"I hope it sparks conversations about our shared humanity and the things we have in common.” Debut PB Author M.O. Yuksel and Illustrator Hatem Aly on IN MY MOSQUE

By Sara Truuvert

M.O. Yuksel never imagined she would be an author, but that changed when she was asked to read to her son's preschool class a picture book about a Muslim holiday. Unable to find such a book suited to her son's age group, she decided to write one herself, launching her journey to authorship. After years of writing and rejection, M.O. published In My Mosque, her literary debut. 

In My Mosque celebrates the diversity, traditions, and joy we can find in mosques around the world. It serves as a beautiful introduction to Muslims and Islam and reminds us that mosques are welcoming centres for community and love.

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Starting Big Changes with Small Steps: Charlotte Offsay (Debut PB Author) and Illustrator Katie Rewse on THE BIG BEACH CLEANUP

By Sara Truuvert

One morning, when she was walking her young children to school, Charlotte Offsay picked up a piece of trash and threw it in a nearby garbage can. She had no idea that this simple action would spark a conversation with her children about doing their part to keep the environment clean, which would inspire her literary debut, The Big Beach Cleanup.

The Big Beach Cleanup follows Cora, a young girl excited to enter a sandcastle competition. When Cora learns that the fun has been cancelled because there is too much trash on the beach, she and her Mama get to work cleaning up. But they soon realize they can't do it alone.

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Interview with debut picture book illustrator, Ellie Arscott, whose NIGHT WALK launches from Groundwood Books *TODAY!*

I'm a longtime fan of Ellie Arscott's art, so was especially excited to hear about her debut as a children's book illustrator for NIGHT WALK, a new picture book written by award-winning author Sara O'Leary and illustrated by Ellie. Launching Sept. 29th from Groundwood, their book has already garnered a lot of much-deserved praise, including The Wall Street Journal.

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A Peek Into The Process: Author Caroline Fernandez and Illustrator Shannon O'Toole share how STOP READING THIS BOOK was created

STOP READING THIS BOOK is written by Caroline Fernandez and llustrated by Shannon O'Toole, coming out from Common Deer Press on October 7, 2019. If you're in the Toronto area, you're invited to the book launch at Indigo Yonge Eglinton on Sat. Oct. 5th from 1-2 pm; see details here.

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The story behind my upcoming Broken Crayons picture book with Linda Sue Park for Simon & Schuster BFYR!!!

 

I am THRILLED and HONOURED to announce that I will be illustrating a picture book by Linda Sue Park. The announcement appeared Publishers Weekly Children's Bookshelf last week while I was out of town:
Announcement in Mar. 22, 2018 issue of Publishers Weekly Children's Bookshelf

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Free picture book templates, how-to guides and other resources

Over the years, I've been accumulating all the "How <title> Was Created" guides for young writers and illustrators, advice from children's book creators I've interviewwed, plus a few tips for not-so-young book creators. Feel free to browse all this info as well as my free picture book thumbnail templates at my CREATING PICTURE BOOKS resource.

Comic: Kidlit Restaurant

Writing or illustrating a picture book? Browse my free Picture Book Creation Resource (including templates)

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.

Biggest misconception about writing picture books: thinking that short = easy/quick

One of the biggest misconceptions about writing picture books, I've noticed, goes something like "While I'm working on my REAL book, I think I'll write a picture book or two for some extra cash. They're so short, after all."

Here's my post about why short does NOT mean easy when it comes to writing picture books. Includes links to my free picture book thumbnail templates!

Three Questions with Jackie Azúa Kramer & Maral Sassouni, debut author & illustrator of THE GREEN UMBRELLA (NorthSouth Books/Simon & Schuster)

I'm delighted to be one of the stops on THE GREEN UMBRELLA blog tour! The story is fun and imaginative, with gorgeous art. The underlying message of sharing, generosity and looking out for one another is even more important these days. 

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Advice For Young Writers, Office Dogs and Motivation: Three Questions With Kate Dopirak, author of YOU'RE MY BOO (Beach Lane Books)

Photo credit: Family Art Photography.

YOU'RE MY BOO by Kate Dopirak and Lesley Breen Withrow would make a wonderful holiday gift for a young reader. An ode to unconditional love, this reassuring and adorable story is like a hug in book form.

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Misconceptions about writing picture books: why short does NOT mean easy

NOTE: This is an updated version of a post I made a while back. For those illustrate as well as write, feel free to use my free picture book thumbnail templates.

So many people think that short = easy, especially when it comes to picture books.

And while yes, it's easy to crank out a picture book manuscript in terms of wordcount, writing a picture book story that a publisher will want to acquire is an entirely different animal.

At this point, I can imagine a number of you leaping up and saying, "You shouldn't worry about the market! Just write the story that you were meant to write!"  I partly agree.

However, if your goal is to be PUBLISHED, then I strongly advise you to go to local children's bookstore and  library; I guarantee you will save yourself much heartache and wasted effort. Familiarise yourself with what's being published. Let yourself fall in love with some of these picture books and then ask yourself why you enjoy them so much.

A few common mistakes that new picture book writers make:

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Rescue dogs, debut picture books and advice for young writers: Interview with TOBY author/illustrator Hazel Mitchell

Congrats to my friend and agency sister Hazel Mitchell today on the launch of her debut solo picture book, TOBY, which comes out from Candlewick today. Even though I've never met the real-life Toby in person, I've been following Hazel's photos and posts about this sweet rescue dog via social media. And like many other Toby fans, I was genuinely distressed when I heard about Toby getting lost and I cheered out loud when he was finally found, safe. You can find out more about the real-life Toby's adventures in this post by Hazel.

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Behind-the-scenes: How new picture book PIRASAURS! was created, with insights from author Josh Funk and illustrator Michael Slack

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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.

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Story behind the dedication page in MITZI TULANE, PRESCHOOL DETECTIVE

The first MITZI TULANE, PRESCHOOL DETECTIVE picture book launches next Tuesday from Random House Children's! Here's some insider info from the dedication page: mine is for my mom, who died of cancer when I was in my 20s.

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Free creative brainstorming templates for picture book writers and illustrators

Reminder: For those of you who are writing and/or illustrating children's picture books: Feel free to download and use my picture book thumbnail templates during your early brainstorming.

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#BookADay: I LOVE CAKE by Tammi Sauer and Angie Rozelaar

‪#‎BookADay‬: I LOVE CAKE: Starring Rabbit, Porcupine and Moose by Tammi Kippes Sauer and Angela Rozelaar (Katherine Tegen Books/HarperCollins). Now that I've had the privilege of meeting Tammi in person, I can see her joyous personality throughout this story, and I love Angela's adorable characters. This is such a fun story, and now I am desperately craving CAKE. :-)

More info about I LOVE CAKE on the HarperCollins website.

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More info: Donalyn Miller's Summer Book-A-Day Challenge | Archives of my #BookADay posts. 

Picture books create readers from the ground up. Don't rush children out of them.

"Picture books create readers from the ground up. Don't rush children out of them." - Jarrett J. Krosoczka.

TELL ME A TATTOO STORY by Alison McGhee and Eliza Wheeler (Chronicle Books)

I was excited to receive a copy of TELL ME A TATTOO STORY, a new picture book written by Alison McGhee and illustrated by my friend Eliza Wheeler (Chronicle Books, April/2016). What a deeply moving, tender story, and soooo much for young and not-so-young picture book readers to appreciate.  I teared up over many of the (beautifully illustrated) spreads as the father told his young son the story behind each of his tattoos. *snif*

Do check out Julie Danielson's Seven Impossible Things post where she shares some of the wonderful art from the book as well as sketches from Eliza. Also see Julie's post about the book on Kirkus Reviews.

You can find out more info about Eliza Wheeler at Wheelerstudio.com and more about Alison McGhee at AlisonMcGhee.com.

Synopsis of the book from the Chronicle Books website:

"A bestselling author-illustrator duo join forces to create a modern father-son love story. The father tells his little son the story behind each of his tattoos, and together they go on a beautiful journey through family history. There's a tattoo from a favorite book his mother used to read him, one from something his father used to tell him, and one from the longest trip he ever took. And there is a little heart with numbers inside—which might be the best tattoo of them all. Tender pictures by New York Times bestselling illustrator Eliza Wheeler complement this lovely ode to all that's indelible—ink and love."

Free Picture Book Thumbnail Templates for Writers and Illustrators

With some sketches for picture book NAKED! (Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers, author Michael Ian Black)

When I was asked to illustrate my first picture book (I'm Bored) and I started researching picture book formats, I was confused. I knew a standard picture book had 32 pages, for example, but I discovered that these 32 pages might also include the title page and other non-story pages. Plus some books had the story beginning on the right-hand page while others started on the left. 

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