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Best Blog Post Ever

7/21/2014

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by Mira Reisberg

Start writing about anything kid's book related
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About Mira Reisberg.....

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Opening Lines in Picture Books

7/20/2014

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Opening lines of picture books are meant to hook your reader.

Sometimes when I have an idea for a picture book, I get stuck and don't know how to start my book.

Sometimes I've written a picture book and it simply feels like it doesn't start the right way.

One of my favorite things about being a writer is that you don't always have to write. You have to have time to READ too! 

Reading other picture books with a specific purpose in mind will help your own writing. 

Today, I wanted to look at the opening lines of some of my favorite picture books.   Use these lines to inspire a kickstart to your own book!  I challenge you to look at each one and think about what works and why? 
Henny by Elizabeth Rose Stanton
Henny was not a typical chicken. Henny was born with arms.

Crankenstein by Samantha Berger
Have you seen Crankenstein?  Oh, you would totally know if you had.
You would say, Good Morning!!! How are you? 
Crankenstein would say, MEHHRRRR!
Sophie's Squash by Pat Zietlow
One bright fall day, Sophie chose a squash at the farmer's market.  
Her parents planned to serve it for supper, but Sophie had other ideas.
Maple by Lori Nichols
Maple loved her name. 
When she was still a whisper, her parents planted a tiny tree in her honor!
And even though Flavia, Millie Jane, Lena, Lily, and Constance were all good names...
Maple was the perfect fit.
The Good-Pie Party by Liz Garton Scanlon
Posy Peyton doesn't want to move.
She doesn't want to pack her books or take down her bird feeder or undecorate her secret clubhouse.  And she really doesn't want to say good-bye.
How To Clean Your Room in 10 Easy Steps by Jennifer LaRue Huget
Welcome to my room.  You will notice that it is very clean.  I'm going to show you how you can clean yours, too.  The first thing we need is a messy room.  The messier, the better.
Love Monster by Rachel Bright
This is a monster. (Hello, Monster.)  I think you'll agree he's a little bit funny-looking. To say the least.  He lives in a world of cute, fluffy things.  
Which makes being funny-looking...
pretty, darn hard.
Hooway for Wodney Wat by Helen Lester

Poor Wodney. Wodney Wat. His real name was Rodney Rat. But he couldn’t pronounce his Rs. To make matters worse, he was a rodent. A wodent.

Tacky the Penguin by Helen Lester

There once was a penguin. His home was a nice icy land he shared with his companions. His companions were named Goodly, Lovely, Neatly, Angel, and Perfect.  His name was Tacky. Tacky was an odd bird.

Princess in Training by Tammi Sauer

Viola Louise Hassenfeffer was not an ordinary princess.  She spent her time karate chopping, diving into the moat, and skateboarding up and down the drawbridge.  Zip Zup Zoom.

Nugget and Fang by Tammi Sauer

In the deep, deep ocean lived two best friends. Nugget and Fang. They did everything together.  They swam over. Glug.  They swam under.  Glug. Glug. They swam all around. (Glug Glug Glug) until it was time for Nugget to go to school.

Not Your Typical Dragon by Dan Bar-el

Crispin Blaze was born into a proud family of fire breathing dragons. “Every Blaze breaths fire,” explained his father. “I breathe fire. Your mother breathes fire. Tomorrow, when you turn seven, you will breathe fire too.”

Unlovable by Dan Yaccarino

Alfred was unlovable. At least that’s what the cat told him every chance he got. “You’ve got the ugliest mug I’ve ever seen. No one could love you.”

Say Hello to Zorro by Carter Goodrich

Mister Bud had it pretty good.  Everything was just right. He had his own house. His own bed. His own toys. His own dish. But most of all… He had his own schedule. And everybody stuck to the schedule.

Stand Tall Molly Lou Melon by Patty Lovell

Molly Lou Melon stood taller than her dog and was the shortest girl in the first grade.  She didn’t mind.  Her grandma had told her, “Walk as proudly as you can and the world will look up to you.”

Chicken Big by Keith Graves

On a teeny little farm, in an itty-bitty coop, a very small hen laid a big, humongous egg. (Bok!)

The egg began to shake. The egg began to quake. Out popped a big, humongous chick.

“What is it?” crowed the rooster.

“It’s big!” clucked the small chicken.

“It’s enormous!” clucked the smaller chicken.

“It’s an elephant!” peeped the smallest chicken. (She was not the sharpest beak in the flock.)

“He’s too big to stay in our itty-bitty coop,” crowed the little rooster.

“Much, much too big,” clucked the small chicken.

“He’ll break the floor!” clucked the smaller chicken.

“Indoor elephants are dangerous!” squawked the smallest chicken.

“I don’t feel like an elephant,” thought the big chick.

Sign: No Elephants Allowed!

“I wish I were a chicken.”




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Mandy Yates is currently an elementary reading specialist and children's book writer. She has an MFA in creative writing from Spalding University and has been published multiple times in Highlights Magazine. 

She is also assisting Mira in teaching The Craft and Business of Writing Children's Books. http://www.childrensbookacademy.com/writing-childrens-picture-books.html, as well as The Chapter Book Alchemist  http://www.childrensbookacademy.com/the-chapter-book-alchemist.html .

Find some of her teacher resources over at http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Mandy-Yates.

And you can follow her on Pinterest, Twitter,and Facebook.    
12 Comments

Publishers Accepting Unsolicited Manuscripts

7/14/2014

46 Comments

 
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The world of publishing is slow. And this puts writers in a tough place. Getting an agent is just as hard as getting an editor at a publishing house to acquire your book. Some would say (it's even harder.) 

This may leave new writers wondering, what should I do? Put all my efforts into finding an agent since so many publishing houses are closed to unsolicited submissions? Or do I go ahead and submit to the ones that are still open?  Or is it a combination of both?  

Keep in mind that if you submit to a house and are rejected, that leaves one less house that an agent can submit your work to if you acquire that agent later on. 


It's a tough decision to make, especially when everything moves so slow in this industry. 
However, if  you decide to sub yourself, I've put together a list of publishers still accepting unsolicited manuscripts. (If you find an error or know of another house, please comment below.)  Before submitting to any of them, always do your own research and double check their submission guidelines as everything is always changing.

Boyds Mills   

http://www.boydsmillspress.com/

Charlesbridge

http://www.charlesbridge.com/

Chronicle

http://www.chroniclebooks.com/

Clarion

http://www.hmhco.com/customer-care/faqs

Creston Books

http://www.crestonbooks.co/submissions.html

Dial Books for Young Readers  http://www.us.penguingroup.com/static/pages/publishers/yr/dial.html

Dutton Children’s Books  http://www.us.penguingroup.com/static/pages/aboutus/pyrg-subguides.html

Eerdmans Books for Young Readers  http://www.eerdmans.com/Pages/YoungReaders/EBYR-Guidelines.aspx

Holiday House

http://www.holidayhouse.com/

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Books for Children's Author

http://www.hmhco.com/customer-care/faqs

 Ideals Publication

http://www.idealsbooks.com/info/author_guidelines

Kane/Miller

http://www.kanemiller.com/submissions.html

Lee and Low

http://www.leeandlow.com/p/wguide.mhtml

Arthur Levine

http://www.arthuralevinebooks.com/submission.asp

Margaret McElderry

http://imprints.simonandschuster.biz/margaret-k-mcelderry-books/resources

*Website doesn’t say they accept unsolicited. But 2014 Children’s Writers and Illustrators Market says they publish 50% from unagented writers. How to contact: Margaret K. Mcelderry Books, Imprint of Simon and Schuster Children’s Publishing Division, Simon & Schuster, 1230 Sixth Ave., New York, NY 10020.  (Justin Chanda, vice president, Karen Wojtyla, editorial director, Gretchen Hirsh, associate editor, Ann Bobco, excutive art director.

Peachtree Childrens Books

http://peachtreepub.blogspot.com/p/submission-guidelines.html

Philomel

http://www.us.penguingroup.com/static/pages/aboutus/pyrg-subguides.html

Price Stern Sloan

http://www.us.penguingroup.com/static/pages/aboutus/pyrg-subguides.html

Putnam

 http://www.us.penguingroup.com/static/pages/aboutus/pyrg-subguides.html

Renaissance House

http://www.renaissancehouse.net/opportunities.htm

Walker and Co.

http://www.bloomsbury.com/

*Website says Bloomsbury doesn’t accept unsolicited. However the 2014  Children’s Writers and Illustrators Market lists Walker & Co. does accept unsolicited.  Send SASE and complete picture book manuscript to 175 Fifth Ave. 7th Floor, New York, NY 10010. (Contact either Emily Easton or Mary Kate Castellani, editor)

Albert Whitman and Co.

http://www.albertwhitman.com/content.cfm/editorial-guidelines-for-writers

*Website says they weren’t accepting unsolicited until Jan. 2014.  So they should be now.

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Mandy Yates is currently an elementary reading specialist and children's book writer. She has an MFA in creative writing from Spalding University and has been published multiple times in Highlights Magazine. 

She is also assisting Mira in teaching The Craft and Business of Writing Children's Books. http://www.childrensbookacademy.com/writing-childrens-picture-books.html, as well as The Chapter Book Alchemist  http://www.childrensbookacademy.com/the-chapter-book-alchemist.html .

Find some of her teacher resources over at http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Mandy-Yates.

And you can follow her on Pinterest, Twitter,and Facebook. 
46 Comments
    We are so excited to be mixing things up at CBA, beginning with some delicious additions to the Blogfish. Meet our  awesome bloggers!!

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    1st Mondays begin with awesome multi-published former student Shirin Shamsi who will be focusing on Muslim and cultural kidlit.

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  • Home
  • WRITING
    • Mastering Great Graphic Novels >
      • 2023 Mastering Graphic Novels Registration
    • Craft & Business of Writing Childrens Picture Books
    • The Chapter Book Alchemist
    • New!! Middle Grade Mastery Instant Access
    • 2022 Kidlit Palooza >
      • 2022 Palooza Program
      • 2022 Palooza Faculty
  • ILLUSTRATION
    • NEW!! Craft & Business of Illustrating Children's Books Instant Access
    • Never a Dull Moment Workshop
  • TECH
  • About Us
    • Why Us?
    • Meet the Faculty, Lives & GT Judges
    • Testimonials
    • Books by Students
    • Our Bookshop
    • As Seen In
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact Us
  • Blogfish
  • MN Course Access
  • Community
    • Our Bookshop
    • Come Play With Us!
    • Resources
    • Course Scholarships >
      • Yuyi Morales Picture Book Scholarship
      • Andrea Davis Pinkney MG CB Mastery Scholarship
      • Rafael Lopez Illustrating Childrens Books Scholarships
      • Larissa Marantz Merit & Need Scholarship