Samantha Berger wrote her first book at age five. Since then she’s written dozens more in addition to cartoons, commercials, and comic books. She’s worked in publishing and television and lent her voice cartoon voice-overs and recorded audio books. Her creativity is boundless.
There are many reasons to read books by Samantha Berger, this post focuses on three things writers can learn from her work:
From the titles of her books, Berger reveals a lot about the character she’s created. In CRANKENSTEIN, illustrated by Dan Santat, we expect a character that is cranky, cantankerous, and downright disagreeable. And that’s what Berger delivers. “MEHHRRRR!”
In Martha Doesn’t Say Sorry, illustrated by Bruce Whatley, from the cover to the first line, her young audience expects a character that has difficulty saying she’s sorry.
“There are many things Martha does, but apologizing isn’t one of them.”
And because her characters are so well developed, children want to see more of them and are eager to learn how they react in new situations. Berger doesn’t change her character’s unique personalities, but how they cope with something new.
Ideas are everywhere. True, but writers need to come up with ideas they can develop into stories with kid appeal and filled with wonder. Stories that children want to hear again and again. That’s something Samantha Berger has mastered.
What If, illustrated by Mike Curato, is an ode to creativity. Berger explores the power of imagination and a child’s determination to create art even if the materials available to her began to disappear. The reader can feel the persistence on each page as the character grows more creative even when less is available to her.
“If I had nothing but still had my mind…There’d always be stories to seek and to find.”
Snail Mail, illustrated by Julia Patton, examines how something, like a love letter, is more special when it’s created by hand and has to go on a journey and delivered by mail carriers. The story also encourages kids to wonder what happens when life is experienced at a snail’s pace. What would they see? What could they learn? And Dale Snail, Gail Snail, Colonel McHale Snail, and Umbérto set a good example of what it takes to get a job done that takes time and determination.
Using exaggeration to absurd extremes to make kids laugh can help children cope with life events they might be hesitant or fearful about. Humor also allows children the chance to make connections to characters that encounter situations that concern them, too.
Back to School with BIGFOOT, illustrated by Dave Pressler, centers on the evergreen “back to school” topic. To show just how big a deal this is for kids, Berger and co-author Martha Brockenbrough created a larger-than-life character who struggles with back-to-school shopping for clothes and shoes and getting a haircut because – he’s all hair. And he has even bigger worries about making mistakes on the first day of school.
The humor in Monster’s New Undies, illustrated by Tad Carpenter, is delivered through the character. A friendly monster takes on the personality of a child who has grown out of his favorite underwear. This is a fun way to help kids who are grappling with having to let go of something meaningful to them. And the story may encourage children transitioning out of diapers to wear underwear. Both are really big life events young children face.
In addition to developing characters kids love, thinking of unique story ideas, and using humor to engage her audience, Berger writes in stellar rhyme which makes her books entertaining and fun to read out loud…again and again and again.
Now’s your chance to learn from Samantha Berger herself!
At Picture Book Summit 2019, Samantha will be presenting “Guffaws, HaHaHas, and Hardy-Har-HEART—The Connecting Thread Between Humor and Heart” where she’ll reveal not only how to make your audience laugh but also how to connect with the emotional layer of the story—whether your reader is five or ninety-five.
Don’t miss the chance to hear from Samantha directly and ask questions during this online writers conference, all from the comfort of home! Check out Samantha’s presentation as well as our other workshops coming October 5th on our Program Page.
Keila V. Dawson is a regular contributor to the Reading for Research Month (ReFoReMo) blog and reviews books for Multicultural Children’s Book Day. She is the author of THE KING CAKE BABY, (Pelican Publishing 2015) and co-editor of the forthcoming nonfiction poetry anthology NO VOICE TOO SMALL: Fourteen Young Americans Making Change (Charlesbridge, 2020).
