn't going to help. And the best advice in making an apple right-handed isn't going to help you if you're left-handed. Not all advice is for you, it's a skill to figure out what part is for you to take right now, later, or never.

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Also see my other Inkygirl interviews with book creators and advice for young writers and illustrators from book creators.

Happy launch day to Marcie Colleen, whose THE BEAR'S GARDEN with Alison Oliver launches from Imprint/Macmillan today!

Marcie Colleen is the award-winning picture book author of Penguinaut! (illustrated by Emma Yarlett) and Love, Triangle (illustrated by Bob Shea), as well as the Super Happy Party Bears chapter book series. She teaches Writing Children’s Picture Books for the University of California at San Diego both online and on campus, and runs her own Study Hall conducting a month-long online critique group dedicated to the crafting picture books. Find out more about how you can study with Marcie at thisismarciecolleen.com and on Twitter at @MarcieColleen1.

*UPDATE: Marcie has also launched her SUPER HAPPY Book Club on her YouTube channel, especially for families at home during school closures!

Launching March 24, 2020, THE BEAR'S GARDEN is written by Marcie Colleen and illustrated by Alison Oliver. You can read reviews of the book on Kirkus (starred review!) and Bookroo.

Author: Marcie Colleen
Illustrator: Alison Oliver
Publisher: Imprint/Macmillan Children’s

SYNOPSIS: Inspired by the true story of a community garden in Brooklyn, New York, picture book The Bear’s Garden is a testament to how imagination and dedication can transform communities and create beauty for everyone in unexpected places.

A little girl sees an empty lot in a city and imagines what it can be:

a place to grow,
a place to play,
and a place to love.

With the help of her stuffed bear, the girl brings her community together to create a beautiful garden.

Q. What inspired you to write this book?

The Bear’s Garden was inspired by the real-life Pacific Street Brooklyn Bear’s Community Garden in my former neighborhood in New York City. The name always puzzled me—I mean, we didn’t have bears wandering around Brooklyn last I checked!

Come to find out, the garden was named for a teddy bear that was found in the weeds when the workers began to create a garden in the abandoned lot. Of course, immediately I started thinking of that little bear. How did he get there? Did he belong to anyone? Was he placed there on purpose?

The Bear’s Garden is my imaginative story about how the teddy bear came to be in those weeds. It’s also a love letter to my former neighborhood and the power of community that I felt while living there. I am the girl who finds love and beauty in every inch of that urban paradise

Q. As an experienced author, how do you manage your time in terms of balancing your creative work time with the business side (promotion, admin, school visits etc), yet still have a life outside work?

While everything I do, such as teaching and creating Teacher’s Guides, falls under the umbrella of being a full-time children’s author, I have struggled in the past to find time for my own creative writing. It seems my days get quickly overrun.

However, about a year ago I paired up with a fellow author friend, Kirsten Larson, to prioritize our writing projects. We get up at 5:20 every morning to write for an hour. The alarm goes off, we text each other a quick “Good Morning” and share our project goals for that session, grab our coffee, and set to write until 6:30 without distraction. At 6:30 we check in again with our progress. It’s been a game-changer. I think I have written more in the last year because of it. And it’s a fantastic way to feel accomplished no matter what the rest of the day brings.

Q. What advice do you have for young writers?

I have always loved reading and writing stories.

A few years back I found a book I had written in elementary school. It’s called Rainbow Hunt. And in the back of the book I found an Author’s Note I had written. It said,

“Marcie Goldstein lives in Liverpool, NY and loves to write books. Someday she hopes to be a successful author.”

So, my advice to young writers everywhere would be, know that your dreams can come true. Even if people say it’s a long-shot. I’m living proof. So keep reading, keep writing, and never stop dreaming.

Q. Anything else you'd like to mention? What are you excited about these days?

Despite the recent global health crisis that has left us all indoors, I am excited to see how we will learn to build more community within our lives—even virtually. The creativity and innovation that has developed in the last few weeks has been extraordinarily inspiring. Like flowers between the pavement cracks, we will find ways. And a lot of beauty is going to grow from this.

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For more interviews, see my Inkygirl Interview Archive. Also see Advice For Young Writers and Illustrators, a compilation of tips generously offered by children's book creators I've interviewed over the years.

GIVEAWAY (U.S. only): Karla is giving away a copy of Marie Curie And The Power Of Persistence, written by Karla Valenti and illustrated by Annalisa Beghelli! *** ENTER HERE ***

Karla Arenas Valenti was born and raised in Mexico. Since then she has put down roots in a number of countries she now calls home: Japan, France, Germany, and the U.S. where she lives in the Chicagoland area with her husband and three kids. She writes picture books and middle grade novels. You can find out more about Karla at www.karlavalenti.com or connect with her on Facebook or Twitter @KV_writes.

I asked Karla to describe her book, and here's what she replied:

My Super Science Heroes is a picture book series for children ages 4-8. The series focuses on key scientists, but rather than defining those scientists by what they did (their achievements), we are choosing to highlight who they were (the traits that made those achievements possible).

This distinction is important as it allows readers (young and old) to re-frame what it means to “succeed” - in other words, you do not need to be a genius or Nobel-prize winner in order to be a hero in your own life. Arguably, what makes someone a hero is how they make use of their own “super powers” in pursuit of their dreams.

And what are these super powers?

The first one we chose to highlight is persistence.

Throughout her personal and professional life, Marie Curie encountered many societal and institutional limitations that threatened to block her progress. Rather than telling our young readers about these challenges, however, we chose to show them. Enter Mr. Opposition, a character designed to embody these counterforces and give Marie a chance to prove her persistence to all her fans and readers.

In this way, Marie’s ultimate success and notable achievements are not presented as the inevitable result of a gifted mind. Rather, we are honoring the tremendous effort she exhibited in never giving up on her dreams, a super power indeed.

Our next book focuses on the power of curiosity, exemplified by Alan Turing and his minion, Miss Enigma (due out Jan 2021).

My Super Science Heroes is unlike any other children’s book series focusing on historical figures, and we hope it will inspire countless of young scientists (and non-scientists) as they develop their own super powers.

Q: How did MARIE CURIE AND THE POWER OF PERSISTENCE get published?

This is a story about the unexpected surprises that come our way when we are open to any (and sometimes unconventional) opportunities.

I was living in Europe at the time, and a friend forwarded an open call for story submissions run by a non-profit science association. The Marie Curie Alumni Association (MCAA) was looking for a creative way to raise funds to support their science initiatives, so they launched a contest for picture book submissions. The topic was a story about Marie Curie, but told in a way that would excite young readers about science

As a fiction writer, I was hesitant at first to submit a story on a non-fiction topic. However, I also viewed this as an opportunity to flex my creative wings, so I took the challenge and wrote a story about Marie Curie... the super hero.

As I researched her life, it became clear that, while she certainly accomplished a great deal as a scientist, her most notable achievement was her unwavering persistence in facing a number of challenges throughout her life. Persistence! A skill highly valued in the scientific community (and one present in all of us).

What if the book was about Marie Curie using her power of persistence to achieve great things in the scientific world?

What if she had an evil nemesis who lived in a craggy cave deep underground, and whose sole purpose was preventing the spread of knowledge?

What if he sent his minion, Mr. Opposition, to stop Marie in her heroic journey?

Thus was born the My Super Science Heroes series.

It was an unconventional premise, but I decided to submit the story. To my tremendous surprise, I won!

Working with Micaela Crespo Quesada (a super scientist herself) and the MCAA association, we identified the perfect illustrator for the project, Annalisa Beghelli. Her artwork brilliantly captured the super hero themes we wanted to explore. In a true collaboration, the three of us worked to bring this project to life.

Initially, the project was going to be funded exclusively through a global crowdsourcing campaign. Not only did we exceed our goal by 20%, but a couple weeks into the campaign, we received an offer by Kelly Barrales-Saylor at Sourcebooks for world rights.

Fast forward to today as we celebrate the world publication on April 7th of Marie Curie and the Power of Persistence.

Q. What advice do you have for young writers?

In a perhaps not-so-ironic twist, the most valuable piece of advice I can offer is to believe in the power of persistence. And I hesitate to say this is only relevant to young writers (since I myself only learned this as a writer after many years).

The journey I have taken to get to this point has not been a short (or always-joyful) one. Indeed, it has been more agonizing than not, more heart-breaking than uplifting, and certainly taken a lot longer than I expected.

There have been plenty of opportunities for me to give up and walk away (and if I'm honest, there have been moments in my life where I've had to do that). However, I am fiercely proud of this story because it feels like a real badge of honor; a testament to the courage it takes to pick up your "pen" and keep putting words to paper, despite everything standing in your way.

The truth is, we all have our own version of Mr. Opposition, and we all must do battle with the nemesis that intends to bring us down. But word by word, line by line, we can persist. That is no small thing.

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For more interviews, see my Inkygirl Interview Archive. Also see Advice For Young Writers and Illustrators, a compilation of tips generously offered by children's book creators I've interviewed over the years.