How often does something need to be repeated before it’s considered a tradition?

This is only my third year entering Susanna Leonard Hill’s Halloweesie contest, and yet I feel like the holiday is not complete without it.

So here we go…

SHIVER CAULDRON HOWL MCGOON by David McMullin

Shiver Cauldron Howl McGoon was born on Halloween.

And he was named for that very night.

Shiver – the autumn air was chilly, his scaly skin even colder.

Cauldron – where he was created in a witch’s brew of toadstools and snakeskins.

Hooooooooooooooowl – his very first sound which rattled the night.

Lastly, McGoon – from his great, great, great, great, grand ghoul McGoon.

Each birthday, Shiv creeps out onto the streets to trick-or-treat among the humans.

“What is your costume?” children ask.

Shiv proudly puffs up his spines.

“Why, I’m Shiver Cauldron Howl McGoon. I am Halloween night.”

***

Happy Halloween!!!!!

I’m going to be be very specific about which picture books I am referring to. Books for 0-5 year olds used for read aloud story time. This is the type of activity I lead mostly as a librarian, and not just any book will work. I can talk about reading to older kids, and books that families check out at a later time.

The 0-5 age group has not yet been in school, and so have not  learned to stay in their seats and pay attention. This is fine, I don’t expect this from them. As the facilitator, story time is about theatrics, quick transitions, and varying the activities – a good mix of songs, movement, games, and (since it is a library) books.

Because of this, the books I choose are very specific. If you want your book to be selected for this type of activity, this Is what I’m looking for:

1. Length – Short. We have all heard over and over to keep our manuscripts short. The first thing I look at is length.  500 words? Too long. I’m looking for books 250 and shorter.
2. Themes – I often will have a theme for my story time. That theme can be anything from, weather, colors, specific animals, kindness, to first day of school, etc. If your book fits into one or more categories, it could be chosen.
3. Interactive – Books that talk to the kids directly or ask for physical interaction are great. They do half of the work for me.
4. Art – I like the art to be colorful, bold, and simple. With 75 kids in a room, art that is complicated or needs to be explored takes too much time to share.
5. Funny – Always wins.
6. Diversity – The kids I’m reading to are of diverse backgrounds, so I like to share books in which everyone can see themselves on the pages.
7. Nonfiction – I am happy to (in fact, I want to) share nonfiction as long as it fulfills most of my other needs.
8. Lessons – My purpose is not usually to teach lessons, but if a book does highlight a topic such as kindness, sharing, problem solving, or being unique, it’s a nice bonus.
9. Endings – A must. If a book fizzles at the end, then I have to work that much harder to get them excited about the next activity. Ending with a surprise or a joke keeps the energy going.
10. Good writing – I save the most important for last. When a book has an arc, strong characters, wonderful words, a unique premise, and a powerful voice, kids notice and pay attention.

Not every book is written for this specific situation, and not every book should be. I rarely choose any of my personal favorite picture books for a group story time. There are different situations for different types of picture books, but if this is where you want your books seen, these are my suggestions.

The great thing about having a blog with no followers, is that I can use it for anything I like. I don’t have to worry about a regular schedule or themed posts. And I can even be a bit more boastful than I might normally be.

This month I set myself a huge list of goals. HUGE! and I accomplished everyone of them. It shows me what I am capable of. Here’s what I did in one month:

1. I am three months into my 52 First Drafts Project (one new PB first draft a week). Four weeks and I wrote 4 new stories.
2. I wanted to draw four spreads for a dummy book of my story THE QUIET CACOPHONY. I finished 6.
3. My plan was to finish four poems for my collection, BUG SIZED POEMS. I finished 4 and have 4 more that are close.
4. I joined the ChaBooCha (Chapter Book Challenge). I read every post, and wrote 1 entire chapter book first draft. I will admit to cheating slightly. I used the structure of a story I wrote 12 years ago, so it wasn’t completely from scratch, but mostly.
5. This month was ReFoReMo (Reading For Research Month), during which I read, participated in the challenges, and commented on every post (about 16-20). I ended up winning a craft book that I look forward to receiving.
6. My agent submission goal is to always have my work in the hands of agents. I submitted to 4 this month.
7. I participated in 1 critique group this month with a brand new piece.
8. I participated in the poetry blog, TODAYS LITTLE DITTY, with 1 poem.
9. I participated in the 50 PRECIOUS WORDS contest with 1 story.
10. I reworked 1 of my chapter book manuscripts. I had the feeling that it might read better in present tense, so I converted the whole 9,600 word story.
11. Twitter complements. I enjoy putting a little positivity out into the community, so I sometimes complement other writers on their work. This month I tweeted to 7.
12. I listened to 1 webinar by Jim Averbeck and Arree Chung.
13. I submitted 1 chapter book for a SCBWI WIP Grant.
14. I prepared 2 submissions for #PBParty.
15. I read 2 MG books.
16. I read 1 ER book.
17. I read 163 PBs.

I know it is a monster amount of work, but actually, it wasn’t very hard. As long as I could get my BIC (butt in chair) I could do the work.

Is this post too braggy?  Good. That was the intention. I worked hard. Now time to celebrate (then back to work).

My goals for the coming month are equally ambitious, but much more focused. I want to finish final sketches for 10 more spreads for the dummy I’m working on, and finish five more stories for the 52 First Drafts Project. And more MG and YA reading.

The Third Annual Valentiny Writing Contest on Susanna Leonard Hill’s blog is here! There are a bunch of rules, but you can head over to her blog to read all about that.

This years theme is hope. Such a lovely theme.

STEVE by David McMullin

When Willy-Gunter-Joaquin-Steve-Gumball, the five headed troll, met Nellie-Hortence-Lana-Jellybean, the four headed Ogress, it was love at first sight, sight, sight, sight. Valentine’s Day would be a day to celebrate.

Okay, I know you’re all good at math and have already noticed the problem. After all the heads paired up, Steve, the second troll head from the left, had no Valentine of his own.

His brothers threw a big Valentine’s Day party so he too, could find the head of his dreams.

Steve knew deep down in his one-fifth-of-a-loving-heart, that he would.

The party was lovely, but no one was quite right.

“Banshee’s got a good head on her shoulders.”

But Steve said, “Too noisy.”

Cyclops? “Too gaze-y.”

Medusa? “Too snake-y.”

And Hobgoblin? “Too… bleeeech!”

“Maybe next year,” said his brothers.

“Wait.” Steve knew, all the way down to the two toes he called his own, that tonight was the night.

That’s when she arrived, riding in on a wild, black horse.

“She’s the one,” said Steve.

“But her head…” said the brothers.

“She’s perfect.”

Steve walked over. “Will you be my Valentine?”

She spoke not a word, but instead touched his cheek. This was the headless horsewoman’s way of saying, “I will.”

*****

Thanks for reading!

In 2017 I read about 600 picture books. Of those, 346 had been published in 2017. After I read each book, I took some notes, and rated them all on a scale from 1 to 9. The following 68 books all received a rating of 9.

These books charmed me. They made me laugh, they make me cry, they made me think. These book made me happy that I write picture books.

First I’ll mention my very favorites (in no particular order):

• A GREYHOUND A GROUND HOG by Emily Jenkins and Chris appelhaus
• I AM NOT A CHAIR by Ross Burach
• THE LEGEND OF ROCK PAPER SCISSORS by Drew Daywalt and Adam Rex
• THE GOOD FOR NOTHING BUTTON by Charise Mericle Harper
• AFTER THE FALL by Dan Santat
• THE WOLF THE DUCK AND THE MOUSE by Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen

And now for the full list (again, in no particular order):

Susanna Leonard  Hill is at it again.

The day Susanna announced the criteria for this year’s contest, I was going on a road trip with three of my nieces and nephews. Awesome! I immediately came up with my plan to cheat. I would simply tell them the three required words (shadow, candy corn, and monster), hop them up on candy, and let their little brains do all the heavy lifting.

The results? I’ll just say, after about an hour, I hastily switched over to a game of ‘I, Spy.’ Maybe this would be the year I would simply be enjoying everyone else’s great stories.

But then, yesterday, I noticed that other people had started to post their entries. How could I not join in? I sat myself down, got myself hopped up on candy, and dove into the challenge.

AFRAID OF HIS OWN SHADOW

by David McMullin

Wallace leapt with fright. “Ay-eeeeeeee!”

Oops. Just his own shadow. Embarrassing!

What made it all the more humiliating was that he, himself, was a shadow.

He couldn’t help himself. Halloween made him jumpy – kids wearing ghoulish costumes lurked around every corner.

To avoid them, Wallace shadowed anything he could find – a pumpkin, a dish of candy corns, a black cat.

Wallace crept over to hide behind a bat, but away it flew.

Exposed, he found himself face to face with the one thing every shadow feared more than any other.

A monstrous little girl was dressed as… the sun.

“Ay-eeeeeeee!”

*****

Thanks for taking a look.

Another challenge, and you all know how I love a good challenge. Vivian Kirkfield is hosting the #50PreciousWords Writing Challenge. You can follow the link to read more about it, but basically – write a story for children in 50 words or less. It’s not as simple as it seems.

GNU SHOES by David McMullin

Hugh Gnu’s gnu shoes were used, so Hugh pursued new gnu shoes at SUE SHREW’S SHOES.

“Two and two,” said Hugh, “plus two,”

“Plus two?” asked Sue.

“I choose to chew shoes, too.”

“My shoes are not to gnaw, gnu.”

“Who knew,” said Hugh Gnu.

“Not you,” said Sue. “Shoo!”

Thanks for reading. Now go to Vivian’s site to read all of the other wonderful entries.

It seems like just yesterday that I was adding my entry to the inaugural Susanna Hill Valentiny Writing Contest. Here we are at year two (The Second Annual Valentiny Writing Contest). Hurray, it’s becoming a thing!

I will admit that I wasn’t planning to enter this time around. I am currently attending the SCBWI winter conference in New York City, and I wanted to spend my time preparing for and putting my energies into making sure I had a productive experience.

But who was I kidding? As soon as I read the rules –  “Write a Valentines story appropriate for children (children here defined as ages 12 and under) maximum 214 words in which someone is confused.”  – I was trapped. While I was not paying attention, my brain, behind my back, came up with this.

TOO MANY MANNYS

“Look,” said Manny Mooney. “I found a valentine on Penny Pepper’s desk. It says, ‘For my marvelous Manny. You do the funniest things!’”

“It must be for me,” said Manny Mackey. “I mimic messy monkeys.”

“Or, it could be for me,” said Manny Meany. “I march through muddy muck.”

“No, it’s for me,” said Manny Murphy. “I make myself milkshake mustaches.”

“You forget about me,” said Manny Mitty. “I moo to mixed-up music.”

“And what about me,” said Manny Moony. “I mumble with a mouthful of mini-marshmallows.”

All five Mannys held onto the valentine and performed their funny feats.

Penny Pepper pranced in and was perfectly perplexed.

“What are you doing with my valentine?” she asked.

All of the Mannys answered at once, “I’m proving this valentine was meant for me.”

“Oh,” said Penny Pepper, “this valentine is not for Manny Mackey, Manny Meany, Manny Murphy, Manny Mitty, OR Manny Mooney.”

“But there are no more Mannys,” said the many Mannys.

“If you look closer,” said Penny Pepper, “this valentine says, ‘For my marvelous Mommy.’ I’m bringing this one home.”

Thanks for reading, and go to Susanna’s Blog to read all of the other wonderful entries.

12 months, 1000 picture books, and 1 ton of fun! Click here to start at the beginning of this series.

I don’t know about the rest of you, but all of that listing wore me out. Now, I need to sit back and relax with a good picture book (or 1000 more).

Each time we complete an epic journey, there is always a lesson hidden somewhere, so… let’s figure this one out.

I was surprised at the number of comments I got, both here and on facebook, about this project. One comment that really stuck with me, went something like this:

When you look at these lists, don’t you feel overwhelmed that everything has been done before?

My initial thought was – Well now that you put the idea into my head, I do! There doesn’t seem to be any stone left unturned (and yes, there were even books about stones). As you browse through these statistics, everything is represented. Every format. Every character, Every plot. Every topic. Every point of view. And if something is not represented in these posts, it’s only because I didn’t share every little detail. If I had, this would have been a 10 part series.

In my own experience, I can’t count the number of times I have written an “original” story, only to see the same book released by someone else a few months later.

But think about it – of course this happens. Just look around you. In this business, we are surrounded by smart, thoughtful, imaginative, energetic, soulful, clever, industrious peers, both published and unpublished. The number of possible ideas generated by picture book writers and illustrators, each and every day, is staggering! Our combined brain energy could power a small planet.

I do not find this overwhelming. I find this thought – freeing.

The knowledge that everything has been done in some form, removes the constraints. Yes, I hope we all strive to be creative, and original, but now the pressure is gone.

This huge body of preexisting ideas gives us the drive to develop a stronger individual voice, and to work towards improving our craft. This is an opportunity to learn and grow. And we can use the work of others to help us get there.

Now, go read!

Be inspired. Learn about what you like and what you don’t like. If you find something similar to yours, that’s okay. Find ways to make yours unique.

It’s bound to be… it’s yours.

This is the paragraph to skip if you have already been following this series.  In 2016 I decided to learn more about current trends in picture book market by reading 1000 books. As I did, book by book, this monster of statistics, began to grow into what you see before you. In case you missed any of the previous parts, click here: Part 1 – Picture book makers; or Part 2 – Characters; or Part 3 – Genre.

Now, we continue with point of view and settings.

Tense:

442 – Past

430 – Present

34 – Future

5 – Multiple

25 – Wordless

I’m surprised that past and present are nearly equal. I felt like I read so many more written in past tense.

Person:

583 – Third

174 – First

53 – Second

88 – Conversation

8 – Lists

5 – Letters

2 – Questions

6 – Multiple

25 – Wordless

Rhyme:

820 – Not in rhyme

161 – Rhyming

10 – Some rhyme, some not

We’ve all heard it – don’t write in rhyme. I do all the time, I love it. Maybe, I’m a glutton for punishment, and as we can see here, not nearly as many rhymers are making it onto the page. I would be interested to see statistics from a publishing house on the percentage of rhyming picture book manuscripts they receive. Of the books I read, 16% were in rhyme. If the percentage of rhyming books being submitted is smaller than 16% then it would be an advantage to write in rhyme. I’m guessing the opposite is true.

Time Period:

852 – Contemporary

96 – Past

5 – Prehistoric

2 – Future

2 – Multiple

Weather/Time of day/Seasons:

824 – Weather was not important to the story.

74 – Night or Dark

43 – Winter or Snow

27 – Across the 4 seasons

14 – Rain

10 – Summer

6 – Wind

5 – Storm

4 – Spring

4 – Autumn

Setting:

158 – Multiple locations

151 – Home

81 – No clear location

78 – Woods

61 – Traveling around town

56 – School

51 – City

43 – Specifically, not is the USA (most popular not-USA locations: 8-Africa; 7-France; 5-Middle East; 4-Mexico)

34 – Ocean

28 – Yard

27 – Farm

25 – Jungle

20 – Kingdom

15 – Space

14 – Zoo

13 – Park

10 – Library

7 – Stage

6 – Around the world

6 – Book

5 – Garden

And some other stuff:

51 – Books with back matter

1 – Board books

2 – Comic Book Style

15 – Books that could be manipulated (flaps, pop-ups, turning book, etc.)

Phew! That’s it for the stats. Well, that was quick and easy.

I’ll write one more blog post to wrap everything up. Part 5 is right here.