Readers: The Third Leg of the Picture Book Stool by Julie Phend

 

It might seem obvious: books are made for readers. Yet, as creators of picture books, we are trained to think of the interplay of writer and illustrator. But the stool cannot stand on two legs. It’s not complete without the reader.

The First Two Legs: Writer and Illustrator

Let’s begin by talking about the first two legs of the stool: writer and illustrator. In a joint session at the 2020 SCBWI Annual Summer Conference, writer Mac Barnett and illustrator Jon Klassen spoke about what makes a successful picture book. Using their book Sam and Dave Dig a Hole as an example, they discussed how pictures and text lean on each other to tell a story.

When you’re writing a picture book, they remind us, you are writing an incomplete story. The illustrator is an equal contributor. Illustrations add energy and often humor. They add detail that’s not in the text. The pictures can amplify the text—or they can say something different.

No treasure?

Sam and Dave Dig a Hole falls into the latter category. The story is about two boys digging for treasure. They dig straight down and don’t find any. They split up and go different directions. They still don’t find any. But, as the illustrations show, the treasure is there—they’ve been digging around it all along. There’s no hint in the words of what the pictures clearly reveal.

It takes a reader to see the joke.

 

The Third Leg: The Reader

As Barnett and Klassen point out, Sam and Dave are left out of the joke, but the reader is not. The reader seems to know more than the characters—more than the writer, even. And that’s funny.

Sam and Dave Dig a Hole leaves many things unsaid, including the ending, and invites the reader to figure them out. A good picture book encourages kids to participate. In this way, they become active readers.

I saw this principle in action many times in the past year. When the pandemic shut down school for my grandchildren, then aged 5 and 8, my husband and I started a daily story time with them on FaceTime. Over the course of the year, we read more than 100 books to them, and they read about half that many to us. We quickly learned that they preferred books with illustrations, whether picture books or chapter books, fiction or nonfiction. They loved stories with built-in humor and surprises—and books that gave them an opportunity to predict outcomes.

I noticed how often their predictions were based on the pictures. “I think he’s the bad guy. See how he’s smiling when she falls down?” Or “Look! The shark is coming closer. That diver better turn around.”

Among their favorite read-alouds were the Amelia Bedelia stories by Peggy Parish and Fritz Seibel. Amelia Bedelia takes figures of speech literally, which gets her in all kinds of hilarious trouble, as the illustrations demonstrate. They also loved the Good Crooks series by Mary Amato and Ward Jenkins and the Olivia books by Ian Falconer for their humor and fun illustrations.

 

Another huge hit was Jim Benton’s Franny K. Stein series. Franny, a third-grade mad scientist, gets herself into scrapes and uses scientific principles of observation and experimentation to get out of them. The illustrations say so much about the characters—my grandson was in tears when Franny was mean to her dog Igor because “His face is so sad!”

Poor Sad Igor

These books have humor and surprise at their core, yet each one carries a deeper message: about friendship, resiliency, determination, or creativity. But nowhere does the author say that. It’s left to the reader to figure it out.

Picture Books Promote Literacy

Author Eileen Meyer reads to children

That’s how picture books teach best—by allowing the child reader equal participation in the story. In this way, picture books help children become good readers.

A large body of research into reading shows that good readers engage with text in an active way.

They:

• visualize what they are reading (and pictures help them learn to do it).  
•  use patterns to make predictions (children’s stories are filled with pattern.)
•  adapt their predictions in relation to new information. (Surprise!)
•  use context clues (both text and illustration) to create meaning.
•  connect emotionally with characters.
• compare content to their own experience or prior knowledge. 
• use connections to make inferences. 
• and enjoy reading! 

Early Literacy Favorites

I talked with children’s librarian Michelle Pursel, who says, “Storytime is the perfect introduction to the early literacy skills children need to become lifelong readers. I look for books that have an engaging story with vivid illustrations, elements that play a crucial role in audience participation."

Michelle's storytime favorites include Duck, Rabbit! by Amy Krouse Rosenthal, Mama Cat Has Three Kittens by Denise Fleming, Muncha! Muncha! Muncha! by Candace Fleming, and Grumpy Bird by Jeremy Tankard.

Children’s writer Katherine Patterson famously said, “Once a book is published, it no longer belongs to me. My creative task is done. The work now belongs to the creative mind of my readers.”

 So, as you write or illustrate books for children, keep in mind the third leg of your story: your readers. Give them opportunities to figure things out, connect, laugh, and be surprised—and grow into excellent readers. 

They'll enjoy the journey!

 

A Kidlit Breakfast with Buds ~ by Patricia Toht

This past Saturday, I joined hundreds of other children's literature lovers at the annual Andersons' Book Breakfast. 

Anderson's Bookshop is a Chicago-area independent bookseller that specializes in selling children's books and providing book fairs. For 17 years now, they have gathered teachers, librarians, authors, illustrators and others together for a kidlit celebration. Their breakfasts are so popular that they've outgrown location after location. Attendance this year was 500+ attendees!

Look at that crowd!
Photo snapped by author Sarah Aronson

The program of the day included talks from the speakers, book recommendations from the Andersons' staff, and several 10-minute breaks, during which Illinois authors and illustrators visited tables to discuss their books. Having been to several book breakfasts, I knew that I would come away with wonderful stories and bits of advice, so I've collected some here for you.

The first speaker of the day was Lincoln Peirce, author/illustrator of the BIG NATE books. 
(I was surprised to discover that I have been saying his name all wrong! His last name is pronounced "purse"!) Lincoln said that he set out to write the kind of books that he liked to read as a child. Instead of gravitating to novels, he was drawn to Charles Schulz' collections of Peanuts cartoons. BIG NATE began as a syndicated comic strip in 1991, and has grown to include both novels and comic books. Not wanting the series to go on too long, he has now ended it and begun something new -- MAX AND THE MIDNIGHTS. Wanting more variety of sights and interactions, MAX is not tied down to one location in the medieval world, and the first novel packs quite a surprise on p. 48!

Next up was the always entertaining Andrea Beaty, author of powerhouse STEM books. Andrea stated that all of her books begin with "What if...?" The first one in her series, IGGY PECK, ARCHITECT, was based on her son's love of making structures out of any material he could find. When it came time to write the second book, Andrea looked at the illustrations by David Roberts to provide some clues. She said that, while she knows things about her characters, the illustrator knows different things from bringing the characters to life through art. Pouring over IGGY, she spotted the girl that would become ROSIE REVERE, ENGINEER, and began to ask herself questions about Rosie's story. She followed the same path to create ADA TWIST, SCIENTIST and the just-announced SOFÍA VALDEZ, FUTURE PREZ. This reminded me, as an author, of the importance of leaving room for the illustrator! 

ROSIE REVERE, ENGINEER, 

read from the International Space Station:

Andrea also talked about the importance of local, independent bookstores. She credits her locals with the success of IGGY PECK -- through hand-selling and word-of-mouth, the book grew in sales each quarter. Andrea stresses the value of getting to know your local indies and forging those relationships!

Max Amato spoke about his debut picture book, PERFECT. Max had to return to the drawing board with this book after another title came out with a nearly identical theme of turning mistakes into creativity. Instead of giving up, he asked how he might tell the essential message in a different way, which led to PERFECT. In it, pencil and eraser have conflicting goals but find that joining forces allows for something pretty cool to happen.

Photo by author Patricia Cooley

Next, Illinois illustrator and Caldecott winner Matthew Cordell took us through "My Caldecott Year." It began with an early morning phone call informing him of his win and sped through months of activity (including the celebratory trip to Disney World!). Despite the demands on his time, Matthew found the time to keep working, and has multiple books coming out in the coming years. He shared his sketches from the picture book biography of Fred Rogers, which had me squealing like a fangirl.

Mr. Rogers sketch by Matthew Cordell.
Photo by Patricia Cooley.

Wrapping things up was Mac Barnett. His books range from picture books like SAM & DAVE DIG A HOLE to the novel series THE TERRIBLE TWO. His newest series is "autobiographical" -- the adventures of a kid named Mac, who also happens to be a spy (MAC B, KID SPY). I love how Mac is not afraid to jump to the preposterous from the opening chapter of Book 1. The Queen calling Mac at breakfast to request his help? Of course! 

Mac also shared the text of his upcoming picture book biography, THE IMPORTANT THING ABOUT MARGARET WISE BROWN. Funny, sentimental, and signature quirky, I felt this book perfectly captured the voice of the author. The book had the audience sighing at its close. 

This was my first Andersons' Book Breakfast as an author, so it was an especially meaningful one for me. After the meal, the speakers, and lots of table talk, I joined other Illinois' authors and illustrators at the book signing tables. We discussed what a dynamic kidlit state we have and thanked our lucky stars to have thriving, generous indie booksellers like Andersons' Bookshops.

I feel so...authorly!
Thanks for the photo, Patricia Cooley.

***WINNER*** 

From last week's post, the winner of Cynthia Lord's BORROWING BUNNIES is... Angie Quantrell! Congrats, Angie! (Click here for more information about Angie.)

TED Talks for Children's Writers and Illustrators ~ by Patricia Toht

As a writer, I have a list of TED talks that inspire me. 

If you're not familiar with TED, it's a non-profit, non-partisan group whose goal is to spread ideas through short talks. The first TED conference was held in 1984, and the focus was on the convergence of Technology, Entertainment, and Design. Unfortunately, that conference was not monetarily successful, and a second conference didn't convene again until 1990. That time, the stars aligned and TED took off.

The talks now cover the gamut of topics and are easily available on YouTube or on the ted.com website. Browse their library to find talks that might appeal to you. This is how I found the 20+ on my own list. 

Here are my five favorites TED talks:

1) Elizabeth Gilbert: Your Elusive Creative Genius, recorded in 2009, runs 19:09 minutes. This talk inspires me when I'm defeated by rejection or feeling like creativity has left me for good. The story she tells about poet Ruth Stone at the 10:12 mark gives me goosebumps.

2) J.K. Rowling: The Fringe Benefits of Failure, recorded at the 2008 Harvard Commencement, runs 20:58 minutes. The amazing author of the Harry Potter series explains how failure helped her find her way as a writer, and how imagination is of crucial importance.

3) Adam Grant: The Surprising Habits of Original Thinkers, recorded in 2016, runs 15:25 minutes. The original thinkers that Adam Grant refers to in his talk are from the business arena, but I think the three habits he identifies can be true for writers as well. He gives me hope as a moderate procrastinator. (Yes, I'm writing this post on Sunday evening for a Monday posting!)

4) Matthew Dicks: Homework for Life, recorded in 2015, runs 17:46 minutes. This talk introduces a strategy for collecting story-worthy ideas by taking five minutes each night to reflect and identify story-like moments that happened that day. 

5) Mac Barnett: Why a Good Book Is a Secret Door, recorded in 2014, runs 16:59 minutes. I have a serious mind-crush on Mac Barnett, and this talk captures his humor, intelligence, and passion about being a children's author.

Readers, do you have a TED talks that is your favorite? Please share the name of it in the comments below - I'd love to expand my list!

Turn that Picture Book Page! ~ by Patricia Toht

Webster's Dictionary defines a page-turner as "a book, story, etc., that is difficult to stop reading because it is so interesting." 

So, what makes for a great page turn in a picture book? What compels readers to flip to the next spread? 

Above all, a strong story will do the trick, a story that contains elements that propel action forward. Some involve:

• A trip, like this year's Newbery winner, LAST STOP ON MARKET STREET by Matt de la Peña and Christian Robinson. Readers want to know where the journey will ultimately end up.

• A quest, like SAM AND DAVE DIG A HOLE by Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen. Readers turn the page to discover if these diggers will find something spectacular, after all.

• Strong cause-and-effect. I can still remember that, as a small child reading THE CAT IN THE HAT by Dr Seuss, I actually held my breath when turning one particular page. On that page, the cat was balanced on a ball, holding aloft a huge, teetering tower of things. Could he possibly stay upright? I cringed and turned the page... Nope!

• An escalating problem. THERE WAS AN OLD DRAGON WHO SWALLOWED A KNIGHT by Penny Parker Klostermann and Ben Mantle is a prime example of escalation. The dragon keeps swallowing things, and his growing stomach discomfort surely cannot end well.

In addition to a strong story, or in quieter books or concept books, some other techniques can encourage page turns:

• The use of questions. The nonfiction book, WHAT DO YOU DO WITH A TAIL LIKE THIS? (by Steve Jenkins and Robin Page) uses this technique. To find the answers to this question -

   - readers must turn the page.

• Rhyme. With rhyme, a missing end rhyme will encourage the reader to guess the last word of the stanza, and then turn the page to confirm their guess. Take a look at Miranda Paul's new book, WHOSE HANDS ARE THESE?, illustrated by Luciana Powell. 

(*A warning here -- only write in rhyme if your story demands it and you work diligently to make all the elements of rhyme work. Here is a post on that topic.)

• Sparse text. The best example I can think of for this technique is YO! YES? by Chris Raschka. The entire book contains fewer words than most of my sentences! With few words, readers move forward quickly to add to the story. This book also uses the next technique -

• Alternating characters. With two characters that are fairly balanced in importance and appearance in the story, readers will keep turning the pages to see what is going on with the other character. HERMAN AND ROSIE by Gus Gordon is a personal favorite of mine.

• The use of a "page-turning word" and/or an ellipsis. Alice Schertle uses both in ALL YOU NEED FOR A SNOWMAN, illustrated by Barbara Lavallee. On the spread below, the word "then" followed by an ellipsis requires a page turn to complete the sentence and move things forward.

Picture book editors read tons of picture books and submissions of yet-to-be picture books, so many that they develop a feel, an internal rhythm, of where a page turn occurs. As they read your text, they will subconsciously break your picture book into spreads, adding page turns in their mind. 

You can develop that same feel, that internal rhythm. You can also encourage page turns. How?

#1 READ LOTS OF PICTURE BOOKS

#2 MAKE A DUMMY OF 

YOUR PICTURE BOOK TEXT

#3 INCORPORATE ELEMENTS 

TO ENCOURAGE PAGE TURNS

Never made a dummy before? Don't worry - there's a post for that, too! Check it out here.

So what is your favorite page-turner picture book, GROG readers? Does it include any of the elements above? Something else?

Wordless Spreads in Picture Books ~ by Patricia Toht

And now, for a few words (well, more than a few) about wordless spreads in picture books...

In my newest PB manuscript, I'm choosing to ignore two strong suggestions for picture book writers:

1) DON'T write in rhyme!

2) DON'T include illustrator notes!

I'm a published poet, so I feel I have some justification for writing a rhymed text. But what about those illustrator notes? As Deborah Underwood once said, "It's not the illustrator's job to tell you what to write -- just as it's not your job to tell her [or him] what to draw." I agree, whole-heartedly! So...why the notes?

Long-time readers of the GROG may recall my fondness for making picture book dummies by laying out my text in spreads that mimic a finished book. When I did so with the new book, I discovered a spot where I could cut lots of text by letting an illustrator go crazy with a wordless spread.

Before hitting the "submit" button, I thought it wise to study up on picture books that contained just one or two wordless spreads, to see if my suggestion made sense. I knew of several books to consider, and a shout out to members of PiBoIdMo bolstered my list.

A few of the books I studied.

I discovered some interesting things:

From my sampling (16 books), a wordless spread was more likely to occur in the second half of a book.

Wordless spreads were as likely to occur in books authored and illustrated by different people as those by author/illustrators. 

In many of the books, the spread served as a pause or slowing of pace, a chance for the reader to reflect. 

The spreads served other functions and conveyed varied messages (sometimes more than one, which is why the percentages below add up to way more than 100%!).

• 50% were humorous (many LOL). A majority of these happened in the second half of the book.

I love the "naked centerfold" in Peter Brown's MR. TIGER GOES WILD!

 • 50% demonstrated change, either within the character or in his/her situation.

• 33% portrayed setting out on a journey or adventure

The zoo animals hop aboard a bus in
A SICK DAY FOR AMOS McGEE
by Philip and Erin Stead

• 33% showed a difference in size or scale. This contrast between two characters, or between a character and the surroundings, elicited a variety of emotions from fear to loneliness to sweetness to wonder.

• 25% portrayed the culmination of a quest/resolution of a problem.

• One book introduced the main conflict through a wordless spread early on (pages 10 & 11).

Watch out, Billy Twitters! A blue whale is coming your way!
BILLY TWITTERS AND HIS BLUE WHALE PROBLEM
by Mac Barnett and Adam Rex

• The spreads were all worth their weight in wordless gold-- with the illustrations doing the work of many, many words.

Tara Lazar mentioned that her upcoming book, I THOUGHT THIS WAS A BEAR BOOK, contains a wordless spread. I asked her about it.

Me: Where does it occur?
Tara: The wordless spread is in the second-to-last spread in the book, right before you make the final page turn.

Me: What's its purpose?
Tara: It restores a sense of calm to the reader and conveys that everything has been settled. (Or has it????) It gives the bears some time to return home.

Me: Did you request the wordless spread?
Tara: This wordless spread was not in the original manuscript. It was suggested by my editor and illustrator after we made changes to the resolution. It helps with the pacing and sets up the final guffaw.


In the end, I feel a bit bold to suggest the wordless spread, but I feel it's the best vehicle to show lots of activity and a passage of time. Reassuringly, my sleuthing uncovered QUEEN VICTORIA'S BATHING MACHINE by Gloria Whelan and Nancy Carpenter. 

Like my manuscript, this story
1) is written in rhyme
2) is rooted in history
3) contains a wordless spread at the same spot that I am considering 
4) shows the resolution to a problem



And so I am emboldened to go where manuscripts are suggested not to go -- to submission, WITH illustrator notes! Wish me luck!

Thank you to Tara Lazar! (Visit Tara here.) Thanks also to PiBoIdMo members for your suggestions!