blog A Place Inside of Me by Zetta Elliot and Noa Denmon
March 18, 2021 In Caldecott

A Place Inside of Me

It’s time for the third video breakdown of the 2021 Caldecott Medal and Honor books with A PLACE INSIDE OF ME. If you missed our first two videos, catch up here:

Now, on to today’s analysis of 2021 Caldecott Honor Book A PLACE INSIDE OF ME: A POEM TO HEAL THE HEART illustrated by Noa Denmon and written by Zetta Elliot.

A Place Inside of Me by Zetta Elliot and Noa DenmonHere’s a brief description of this one-of-a-kind book:

In this powerful, affirming poem by award-winning author Zetta Elliott, a Black child explores his shifting emotions throughout the year.

There is a place inside of me
a space deep down inside of me
where all my feelings hide.

Summertime is filled with joy–skateboarding and playing basketball—until his community is deeply wounded by a police shooting. As fall turns to winter and then spring, fear grows into anger, then pride and peace. In her stunning debut, illustrator Noa Denmon articulates the depth and nuances of a child’s experiences following a police shooting–through grief and protests, healing and community–with washes of color as vibrant as his words. Here is a groundbreaking narrative that can help all readers–children and adults alike–talk about the feelings hiding deep inside each of us.

In today’s video, Laura Backes shares the many layers at play in this book that explores and processes all the emotions of the heart. You’ll see the perfect marriage of text and illustration in this award-winning book.

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Brenda Bowen - Picture Book Summit Podcast
March 17, 2021 In Podcast

Podcast – Brenda Bowen

In today’s episode, we feature literary agent Brenda Bowen and snippets from her appearance at Picture Book Summit.

As an agent at Greenberger Associates, Brenda represents authors and illustrators who are national and international bestsellers, as well as winners of Newbery and Caldecott awards. Before becoming a literary agent in the summer of 2009, Brenda held a variety of positions during her 25-plus years in children’s publishing. She has been editorial director of Henry Holt & Books for Young Readers, Scholastic Press, Disney/Hyperion, and Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing.

In Brenda Bowen’s presentation, she spoke with her author hat on about how she finds and develops ideas and how, sometimes, necessity can be the mother of invention. She also touches on the key components that agents look for in a successful query letter.

Don’t miss getting the inside scoop from this successful author and literary agent.

Listen here:

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Outside In by Deboarh Underwood and Cindy Derby
March 11, 2021 In Caldecott

Outside In

Welcome to our second video breakdown of the 2021 Caldecott Medal and Honor books. Lucky for us, the committee honored five books this year, so we’ll get to have five videos! If you missed last week’s talk on THE CAT MAN OF ALEPPO with Emma Walton Hamilton, you can check it out here.

Now, let’s explore today’s analysis of 2021 Caldecott Honor Book OUTSIDE IN illustrated by Cindy Derby, written by Deborah Underwood.

Outside In by Deborah Underwood and illustrated by Cindy DerbyHere’s a brief description of this beautiful book:

From the New York Times best-selling author behind THE QUIET BOOK comes a mindful contemplation on the many ways nature affects our everyday lives, even when we’re stuck inside. OUTSIDE IN reminds emerging readers of the ways nature creates and touches our lives in homes, apartments, and cars, and is the perfect homeschooling tool to reflect on the world’s connectedness.

This book is one of four honorees this year that feature separate author and illustrators. (Yes! There is hope if you’re a picture book writer and not an illustrator. Remember, you don’t need to find an illustrator. Your publisher will look for the perfect illustrator to match your text.)

In today’s video, Julie Hedlund reveals how striving for imperfection embraces the creative process and makes OUTSIDE IN a book like no other!

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Cat Man of Aleppo by Irene Latham Karim Shamsi-Basha Yuko Shimizu
March 4, 2021 In Caldecott

The Cat Man of Aleppo

It’s time to kick off our favorite series of the year: It’s our Caldecott breakdowns! Each year, our founders give an in-depth analysis of the winning books. We analyze the text, the illustrations, and how they combine to create an award-winning picture book. Over the next five weeks, we’ll breakdown each of this year’s amazing books and share insights into the illustrators and their processes. Most importantly, we hope our talks will inspire you to elevate your own picture book manuscripts in a new way.

First off, our hearty congratulations to the 2021 Caldecott Medal Winner: WE ARE WATER PROTECTORS written by Carole Lindstrom and illustrated by Michaela Goade! This book is stunning and we can’t wait to share it with you in the coming weeks.

This year the Caldecott Committee recognized four books as 2021 Caldecott Honor Books:

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Kate McMullan Picture-Book-Summit-Podcast
March 2, 2021 In Podcast

Podcast – Kate McMullan

Kate McMullan Picture-Book-Summit-Podcast

Kate McMullan, bestselling author of over 100 books for children, uncovers sources of inspiration for picture books. Drawing from her own creative process and interviews with contemporary and classic picture book writers, she provides tools you can use to tap your own muse.

After teaching grade school in Los Angeles and Germany, Kate McMullan moved to New York City and became an author. To date, she has written more than 100 books for kids, including the I STINK! series, illustrated by her husband, Jim McMullan. “The Stinky & Dirty Show,” now streaming on Amazon, was inspired by their book collaboration. Kate’s first writing love is picture books, and she currently has five in the works: I’M TOUGH!, How Do YOU Take a Bath?, How Do YOU Go to Sleep?, This Is the Tree We Planted, an Earth Day story, and As Warm as the Sun, starring the McMullan French bulldogs, Toby and Pinkie.

In today’s episode, Kate talks about inspiration, where you can find it and how to capture it when it strikes.

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Stephen Swinburne
February 16, 2021 In Podcast

Podcast – Stephen Swinburne

Stephen Swinburne

Through humor and storytelling, veteran nonfiction author Stephen Swinburne takes us into the heart of narrative nonfiction storytelling with solid tips and tricks for writing STEM and STEAM manuscripts, including what editors are looking for in today’s market. Learn to use “story” to create quality, informational books that hook young readers on topics of science, technology, engineering, art and math as well as people and history.

Stephen Swinburne holds a BA degree in Biology and English from Castleton State College in Vermont. He has worked as a ranger in a number of national parks and is the author of over 30 children’s books. His extensive travels to faraway lands such as Africa and treks through Yellowstone have all influenced his book projects. Steve’s recent titles include, Lots and Lots of Zebra Stripes (Boyds Mill Press), Sea Turtle Scientist (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt), and Safe in a Storm (Scholastic), about animals finding cozy places to stay safe and warm. Steve visits nearly a hundred schools a year across the United States as well as many international schools.

In this episode, enjoy Stephen Swinburne’s delightful take on how to write engaging and entertaining STEM and STEAM books for young audiences.

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Katie Davis - procrastination and your first 1000 readers
February 2, 2021 In Podcast

Podcast – Your First 1000 Readers

Katie Davis - your first 1000 readers

How can you actually connect with your first 1000 readers? Get your books into more hands? It’s a challenge, especially when 3,500-odd books are published every day. In this episode, Katie Davis shares how she’s used her platform and marketing techniques to sell almost a million copies of her traditionally published books and launch two books at #1 on Amazon. She’ll reveal how you can follow the same steps and get your books in the hands of more readers!

Katie Davis is the author/illustrator of over a dozen traditionally published books for children (picture books, middle grade, and young adult novels). She edited and self-published How to Write a Children’s Book and How to Promote Your Children’s Book, both debuting  at #1 on Amazon.

Katie is a co-founder of Picture Book Summit and is the former director of the Institute of Children’s Literature and its sister school, the Institute for Writers, where, as of this writing, over 470,027 people have taken college-level writing courses and learned to write for both children and adults.

In this episode, Katie gives her insider tips for finding your first 1000 readers and keeping their attention.

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Rukhsana Khan
January 19, 2021 In Podcast

Podcast – Rukhsana Khan

How do you tell a story about a specific cultural paradigm and make it universally accessible? Award-winning author Rukhsana Khan shows us how to do just that as she walks us through her Golden Kite award-winning book Big Red Lollipop. Don’t miss the behind-the-scenes stories of this beloved picture book as Rukhsana explains her inspiration and how her story doesn’t just show the dynamics of an immigrant family, but also reveals how the universal struggle of sibling rivalry is common to all cultures.

Award-winning author Rukhsana Khan was born in Lahore, Pakistan and immigrated to Canada as a toddler. She turned to books to escape her childhood bullies, but never imagined she could write herself; writers were white people. She finally wrote her first book when she couldn’t find a job as a bio-chem technician. Thirteen books later, Rukhsana has made a name for herself as an author, presenter, and storyteller. Her picture book Big Red Lollipop was named one of the 100 Greatest Children’s Books in the Last 100 Years by the New York Public Library.

In this episode, Rukhsana Khan explains what a cultural paradigm is, why every picture book has one, and how you can use that paradigm to engage your reader with your culture.

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Picture-Book-Summit-Podcast Mac Barnett
December 29, 2020 In Podcast

Podcast – Mac Barnett

Picture-Book-Summit-Podcast Mac Barnett

So, you want to make a picture book. Mac Barnett is here to share how the unique form of the picture book works to pull the reader in using a variety of techniques.

Mac Barnett is a New York Times-bestselling author of stories for children. His work has been translated into more than 30 languages and sold more than 2 million copies worldwide. Mac’s books have won many prizes, including two Caldecott Honors, three New York Times/New York Public Library Best Illustrated Awards, three E.B. White Read Aloud Awards, and the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award. Mac’s international awards include Germany’s Jugendliteraturpreis, China’s Chen Bochui International Children’s Literature Award, and Italy’s Premio Orbil. His picture book collaborations with Jon Klassen have brought us the beloved books Sam & Dave Dig a Hole and Extra Yarn. Mac reads a different a picture book each Saturday on his Instagram show Mac’s Book Club Show Book Club.

In this episode, Mac Barnett shares how the layout and format of a picture book informs how the reader will engage with the story on different levels. Even the trim size of a book changes the way it’s read.

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Laura Backes - Picture Book Summit Podcast
December 15, 2020 In Podcast

Podcast – Purpose Without Preaching

Laura Backes - Picture Book Summit Podcast

So, how do you impart a meaningful takeaway for your young picture book reader without it feeling like a lesson? In Purpose Without Preaching, Laura Backes illustrates how to write picture books with purpose that don’t preach at kids but trusts them to find the kernels of truth hidden within your story.

Laura Backes publishes Children’s Book Insider, The Children’s Writing Monthly. Laura and her husband Jon Bard co-own WritingBlueprints.com. She has edited and critiqued thousands of picture book manuscripts. Her credits include Best Books for Kids Who (Think They) Hate to Read (Random House) and articles for Writer’s Digest, The Writer and Children’s Writer’s & Illustrator’s Market. She was also the technical editor of Writing Children’s Books for Dummies. Recently, you may have seen Laura on her weekly Kidlit Distancing Socials.

In Laura Backes’ Picture Book Summit workshop Purpose Without Preaching, she gave actionable tips for infusing your manuscript with a message and how to get kids to hear that message without tuning you out. In this episode, we share some highlights from her talk.

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