Category: Picture Books

Cover Reveal of TWINKLE, TWINKLE, WINTER NIGHT – plus the Six-Month Stretch!

3/28/2022

~by Megan Litwin

Hello! Thank you to 24 Carrot Writing for hosting me here as I share the cover of my debut picture book, Twinkle, Twinkle, Winter Night! I am absolutely over the moon about the cover art by Nneka Myers. I love the dreamy color palette, and the way Nneka captures the peaceful beauty of the winter world…yet with a hint of festive sparkle in the distance. I can’t wait for the rest of her brilliant work to be seen!

And now that the cover is out, I’ve been thinking…

It is ironic that a finished book cover is the result of months or years of work, because at the same time, it also represents a new beginning…the beginning of this last stretch until the book is out in the world. And the “Six-Month Stretch” (as I’ve begun calling it) brings new work to light.

There is a lot of talk about all the things an author can do to promote a book pre-launch, and to be honest, it can be pretty overwhelming. So I’m taking the advice of veteran writer friends who have shared some wisdom about how to use this time. The underlying theme is “do what feels right to you.” I’m going to couple that with one of my own favorite mantras: “keep it simple.” And in the spirit of 24 Carrot Writing’s goal-setting mission, I have formed a plan.

Here are the five main things I’m going to focus on in my “Six Month Stretch”:

Seek out blog guest spots on blogs I enjoy reading myself (like this one!)
Send out my first author newsletter – for me, this is going to be a seasonal thing, because I like to keep things simple and because I love organizing my life by the seasons! It will feature book news, book events, and “book magic” (fun tips for growing readers).
Offer an educator giveaway – I love connecting with teachers and being in the classroom, and so offering a free virtual visit in combination with subscribing to my upcoming newsletter is the kind of giveaway that feels most natural to me.
Mention to others that they can now put my book on their ‘want to read’ list…
AND THEN…
Celebrate with a BOOK PARTY!!! I’ll be launching Twinkle, Twinkle, Winter Night at An Unlikely Story under their very own twinkly lights!! And after that, hopefully I’ll be visiting all my other favorite bookstores for more events throughout the season. I hope to see you at one of them.

Thank you, 24 Carrot readers and writers, for sharing this exciting moment with me!
- Megan

Twinkle, Twinkle, Winter Night by Megan Litwin, illustrated by Nneka Myers Clarion Books, 9/20/22

Shimmer, glimmer, glowing light.
Twinkle, twinkle, winter night.

Celebrate winter with this magical twist on a beloved nursery rhyme that brings
the shimmering season of lights to life.

To learn more about Megan or to subscribe to her newsletter, visit her online at www.meganlitwinbooks.com.

To learn more about Nneka Myers and her art, visit her online at www.nnekamyers.com.

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Scheduling Time For What Matters

1/31/2022

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~By Megan Litwin

A former K-2 teacher, I’m a big fan of schedules and routines. I know how important it can be to have a structure to the day you can count on, yet one that also leaves room for organic detours. Schedules can be powerful - and comforting - for children and adults alike.

Of course, life hasn’t made it easy to keep to any sort of schedule lately. But this January, I felt determined to start off on the right foot. 2022 brings with it my debut picture book, and I could not be more excited! At the same time, that means I’ve found myself with extra balls to juggle and new roads to navigate: a website, a wonderful co-marketing group, planning for events and school visits. All very good things indeed. But all NEW things, too. Now, besides time to write (to daydream, draft, revise, and more), I need a chunk of time just to keep up with being an “author.” No matter where any of us are on this journey, there is a certain amount of attention that needs to be paid to the business side of things.

But how to make time for these different roles, without dropping any balls or feeling frazzled?
I needed a comfortable routine I could count on.

First, I thought about the time frame of my work day (something that looks different for everyone). My best work hours are absolutely when my kids are in school.

Then, I thought about the flow. I knew I wanted to fiercely protect my writing time, no matter what got thrown my way each day. So actual butt-in-chair writing is the morning’s first work. I’ve committed to at least one hour a day for that. Or more! But setting a realistic minimum helps me stay true to that goal. If I’m in the groove and really deep into the work, that could stretch by hours – and I love when it can. Or I might write for just that hour and then do something else writing-related, like critiques. There is a certain amount of open-endedness built in. And a whole lot of morning coffee…

No matter how it’s going, by the time lunch rolls around, it’s time to switch gears to author business. Choosing ONE focus per day helps, and that focus varies with deadlines and such. I might work on my newsletter, write reviews, or make pins on Canva (where I definitely can fall down the rabbit hole…). But when these tasks are not creeping into my writing/craft time, I actually enjoy them!

After the writing and author work, I scheduled some reading time. Yes, I said “scheduled reading” – because it’s important to me, and my routine should reflect that. I might read a new pile of picture books, some poetry, or a beautifully crafted chapter book. My children get home around 2:30, so scheduling my reading to coincide with that allows me to model my commitment to reading AND encourages them to join me with their own books. Win-win!

And finally, we all have many more roles and responsibilities other than writer/author/reader. I might have an appointment, get called to substitute teach, or have a sick child. And even on a perfectly organized work day, it is my role as Mom that is most important to me, and that one requires most of my attention once my kids are home. At that point, I tuck the work away and promise to return to it tomorrow, just like I would if I were leaving the classroom or office.

Schedules work best when they are flexible structures. After an inspirational virtual webinar with Bethany Hegedus at the Writing Barn, where she talked about setting goals for each quarter of the year, I realized that maybe schedules could also be seasonal structures. I decided to call this a WINTER work schedule, and I already felt a lot less pressure to make it perfect. It may change when spring arrives, and then change again to fit the cadence of my summer days. But it suits me right now. It makes me feel full and warm – because I am making space for what matters to me, day in and day out, as this new year begins.

And…it is an acronym!! Because, after all, I’m forever-at-heart a primary school teacher!

A WARM Winter Work Schedule:

Writer
Author
Reader
Mom (*etc.)

No time slots. No word counts. No pressure. These are simply the daily roles I want to spend time on, and in this order.

What kind of an overarching structure works for YOU? What does your “winter writing season” look like? I hope it is warm and wonderful and full of whatever you need…right now.

Megan Litwin is a children's book author and regular contributor for 24 Carrot Writing. Her debut picture book TWINKLE, TWINKLE, WINTER NIGHT, illustrated by Nneka Myers (Clarion Books) will hit the shelves October 2022. To learn more about Megan visit her at www.meganlitwinbooks.com/.

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Announcing Book Pick Summer!

6/28/2021

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There is nothing more decadent than a summertime read.

As I kid, I loved the freedom from textbooks and school assigned reading when I could browse a bookshelf and select whatever caught my fancy. We all have favorite spots to read but, in the vacation laced days of summer, I especially loved flipping the pages with smore sticky fingers by the shadowy light of a camp lantern or diving into the pages with my toes in beach sand and waves for an audience. With these gleeful moments in mind, 24 Carrot Writing is embarking on Book Pick Summer!

Every month, we’ll be posting some of our favorite books in the Book Pick section of our website. Join us for Book Pick Summer and add your own favorite reads to our Facebook page.

Happy Reading!

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Giving a Voice to the Land in Narrative Nonfiction

8/24/2020

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By Ashley Benham Yazdani

In most picture books the characters that we write about are humans, or animals, or at least some kind of organism. But what if you want to tell the story of a place? When writing my nonfiction book, A Green Place to Be: The Creation of Central Park, I sought to tell the story of one of America’s beloved landscapes and its two designers, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux.

My own interest in Central Park began long ago, and was initially driven by curiosity about its creators. When I learned that there was truly nothing natural about the seemingly nature-made landscape of the park, I absolutely had to learn who had made it, how, and why. Olmsted and Vaux’s environmental and social motives were deeply inspiring to me, and I desperately wanted to tell their story. But as I researched and wrote, I discovered new questions. How did the land get to the state where it needed such healing? Who was there before it was a park? How did the land transform into a park, and (I still wonder) how does it compare to how it was before it was occupied by white people? After researching the answers to these and other questions, I found the land emerging as a third character in my writing.

Giving a voice to the land is something that has long interested me, and the need to do so now feels more urgent than ever. Our planet has existed long before us, and will continue to go on long after we are gone, but what state do we want to leave it in, really? The Earth is at a tipping point because of our lifestyles, and every word, every action, every book we make on its behalf matters in the fight for a healthier planet. So when I approached my work on Central Park, I felt a real sense of urgency. Olmsted and Vaux sought to preserve the land, bringing it closer to its natural state and healing decades of harm through careful engineering. The end result of their work is a landscape that has flourished, drawing in both wild creatures and humans alike with the magnetic serenity of a natural landscape in perfect alignment with the qualities of its native climate. Theirs is a story that could be recreated almost anywhere today with a bit of work.

Unfortunately, we humans seem to have a hard time empathizing with things that don’t look like us, especially landscapes, which have no apparent consciousness. So how do we craft a written portrait of a landscape that makes the reader care? In the case of my book, the success of the landscape was tied with the success of my two other main characters, and I reasoned that if the reader was invested in them, then they would care about the fate of the land as well. Painting a picture of the land through the eyes of humans is just one way to go about it, but you could do the same thing with animals or other organisms, or you could directly give the land a voice and have it speak for itself. These are only a handful of the possible approaches to this, and connecting with the land you are writing for will provide deeper inspiration.

You might want to do some character development exploration work when writing for the land. Here are a few of the questions I asked myself when writing for Central Park:

•What is the current state of the land?
•What is the land’s history? Especially consider its history before vs. after white people were there, or even before indigenous people arrived.
•Has the landscape experienced any major changes, or were they gradual?
•Who directly made it the way it is today? What can you learn about them? What was their motivation?
•Who were the land’s first caretakers? Present caretakers? How do the two differ in ideals or goals?
•Was there ever any controversy regarding the land? Did anybody ever damage or exploit it? If so, has the land healed, or does it still need help?
•What effect, if any, can you have on the land today? Is there a localized cause that needs attention there?

The Ramble in progress.

The Earth does speak to us, if we listen carefully enough. It may be slow and quiet, with a pulse that beats at a seasonal pace rather than a human one, but all land does have stories to tell. These are discovered by geologists, archaeologists, historians, and regular unscientific people who simply pay attention to the patterns of nature. Children are particularly wonderful observers in this way. By telling these stories to children (and to the adults that read to them), we can help others to cultivate empathy for the most essential character in all of our lives: the Earth.

Bio: Ashley Yazdani is a picture book author/illustrator, reader, and nature lover. She received her MFA from the Illustration Practice Program at the Maryland Institute College of Art, and her BFA in Illustration from California College of the Arts. She has taught illustration courses at the Maryland Institute College of Art, and Towson University. Her debut book, A Green Place to Be, is currently available from Candlewick Press and can be found at your local bookstore. Her tools of the trade are watercolors, colored pencils, and Photoshop, but she also enjoys embroidery, block printing, and screen printing. When not pushing pigment or pixels around, Ashley can be found reading, sewing, or running around in the great outdoors. She lives in Minneapolis with her husband and son.

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The Soaring 20's Picture Book Illustrators Talk Shop

8/19/2020

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Illustrators from The Soaring 20's PB debut group have joined us to celebrate The 24 Carrot Writing Illustrator Bonanza! This tenacious and talented group has spent 2020 launching debut books in the midst of a pandemic!

They share how the use art to capture just the right mood and tone in a story, how they hone their craft, and what keeps their skills fresh.

Welcome to the Illustrators of The Soaring 20's!

Let's start at the beginning of the illustration process. When you first receive a manuscript to illustrate or you complete your own manuscript, what is the first thing you do?

Panic. My Illustration process is pure panic.

All kidding aside, this is something I wondered about as well prior to starting on Cow Boy is not a Cowboy. Are there rules? Am I doing this right? Am I doing this wrong?

Words & Layout
My background is in graphic design and I tackled my book with design first. It’s all about the text. What are my page breaks and how does the text flow through the book. Should this page breathe. Where’s the pull and pause based on placement. How does it break on a page?

This in turn affects the illustration layouts on how to best compliment the story. Should this be a two-page spread, spot illustrations, or even comic panels? What fonts (or font style/point size) are we using? Solutions are different for every book as the answers come from the manuscript, characters, and page count.

For layout and typography I used Adobe Indesign and then added my sketches (scanned pencil with Photoshop refinement) creating the sketch dummy for HarperCollins.

Painting
When the sketch dummy was approved. It was time to once again panic paint. I painted digitally mainly because it allowed for many, many, many, more mistakes.

And there were many.

I started first by painting page one, then two, then three (do you notice the pattern). For me, this was a mistake. I had to back up and think stylistically how I wanted this to look with color, I needed to define my color palettes, and I had to pick (and stick) with a set of digital brushes for the book prior to painting the book.

I ended up creating four digital palettes. One each for Goat Girl and Merle, one for the backgrounds, and another for supporting characters. My Photoshop document was set-up as spreads (20”x10" + bleed) in folders with sub-folders for individual pages/panels/spots. While my document was actual size, I worked at a higher than needed resolution for layout flexibility/adjustments. I also had a template layer showing my text placement for each page as I painted.

Instead of painting a complete single page, I jumped through the pages by blocking in color first for Merle, then Goat Girl, then backgrounds/other characters. This allowed me to stay focused especially early one with character finishes - Ideally I would have done full character/environment studies prior to painting

- Greg Barrington is the author/illustrator of COW BOY IS NOT A COWBOY (HarperCollins, October 20, 2020)

Is it easier or harder to illustrate someone else’s story, versus a story you’ve written yourself?

Personally, I love doing both. Illustrating someone else’s story can be a lot of fun! It is an opportunity to tell someone else’s story visually, a story I didn’t, and couldn’t write myself. When illustrating someone else’s story, I’m generally not as emotionally attached as I would with my own stories, so it is easier to be objective when problem-solving and making critical decisions. It is an amazing feeling when the author loves what you created too. Though when illustrating someone else’s story, it is very much a collaboration. We illustrators have to respect the author’s opinions as much as our own. If a disagreement arises, it is part of our jobs as illustrators, with the help of our art directors and editors, to come up with options and eventually reach a decision all parties are happy with.

As for illustrating my own story, the biggest pro is the freedom to illustrate whatever I want, which, unfortunately, is also a con. When you have the ultimate freedom to create anything you desire, in any style you want, with any medium you like, it can become overwhelming. With all the choices and possibilities, it’s too easy to get stuck, unable to make a decision. Thumbnailing (small rough sketches) while revising really helps my writing process too, by being both the author and illustrator, it is easier to achieve the right balance on how much of the story is read through the text and how much of it is shown in the illustrations. Another con about illustrating your own

story is that you care so much about this story you’ll want everything to be perfect, thinking that everything in this story os a reflection of your taste and ability - but the problem is perfectionism kills creativity. Small breaks and critique groups can help during those moments of self-doubt. Though the reward of publishing my very own story makes it all worth it!

- Isabella Kung is the author/illustrator of No Fuzzball! (Orchard Books, August 4, 2020)

I enjoyed illustrating Tom Lichtenheld’s manuscript as much as my own, albeit for different reasons. At first reading I was not yet emotionally tied to the LOUIS manuscript, so getting to know a character through text, then through developing his look, and finally watching him “perform” in the scenes was a marvelous journey. In the end I became very fond of the whole family, including the pets! While I relied on Lichtenheld’s text to ignite my imagination, illustrating my own text required another kind of discipline.

For my A/I debut I began with a character I had already developed visually but without a story. I could “see” Jack, but the other animals in I’M A HARE, SO THERE!, and the desert environment, unfolded in my imagination while writing. Fun, but kind of intimidating! Every element is my choice and my responsibility. I struggled with balancing actual aspects of the Sonoran desert within a looser illustration style and perhaps more saturated in color than a photo-realistic interpretation. Call me crazy, but I believe the spirit of a friend helped me figure it out and I am elated with the results!

- Julie Rowan-Zoch is the illustrator of LOUIS (HMH Books for Young Readers, October 6, 2020) and the author/illustrator of I'M A HARE, SO THERE! (HMH Books for Young Readers, March 16, 2021)

What does the revision process look like for an illustrator?

It's not likely that once an illustrator completes their picture book dummy that all the images they've carefully crafted will make it to the final version of the published book. Editors, art directors, and designers will be helping to make the most visually appealing version of your story, and there will very likely be revisions. When illustrating a 4-book series for Clyde the Hippo, I had a number of revisions that I needed to address.

Some revisions are small and require a slight change in layout. Perhaps your image is a full bleed and it needs to be changed to a spot illustration, or vice versa. The type of revisions that require simply moving elements around the page to make more room for text are the easiest to do, especially if you are working digitally. Some revisions require a complete redraw. If your composition isn't strong enough or the sequence of images in the book require you to change the composition so it's more unique and not repetitive, then you'll likely have to adjust an image so that all of the other images work together seamlessly. In the end, each illustration should engage the reader to turn the page further into the story.

-Larrisa Marantz is the illustrator of the CLYDE THE HIPPO series (Penguin Workshop, 2020) .

When you are not working on an assignment, what do you do to grow your craft/art?

As an author-illustrator, I always find lots of opportunities to learn and to develop my craft (both for writing and illustrating), but a few things stand out.

Study current picture books
I read a lot of recent picture books. When a particular book or illustration really catches my eye, I stop and study it in a very intentional and analytical way. What exactly is working about the story or the art or the design? Is there an element that I could incorporate into my own stories or illustrations? What would that look like?

Participate in Illustration Challenges
I like illustration challenges such as SCBWI Draw This (a monthly prompt) or #colour_collective (a weekly prompt) where you post your art on a regular deadline because it provides a low-stakes way for me to experiment in my art. I think about an element I want to work on—perhaps a color palette or a camera angle that I’ve never done before.

And I work that element into the current illustration challenge prompt to create a new piece. Illustration challenges are helpful because they provide both a deadline as well as community support from others participating in that prompt.

Watch webinars
I have probably learned the most about the craft of writing/illustrating picture books from webinars—particularly the ones offered by StorytellerAcademy.com and from regional SCBWI chapters. I’ve had the opportunity to learn from top-notch authors/illustrators, art directors, editors, and agents all from the comfort of my own home and for a relatively low cost. I find they often give me the confidence and/or inspiration to go just a little bit outside my comfort zone and try out new story structures, formats or techniques.

- Abi Cushman is the author/illustrator of SOAKED (Viking Books for Young Readers, July 14, 2020)

To learn more about The Soaring 20's Picture Book group please visit them here.

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From the Illustrator's Perspective - An Interview with Qing Zhuang

8/5/2020

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Guest interview of illustrator Qing Zhuang

Often there is a cloak of mystery surrounding the relationship between an author and an illustrator. When illustrator Qing Zhuang signed on to illustrate How Long Is Forever?, I did what every good author is instructed to do. I sat down and zipped my lip. The idea, and it is a smart one, is to allow the illustrator freedom within their creative process without being hampered or interrupted by the pesky author.

It was hard. And I was grateful when the editor sent me sketches and asked for my feedback. But I wonder, what did that process feel like from Qing’s perspective? Let’s ask.

Qing, I’m so happy that you are joining us at 24 Carrot Writing as we celebrate our Annual Illustrator’s Month. Can you tell us a little about your journey to becoming an illustrator?

Sure! I studied illustration in college and spent many years afterwards trying to improve my work. I went to SCWBI conferences making incremental progress. I had a lot of growing to do, personally, practically and artistically. So even though I had some good foundational skills and recognition from teachers in my school years, my work was all over the place. It took a long time to figure things out when I graduated. Meanwhile, all my talented friends were getting cool art jobs, awards, reasonable income, name recognition and not horrible dates! Dang! Sometimes I’d cry on the bus after getting yelled at by some grumpy and condescending customer at my retail job. This is not what I’d imagined when I won the children’s version of the Ezra Jack Keats bookmaking contest in 6th grade and decided I was going to become a great writer-illustrator! Alas, I marched on in my tortoise pace.

Eventually my work improved and I tightened up my portfolio by taking out work that didn’t fit and focusing on a singular style as best as I could. The road here was not super glamorous and not without doubters so it takes a lot of conviction within myself that this is what I must accomplish in this lifetime. I took my portfolio to the NJ SCBWI conference and met Karen Boss our Charlesbridge editor there. The rest is history!

A few months after Charlesbridge bought How Long Is Forever?, I received an email from editor Karen Boss letting me know the Art Department had identified three potential illustrators for the book. I went into major cyber stalk mode. All three were fantastic, but the drawings on your website had me convinced that you were the best pick. Did you know I wrote a four page email back with pics from your website as proof? How did you first hear of the project? And what made you sign on?

I wish I could read why you liked my work best out of the three! The competition is SO fierce! I signed on because of how simple but deep it is. This is a story that can be as sweet or thought provoking as you want it to be. I just remember gazing up at the sky as a child getting lost pondering the nature of time and forever-ness.

“How Long is Forever?” Can spur such a philosophical discussion with young ones but it can also be about the down to earth experiences of familial love and the creature comforts we share with the people we love.

It can be about losing a grandparent. When I showed the manuscript to my now husband, he started tearing up. He said it reminded him of his own grandfather who used to make him Chinese pancakes and that was his favorite memory that he will keep forever of this person whom he loved so much. I knew that this story can potentially mean something special to each reader so I was excited to be a part of it!

Qing, I'll send you that email. But for the readers here, I'll share a few of the illustrations Qing had on her web site that made me fall in love with her talent! Here is a reason number one on why illustrates should set up a website, make it easy to find, and populate it with your work!

This drawing showed that Qing could capture the heart of a connection between generations. There is so much love in this illustration! And the grandma is cooking!

This illustration was joyfully full of wonderful green color and captured the rolling hills I hoped would surround the farm in How Long Is Forever.

This illustration made me fall in love with Qing's faces. Those big round heads and round rosie cheeks. These were lovable squishable characters!

What was the first thing you did when you received the manuscript to illustrate? What was your process?

I made many thumbnail sketches, researched reference photos and did character designs. I based the farm on the Queens County Farm as well as the farm at Manhattan Country School, where I teach. They have a fantastic farm program and children make wonderful memories at its farm in the Catskills every year.

One of the exciting things about working on this project is the opportunity to try to honor the joy of spending time in the farm and in nature. In this age where many children spend hours doing virtual farming and building in a video game I think it’s really special to have a book that explores just running free and asking questions and investigating out in the world.

But as a city girl who also spends too much time online, I needed to do a lot of research on things like tree species and tractors and which way a weathervane blows (the arrow points against the source of the wind). It took many tries to get it right. This could be said about every stage from beginning to end. Sometimes the illustrations didn’t fit the layout or just something was off with the pacing and I had to scrap it and do it over! I am so grateful to have the patience of the editors because the book really improved from every version.

My manuscript did not have illustration notes and aside from the editor asking me for “minimal” feedback on your illustrations, we didn’t connect until after the book was sent to print. I might have sent you a quick “you’re doing great, keep it up” pep talk email but I wonder what direction you got from Karen Boss and/or the Charlesbridge Art Department.

There were many discussions about the layout of the story because ultimately the words and their legibility are paramount. So depending on where they decided to put the text the whole composition and even perspective of the scene had to change. There were also discussions about the type of tree that would be in the book.

The character designs also took a couple of tries. I made many different potential Masons and the editors picked the one we know and love pretty easily. But I had to redo all my designs of grandma and grandpa because they looked too old fashioned. Somewhere in me I am still pouting that I wasn’t able to do the sweet and chubby grandparents in my initial sketches because it’s kind of my nature to be sappy and nostalgic. However, I’m also glad I was challenged to make more contemporary looking grandparents, especially with our very hip and artsy grandma design who I based off of my college art professor. I also tried to make grandpa kind of cool looking so I ditched the overalls and gave him a jean jacket and nice shoes. Someone said he looks like Ernest Hemingway. My friends make up stories about how they met as young artsy hippies and decided to retire at a farm where the grandma makes pottery and takes photos of pastoral landscapes.

Anyway, many changes were made at all stages of the book. Anytime anything changes it affects the whole book. For example, there were these cute bird feeders hanging on the house porch but they were blocking the text, so I had to edit them out of all the pages. Another example is the editors wanted me to depict teeth. Stylistically, I rarely drew teeth so at the last minute I had to photoshop in the teeth of all the characters. Haha! Now you know how the sausage is made.

It is important for all children to be able to recognize themselves in the books they read. The manuscript never offered a physical description of the character and you smartly took the opportunity to present Mason with darker skin and his grandparents with light skin. Can you talk about that decision?

I just want different types of families to be portrayed because whatever we see in the media gets legitimized and embraced. It’s wonderful now to see so many books and other kinds of media beginning to embrace a diversity of experiences. In the school I work at, there are so many students who are adopted, from a mixed or blended family, or simply don’t look like their caretakers for some other reason. I also have friends and professors and colleagues who are in such families. I am excited that a sweet book about love and timelessness can reflect them too. I mean why not? Teachers and parents now are so good at discussing questions about different families if they do come up. For my character designs of Mason, I featured many different looks, actually referencing some children I know. It’s just how I work, I don’t like to just make stuff up, I tend to care about it more if it is based on things and people I know in real life.

You recently signed with an agent! Congratulations! How did that happen? And how is it changing how you are working? What are you working on now?
Thank you! For the past couple of years different literary agents have reached out to me even before I had a real dummy ready to present to them. I knew that getting an agent is a long term commitment and didn’t want to rush and find someone I don’t feel right with. So I worked on How Long is Forever? and didn’t think too much about representation because I wanted to focus on my debut book!

After the book was sent off to the printers, I started to read some interviews of the different agents I had been acquainted with but they didn’t seem to fit. At a portfolio review, the reviewer suggested that I query Wendi Gu of Sanford Greenburger Associates, so I wrote her name down and read her online interviews. Those interviews resonated with me. Then I saw her speak at a virtual panel and found her to be very professional and warm. I still felt like I wasn’t ready to reach out because I am a chicken. Then an editor at Holiday House who I had met a year ago emailed me asking me if I have finally written a story for them. I had a dummy in progress about grocery shopping with my mom which I sent anyway to see if there would be any feedback. To my surprise they enjoyed it and offered a deal! I really wanted an agent to help me negotiate this time so I reached out to Wendi and fortunately she replied right away! We had a few Zoom meetings and now I can feel very glamorous and tell people to contact my agent if they want to work with me!

Qing Zhuang is an illustrator and elementary educator based in New York City. She holds a BFA in Illustration from Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, and a MA in teaching from School of Visual Arts, New York. How Long Is Forever? is her debut as an illustrator. She is represented by Wendi Gu of Sanford Greenburger Associates. Qing's debut as both author and illustrator, Rainbow Shopping will launch from Holiday House in the summer of 2022. To learn more about Qing, visit her website at www.qingthings.com.

To purchase a copy of How Long Is Forever? click here.

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National Reading Month Favorite Books Sampler (Part 2)

3/16/2020

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by Kelly Carey

In honor of National Reading Month, 24 Carrot Writing is celebrating by sharing a few of our recent favorite reads.

When social distancing and quarantine orders have us searching for home bound activities, books offer up friends, adventure, and escape. This might be the perfect time to open a book. Let me suggest a few fun places you can run away to without leaving your house!

HOME IN THE WOODS uses gently lyrical language and stunning artwork to teach the stark realities of poverty during the Great Depression. It is a book about hope and persistence in the face of difficulty. Perhaps it can act as a road-map for how to move forward in the current environment.

In picture books also look for Trevor by Jim Averbeck and illustrated by Amy Heveron, Hum & Swish by Matt Meyers, and What Miss Mitchell Saw by Hayley Barret and illustrated by Diana Sudyka.

VERNON IS ON HIS WAY by Philip C. Stead offers the whimsical humor and soul filling simplicity of a silly frog exploring his surroundings and learning how to be a friend. Vernon is a celebration of everyday items and easy problems. Told in three short stories this book is a great mentor text if you’re ready to write a chapter book or if your young reader is ready to tackle a longer solo read.

In chapter books also look for Frank & Bean by Jamie Michalak and illustrated by Bob Kolar.

In THE REMARKABLE JOURNEY OF COYOTE SUNRISE by Dan Gemeinhart, Coyote and her dad Rodeo have suffered a BIG loss and Rodeo has decided the best way to heal is to travel forward on a converted school bus. As they encounter fellow travelers, Coyote starts to wonder if they really are healing and if maybe their aimless wandering needs a destination. You’ll be cheering for quirky Coyote Sunrise and her journey is truly remarkable!

In middle grade books also look for The Benefits of Being an Octopus by Ann Braden and The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl by Stacy McAnulty.

WITH THE FIRE ON HIGH by Elizabeth Acevedo offers plenty of spice in the form of main character Emoni Santiago who has a love for food and a knack for creating culinary excellence. But Emoni has lost her mother, her father is absent and she is navigating her senior year of high school while caring for her daughter. You’ll want to help Emoni, cry for Emoni and be Emoni – or at the very least eat her food!

In young adult also look for The Book of Dust by Philip Pullman and Geek Girl by Holly Smale.

Feel free to add your favorite fresh reads in the comments!

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A Holiday Picture Book Sampler

12/10/2019

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by Annie Cronin Romano

The holiday season has arrived. When my children were young, one of our favorite activities to do was cuddling on the couch reading holiday picture books. Sometimes there were old favorites; other times they were the latest arrivals at our local library or bookshop. This post is a mix of holiday classics and newer arrivals to the shelves. Hopefully you'll find a few titles to add to your "must read" list (links are included with the cover images). Please share your favorite holiday picture books in the comments!

SANTA MOUSE, by Michael Brown, illustrated by Edfrieda DeWitt
MR. WILLOWBY'S CHRISTMAS TREE, by Robert E. Barry
PICK A PINE TREE, by Patricia Toht, illustrated by Jarvis
RED AND LULU, by Matt Tavares
CHRISTMAS FARM, by Mary Lyn Ray, illustrated by Barry Root
OSKAR AND THE EIGHT BLESSINGS, by Richard Simon & Tanya Simon, illustrated by Mark Siegel
THE TREE THAT'S MEANT TO BE, by Yuval Zommer
HANUKKAH BEAR, by Eric A Kimmel, illustrated by Mike Wohnoutka
OLIVE, THE OTHER REINDEER, by J. Otto Seibold and Vivian Walsh
SEVEN SPOOLS OF THREAD: A KWANZAA STORY, by Angela Shelf Medearis, illustrated by Daniel Minter
DASHER, by Matt Tavares
THE TREES OF THE DANCING GOATS, by Patricia Polacco

Happy Holidays from all of us at 24 Carrot Writing!

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A SPOOKTACULAR KIDLIT BOOKS SAMPLER

10/21/2019

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By Annie Cronin Romano
October is well under way with leaves of amber and crimson, cool, crisp evenings, apple cider, winding corn mazes, and, of course, Halloween! Whether it’s carving pumpkins or choosing what costume to wear trick or treating, most families have traditions they enjoy throughout the fall season. As you embrace Halloween preparations, don’t forget to visit your library or bookstore to snag a few Halloween and seasonal books, and add some new favorite reads to your October rituals. This list contains just a sampling of the entertaining spooky and autumn-themed kidlit books to be discovered. Included are both older classics and newer releases. Most I have read and enjoyed myself. A few were suggested by other avid readers. Pick one or all of them, and dive into these stories of pumpkins, scarecrows, and things that go “Boo!” in the night!

PICTURE BOOKS
MR. PUMPKIN’S TEA PARTY by Erin Barker
ROOM ON THE BROOM by Julia Donaldson, Illustrated by Axel Scheffler
THE SCARECROW by Beth Ferry, Illustrated by the Fan Brothers
LOS GATOS BLACK ON HALLOWEEN! by Marisa Montes, Illustrated by Yuyi Morales
SAMURAI SCARECROW: A VERY NINJA HALLOWEEN by Rubin Pingk
OAK LEAF by John Sandford
BIG PUMPKIN by Erica Silverman, Illustrated by S.D. Schindler
THE LITTLE OLD LADY WHO WAS NOT AFRAID OF ANYTHING by Linda Williams, illustrated by Megan Lloyd

MIDDLE GRADE
THE NIGHT GARDENER by Jonathan Auxier
THE JUMBIES by Tracey Baptiste
WATCH HOLLOW by Gregory Funaro
THE GRAVEYARD BOOK by Neil Gaiman
TOOK: A GHOST STORY by Mary Downing Hahn
SCARY STORIES FOR YOUNG FOXES by Christian McKay Heidicker
GHOST: THIRTEEN HAUNTING TALES TO TELL, a collection by Illustratus

And a few YOUNG ADULT…
MARY’S MONSTER: LOVE, MADNESS, AND HOW MARY SHELLEY CREATED FRANKENSTEIN by Lita Judge
MISS PEREGRINE’S HOME FOR PECULIAR CHILDREN by Ransom Riggs
PUMPKIN HEADS: A GRAPHIC NOVEL by Rainbow Rowell, Illustrated by Faith Erin Hicks

Please share some of your favorite kidlit Halloween/fall season books in the comments.
And HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

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On Being Your Own Audience

9/23/2019

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~Guest blog by Angela Burke Kunkel

When you think of a picture book being read, what--- or more precisely, who--- do you see? A child snug on the lap of a beloved parent or grandparent? A teacher, perched on the edge of a tiny classroom chair, reading aloud to a rapt class seated criss-cross-applesauce on the rug? A toddler, alone in their room during quiet time, studiously turning the pages and reciting a favorite book from memory?

Or is the audience . . . you?

Sometimes, in our journey to become writers, we study so much advice and so many mentor texts and blog posts and craft books that we lose sight of our own voice, our own relationship with books, our own relationship with words.

We write for children, after all, many of us in a particular genre or format. Picture books present their own unique set of challenges, with the industry standard of 32 pages and that ever-fluctuating “sweet spot” for word count. And, of course, you have other considerations: room for the illustrator. The child. The reader. It can be enough to crowd out why you’re doing this in the first place.

And, selfishly, it is okay if that’s you.

Allow me to back up for a moment: In my daily professional life, I work as a teacher-librarian in a school that serves grades seven through twelve. My entire career, I’ve only worked with tweens and teens--- never with elementary or preschool-aged children (and, may I just say, bless those early childhood and elementary educators). When social conversations wind their way round to writing, teens and even other adults often express surprise that I don’t write YA. After all, that’s who I interact with on a daily basis. And there is incredible work for young adults out there. I love reading it and talking about it, especially with young people.

But it isn’t what my brain reaches for right now, emotionally or structurally, in terms of my own writing. As someone who wanted to write novels for a very long time--- and never, ever finished a complete draft--- I found myself circling back to picture books. As I rediscovered them through my own young children, and through using them in classroom instruction with middle and high schoolers, I realized I also enjoyed them for my own aesthetic reasons. I loved how wordless titles felt like a silent movie unfolding. I loved the deceptive simplicity of clever refrains or circular structures. I loved the lyrical language and pacing of others, as metaphorical and gorgeous as any Mary Oliver poem. And yes, I’d read them with a child snuggled on my lap, or to a classroom of students (albeit at tables, not criss-cross-applesauce), but the aesthetic experience was a personal response for me. And eventually, I found myself reading them . . . by myself. When I had the itch to write after many years away from it, I allowed myself to consider the possibility of picture books.

As Ann Whitford Paul notes in Writing Picture Books, picture book form is unique because they are books written for people who cannot yet read, “usually read by an adult reader to a nonreader . . . The pictures are there to entice the nonreader to listen and also help construct meaning from the words.” And she’s right, but I also think as writers we can expand our vision beyond that, while still respecting it. After all, aren’t all good stories, regardless of form, about the experience of constructing meaning?

While it’s important to write with your primary audience in mind, remember that you can also have multiple audiences. I’d encourage aspiring writers to not only focus on how children might experience their book, but teens and adults as well. There are so many books I have used or want to use at the high school level--- from Faith Ringgold’s Tar Beach to Yuyi Morales’s Dreamers. Seeing teens, often stereotyped as cynical or disaffected, engaged in a picture book with the same wide-eyed wonder as a kindergartener reminds me that these stories serve a purpose for everyone. We just need to allow for that possibility.

So my challenge to you is this--- when you’re writing, and especially during those free writes and first drafts--- allow yourself to let go of that image of the lapsit reader or the elementary classroom. Disregard that editor voice in your brain that questions things like appropriateness and marketability and Lexile level. And, just for a little while, allow yourself to play. Swim around in words that make you feel like you’re engaging in a beautiful piece of language that isn’t cataloged “E” because it’s Easy. It’s “E” because it’s for everyone. And maybe, in that space of openness and play, you just might surprise yourself (and ultimately, your reader) with something beautiful.

Bio:
Angela Burke Kunkel's debut picture book, DIGGING FOR WORDS: JOSÉ ALBERTO GUTIÉRREZ AND THE LIBRARY HE BUILT (illustrated by Paola Escobar and published by Random House/Schwartz & Wade) releases in Fall 2020. In addition to being an author, Angela works full time as a school librarian. She is a graduate of Simmons College in Boston, Massachusetts. Angela is represented by Liza Fleissig at the Liza Royce Agency. You can contact her here. You can also connect on Twitter and Instagram.

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Cover Reveal of TWINKLE, TWINKLE, WINTER NIGHT – plus the Six-Month Stretch!

Scheduling Time For What Matters

Announcing Book Pick Summer!

Giving a Voice to the Land in Narrative Nonfiction

The Soaring 20's Picture Book Illustrators Talk Shop

From the Illustrator's Perspective - An Interview with Qing Zhuang

National Reading Month Favorite Books Sampler (Part 2)

A Holiday Picture Book Sampler

A SPOOKTACULAR KIDLIT BOOKS SAMPLER

On Being Your Own Audience

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