Rhyming Nonfiction: An Interview with SNACK, SNOOZE, SKEDADDLE author Laura Purdie Salas ~ by Christy Mihaly

Writing good rhyming text is difficult, and writing nonfiction poses its own challenges, but if you know Laura Purdie Salas's books, you know she has mastered the art of rhyming nonfiction. Her "Can Be" series ( A Leaf Can Be; Water Can Be; A Rock Can Be) uses spare verse to introduce big ideas in nature. 

Laura writes poems--and has published several collections--and also pens lovely unrhymed prose. But she has developed a specialty of rhyming nonfiction. Her latest picture book creation is Snack, Snooze, Skedaddle: How Animals Get Ready for Winter. Laura's lively rhyming text and Claudine Gevry's adorable illustrations show young readers three ways in which animals prepare for, and survive, winter: migrate (that's SKEDADDLE); hibernate (SNOOZE), or tolerate (that's SNACK, plus adaptations such as growing heavier coats). It's a layered text, with short factual notes offering additional information for adults and curious kids. And, as a nonfiction nerd, I loved the informative back matter.

from "A Rock Can Be"

Laura graciously dropped by GROG to answer a few questions for our readers. She shares many valuable resources here--just click on the links below.

GROG: Thanks for stopping by, Laura.Your newest book is a real pleasure to read. Can you tell us what inspired you to write about animals weathering the winter?

LPS: Thanks so much for having me here, Christy. 
I grew up in Florida, where winter is practically nonexistent, and I was SO excited to move up to Minnesota and get a taste of winter! After our very first snowfall as Minnesotans, though, I looked around at the snowy white cushion all around and started worrying: Where were the squirrels? What did the rabbits do? Did the snow freeze and kill all of them? I was incredibly relieved to learn that snow actually insulates animals in winter and helps many small mammals survive the cold. Whew! My interests in animals and in the four seasons kind of inevitably led to this book.

GROG: I love that your first thought was concern for the critters. It's really interesting to learn how well adapted they are, right? Better than humans! But inquiring minds want to know ... How long did it take you, from the initial idea to the finished book?
LPS: I'll tell you the story. Here’s the original idea in my Picture Book Ideas document:

A few weeks later, I emailed my awesome editor at Lerner, Carol Hinz:

She thought the idea was delightful, and I was off and running (or flying or swimming). 
But. 
The manuscript did NOT just pour out easily. For several intense months, I tried one different approach after another.

·      Could the animals open fortune cookies that would reveal their winter tactics? “You will go on a long journey,” etc. But I couldn’t get enough variety.

·      Could I highlight numbers? Work in lots of winter survival facts by highlighting one size or speed or something about each animal. Mind-boggling numbers, and also use maps, graphs, and charts, etc. Nope. That was a big fat zero.

·      Could it be a school play or school newscast with students sharing what they did for winter break? It could, but it wasn’t.

I tried a lot of different approaches!

Here's an inside spread from SNACK, showing moose. The extra note says:
"This moose wears fur all year, but he grows special hollow hairs in winter that trap warm air against his body."

Eventually, I decided to use a before-and-during structure. The left side of the spread shows how an animal prepares for winter (by gaining weight, swimming south, growing a new coat, and so on), and the right side shows what it actually does during winter. So, the hummingbird gains weight so that it can fly south for the winter. The whale swims south so that it can mate and eat lots of krill where it’s warmer. The moose grows a warmer coat so that it can withstand brutal winter temperatures. I liked the idea that some of the winter survival strategies start happening months before winter arrives.

I submitted two different versions of the rhyming manuscript to Carol. (I wouldn’t recommend that unless you have a very good, long-standing relationship with an editor!) I sent those in August of 2017. 

In September 2017, Carol took the manuscript to an acquisitions meeting, and it was approved. If only EVERY book moved along this smoothly. But even on a manuscript that moved this quickly, I did a ton of brainstorming and trial-and-error. I considered probably 25-30 different approaches, and I tried out 4 or 5 of them with a first draft—or at least the start of a first draft.

GROG: One thing I most appreciate about you is your generosity in sharing the truth about how this business really works. You've given us a good reminder that even when it looks like someone had a smooth and easy path to publication, writing that little picture book required much more work (and waiting) than most people realize. 

Here's a question I've been anxious to ask: How do you decide when a book should rhyme, and when not to rhyme? 

LPS: Oooh, that’s a good question. Sometimes I know ahead of time. With A Leaf Can Be…, for instance, I specifically went hunting for a nonfiction topic I could write about in very spare verse. 

from "A Leaf Can Be"

Other times, though, as with Snack, Snooze,Skedaddle, I didn’t plan to write in rhyme. Most of the approaches I tried were in prose. But once I settled on the before-and-during (or sometimes cause-and-effect) structure of each spread, it seemed to fall into couplets naturally. One line for the before, and then a partner/rhyming line for the during.

Here's the frog spread from SNACK. Note: "This frozen Northern wood frog
stops breathing for months, then thaws and hops away!"

I have a picture book coming out next spring called Secrets of the Loon, and this was a project where the editor approached me, which is unusual. I tried four different approaches and wrote the first few spreads sharing the same information in each of all four different styles: haiku, diary, rhyming, and straight prose. Everyone’s favorite (including mine) was the rhyming, so that’s what I went with.

My other picture book coming out next year, Clover Kitty Goes to Kittygarten, is in prose, with just very brief rhyming passages at the huge points of conflict. But it’s mostly prose, and it always needed to be in prose. I wanted to go into more detail and move the plot along quickly, and it would have been very difficult to accomplish that and also still get some emotional resonance in a short rhyming story.

from "Water Can Be"

Here’s the thing: I am at least as interested in words as I am in any topic I write about—leaves, water, animals, loons, seasons, etc. So more than half the fun of writing a book is in choosing the structure and words I’ll use. It’s only partially about conveying information or telling a story (for me—other writers might be different). It’s kind of like music. Sometimes I want to listen to haunting folk music, other times power rock, and still other times singer-songwriter stuff. And sometimes I just want a good rhythm I can dance to. The magic of writing each different project is in getting to listen to the words as they start to shape up and then deciding what kind of song they best fit into. Maybe it will rhyme and maybe it won’t. Honestly, it’s trial and error much of the time for me.

GROG: I like the music analogy. And I'm glad to know we have these other books to look forward to! 

But meanwhile, would you care to share a tip or two about how to write in rhyme so that editors like it?

LPS: I suppose “Don’t suck” sounds awfully harsh, but it’s what I tell myself when I start revising a rhyming draft. Some things I focus on are:

o   Using fresh and vivid language

o   Not letting the rhyme obviously drive the arc of the story (If a reader knows you wrote a line just because it could rhyme with the previous one, you’re busted.)

o   Perfecting the meter, except when…

o   Breaking the meter purposefully to emphasize a certain point

o   Not getting carried away with too much metaphor and wordplay (This is my biggest hurdle.)

The fox spread from SNACK -- don't you love the fox?

GROG: These are excellent reminders, Laura. Do you have any advice for writers who want to try rhyming nonfiction? 

LPS: I shared a great exercise years ago on the Teaching Authors blog, here. It breaks down my general approach to rhyming nonfiction, and I invite you to give it a try.

On my website, I have an area with resources (including ones on poetry and also on nonfiction) for kidlit writers, here. 

For folks interested in becoming Patrons (through Patreon), I’ve been sharing step-by-step videos of the process of writing Secrets of the Loon. There’s quite a bit of my joys and struggles with rhyming nonfiction in there!

The book Rhyming Picture Books the Write Way, by Lisa Bullard and me, is full of great, simple to understand (but hard to master, I’m afraid) concepts that will make your rhyming picture book stronger.

And if you are looking for a course to take, I highly recommend Renee LaTulippe’s Lyrical Language Lab. I’ve co-taught it with her twice now, but with me or without me, it’s fabulous! Her materials are terrific, and she is SO knowledgeable about all things metrical! 

GROG: Wow! These are some great resources and recommendations. Thanks again, Laura. 

One last question, out of writerly curiosity. What does your writing space look like?

Laura multi-tasking at her treadmill desk

LPS: My husband and I moved last year, and for the first time in my life, I have a space that is JUST my office. Not a guest bedroom, not the dining room, not a closet. (Well, it is about the size of a closet.) I use a treadmill desk, and I have a window to see sky and trees…It’s all mine, and I adore it.

GROG: Now we all really have something to aspire to! Good luck in getting this beautiful book out into the wider world, and thanks again for all your words of wisdom.

For more thoughts related to rhyming nonfiction, click below for GROG blogs from the archives:
Making Science Sing
Rhyming Nonfiction PBs
Whose Hands Are These?
Writing Rhyming PBs

All about Snack, Snooze, Skedaddle

Book Trailer, reviews, downloadable activity sheets at https://laurasalas.com/snack/

Author: Laura Purdie Salas

Illustrator: Claudine Gévry

Publisher: Millbrook/Lerner (9/3/19)

ISBN: 978-1541529007

A CHAT WITH JUSTIN COLON OF #PBChat by Sherri Jones Rivers

     I'm not exactly sure how I came upon the twitter handle of #PBChat, but I am so glad I did. I was able to enter Justin Colon's inaugural PBChat Mentorship contest, which turned out to be an awesome opportunity for so many to gain a mentorship or to have a professional critique. I was blessed to have been a runner up for the delightful Rebecca Gomez and her spot-on critique of my rhyming manuscript has given it new life.  I was curious about how Justin got started on his journey to help picture book writers, and how in the world he juggles all he does.                                            

SJR:  Tell us a little bit about your background and was that a springboard for starting PBChat? 

     I'm a Latinx author and SCBWI member. In 2017, I wrote my first picture book and joined SCBWI. I used the Blueboard (the SCBWI discussion forum) and befriended author Sarah Floyd. She encouraged me to apply for a mentorship program and I did. Out of 77 applicants, (and within one month of writing my first picture book story), Pam Calvert chose me to be her mentee. We worked together very closely and my craft and knowledge of the business skyrocketed during our time together. I experienced just how much a mentorship can forever change the trajectory of one's journey, especially as an artist. That experience definitely served as a springboard for #PBChat (the mentorship in particular) In my other life, I'm a professionally trained, agented, voiceover artist and actor who's appeared in shows for Netflix, Amazon, CBS, FOX and BET+.

SJR: When did you start this group, and what was your primary purpose in doing so? Do you have any idea how many members you have?

     I wanted to carve out a section of Twitter for us picture book creators to call our own---a place where we could "meet up" weekly and talk shop. I put out a tweet to see if there was any interest...
                                             

...and the response was immense! So, I claimed a hashtag, set a date, and from there PBChat quickly evolved into the active and supportive community it is today. Through PBChat we develop our craft and knowledge of the business together, share resources, and develop connections. It's a collaborative effort between me, the industry, the guest participants, the illustrators who allow PBChat to use their work, and the participants who show up and share word of PBChat.

SJR:  How did you come up with the idea of the PBChat mentorship? I was so impressed with the mentors you had come aboard. Did you know a lot of them already?
     Thank you! Launching a mentorship seemed like a natural step in the evolution of PBChat. With the exception of my former mentor, Pam Calvert, I only had a few pre-existing relationships with some of the mentors, and those relationships were still very new. I researched and reached out to many authors (through cold emails). The kidlit community is extremely generous, so I found there was not much convincing to be done.

SJR:  Tell us about your Wednesday night twitter chat sessions. Has there been one that particularly resonated with folks?
     
     PBChat takes place every Wednesday night from 9-10 PM EST (officially), but our chats often extend in the early hours of the morning, and sometimes the following day. (Just go to twitter and type in #PBChat. Tweetdeck is helpful for following and keeping afloat during the night). Each week we have a pre-chosen discussion topic. I create prompt cards with questions on them (and beautiful illustrations designed by that month's featured illustrator).

     The night of the chat, I tweet those prompt cards/questions one by one, with a little gap in between each to allow for discussion. We have icebreaker questions, craft and business-related questions, and sometimes giveaways. We even bring industry guests to chat with us every month. In many ways, these chats are like master classes and TED Talks rolled into one.

     All of our chats have been exceptional and I'm extremely honored to be collaborating with so many creators who are movers and shakers I admire. One chat I think especially resonated with folks was our discussion with author-illustrator Jess Keating about "Navigating all aspects of the creative process with a mindful, productive mindset." 

                                             
    SJR:  How would you describe the participation for your first mentorship program? How many entries?

      TREMENDOUS! We expected lots of participants from outside the PBChat community, which has been amazing. Frances Gilbert, Editor-In-Chief of Doubleday Books for Young Readers , will be accepting one manuscript from each mentee to consider possible acquisition. There's even a mentee showcase in the works, and I'm assembling a killer line-up of 2020 mentees (whom I'll reveal in May)

     STATS:
     481 manuscripts
     1528 submissions (each applicant was allowed to       
     submit up to four mentors)
     25 Mentors
     40 Mentees
     130+ donated critiques

SJR:  How would you describe the talent you saw come through the contest? Do you expect to see some of those manuscripts being on book shelves one day?

     Lots of diverse talent and strong work submitted garnered mentors. We have talented authors who are black, latinx, Asian, LGBTQ and disabled. Overall, the applications we received were well-thought-out and extremely heartfelt. Many of the mentors emailed me to share how difficult the process of choosing a mentee was proving to be. Many mentors took on multiple mentees!

     There were lots of runners-up who were so close to  scoring a mentorship, but in the end, it came down to personal preference and how the mentor felt they could help the applicant and their work, and to what degree. Everybody walked away with something, though, even if they weren't selected.

     Some mentors offered mini critiques to every applicant who submitted to them! Many published authors, illustrators, agents and editors donated critiques to applicants who mentors chose as runners-up or who were nominated on the strength of their application and/or work. Overall, 160+ people walked away with something, aside from the clarity I hope the application process itself provided.
   
     Joyce Sweeney donated a live, ten-week picture book course that's exclusive to PBChat and begins in October.

     https://www.sweeneywritingcoach.com/pb-chat-pbe

     I also set up a group (via the cloud-based program Slack) for all the runner-ups and mentees. My intention for launching the group was to provide a positive, safe space for the mentees and runners-up to connect and establish long lasting relationships while navigating the mentorship and post-mentorship experience. They can share resources, critique each other's work, brainstorm together, suggest mentor texts and comp titles for one another, help polish pitches and more.

     I am really proud of the mentors, the mentees, and everyone who is a part of PBChat and has helped make all of this possible. In many ways, this has transcended a mentorship and I'm moved by the thought that we are changing the future of kidlit together and influencing future readers.

    Oh, and I'm already building my PBChat bookshelf. I look forward to the day when it's a PBChat library.

SJR: How do you find the time to do all you do for picture book writers?

     I keep a never-ending 'To-Do" list, several clones, and a time machine on standby at all times!
                                         

SJR:  I have a feeling, with all your energy and drive, that you have some future plans for PBChat.

     I'm going to reveal one announcement that nobody except you, dear reader, knows. Gather 'round. (Whispers) There might be an online PBChat conference in our future. There's a lot in the works, but it's all top secret for now.
                                              

You can connect with Justin here:
 Twitter @justinrcolon
Website: justincolonbooks.com
Blog: justincolonbooks.com/blog

_________________________________________________
     

Welcome to our newest blogger, Carol Coven Grannick! ~ by Patricia Toht

The GROG has added a new blogger to its roster:

Carol Coven Grannick!

PT: Welcome, Carol! How did you get started as a writer?

Carol: As a child, it seemed natural for me to write, to put thoughts and emotions to paper. From childhood on, poetry and wonderful stories delighted and moved me, and the most natural thing in the world seemed to be for me to create the same. I suppose without putting it into words at the time, it felt like this - this thing, this experience is 'me.'

As far as I've meandered from full-time writing, being a writer has always figured into my multi-faceted identity. But there did come a time, once I was writing for children in a committed way, when I said to myself that whether or not I ever became book-published, I was a writer, and would keep writing. For several years, I put submitting on the back burner, and that freed me to write exactly what I needed and wanted to write. I still do. The deepest joy is in creating and re-creating.


PT: What inspires you?

Carol: Everywhere I go, everything I do, every moment of my life, can inspire a poem or idea for a picture book. It could be something a child does or says, something I observe or experience during the day, but it's always something visceral and something that my brain sees in language. An idea comes from this kind of response to anything - always something that catches me, sparks a sensation of wonder, even awe. Something tiny, but breathtaking, whether beautiful, joyful, painful, sorrowful, will catch my attention, and I'll hear an opening line of a poem, a title or opening lines for a picture book.

Advice Image source and CC link

PT: You've written quite a bit for newsletters and blogs. What are your favorite bits of advice for writers?

Carol: It's true that I've written lots of articles on the writer's inner life for newsletters and blogs. In fact, before I had a professional interest in the writer's inner journey and the strengths needed for persisting on the journey, I wrote columns for my high school paper, and later longer papers and articles that always leaned "internal." 

I never offer advice that I don't take myself, and so the small pieces of advice I'd offer - as a writer and clinical social worker - are these overarching things:

1. trust or learn to trust your emotions and refrain from judging them; 
2. if a pessimistic framework seems to inhibit your work, choices, and life, learn - with help and practice - to reframe language into a heartfelt, optimistic framework; and
3. when preoccupied with the self-absorbing issues of working at being creative, make certain that your life has "other-balance" - focusing on what you can do for others or the greater good.

PT: Which books and authors are among your favorites?

Carol: Many authors have impacted my writing life, from the ALL OF A KIND FAMILY books I received as a child and classic picture books like BLUEBERRIES FOR SAL, MAKE WAY FOR DUCKLINGS, and THE STORY OF FERDINAND, to the extraordinary books I discovered at Skokie Solomon Schechter Day School, where Irene Sufrin had created and shared a magnificent K-5 library that took my breath away and turned my writing journey toward children. I read and re-read Jerry Spinelli, Linda Sue Park, Katherine Applegate, Kerry Madden, Karen Hesse, Lois Lowry, Claudia Mills, Deborah Wiles, Frances O'Roarke Dowell, Richard Peck, and so many more I don't have room to mention.

PT: Tell us a little about your upcoming book. What was your path to publication?

Esther Hershenhorn

Carol: My middle grade novel in verse, REENI'S TURN (Fitzroy Books, 2020), is a story of becoming, as one of my mentors, Esther Hershenhorn, so aptly said - really, a story of a shy, self-conscious preteen girl becoming the girl she'd like to be, without giving up the person she already is. It is a body-positive story that challenges the cultural notion that who we are, what we achieve in our lives, and what we even allow ourselves to want, is dependent on the size and shape of our bodies. 

The seed story for the novel appeared in Cricket Magazine in 2001, and inspired the award-winning experimental film, La Folia (Filmelodic, 2018). For now, I'll say that REENI has been through many years and more drafts and versions than I could have imagined, with me facing plenty of obstacles not unique to our business, but important to learn from, and to share. The degree of help and support I received from so many people in so many different arenas was a true gift. I took a turn toward independent, traditional publishers in early 2019, and found my good (and best) match with Fitzroy Books and publisher/editor Jaynie Royal.

Carol spent time this summer on a creative retreat, led by
Esther Hershenhorn in Landgrove, Vermont.

PT: Do you prefer the initial writing or the revision process?

Carol: I prefer revision, hands down! I love revising and have learned to revise with the eyes of a stranger. The benefit of putting away a manuscript for some period of time cannot be overstated. Our brains need the distance in order to see clearly.

PT: What's next for you?

Carol: I believe I've circled back to where I began my writing life - with poetry, whether verse or poetic prose, it feels like where I belong.

Heidi Bee Roemer

Poetry for the very young is my primary focus right now. When I began writing full-time, for the first time in my life, in July 2018, I took an intensive class with Heidi Bee Roemer. I felt like my brain exploded into a garden. I couldn't stop writing poetry for the very young, and I didn't want to! My inspirations were, and still are, the beloved children at the cutting-edge early childhood center where I'd worked for six years, and continue to serve as a volunteer story-reader. Heidi is a wonderful teacher, and a loving and supportive mentor. My classmates and I continue to exchange valuable critiques online.

I'm also working slowly and carefully on a poetry chapbook for adults that deals with an experience in a major hospital that jeopardized my husband's life, and had a major impact on me that I'm still processing.

PT: Wow, Carol! What an interesting journey you've had. Your path and persistence are an inspiration to me. We're so looking forward to having you join us on the GROG!

Hello, Carol!

************ WINNER ALERT!!! ************

Congratulations to Andrea Page,

the winner of Michelle Schaub's

new picture book/poetry collection,

FINDING TREASURE!

Andrea, please contact Michelle via her website
HERE.

FINDING TREASURE Author Interview w/ Michelle Schaub + Book Giveaway by Eileen Meyer

Michelle Schaub's latest picture book!

Michelle, thanks for joining us today at the GROG Blog. Where did you get the idea for this book and the poems within?

I first thought about writing a poetry book about things people collect when I was participating in Tara Lazar’s STORY STORM a few years ago. In this challenge, writers come up with a new picture book idea each day for a month. 

One day, when I was short on ideas, I was perusing the items on my bookshelf, and my eyes landed on my grandmother’s seashell collection. I started brainstorming different items that other family and friends collected. My mom collected buttons. (I loved rummaging through her button box when I was little.) My father-in-law collected trains. My husband collected baseball cards as a child. The neighbor around the corner had a birdhouse collection that filled his entire front porch. Each of these topics ended up becoming a poem in the book. But I still needed something to hold the poems together. So, I came up with the idea of adding a protagonist who needs to bring in a collection for a class assignment. This gave the book an arc: a hunt for the perfect collection!

Poem featured in Michelle's new book

Which poem from the collection is your favorite and why?

I had so much fun playing with different forms in this collection, and each presented its own challenges and triumphs. I think my favorite of the lot is “Auntie Kate’s Vanity PL8S” because I thought “outside the box” or more accurately “inside the license plate rectangle” for this poem. Each line of this poem is a vanity plate puzzle that must be decoded.  The challenge with this format was maintaining a rhyme and meter within the constraint of each line being no more than 6 or 7 characters long (including spaces), which is the standard for vanity plates.

Are you a collector yourself, and if so, what do you collect?

My grandmother was a collector. She had an amazing giraffe figurine collection and a butterfly-themed collection.   She also collected teapots and cups. I used to spend hours studying all her different pieces.  As a result, I’ve always loved the idea of collecting. 

Michelle and one of her collectibles: tea cups

Over the years, I’ve started several collections:  a blue teacup collection, a blue Santa collection (I really like the color blue), but then my attention and interests change.  The only collection I’ve managed to sustain is my collection of children’s poetry books. I just had to buy a bigger bookshelf recently to hold all of the wonderful poetry collections written by my fellow children’s poets. I’m also really drawn to the idea of collecting non-tangible things like smiles or words or poems. 

Something folks might not know about you…

I also “collect” visits to farmers’ markets. Farmers’ markets are my happy place.  This statement, written on a tea towel my neighbor gave me, is absolutely true. 

Farmers' Markets & Michelle

The first thing I do when I travel to a new place is find the farmers’ market and see what local fruit and veggies treasures I can spy. I’ve even been known to plan vacations around farmers’ markets that are rumored to be spectacular. Walking down a row of tents at a market, taking in the bright rainbow of fresh produce and listening to chatting neighbors and lively musicians, fills me with joy.  

I channeled that joy into the poems I wrote for my last collection, FRESH-PICKED POETRY: A DAY AT THE FARMERS’ MARKET.

Michelle's debut picture book

Michelle, I know that you have some other exciting news to share ...

I just launched a blog called POETRY BOOST.  I’ll be sharing lesson plans, mentor text, and ideas for using poetry to boost literacy across the curriculum.

Here’s the address: https://michelleschaub.blogspot.com/

GIVEAWAY: For those who leave a comment on the blog post, we'll pick a lucky winner of Michelle's new book on Sept. 23rd! Stay tuned!

Find Michelle here on social media:

www.michelleschaub.com

Twitter and Instagram: @schaubwrites