THIS SITE HAS MOVED. Inkygirl posts are now part of DebbieOhi.com.
====
Debbie Ridpath Ohi reads, writes and illustrates for young people. Every once in a while she shares new art, writing and reading resources; subscribe below. Browse the archives here.
I tweet about the craft and business of writing and illustrating at @inkyelbows. If you're interested in my art or other projects, please do visit DebbieOhi.com. Thanks for visiting! -- Debbie Ridpath Ohi
The quandary: You want to support someone's new book and as much as you'd like to buy it, you can't. Perhaps you can't justify the cost of the new book right now. Perhaps your author friend is prolific and has multiple books coming out, and you can't afford to get them all. Perhaps you have so many author and illustrator friends that if you tried to buy all their books, you'd need to sell your car first. Or your house.
FAMILIES, FAMILIES, FAMILIES! by Suzanne Lang and Max Lang is a wonderful celebration of family love, no matter what the size or type. Adorable and goofy family portraits included nontraditional as well as traditional families. Published by Random House Children's Books this year.
Suzanne produces, develops and writes for children's television. Max codirected the film adaptation of The Gruffalo (!) as well as the Oscar-nominated adaptation of Room On The Broom.
Excerpt from a School Library Journal review: "The loud-and-clear message is that “if you love each other, then you are a family.” And imagine the many children who will be reassured because they have found a portrait of a family they will recognize as their own. A solid choice for most libraries."
One of my favourite recent reads is THE BLACKTHORN KEY, a debut novel from Kevin Sands, coming out from Aladdin/Simon & Schuster this September. Wow. Really, REALLY loved this.
When people ask me for recommendations for good, new middle grade novels, I will not hesitate to list this book. It's a quick/easy read with suspense, humor, action and moving moments. Love the character relationships. PLUS there are secret codes, apothecaries and explosions. What's not to love?
Thanks so much to Simon & Schuster Canada for the advance reader's copy.
Donna Gephartis a professional nerd. She's written five novels filled with humor and heart for Penguin Random House, including How to Survive Middle School, Death by Toilet Paper and Olivia Bean, Trivia Queen. She's also written some compelling grocery lists and award-winning Post-it notes to her dogs. For free activity/reading guides, lots of fun info and a singing hamster video, visit DonnaGephart.com. "I'm a big fan of teachers and librarians; let's connect @Dgephartwrites or via carrier pigeon -- whichever is more convenient and poops less."
I first met Donna when she wrote for me at Inklings, my email newsletter for writers back in the early days of the Web. As I prepped her Three Questions interview, I looked back through some of my old archives and found a "Writing Funny For Money" piece she did for me back in 1998(!).
When the good toilet paper is replaced by cheap, scratchy stuff, Benjamin Epstein realizes his hard-working mom is in deep financial trouble. Ben will do anything (entering contests, selling candy bars, etc.) to help his mom pay the rent and keep a promise he made to his late father. (Toilet and toilet paper trivia head each chapter.) Nominated for Pennsylvania, Maine and Rhode Island state reading lists and winner of the Sydney Taylor Honor Award.
1. Could you please take a photo of something in your office and tell us the story behind it?
My friend's daughter creates sculptures of each of my book's characters. Hammy the Hamster from How to Survive Middle School w/his microphone to the right. And Vanessa Rothrock from As If Being 12-3/4 Isn't Bad Enough, My Mother Is Running for President on the left. You might notice Vanessa has no pants (nor legs).
They melted on the cookie sheet in my friend's oven because her daughter ran out of clay and used a cheap substitute for the legs. We now refer to her as Vanessa Meltypants.
Our one dog keeps me company every day while I write, while the other dog guards the front window by barking at dangers, such as the UPS delivery person, babies being pushed in strollers and the bunny who sometimes hangs out on our lawn. (Our window blinds will never be the same.)
2. What advice do you have for young writers?
There's some advice on my site from industry professionals and resources for young (and young at heart) writers:
Everyone says: "Write what you know." But I think if you write only what you know, it would be boring. Write what you'd like to know. I purposely create ideas for my novels that require me to research and learn new things. Did you know there are 516,000 bacteria in every square inch of armpit? Your brain weighs about three pounds? And the first stall in a public bathroom is the least used and therefore the cleanest? (You're welcome for that last one.)
Write the emotional truth of what you know. Do you know what it's like to feel lonely, scared, left out, overjoyed? Write about those feelings!
You may not believe this, but the bliss in writing is in the actual writing -- in losing oneself completely in the process of creating something that didn't exist before -- not in the outside rewards one might get from being published, winning an award, etc. Although those things are nice, too. Let everything else go and write with great joy . . . and a pen. A pen definitely helps.
3. What are you excited about right now?
I'm excited to have a wonderful year of school visits, Skype visits and book festivals behind me and a long, lovely summer ahead to daydream, fill up on books and play outside with friends, family and our dogs.
Timothy Young has been an animator, puppet maker, toy designer, sculptor, art director and graphic designer. He’s designed for Pee-Wee’s Playhouse, the Muppets, Disney, and Universal Studios. Tim is the author/illustrator of 5 picture books with a sixth out this fall, Do Not Open The Box. He lives in Easton, Maryland.
“Look at the funny little penguin” and “What a silly-looking penguin!” Puffin is upset that he’s constantly mistaken for a penguin. He reaches the last straw and rants about the differences between penguins and puffins until a girl comes along who explains why puffins are her favorite. Just when you are feeling alone and mis-understood, sometimes it only takes the understanding of one small person to turn things around.
1. Could you please take a photo of something in your office and tell us the story behind it?
Ok, so I sent a series of photos to put my answer in context. As you can see, I have a lot of “somethings” in my office. I have books, toys, animation models, all kinds of stuff.
Some of them are things I’ve designed or sculpted, some of them are things I’ve collected over the years. So narrowing it down is going to be hard.
Do I choose my copy of The Lorax, signed by Dr. Seuss? Or the Simpsons dolls that I designed and whose heads I sculpted? Pretty much everything on my shelves has a story behind it. I’ll narrow it down to one special thing. This duck.
He sits on a shelf between a giant sloth and a dog. These 3 toys are the 3 toys I’ve owned the longest. I don’t know why I still have them. My parents moved a couple of times and most of my toys were thrown away. The giant sloth is the only one left from my many sets of plastic dinosaurs and prehistoric creatures. The dog is the only survivor from my huge menagerie of little plastic animals. For some reason, this duck is what I’m most fond of. He’s just a cheap little rubber duck eraser. He was probably bought for about 5¢ sometime in the mid to late 60’s. He’s got a puncture wound on his beak from an accident with a pencil. I love this duck. He’s not an identifiable character. He wasn’t from a book or TV show (as far as I know). Many of his brethren were rubbed to death, absentmindedly used to erase some mistake or other. He escaped that fate. He’s just this cool little orange duck that I’ve owned forever.
2. What advice do you have for young writers and/or illustrators?
I like to tell people that I’m an illustrator who figured out how to write. Heck, it wasn’t until after I wrote I Hate Picture Books! that I felt comfortable even saying I was an author. When I was young, I hated writing. I loved reading, I read a lot of books and I loved the pictures in picture books and I loved doing art. I found writing to be a chore. I had lots of ideas for stories but I never thought I’d be the guy to write them.
Two things changed that for me. One was the computer. I found that part of the reason I hated writing was that I could not write with a pen or pencil and get my thoughts out quickly enough or in a way that I could even think about editing. Using a computer to write, I can write very quickly and I can go back and edit easily. I didn’t get a computer until the Apple computers came out just after I graduated college. I might have gotten better grades on essays if they had been invented sooner.
The second thing that taught me that I might be able to write my books was a job I had. I was the design director for a toy company and we were creating these toys called The Meanies.
These toys were parodies of Beanie Babies. Our characters were kind of sick and twisted, like Splat the Road-Kill Kat and the one-footed Lucky the Rabbit. Since Beanie Babies came with poems, we decided to write limericks for The Meanies. Everyone in the office began writing limericks for our characters and then we had meetings to decide which ones to use. Many of mine were chosen. That made me realize that maybe I could write my book ideas.
Ok, I can’t tell that story without giving you one of my limericks.
This is the one I wrote for Heartless Bear.
“I never loved you from the start, and now I’m afraid we must part” you said with a grin as you reached right on in and yanked out my still beating heart.
So I suppose my advice is, you never know unless you try to write…and write it on a computer.
3. What are you excited about right now?
School visits! I’ve done some great school visits this year and I have six more coming up. I decided at the beginning of the year that I would give a puffin sculpture to every school I visit, in honor of the release of The Angry Little Puffin. I did a Kickstarter to raise some funds to do it. Little did I know how many I’d end up making.
When I got into writing my books I wasn’t really thinking about school author visits. Then I met some educators at various book events and started getting invitations. I’m having so much fun! The students are great, they really seem to enjoy the way I read my books, the interactive drawing demonstration I do and they ask great questions. It gives me an opportunity to travel to towns I’ve never been to before and visit school libraries and i find that talking to students sparks all kinds of ideas for new books.
#BookADay: CITY OF SAVAGES by Lee Kelly (Saga Press/Simon & Schuster, 2015). I just finished this strong debut from YA author Lee Kelly; I *loved* the focus and development of the sister relationship throughout, and the dual-narrative works really well. Add a suspenseful plot with some unexpected twists, and it's a book that would make an excellent summer read, especially for sf fans.
Synopsis: "After the Red Allies turn New York City into a POW camp, two sisters must decipher the past in order to protect the future in this action-packed thriller with a dual narrative.
It’s been nearly two decades since the Red Allies first attacked New York, and Manhattan is now a prisoner-of-war camp, ruled by Rolladin and her brutal, impulsive warlords. For Skyler Miller, Manhattan is a cage that keeps her from the world beyond the city’s borders. But for Sky’s younger sister, Phee, the POW camp is a dangerous playground of possibility, and the only home she’d ever want.
When Sky and Phee discover their mom’s hidden journal from the war’s outbreak, they both realize there’s more to Manhattan—and their mother—than either of them had ever imagined. And after a group of strangers arrives at the annual POW census, the girls begin to uncover the island’s long-kept secrets. The strangers hail from England, a country supposedly destroyed by the Red Allies, and Rolladin’s lies about Manhattan’s captivity begin to unravel.
Hungry for the truth, the sisters set a series of events in motion that end in the death of one of Rolladin’s guards. Now they’re outlaws, forced to join the strange Englishmen on an escape mission through Manhattan. Their flight takes them into subways haunted by cannibals, into the arms of a sadistic cult in the city’s Meatpacking District and, through the pages of their mom’s old journal, into the island’s dark and shocking past."
Joyce Wan designed her first greeting card when she was in first grade for a city-wide greeting card design contest. The design won first place and was subsequently sold through a major department store chain. Twenty years later that design would inspire a design studio called Wanart whose products and books featuring Joyce's art are now sold world wide.
I first met Joyce at the SCBWI Summer Convention in Los Angeles, before I got my first children's book contract, and I so appreciated how welcoming and encouraging she was when I was such a nervous newbie.
One sunny day, a little boy heads outside for a swim, but his pool is already taken. There’s a big whale in the water and it’s not budging! The boy tries everything to get the whale to leave. Nothing seems to work. Not fetch. Not tag. Not even offering his allowance. What’s a boy to do? A picture book about a boy who makes the best of an unusual situation. This colorful whale of a tale from the talented Joyce Wan is sure to inspire giggles from little guppies!
1. Could you please take a photo of something in your office and tell us the story behind it?
This is the shelf in my studio containing all the copies of my published books that I use for promotional purposes. I’m still amazed that my first book only came out in 2009. Now, 6 years later, there are 10 different books on that shelf with several more to come in the coming years. The road to getting published can be a long, hard one but once the ball gets rolling, a lot can happen in a short amount of time (I’m sure you can relate Debbie!). I feel blessed every time I look at this shelf.
2. What advice do you have for young writers and illustrators?
Keep a sketchbook or notebook with you at all times to jot down all your ideas. No ideas are too silly or simple. I did not submit my book YOU ARE MY CUPCAKE to publishers until a year after developing the concept. I kept worrying that the idea was maybe too simple. It has since gone on to sell over a couple hundred thousand copies and has turned into a whole line of board books with Scholastic. I often wonder how many wonderful ideas never see the light of day because the creators themselves didn’t give it a chance.
Another tip is to set regular, realistic deadlines for yourself. (ie: complete one drawing/painting every week or complete a rough draft of a story every month, etc.) I am a self-trained illustrator but I started my illustration career with my own greeting card business. What helped me develop a style and improve my drawing skills was I would set regular deadlines for myself (ie: 12 greeting cards every month). Not only did my drawing skills improve but I was able to make the overwhelming task of creating an entire greeting card collection seem more feasible.
I think creative people often feel overwhelmed and paralyzed by self-doubt and the emptiness of a blank page. THINK BIG, ACT SMALL, but ACT nonetheless-ONE STEP AT A TIME towards your goals.
3. What are you excited about right now?
I’m excited about wrapping up a few illustration projects including a new picture book series called PEEP & EGG by Laura Gehl and PUG MEETS PIG by Sue Gallion so that I can switch gears and get back into some of my own author/illustrator projects. The best thing about my job is that no two days are the same.
#BookADay: THIS ONE SUMMER written by Mariko Tamaki, illustrated by Jillian Tamaki (Groundwood Books/House Of Anansi, 2014). Bought this at The Beguiling Books & Art a while back after hearing it won the Governor General's Award for Children's Illustration. I found that the book perfectly captured the feeling of summer in both the text and illustration (the latter made me swoon) and there were so many "omigosh I have so felt like that" small and not-so-small moments of truth throughout.
From the publisher's synopsis:
"Rose and Windy are summer friends whose families have visited Awago Beach for as long as they can remember. But this year is different, and they soon find themselves tangled in teen love and family crisis. From the creators of Skim comes an investigation into the mysterious world of adults.
"Sure, Rose’s dad is still making cheesy and embarrassing jokes, but her mother is acting like she doesn’t even want to be there. Plus, being at the cottage isn’t just about going to the beach anymore. Now Rose and Windy are spending a lot of their time renting scary movies and spying on the teenagers who work at the corner store, as well as learning stuff about sex no one mentioned in health class.
"Pretty soon everything is messed up. Rose’s father leaves the cottage and returns to the city, and her mother becomes more and more withdrawn. While her family is falling to pieces, Rose focuses her attention on Dunc, a teenager working at the local corner store. When Jenny, Dunc’s girlfriend, claims to be pregnant, the girls realize that the teenagers are keeping just as many secrets as the adults in their lives.
"No one seems to want to talk about the things that matter. When the tension between Dunc and Jenny boils over, Jenny makes a desperate and destructive move and Rose's mother is galvanized into action. In the aftermath, nothing is completely resolved, but secrets have been aired, which means that things are at least a bit better for everyone. For Rose and Windy, the end of summer brings the realization that, while Awago Beach might always be the same, they have both been changed forever.
From Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki, creators of the multi-award-winning graphic novel Skim, comes a stunning and authentic story of friendship, illustrated with subtly heart-breaking moments and pure summer joy."
Karen Krossing wrote poetry and rants as a teen and dreamed of becoming a published writer. Today, she’s the author of seven successful novels for kids and teens, and she conducts writing workshops to empower emerging writers. Her latest is Punch Like a Girl (Orca, 2015).
I met Karen through Torkidlit and CANSCAIP, and have been a fan of her work ever since I read The Yo-Yo Prophet (Orca Books). You can read my mini-review, plus her book inspired one of my daily doodles:
I love Karen's positive outlook and her support of other children's/YA writers, especially in the Canadian publishing industry. Her Twitter feed (@karenkrossing) is one of my favourites; to authors out there looking for great examples of how to use social media, I strongly encourage you to follow Karen's feed!
You can check out Karen’s website or find her on Twitter or Facebook. To watch her book trailers, go here.
"Nobody understands why Tori has suddenly become so moody and violent. When she attacks a stranger in a store, she ends up doing community service at a shelter for victims of domestic violence. There, she bonds with a little girl named Casey, but when Casey is abducted while in Tori’s care, Tori is racked with guilt, certain that she should have been able to prevent the abduction. During the search for Casey, Tori comes face to face with an ex-boyfriend who sexually assaulted her at a party. Only when she speaks out about the assault is she able to begin to heal."
Q. Could you please take a photo of something in your office and tell us the story behind it?
These fun-loving characters remind me to find the joy in writing. Although writing can be grueling and seemingly impossible at times, it also surprises and delights me when I persevere through trouble spots.
Q. What advice do you have for young writers?
Be an immovable force. My middle-grade novel Bog took ten years from conception to published book. I lost my way and doubted my story many times, but I never stopped trying.
I'm also excited about my current work-in-progress. I'm one-third done a first draft of a new novel, and I’m eager to see how it’ll turn out. Will I pull off the ending I’m aiming for? Will readers like my protagonist? I can’t wait to find out.
I first met Russ Cox through our mutual friend Hazel Mitchell, when we were both members of Pixel Shavings. I've been grateful to Russ for his encouragement and support, especially his tips re: Photoshop and Painter. He's one of the nicest people you could hope to meet. Plus check out the WONDERFUL and uncannily accurate drawing he sent me after I admired it online (and said it looked like me in younger days):
Russ lives in Maine with his wife and 4 furry art directors. When not creating children’s books, he enjoys playing the banjo, moose juggling, and debating Einstein’s theory that the speed of light is constant (only one of those is true). You can find Russ at his website, Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, Google+ and Tumblr.
Synopsis of FARAWAY FRIENDS:
Faraway Friends is about Sheldon, a would be astronaut, and his sidekick Jet, who are looking for a lost friend through a space adventure only to find a weird alien creature and its furry friend.
1. Could you please take a photo of something in your office and tell us the story behind it?
I have lots of knicknacks in my studio that I like to look at but this little tiger might be the best thing I have in it. It was made for me by the super talented Jennifer Carson as a surprise gift. She made it from a doodle I posted:
I was stunned when she handed it to me at a NESCBWI conference a few years ago. I smile every time I see it. I think I will call him Otis.
2. What advice do you have for young writers and illustrators?
Being an illustrator for a very long time, I am rather new to the writing end of the book world. The few things I have learned are:
Don’t be afraid to put words to paper. Okay, this is one that I am still working on but I’m getting more comfortable with each attempt I make. I come from an illustration background so writing is outside my comfort zone. It was you, Debbie, who started me on this path after telling me to write a story from a doodle I shared. That nudge and doodle turned into Faraway Friends.
Share your stories with a few people or join a critique group. The fresh eyes and ears can help you find problem areas in your writing, and act as a great support network when the self doubt and fear start creeping in.
Embrace rejection. It is okay to hear “no thank you”. It helps light that creative fire and you learn from it. Faraway Friends received a bunch of rejections before finding a home. Not everyone is going to love your story.
Turn off the modern world and go outside. There are stories outside your house and studio waiting to be heard and told.
3. What are you excited about right now?
I am really excited about doing some promotional events for Faraway Friends. I am in the midst of scheduling signings, festivals, and school visits for the summer and fall.
The projects on my drawing table at the moment are a book series for Penguin Random House called Puppy Pirates (written by Erin Soderbergh Downing) that I am illustrating . This has been a ton of fun to do. The first two books will be released this summer and the other two in the fall. I am also writing some new picture book stories and have begun putting together a graphic novel. That reminds me, time to turn off the computer and head outside.
#BookADay: SHADOW CHASERS by Elly McKay ( Theater Clouds on FB), published by Running Press. I love Elly's absolutely gorgeous paper-theater lightbox illustrations.
Synopsis: "Once evening paints the summer sky, shadows will come out to play. You must move fast, because as quickly as the wind blows, the shadows will be on their way. Chasing after our hopes and dreams may take many tries before we finally catch them. This magical nighttime story shows that the journey is just as remarkable as the destination."
Elly's new BUTTERFLY PARK just came out from Running Press!
I had a FANTASTIC time during my WHERE ARE MY BOOKS? Book Tour earlier this month. Thanks to Simon & Schuster Children's for making the book tour possible for me, and to all the schools, libraries and bookstores who participated.
For those interested, I've posted links to my photos and recap at DebbieOhi.com/2015booktour, including what I learned along the way.
"Is there room for someone else in Fox and Squirrel's friendship? Fox and Squirrel are the best of friends. But when Yellow Bird comes along, he and Squirrel frolic high up in the treetops where Fox can't reach. Fox feels like Squirrel doesn't need him anymore. Can Squirrel help Fox see that there's room in their friendship for another?
The simple text and joyful art together deliver a heartwarming tale with a subtle but profound message about the strengths of friendship, loyalty, and acceptance."
Debbie Ridpath Ohi tagged 
