Picture Book Lessons from the Zoo ~ guest post by Kate Woodle

Kate Woodle is a member of the West/Central New York SCBWI region and also helps facilitate the Syracuse area Shop Talk. She worked as an illustrator at the Rosamond Gifford Zoo in Syracuse, NY for more than 25 years. One day we got chatting about picture books, and I asked her whether her zoo work gave her insights into picture book illustration. Here's what Kate has to say about that:

Working at the zoo was my dream job. It was creative (I was the exhibit designer) and it involved animals. I got to study the animals in our care, learn about their habitats and the food they ate, the environment and conservation issues affecting them, and then present their "story" to the public. 

I created illustrations and designed signs for exhibits. The zoo's educator wrote the signs. As an illustrator, my job was to get people to stop and read the sign. Then I could convey some additional information through the art, such as what food an animal eats, where it lives and what its habitat is like. This frees the zoo educator to address another topic. 

Exhibit illustration is a collaboration much like that between picture book author and illustrator. The biggest difference: in a zoo you have only seconds to catch a visitor's attention. It's harder than it looks. Not only that, you’ve got a limited number of words – hopefully no more than 40 on a sign (pretty close to the recommended number of words per page in a picture book). Sure, this "rule" can be broken, but it does help if you are trying to hold attention. If the sign is meant to be read by an adult who will then interact with the child, you have a little more leeway with your word count.

The illustration for this display helps a child visualize what the words mean. This sign is placed next to a life size baby elephant statue (I made that, too) so that kids can compare their weight, height and how much they eat to that of a baby elephant.

A great example of this in a picture book is "Actual Size," by Steve Jenkins. A gorilla's hand and a pigmy mouse lemur are shown full size on a spread. Not only does the book show the actual size of each animal or part of an animal, it has an interactive element: a child can place their hand on top of the gorilla's to see the difference. A pigmy mouse lemur's whole body can be covered by a child's hand. 

The book also has a fold out page to accommodate a Goliath frog that's 36" long. Jenkins’s amazing illustrations are all done with paper collage.

I also painted murals, both in exhibits and in public spaces. A mural is like a scene in a picture book. It gives all kinds of information that is not conveyed in the text: Does this animal live in a rainforest? What other plants and animals live there? Is it misty and damp with really tall trees, a hot dry African savannah, or the Grand Canyon?  

In Jason Chin's book, he does a great job showing both detail and scale as he takes you from the bottom of the canyon to the top.

Murals and signs can also be interactive. Here's an example of an interactive mural that represents the Amazon Rainforest. 

The text on the mural reads: 

Measuring Biodiversity.

One square mile in the Amazon rainforest has 30 times as many butterfly species as in all of New York State. There are 30 species of butterfly in this part of the rainforest. Can you find them all? 

As in the butterfly mural, an illustration can convey a sense of place and add depth to a text. It can evoke a mood. All the World, by Liz Garton Scanlon and illustrated by Marla Frazee is a perfect example of this. Scanlon's marvelous poem includes all kinds of events: playing at the beach, picking vegetables, etc. while Frazee's illustrations add to the action. While a rainstorm is never mentioned in the poem Frazee's storm meshes perfectly with the text. The illustrations are realistic but also evoke, along with the words, a sense of beauty, joy and community. 

I've been interested in illustrating children's books since I was old enough to know that that was a profession, and I'm particularly interested in STEAM books – especially those that feature biology. My job at the zoo encompassed these interests. What I hadn't expected while I was working at the zoo was what a good education it was for illustrating picture books.  

Here's another example of an interactive display: It's a photo opportunity showing all the kinds of primates at our zoo. Children are given the opportunity to include themselves in the group while their parents take a photo. 

This brings to mind the cover for the middle grade book Primates, the Fearless Science of Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey, and Biruté Galdikas.

There are so many similarities to the process. Whether it’s art for a zoo exhibit or for a picture book, research is important. You don't want to be accidentally teaching children something that isn't true. For example, polar bears don't really live with penguins! While fantasy and whimsy are wonderful, I believe it's important to be intentional about the message our artwork communicates to our readers. 

Kate Woodle has been drawing since she was three years old. She received a BFA at Syracuse University’s School of Visual and Performing arts, then taught art and later worked as exhibit designer and graphics artist at the Rosamond Gifford Zoo in Syracuse, NY. As part of her job she wrote and illustrated the children’s newsletter, MyZoo Jr. Her illustrations and photos have also been featured in Scholastic’s Weekly Reader, National Geographic Kids and in the books,  A Friend for Mia, A New Dog, and Newborn Kits (all published by Pioneer Valley Press). She also did several projects for McGraw Hill Education. You can find out more about Kate and see her wonderful artwork at her website, www.katewoodle.com.

Heather Shares the Poop on Hands-On Science Writing

 by Sue Heavenrich

Heather Montgomery never intended to study human poop. Bat guano? Sure – that’s where she found shimmery green insect parts and part of a compound eye. Coyote poo? Yep, that too. And then she came across a tweet between medical professionals asking an important question: when a kid swallows a LEGO, how long does it take to … come out the other end?

They did what curious scientists everywhere do, Heather told me in a recent phone conversation. They swallowed the little yellow heads and searched for evidence over the following days. They collected data, crunched numbers, and came up with the answer: the average FART (Found and Retrieval Time) is 1.7 days.

Heather is a naturalist, and when leading nature hikes she occasionally came across animal feces on the trail. She encouraged kids to ask questions beyond “who left this?” Questions like “why does it look like this?” and “how come this spot?” She noticed that while there are picture books about poop, there weren’t books for older kids. So she decided to write one; Who Gives a Poop (Bloomsbury) is aimed at readers 10 - 14 years old, though adults will enjoy it too. It comes out next month.

“Once you get going on a topic, the questions drive you,” Heather said. Truth is, she likes digging into things many folks would stay away from. “What happens when, instead of looking away from disgusting stuff, we on-purpose turn towards it?” It helps that she’s willing to get her hands dirty when diving into a topic – though with scat, turds, and dung, patties she is always careful to wear gloves and a mask.

Originally, Heather focused on animal poop. She had stories about scientists studying elephant dung, cheetah poo, turning waste to energy – and maybe even plastic to fashion tools on Mars. Then a story about a “poop train” went viral and Heather knew she’d have to chase it down. She ended up in a small town with 10 million pounds of poop sitting in its rail yard. Neighbors complained about the big stinky problem, wondering why New York City had to send their waste so far away. But a year later she saw evidence that those tons of biosolids were doing their job, reclaiming a strip mine and producing juicy red tomatoes.

“What’s the trick of writing about science for kids?” I asked.

“Follow your questions,” Heather said. “Keep asking questions and you’ll find the good ones. Then trust where your curiosity leads you.” That sometimes means people to interview, which may not sound like a big deal, but Heather is shy. Still, she trusts her questions to lead her to the story. 

“Don’t be afraid to write about tough subjects,” she added. For Heather, that means writing about gross things like road kill and, in this book, poop. “The important thing is to use your curiosity to show kids how to discover that part of the natural world.”

And finally, “Don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty.” She encourages writers to dive into their topics all the way up to their elbows.

Heather is a member of #STEAMTeambooks. You can find out more about her at her website.

Writing Nonfiction for CRP: Lisa Amstutz Dishes the Inside Scoop ~ Christy Mihaly

Author Lisa Amstutz is an accomplished nonfiction writer who has written several picture books and more than 150 educational books. She recently put her science background to work to write Amazing Amphibians: 30 Activities and Observations for Exploring Frogs, Toads, Salamanders, and More, published this January with Chicago Review Press (CRP). It's full of kid-friendly facts and activities, along with amazing photos and educator resources.

Many GROG readers are familiar with the traditional picture book process: Submit manuscript, wait, weather a storm of rejections, and if you're lucky and persistent, eventually find an editor who loves your story, then wait for an illustrator, and perhaps celebrate publication a few years later.

With longer nonfiction, the process usually begins with a proposal. Publishers vary, but I was interested in Lisa's experience with CRP, so I asked Lisa some questions. Okay, perhaps it's fair to say that I peppered her with questions. Which she graciously answered.

Lisa on a visit to Vermont: Looking for frogs?

Christy Mihaly: At 128 pages and 30,000 words, Amazing Amphibians is longer than many of your previous works, and it's your first with Chicago Review Press (CRP).

What do you want readers to know about this book?

Lisa Amstutz: First of all, amphibians really are amazing! Amazing Amphibians gives an overview of amphibian biology, behavior, and conservation. There are tons of color photos in the book, and each chapter has three hands-on activities related that will be useful for parents and educators.

CM: Amphibians may not be everyone's favorite creatures on Earth, but your enthusiasm for them shines through. How did you get the idea to write this book?

LA: I had seen some of the other books in the CRP "Young Naturalists" series. They seemed like they would be fun to work on and right up my alley as a science writer. After studying CRP’s catalog, I brainstormed ideas for topics that they hadn’t yet covered.

CM: I've heard other authors recommend looking for a gap in a series or pitching to fill a hole in a publisher's catalog. It's great to hear you say that it worked for you.

Why and how did you pitch amphibians to CRP? Was there any back and forth with the publisher to finalize the book outline and treatment?

LA: I actually pitched several ideas to CRP, and the editor at the time was most interested in seeing a proposal for this one. I then wrote up a full proposal and sample chapter and she took it to acquisitions. The final book more or less followed that original outline, but of course went through several rounds of editing before publication.

CM: So you pitched before drafting a complete proposal, which saved time, and then you knew they were interested in your topic before you put in the work. Great! 

Did you enjoy the process of writing this book? How long did it take? How did you stick to your schedule and get it all done?

LA: CRP has been wonderful to work with! The process took about two years from pitch to publication. Writing a book this long can be overwhelming, so I had to assign myself a daily word count, allowing plenty of time for self-editing and peer editing before submission.

CM: I'm sure that discipline was an indispensable part of your process. And yes, I know how important critiques can be! 

Amazing Amphibians includes intriguing activities for kids. How did you come up with them? Were there series guidelines? Did you try all the activities?

One of the 30 activities in Amazing Amphibians

LA: I brainstormed activities based on the topics at hand, and used Google and Pinterest to look for ideas I could adapt as well. I hired my kids to test out the activities for me, which was really helpful! 

CM: Ah, nepotism! I particularly noticed the many gorgeous photos in this book--I think there are about 60 of them. How did you conduct photo research and select photos? Did you contact photographers yourself? And is this the first book you've done where this was required?

Lisa and friend photograph a newt

LA: Yes, this was the first time I’ve had to acquire photos. I found them all online. Some were free on Flickr, Pixabay, or Wikimedia Commons. Others I purchased through stock photography sites like Shutterstock and iStock. For a few of them, I worked out a purchase from individual photographers. The publisher required very detailed documentation of each photo source and permissions, which was a little daunting until I figured out the system!

CM: Whew. This might be intimidating to writers who haven't done it, but I understand it's part of the process for many nonfiction books. 

How were the book's artwork and design developed?

LA: CRP handled all the graphic design. I did supply rough sketches for the activities to show what I had in mind.

Fun Facts and Graphics in Amazing Amphibians

CM: Did you hire an expert to review the text and/or illustrations? What kind of expert background does CRP require its authors to have?

LA: I had an amphibian expert review the manuscript. I’m not aware of specific requirements at CRP, but I think having relevant education or experience is a good selling point for nonfiction topics in general. My science background definitely made me feel more confident in having the background knowledge to tackle this topic. 

CM: Compared with working on an illustrated picture book, were there additional challenges and/or costs involved in putting Amazing Amphibians together? 

LA: I spent a good chunk of my advance on photo permissions. Some of the photos were a challenge to track down—it turns out there aren’t a lot of photos of endangered species available. Probably should have seen that one coming! I could have gotten by with spending a bit less, but wanted the photos to really pop. So I consider that an investment in the book’s success.

CM: Ah. Note to self: Write about commonly photographed species. 

So Lisa, what else should writers know before submitting to CRP? Any additional words of advice?

LA: As with any publisher, study their catalog and look for holes you could fill. Check out some of their recent books to get a sense of their style, especially if you’re targeting an existing series. Their submission guidelines are on the website, so read and follow those carefully. 

Best of luck!

CM: Thanks, Lisa, for your words of wisdom. 

And best wishes and health to all our readers.

Lisa Amstutz is the author of more than 150 children's books, including Applesauce Day, Finding a Dove for Gramps, and Amazing Amphibians. PLANTS FIGHT BACK (Dawn Publications) will be released in October 2020, and MAMMAL MANIA (Chicago Review Press) in 2021. Lisa specializes in topics related to science and agriculture. Her background includes a B.A. in Biology and an M.S. in Environmental Science. She lives on a small-scale farm in Ohio with her family. 

For more information about Lisa’s books as well as her critique and mentorship services, see www.LisaAmstutz.com.

And find Lisa here:

Twitter: @LJAmstutz

Instagram: @slow.simple.green

Facebook: facebook.com/AuthorLisaAmstutz

Highlights of Nuts & Bolts of Science Writing 2018 by Kathy Halsey

What did I do on my summer vacation? One of the biggest highlights was my first Highlights workshop. In this post I'll share newbie tips along with writerly tidbits from our fab faculty. 

Newbie News

• Plan when you invest in your writing. I waited five years before I signed up for a Highlights workshop. I wanted to be better at my craft and have some projects that could benefit from being workshopped. I also looked for specific faculty and topics that would stretch me as a writer. I found the perfect fit with Nuts & Bolts Science. I knew Jen Swanson and Miranda Paul were excellent teachers since I've attended conferences where they'd been speakers. 
• Although I've read and studied nonfiction for children, I'd never written science, so I plunged into writing an informational picture book about gardens using a child's POV. My critique group and writer friends helped me revise and polish my WIP before I sent it to Highlights. My advice? Take a manuscript that you can't make any better on your own to a workshop. ( Be prepared with a second manuscript, too, just in case the opportunity arises for a second critique.)
• Although it's comforting to attend conferences/workshops with a writer buddy, sometimes going alone will push you to meet new people and network. Now I have a "tribe" of 20 new science writer friends: a snail scientist, an entrepreneur who created a STEM magazine for children, an Ohio writer who is now a contributing editor for Cricket Media, and the amazing author Sarah Aronson. (She gave advice about creativity, the writing doldrums, and shared pieces of her newest book JUST LIKE RUBE GOLDBERG.) Be open to meeting new people who will enrich your life. 

Sarah and Kathy

Fab Faculty TidBits

Take four wonderful professionals (Jen, Miranda, editor Sam Gentry, and Ohio author Tracy Vonder Brink ) together for almost five days, and soon you've had a master class in writing nonfiction, pitching, and a how-to on cracking the magazine market. There was so much insight from these women who generously shared time, knowledge, and books with us. I'll share a chunk of knowledge from all these super stars. (Newbie note - very dark skies in Honesdale PA, so you should plan to star gaze.)

Tracy Vonder Brink  

Jen Swanson, Miranda Paul, Samantha Gentry

• All lucky attendees received a critique from Samantha, plus we had our choice of two more critiques - one with Jen and one with Miranda, depending on whether we wrote middle grade or picture books. (This is why you bring several solid pieces.)
• Back matter REALLY matters to Miranda Paul. She had us do a useful exercise that helps writers get an overview of back matter. Take a stack of picture books, fiction and nonfiction, and read them quickly but study the back matter and make a list that includes type of back matter (author note, charts, fun facts, etc), how many pages of back matter, audience for the back matter (educators, parents, children) and if the tone/style fits the front matter.  
• Jen Swanson swoons for research to make science sing. She begins by going to the library to actually browse the nonfiction section. Serendipity is the name of the game. Jen enjoys hunt, finding both adult and children's books on her topic. For internet research she begins her working bibliography by adding raw links, footnotes at bottom, and then uses Citation Machine or another service. 
• Many of Jen's National Geographic middle grade books rely on interviewing experts. She has  many tips regarding experts (a person working in the field or a PhD.) You'll find them at universities or by googling your topic. Then email them to see if they have interest in  helping you and indicate what publisher you are pursuing. She recommends an email subject line like this, "children’s author working w/Nat Geo looking for an interview." Add your experts in the acknowledgements and give them a book. Best advice from Jen? Don't skimp on research. 

Attendees taking notes and absorbing information

• Samantha Gentry, Assistant Editor at Crown Books for Young Readers, Random House and PRH, engaged attendees by throwing a pitch party. We recreated a twitter pitch party in real life after Sam shared pitch strategies. Sam thinks having a social media presence is helpful for a writer. She suggests picking two options from what she labeled "the trifecta," Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Follow folks who do SM well, such as Josh Funk, Sarah Albee, and Jess Keating. She stressed creating a community network with local booksellers, libraries, schools, and your local writing community.
• Finally, Tracy Vonder Brink gave us a solid background in writing for children's magazines. She has a stellar acceptance rate. She's sold eleven stories and is now employed by Cricket Media. Writers can dig through manuscripts that didn't "work" as books or write a story with research that didn’t go into a book. Writers should analyze magazine issues in detail. Look for ratio of simple sentence to compound/complex sentences,  if questions to the reader are common, and if the reader is addressed as "you." Aim to mimic style, voice, tone, content as much as possible with your submission. Tracy feels she's been most successful when she takes a issue's main topic and thinks outside the box for a story. Her boss, Elizabeth Huyck at ASK, looks for magazine pieces that open out to larger questions or fundamentals. 

  

  Happy scientists and writers on the trail

Discovery!

Friendship

Science Rocks: Jen Swanson & GEOENGINEERING EARTH'S CLIMATE:RESETTING THE THERMOSTAT by Kathy Halsey

Nonfiction writers, today is a REAL treat, prolific science writer Jen Swanson shares craft tips and how a fabulous book like GEOENGINNERING came to be. And if you comment on this post, you'll be entered to win a copy of GEOENGINEERING! Plus I'll review Jen's newest noting the exemplary writing techniques she uses. Finally, Jen's up to even more with the launch of a new blog! Over at From the Mixed-Up File of Middle Grade Authors comes STEM Tuesday beginning November 7 with the topic of zoology. Middle grade books will be highlighted along with resources for teachers. Look here to meet the STEM team of writers.

Book Review via a Writer's Lens

It takes a special skill set for an author to make a complicated topic like geoengineering accessible and interesting for tween/teen readers, but that is Jen Swanson's writing sweet spot. Via Jen's clear, concise yet captivating style, I've learned about and reviewed brain science, Brain Games, nanotechnology, Super Gear, and now geoengineering, the science of human interference to counteract climate change. This is a controversial topic and choosing to use the author's note in front rather than back matter was a smart move. Students will know upfront that Jen is discussing a "hot" topic that is at the forefront of our headlines today. (Think hurricanes such as Maria, Harvey, excessive flooding, and the Central Mexican earthquake, among others.) Yet Swanson delineates the pros and cons of every method she discusses so young readers will easily distinguish the facts and opinions stated. Writers new to expository nonfiction would do well to study Jen Swanson's craft throughout this book. Fun titles, the use of onomatopoeia, short chapters, examples kids can understand make this subject come alive. Teachers will appreciate the plethora of back material: source notes, bibliography, glossary, further information, and an index are all provided. I highly recommend this book for intermediate and middle schools as well as writers who wish to write curriculum-related nonfiction. (Jen speaks more about her craft in our Q & A below.)

Jen and Kathy Chat

What drew you to the topic of geoengineering? Did Twenty-First Century Books ask for a proposal? Did they require a set number of resources/websites? What about photos, infographics? Did you have to provide those? 

How this book came about is kind of a funny story. I was at the 21st Century NF conference and went to go get some tea for breakfast. There, I ended up speaking with Domenica DiPiazza, the Editorial Director of Twenty-First Century Books. We got to talking and I told her that I was writing engineering books. She asked if I knew anything about geoengineering. (I said no, because I didn’t). Then she said she was looking for an author to write a book about this very important topic. I quickly googled it and a few weeks later, submitted the proposal. It was a “right time, right place” sort of thing.

Every proposal requires the amount of research it needs. Which seems weird to say, but it’s true. There isn’t a set  of  “I need 10 resources” sort of thing. For me, you research until you know enough about your topic to write an amazing book about it. As for the photos, Twenty-First Century Books provided them for this book. That is not always the case. Every publisher has different requirements for photos.

I know you’ve done great nonfiction work with National Geographic. Is there a point when publishers began contacting you with proposals once you’ve established yourself? 

Once you establish a good working relationship with an editor, you may have chats about book topics they are looking for and/or ideas of your own to discuss with them. Sometimes these develop into actual projects and eventually books.

Your nonfiction is fun and understandable for its intended audience. What writing techniques do you employ to engage readers?

First, I imagine myself as a kid who is really interested in learning about this topic. I ask myself questions, such as: What is really cool about this process/topic/technique? How does it work? Why is it important? Is there something I can do to help? Any connections to the real world that I can make?

I use active words, kid-friendly descriptions and exciting information. For example, if I were going to talk about distance or size, I might say “it’s as big as a football field”  or “as small as a baseball” or maybe “sticky like a piece of tape on a hot summers day”. Something like that puts in immediate picture into the readers’ mind of exactly what you are describing. That allows them to then make their own connection to size and shape.

It’s immensely helpful when explaining difficult concepts, like geoengineering. In my geoengineering book, I made it easy to understand because every process scientists are looking at is something kids know: the rock cycle, the water cycle, the carbon cycle, etc. If you break it down into easy to understand concepts, then your readers will get it right away.

At what point in the research/writing process do you involve experts? How do you find them or does the publisher do that?

I usually look for experts right away. I don’t contact them until I am well-conversed in the subject, though. I approach them through email and sometimes do everything that way. Occasionally, I will ask them for phone interviews, but not always. I find them at universities mostly. The majority of my research is found in reading professional papers written by university professors. I just pick the experts from there. 

What projects are in the publishing pipeline for you now?

I am excited about the three books I have releasing from National Geographic Kids in 2018. Two are series books: Dr. E’s Super Stellar Solar System is about a planetary geologist who studies rocks on other planets (She has even driven the Mars Rover!). It’s some really exciting space stuff  and every chapter opens with a graphic novel spread. The second series book is a relaunch of Nat Geo’s famed Everything series as Absolute Experts: Dolphins which again features a National Geographic Explorer who studies and works with real dolphins. It’s a fantastic peek into the mind of one of the smartest creatures on the planet.

Finally, there is  Astronaut-Aquanaut: How Space Science and Sea Science Interact. I am VERY excited about this book. It’s a compare-contrast of how astronauts and aquanauts live, learn, and train for their environments. I spent many hours tracking down experts from both fields to include their actual experiences in this book. I had a blast writing this book!

What does a typical work day look like for you? How do you keep to such a tight schedule?  

Well, there is no such thing as a “typical” day for me. I’m very much a by-the-seat-of-your-pants type writer. I work best when I’m under deadlines, which is why I probably have so many. Most of my research takes place on the computer since I do a lot of technical books, I have to read A LOT of professional papers. I also head to the library. There are days when my 12-seat dining room table is covered with books stacked 3-4 high.

I love being a children’s author. It is a dream come true. And I am lucky enough to keep getting jobs so that’s what keeps me going, well, that and paying college tuition for two kids.

Remember to comment below to win a copy of this fabulous book! Wiley Corgi will be choosing a winner.