Category: Cover Reveals

Cover Reveal: The Witness Trees by Ryan G. Van Cleave

On By Only Picture BooksIn Cover Reveals4 Comments

We’re doing more and more Cover Reveals at OPB these days, and I got to thinking…I’m so pleased with the cover of my own new picture book that I wanted to have a big to-​do about it. So, that’s what I’m doing here!

You all know I don’t just drop covers and call it a blog post. Instead of that, I always include a mini-​interview because context is everything. Even though I’ll be the one asking AND answering the interview questions in this post, I’ll give it some extra oomph to ensure it’s up to OPB’s usual standards of fun and excellence.

Now, without further ado, here’s the cover to The Witness Trees: Historic Moments and the Trees Who Watched Them Happen (Bushel & Peck, March 2023).

OPB: How did the idea for this book come about?

RVC: I’ve always been interested in history, but when I visited California for the first time when I was 10 or so, I was in awe of the towering redwoods. THIS was living history, I realized.

Over the years, I’ve been fortunate enough to have seen trees far older than America. Talk about putting things in perspective, right?

The idea of trees that witness history stuck with me. When I finally sat down to write this book, the title came first, and then I just worked with the idea of giving voice to the specific trees that have stood witness to some of the most important moments in human history. To no one’s surprise, the trees speak in a poetic manner, which just makes sense–trees are poetic and beautiful and glorious in every way.

OPB: Who created the art for this book?

RVC: He’s a Vietnamese artist named Đốm Đốm. My editor just knew he was right for this project, and from the start, Đốm Đốm did exactly what a good illustrator does–he deepened and expanded the text in ways I didn’t anticipate.

OPB: This is a Bushel & Peck book, right? Aren’t you working there?

RVC: It’s a curious situation, yes. After a number of conversations in late 2021 and early 2022, the owner, David Miles, bought a few of my picture book manuscripts. Soon after, he hired me to offer some editorial input on another book he’d acquired. It went so well that he eventually brought me on in a more sizable capacity.

These days, I’m serving as editor for most of their books, save for the middle grade and young adult books. It’s a great outfit and I’m pleased to be part of the team. Plus, working with a gifted artist and art director like David–whether that’s on my own books or the books of others–is an education every time.

OPB: One last question. What’s the most important lesson that this book taught you?

RVC: This book taught me that when an editor says, “I like the book but I’m going to pass because I don’t have a clear vision for it,” that it’s a real thing. While it’s always frustrating to come up short with a submission, the editor has to LOVE LOVE LOVE the manuscript or the magic isn’t likely to happen.

David DID have a clear vision for this from the start, and because of that, the entire process has gone smoothly, and the end product is looking better than I expected. It feels and looks magical to me. I’m incredibly pleased.

OPB: Thanks for sharing the cover with OPB. Best of luck with the book!

Cover Reveal: My Grandpa, My Tree, and Me by Roxanne Troup

On By Only Picture BooksIn Cover Reveals2 Comments

I never want to drop a lone image in a Cover Reveal post without offering a bit more, so enjoy this bonus mini-​interview with author Roxanne Troup about her debut trade picture book, My Grandpa, My Tree, and Me (Yeehoo Press, March 2023). If you want more from Roxanne, check out the full-​length interview we did at OPB earlier this week.

“Why are there TWO covers here?” you might be asking. The first one is the cover proper, and the one below it is the cover beneath the dust jacket–the “under cover,” as Roxanne called it. That makes this a two-​fer cover reveal, folks!

RVC: What’s the most important thing people should know or understand about My Grandpa, My Tree, and Me?

RT: That it’s about more than trees. It’s about family, and while (like a growing tree) family changes over time, love only multiplies.

RVC: What’s your favorite line from the book?

RT: The very last one…but I won’t spoil that. So, I’ll go with my “next favorite” which appears on the second spread.

“Every winter, while the trees stand silent under a sleepy sun…”

RVC: What are your current book launch plans?

RT: Am I supposed to know that already?!

RVC: Hah. Maybe?

RT: I guess, now I know what I’m doing in October. 😉

I’ve actually been busy working on the teacher guide and new school visit presentation for the book, but since no one grows pecans in Colorado, I may end up doing two “launches”—a small celebration here with writing pals and family, and another back home in Missouri (with a school visit attached) where the pecans will just be leafing out for a new production year.

RVC: Last question: what’s been your favorite part about working with Yeehoo Press?

RT: Seeing the artwork for the first time was fantastic, but I love that (after the contract) everything at Yeehoo has moved relatively quickly. And I’m super excited to see the book produced simultaneously in English and Chinese. How cool is that?

RVC: Cool indeed! Best of luck with the book, Roxanne. And thanks for letting OPB be part of your kidlit journey!

Picture Book Debut: Tim McGlen’s Antonino’s Impossible Dream (with cover reveal!)

On By Only Picture BooksIn Author Interviews, Cover Reveals, Picture Book Debuts1 Comment

For those OPB readers who’ve asked for more behind-​the-​scene stories about debut picture book authors—this one’s for you!

It’s with great pleasure that OPB has been asked to debut the cover of Antonino’s Impossible Dream by first-​time picture book author Tim McGlen. The book is being published after winning the Second Annual Prize for Original Children’s Book by by Minneapolis publisher Beaming Books. About the manuscript, Development Editor Naomi Krueger said, “Antonino’s Impossible Dream is such a fresh portrayal of how art and the willingness to learn new things can bring people together. Our team was captivated by the unique storytelling voice and the possibilities for vibrant art to go along with this artsy story.”

Tim McGlen teaches at a Montessori school, where he enjoys seeing children discover their potential as learners, creators, friends, mentors, teammates, and community members. His involvement in Florida’s SCBWI community makes him a happy writer. When Tim’s not teaching or writing, you can find him working out stories on his bicycle, cooking up flag football plays, or reading.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/TimMcGlen
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tim.mcglen

RVC: What were the biggest challenges you encountered when first trying your hand at writing picture books?

TM: As a short story author, I had no idea how to write a picture book. My first manuscripts clocked in at 1,200 words. Sound familiar, anyone? It took committed study and deconstruction of good picture books, learning at SCBWI conferences, and reading books like Ann Whitford Paul’s Writing Picture Books to begin to gain competency.

RVC: What are a few of those picture books that proved most useful to you early on?

TM: My Red Balloon, by Kazuaki Yamada. Salina Yoon’s Be A Friend. Where the Wild Things Are, of course. All are spare with their language.

RVC: So let’s get to the big story here. Antonino’s Impossible Dream—your debut picture book—is coming out in spring 2019. What’s it like being a debut picture book author waiting for your book to hit the shelves? (Though it is available for pre-​order already!)

TM: A lot of work is being done by other people, so I just keep to my routine of writing, revising, and studying. At the same time, random little gurgles of “Oh, yeah, this is really happening!” bring excitement. I’m mostly eager to see Sophia’s finished spreads. She’s a talented artist.

RVC: How did Antonino’s Impossible Dream come about? What’s the story of how that story came to be?

TM: It’s a book about what making a friend looks like. A little more than a year ago, I knew I needed to write something that would rise above my other manuscripts. I hopped on my bicycle, pedaled away from humanity, and started speaking first lines. Another good manuscript came from that same ride. Now the manuscripts from “before” sit in a file cabinet, and I work on new material. I wonder if that line has to happen in every writer’s life.

RVC: What’s been the biggest surprise in terms of the manuscript-​into-​final-​product process so far?

TM: The revelation that as picture book author I am one third of a collaborative project was something I never thought that deeply about. And in saying that, I’m thankful to work with an editor who has such a strong vision for this book.

RVC: Describe what it’s like working with an editor who has a strong vision for your book.

TM: I submitted a honed manuscript with zero art notes to leave plenty of room for visual interpretation, and Andrew figured it out. He saw the book around the words. He envisioned a distinct setting and how it integrates into character. He saw an artistic style.

RVC: This is Only Picture Books’ first cover reveal. Thanks for that, by the way! But tell me—what’s the big deal about cover reveals for picture book creators? What does it mean to you personally to finally see the fully-​imagined cover?

TM: The cover is the portal into the story world. It’s what every child sees first, what launches their imaginations. Setting, protagonist. I would like to spend some time here, with this person who could even be me. The cover is the agent of the experience awaiting inside the book.

So to see Antonino’s cover rendered so expertly fills me with hope that children will want to climb into the book and stay there.

RVC: What did you edit out of Antonino’s Impossible Dream?

TM: Good material that did not belong in the book, discovered primarily through dummying.

RVC: Three words that come to mind when you look at the cover of Antonino’s Impossible Dream?

TM: POSSIBILITY. (Isn’t that ironic? Thanks, Sophia!)

CREATIVITY.

WOW.

RVC: What’s the next picture book project for you? A sequel to Antonino? Something else?

TM: Anthropomorphism. Fish out of water. And yes, a sequel. Thank you, Ryan.

RVC: Thanks, Tim. Best of luck for you and Antonino!