ReviMo Get Ready . . . Ann Whitford Paul & Susanna Leonard Hill Love Being Picture Book Authors

Why I Love Being a Picture Book Author

by Ann Whitford Paul

What I love about writing picture books is that they feel like pearls, small, perfectly shaped and shining with rhythm. I love spending time making sure each word expresses not only the story, but the emotion behind it. Even move I love imagining adults and children, sitting skin to skin, sharing my words. My hope is that those children will like my book enough to want to hear more books and then learn to read their own books. What would a society be without a reading population! The responsibility we bear to start children onto that path is both humbling, terrifying and exciting.

That's really lovely. Thank you Ann! 

I became inspired to write after years of bedtime reading to my four children and now to my grandchildren. My publications include many award winning prose and rhymed, fiction and non-fiction, picture books, plus a collection of poetry and three early readers. Some of my recent titles include Tortuga in Trouble, Word Builder and If Animals Kissed Good Night. I’ve also published a craft book for adults titled WRITING PICTURE BOOKS: A Hands-on Guide from Story Creation to Publication.

http://www.annwhitfordpaul.net/ 


If you are writing picture books and do not own Ann's book already, I highly recommend purchasing it!

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Why I Love Being a Picture Book Author

by Susanna Hill

I was that kid with her nose in a book.

Oh, I did other stuff too - climbing trees, riding ponies, playing The Orphanage Game with my siblings (you know, the one where we pretended we were mistreated orphans running away from the evil orphanage lady? :)), trying to set a world record in pogo-sticking, and making my little brother laugh at the dinner table so he spit milk out his nose.

But many a happy winter evening or summer afternoon or precious ten minutes before classes began found me lost in a story.

So it's really no big surprise that I also love to write.

My writing career began with that seminal piece: "My Cat".

That was the whole story.

It was written above a picture of - you guessed it - my cat.  It may have been less a story than a way to make sure everyone knew what the picture was of.  Who can tell?  I am no artist :)

My work increased in word count from 2 to a bunch more than that for stories such as The Girl And The Witch.  I dare you to guess what that one's about :)

In middle school I moved on to dabbling in epic poetry (The Gods And Goddesses of Ancient Greece is a thrill a minute, let me tell you :))  I wrote some truly special Nancy Drew mysteries, and I wrote horse stories of all kinds.

In high school and college, I imagined I could write "literary fiction" - heavy emphasis on the imagining.

And then, for one dark period in college which is best forgotten, I experimented with romance novels (on a dare :))

I always loved to write, but as you can see I didn't really know WHAT I wanted to write.

When my first child was about a year old, I found out.

I wanted to write picture books.

I loved having them read to me as a child.

I loved reading them with my own children.

There's something special and magical about picture books that no other genre can touch.

For children, they're about exploration and wonder and delight.

For parents they're about sharing something you love with someone you love; about that special time with a beloved child curled in your lap while you open the treasure chest of reading and show them the beauty it holds.

For writers they're about capturing the moments that matter in childhood - the emotions and milestones and struggles and achievements - to educate, entertain, and enchant.

I love the way picture books feel in my hands.

I love the smell of the ink on the paper.

I love the words and the pictures.

I love the difference they can make in children's lives.

And I love the magic :)

ME too. Thank you Susanna!!!!

Susanna is the award winning author of nearly a dozen books for children, including Punxsutawney Phyllis (A Book List Children's Pick and Amelia Bloomer Project choice),No Sword Fighting In The House (a Junior Library Guild selection), Can't Sleep Without Sheep (a Children's Book of The Month), and Not Yet, Rose (a Gold Mom's Choice Award Winner.) Her books have been translated into French, Dutch, German, and Japanese, with one hopefully forthcoming in Korean. Her newest book, Alphabedtime!, is forthcoming from Nancy Paulsen Books, an imprint of Penguin Books, in Fall 2015. She lives in New York's Mid-Hudson Valley with her husband, children, and two rescue dogs.

If you are writing picture books and have not taken Susanna's class, Making Picture Book Magic, I highly recommend it!