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
Time Villains follows sandwich-obsessed Javi Santiago, who has to nail his homework assignment if he wants to pass sixth grade. The assignment seems simple enough: if you could invite any three people to dinner, who would they be? Plus, Javi has his best friend Wiki and little sister Brady to help him. What could go wrong? Turns out, a lot...
Sweaty palms, shaking limbs, and the distinct possibility of puking. Am I describing riding a rollercoaster or having a crush in middle school? These two thrill rides collide in Jake Maia Arlow's MG debut Almost Flying.
The novel follows thirteen-year-old Dalia, who has planned the perfect summer: finally ride a rollercoaster and make a new best friend. But when Dalia realizes she might have more-than-friend feelings for the new girl on her swim team, Rani, things start to get complicated.
From Graci Kim, you should expect the unexpected. A Korean-Kiwi diplomat turned cooking show host turned author, who ran away with the circus in pursuit of a Colombian tightrope walker, Graci is bringing us a novel about Korean witch clans in LA, who conduct ancient rituals and shop at H-Mart.
The Last Fallen Star, Graci's MG debut, follows Riley Oh, the only "saram" (non-magic person) in her family of healing witches. After a forbidden spell turns disastrous, Riley must find "the last fallen star" to save her sister's life.
Take Back the Block follows Wes, a funny, stylish sixth-grader who finds himself thrown into a movement to save his community from a powerful developer.
How do you teach children about intolerance? How do you teach them about death? How do you introduce to them a culture with which they may not be familiar? You turn to books like Root Magic, the MG debut of author Eden Royce.
Set in 1963 in South Carolina, Root Magic follows Jezebel Turner and her twin brother, Jay. On their eleventh birthday, their uncle, Doc, says he will teach them rootwork, a family legacy, which opens up a world of magic and the supernatural.
"My daughter said she wasn't going to science camp because 'science was for boys.'"
Shelli R. Johannes had never written a picture book when she heard her daughter's stance on science, but it sparked the idea that she, with co-author and friend Kimberly Derting, would turn into the Loves Science series.
Libby Loves Science: Mix and Measureis the latest instalment in the series and shows young readers that science is for everyone. When Libby's baking goes awry, can science solve the problem?
I recently did a livestream showing why 32 pages is the standard for picture books, and what this means for picture book creators. In case it helps anyone, the archived version is above.
Basic reason: 32 pages can all be printed on a single sheet of paper, making it cost-effective. It's possible to make a book any number of pages, but anything non-standard tends to cost the publisher more money to print.
Sometimes the publisher will opt to do a longer book (my books with Simon & Schuster are mostly self-ended 40-page picture books), but I leave that decision to my publisher.
Video note: when I mention my own books begin on pages 6-7, by the way, it's because they are 40 pages long (I forgot to mention this, sorry).
For pre-published picture book writers with no track record, I recommend sticking to the standard 32 page template; you can always discuss the possibility of increasing the page count after your mss has been acquired.
Some resources you might find useful:
Creating Picture Books: my collection of how-to guides, free templates and resource lists.
I've been gradually compiling my "How This Picture Book Was Created" resources, advice from the children's book writers and illustrators I've been interviewing, and the thumbnail sketch and layout templates I use for my own writing and illustrating process. Here's the link to my CREATING PICTURE BOOKS resource.
There is no charge. All I ask is that you pay it forward someday.
I've started working on a new picture book idea (YAY!). After I pick an idea I'm excited about, I start writing the text. Because I tend to think visually when writing, I also usually start paging out the manuscript and scribbling stick figure thumbnail sketches to help me figure out pacing.
Back in May 2013, I posted an interview with Celia Lee, an editor at Cartwheel Books / Scholastic, and Celia invited Inkygirl readers to submit manuscripts for a limited time; apparently Celia received over a thousand submissions (!). A couple of years later, I met Josh Funk at nErDcampMI and found out that he had sold one of his picture book manuscripts to Celia as a result of my Inkygirl post, and it was being illustrated by Michael Slack.
I keep reminding myself of the above as I'm working on the first draft of my middle grade novel.
If you like the image above, I've made it available as a free print-ready PDF in my For The Love Of Reading resource (where you can find lots of other print-ready posters and activity sheets).
Tip for writers and illustrators: Every so often, take the time to look at things around you differently than you normally would. Doing so can help you solve creative problems in your work. Here's why and how...
A bit about my writing background, time management thoughts, how I'm squeezing in extra writing time every morning, apps I've found essential in helping me get into the daily writing habit.
I was thrilled to meet Jane Yolen at a recent SCBWI conference, and even more excited when Jane read my f&g of Where Are My Books? and liked it (see photo at the very end of this interview). Jane Yolen is the renowned author of many children's books, fantasy, and science fiction, including Owl Moon, The Devil's Arithmetic, and How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight? Her books, poems and stories have won many awards, including the Caldecott Medal.
This lyrical bedtime book is an ode to baby birds everywhere and to sleepy children, home safe in their own beds. As a mother describes how different species of birds nest, secure and cozy with their mama birds, she tucks her own child into bed with the soothing refrain, “you nest here with me”—easing her little one and readers alike to slumber. Perfect for a young audience, this poetic text begs to be read aloud, and is accompanied by Melissa Sweet’s incredibly warm and original art.
Q. Could you please take a photo of something in your office and tell us the story behind it?
Photo: Heidi Stemple.
Like most writers, I have an enormous research library in my home and when I am working on a particular project, those books get scattered around my writing room.
As I am currently working on two very different manuscripts--one set in the Holocaust (the first section in the Lodz Ghetto) and the other a graphic novel trilogy set in 1930s Edinburgh, I chose to pick out a book from each of those piles to feature in the photograph. At the top is a day-by-day catalog of what happened during the ghetto years in Lodz, and in the second materials about Scotland through the ages. Fiction has to take the real and massage it into a story that nay (or may not) have actually happened. We recreate (hi)story and bring our readers along.
Photo: Heidi Stemple.
From Jane, about the photo above: "I can't seem to write without a cup of tea (British decaf with demarara sugar and a splash of Lactaid milk.) I keep making cuppas coming all day long."
Q. What advice do you have for young writers?
Read, read, read.
Write something every day.
Never take no for an answer.
Don't believe your reviews--either good or bad.
Heart on the page.
Know that books are not just written, but rewritten.
(Above: Listen as Jane reads and critiques her very first poem)
Q. What are you excited about right now?
Two of my old books recently splashed out big: HOW DO DINOSAURS GET WELL SOON (Scholastic) won the Colorado One Book Award, and BAD GIRLS (Charlesbridge)--written with daughter Heidi Stemple--won the Magnolia Award, Mississippi's Children's Book Award for the middle grades. Plus the latest book Heidi and I just published--YOU NEST HERE WITH ME (Boyds Mills) with amazing illustrations by Melissa Sweet--has recently had a tremendous start and after only a month is getting a second printing.
But honestly, I am always most excited about the manuscript I am working on now. That's where my heart is, where my soul is. That is where my tomorrow is.
Wednesday, July 7, 2021 at 12:17 PM
