Tag: Ryan G. Van Cleave

Editor Interview: Andrea Spooner (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)

On By Only Picture BooksIn Editor Interviews2 Comments

It’s with great pleasure that I introduce Andrea Spooner, this month’s Industry Interview subject. Andrea’s the Vice President and Editorial Director of Picture Books at Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (LBYR). When I realized her imprint won a Caldecott Medal three years in a row, I knew I needed to find out a bit more about what kind of picture book magic they were cooking up there.

Here’s a bit about her. After joining LBYR in 2003, she’s worked with an amazing list of authors, including:

She’s also edited dozens of James Patterson’s books. What impresses me most of all, though, is how the people she works with rave about her. Consider this endorsement, from writer Crescent Dragonwagon: “Andrea took a lot of time finding just the right artist, and she is taking a lot of time working with him, and me. In 40 years of working with different publishers, I can remember no other children’s book editor who has ever involved me quite so much in the selection of the artists, and has engaged me so thoughtfully in discussing the pictures and my reactions to them.” And she adds that Andrea is “one of the most attentive and respectful editors I have ever had.”

Wow.

With that, let’s get on to the interview!

RVC: For some, working in the kidlit business seemed destined in the stars from the start. For others, it’s a curious accumulation of events that brought them to that future. Which was it for you? 

AS: Destined from the start! My mother was an artist and art historian, and my father was an English professor with a focus on writing short stories. I read voraciously and wrote prolifically as a child. The first long-​form story I wrote and illustrated, at age six, was called The Girl Who Hated School, followed up by an “illustrated novel” called Nancy and the U.F.O.! So, I always wanted to make books. I loved the interaction of picture and word… and nothing ever moved me like the books I read as a kid. I even wrote my college application essays about the Nancy Drew series as well as my favorite book of all time, Freaky Friday by Mary Rodgers. I guess it was a clear sign I took kidlit seriously from the beginning.

RVC: My kids wore out the DVD version of Freaky Friday with Jamie Lee Curtis, Mark Harmon, and Lindsay Lohan. But prior to that, I recall liking that book a great deal myself!

What were some of the key elements/​choices of your life that prepared you to be an editor?

AS: The most significant choice leading me toward my career might have been the day in seventh grade when I decided to join Yearbook Club, even though I was told it was only for eighth graders. Turns out just showing up with genuine commitment was more important than my age, and before the year was out I was editor-in-chief.

RVC: As former Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli famously said, “History is made by those who show up.”

AS: Editing the yearbook took over my life all the way through college. And perhaps choosing to go to Smith College, known for breeding kidlit folk, prepared me for this editing life! At Smith, I was a studio art major and writing minor, and there’s nothing quite like all those group critique sessions to prepare you for the task of gently sharing feedback.

RVC: Let’s talk recent picture book projects. What’s on the docket for 2020 that has you excited?

AS: Oh dear, it’s like you’re asking a mother to talk about her favorite child—it’s inherent betrayal not to speak of all of my books! I’m asking the universe to forgive me in advance for not mentioning the entire LBYR picture book list. But I don’t think anyone would begrudge me for sharing my intense excitement for Jerry Pinkney’s next brilliantly-​illustrated retelling! It’s The Little Mermaid… and it’s the first major picture book version that reinvents the story as a friendship story instead of a romance, and that features a cast of mermaids with brown skin. It also leaves readers with the critical message that you should never give up your voice for anything. I think it has potential to become the most definitive contemporary reimagining of the story.

RVC: With books like that coming out from LBYR, I get a real sense why you’ve got that incredibly impressive 3‑peat of Caldecotts going. But I’ll ask anyway–to what do you attribute that streak of success?

AS: Do you mean when LBYR won a Medal three years in a row in 2015–2017? Or… do you mean last year in 2019 when we took three out of the five stickers?

Okay, okay, I don’t mean to sound smug, but yeah, we’re kind of proud of the track record. What I’m most proud of is that these stickers are on books with many different artists and editors and art directors. There’s not just one superstar on the list. It’s really about strong teamwork, I think. There are a lot of eyes on the project, from acquisition through creative development, and everyone on the team is very invested from day one. We also have a fantastic school & library division making sure the books get in front of all the right people at the right time.

RVC: Speaking of 3s, you personally edited three Caldecott winners as well. Coincidence?

AS: I’m exceptionally lucky! It helps when you’re working with bona-​fide geniuses like Jerry Pinkney, Patrick McDonnell, and Oge Mora, who all have pretty powerful and sophisticated creative muses. And I wouldn’t be working with them if it weren’t for the intercession of my former mentor David Reuther, former LBYR editor Amy Lin, and art director Sasha Illingworth, so I can’t take credit for actually discovering this incredible talent.

If I ever make a difference in elevating work to a sticker-​worthy level, it’s likely derived from my willingness to question a choice that’s being made and to push the author or artist to justify it, even the seasoned people. But I’m also willing to step back and let the artist’s muse be the voice in charge. The trick is figuring out when the time is right for each!

RVC: I was pleasantly surprised to find that you edited one of my fav picture books of 2018, Thank You, Omu! How did that project come into being?

AS: It’s such a happy story! One of our art directors, Sasha Illingworth, was providing critiques at the Rhode Island School of Design in a picture book-​making class, and she came back recommending that editors take a look at several of the students’ final projects, which really impressed her. Oge’s project, Omu’s Stew, was at the top. It was clear from the start that Oge had a remarkable handle on the totality of what makes a great picture book, and that it came naturally to her. We offered her a two-​book deal while she was still a senior in college.

RVC: That’s an inspiring story for sure! What’s it like working with such an early-​career talent? What kind of different considerations do you have with them versus, say, working with a mid-​career or senior-​level creative?

AS: I think the way I work is mostly unrelated to how long the creator has been in the business. Of course, with debut talent I try to make sure that I take more time to explain the stages of the publishing process, and the vocabulary and quirks of it. Ultimately, though, each creator has individual needs that aren’t related to where in their career they are. I first try to get a sense of what their goals for the project are, figure out what makes their creative heart ticks, and learn what kind of managing or mentorship they need to generate their best work. Sometimes that involves trial and error, for sure. For me, with a new author it can take longer to figure out the key to a smooth creative process. After I’ve worked with someone once or twice, it’s easier to keep the author or artist happily engaged, productive, and open to feedback.

RVC: You’ve talked about how one of the many tasks of an editor is to improve the read-​aloud experience. What are some specific ways that can happen?

AS: We start by reading that manuscript aloud. Authors can do this too as they write and self-​edit. If you find yourself tripping on certain word/​sound combinations or sentences, rewrite it or cut it. Better yet, have a few others read the manuscript aloud and flag any patterns of stumbling. Reading the text aloud also gives you a sense of where the pacing feels too slow. Sometimes I find myself looking forward to the end of a sentence, paragraph, or page. That might be the sign of an area that can be tightened. I want to feel like I’m relishing each word.

RVC: With my fav picture books, that’s exactly it. “Relishing each word.”

AS: And, of course, we think about the page turns—they’re an essential part of the read-​aloud experience. Those dramatic pauses should be intentionally placed. They propel you through the narrative, and can leave you with an underlying question about what’s going to happen next. I always start editing by paginating a text, since helps me focus on the read-​aloud experience.

RVC: At LBYR acquisitions meetings, are picture book manuscripts actually read aloud? Does everyone have a copy in front of them, too?

AS: Reading the book aloud would be part of my fantasy vision of an acquisitions meeting—I’d love to know if any houses actually do that! But, it’s essential that everyone reads and thinks about acquisitions materials ahead of time; there would rarely be time to perform the books live in such meeting. At LBYR, editorial directors for each genre under consideration are expected to have vetted the manuscript for its viability prior to putting it on the agenda. And sometimes, read-​aloud quality emerges later in the editing and polishing process. So, the manuscript might not even have a perfect “mouthfeel” at acquisitions stage, but it has enough other exciting qualities to motivate us to make an offer.

RVC: So much of the submission process is a matchmaking game that can feel like blind luck, at times. Let’s help some people out here. What are a few likes/​dislikes of yours in terms of themes, subjects, and/​or styles?

AS: As an editorial director, I’ve trained myself to look beyond my own personal likes and dislikes when considering if a project is right for the LBYR list. We need a diverse portfolio in all respects in order to survive and thrive. As an example, I used to say “don’t send me lovey-​dovey books”, but nowadays, I’m totally open to them. I’m better able to look beyond the genre and think “are there audiences out there that like this and want this? Is the market for this kind of thing underserved, or do we have a gap on our list for it?” Some people might say it’s freeing to get to the point in your career when you’re at liberty to only work on the books you personally adore. For me it’s been the opposite–it’s actually been really freeing to embrace things I wouldn’t have necessarily purchased for my own collection.

Is that a cop-​out answer?

RVC: Well…

AS: Okay, okay, I’ll give you this much: For personal projects, right now I’m dreaming of silly-​but-​smart stories that scratch the itch we all have to laugh more in our increasingly troubled world. I tend to be drawn to absurdist humor. Science and nature/​environmental themes often resonate with me. I’m also keen on books that address important moments of child development, and I’m currently seeking more stories that feature differently-​abled characters from authentic perspectives. I’m also always looking for substantive stories with strong voice, re-​readability, and emotional resonance. For art, I look for work with a “signature style.” Once a style becomes trendy and ubiquitous, I’m less stimulated by it.

RVC: Beyond any issue of theme, subject, or style, what are your submission pet peeves?

AS: Manuscripts accompanied by an eternally long pitches and story summaries that are longer than the story itself. Give me one really strong paragraph about the market viability and comparative titles, and if there’s an interesting backstory to the story or connection to the author’s life, that can be another tight paragraph. Also, if we want to get petty for a moment, I’m put off by manuscripts that are single-spaced!

RVC: I’m so glad you said that. I’ve been telling students for years to keep on double-​spacing their submissions, and I’m not sure they believe me. Now I have proof!

AS: By the way, including art notes in a picture book text is absolutely not a pet peeve of mine. So many picture book writers have been told not to do this. But to me, I like to know that a writer has a sense of how visual storytelling impacts a narrative and how they intrinsically work together. A writer shouldn’t be wedded to their proposed vision, but they could convey it at pre-​acquisition for the sake of transparency, and sense. You have to remember that the non-​editorial folks like sales and marketing who are a part of the acquisition conversation may not have the same visual literacy or imagination as an author—and even the best editors aren’t capable of reading an author’s mind! But I am perfectly capable of removing art notes from a manuscript after acquisition if I think they’ll impede an artist’s own personal vision.

RVC: Lots of kidlit industry folks spend a lot of time on social media and their web presence. You seem less concerned about that. Is that a choice or the effects of being so busy with work that it’s on the perpetual back burner?

AS: Thanks for shooting that arrow right into my Achilles heel, Ryan!

RVC: Is it really an Achilles heel?

AS: Sometimes I think it is, but I have complicated feelings about it. I unequivocally admire with awe and wonder those many editors who consistently produce high-​quality books, manage robust lists, and maintain a vibrant social media presence. I’ll never be one of them, and it’s probably a personal failing of mine, but I have to embrace what I’m best at and make the most of it. We have a fantastic marketing department to publicize the authors and books. My “brand,” if I must have one in this day and age, is about what I do behind the curtains rather than what I’m saying on the public stage.

RVC: Let’s talk about that behind-​the-​curtains stuff.

AS: Here’s the thing: I spend or eleven or twelve hours a day largely in front of a screen. I don’t want to spend one minute more. This time and energy, for me, is best spent working for my authors, managing projects as seamlessly as possible, shaping the list and mentoring staff. I consider myself not just an editor, but a customer service representative—and I say that in all seriousness! My number one goal is for everyone, externally and internally, to feel like the process went off as smoothly as possible, and that we made a book we couldn’t have done better… without the benefit of hindsight, anyway.

I haven’t yet found a way to do all that and spend time sorting through the daily mess of social media and maintain my own polished social presence in a way that would meet my own standards. Frankly, I’m really not good at expressing any worthwhile thought in 140 characters or less, as you can see from this interview! There’s too much unnecessary chatter out there as it is. I see myself doing the world a service by not adding to it.

RVC: I typically keep my questions focused on picture books, but my kids LOVED the Patterson Middle School series, so I have to ask something about him. He’s so prolific that I’m inclined to ask how many James Pattersons there are! But I’ll assume there’s just one (unless you secretly tell me otherwise). 

Here’s an actual question about him, though–in all your experience in working with him, what has surprised you the most?

AS: That he is the real deal in every respect. He’s just one person, yes, who’s deeply connected to every book with his name on it—he’s not rubber-​stamping anything. There’s no team of people inventing the core stories; he drafts every single outline, and even the kids’ book outlines we worked on together were about 50 pages long, so there’s a lot of detail. He’s always at his desk working. Over the course of a dozen years of working together I could probably count on one hand times I called him that he didn’t pick up the phone. He’s genuinely passionate about writing, and promoting the pleasure and excitement of reading, which is what motivated his move into kids’ books. There’s nothing he’d rather being doing than writing. Except occasionally playing golf or watching a movie. I also learned a lot from Jim about the craft of commercial writing, especially when it comes to the emotional experience of reading. But those are trade secrets I can’t give away!

RVC: Alright, it’s time for the final part of the interview. The always-​surprising, often-​quippy, ever-​zippy LIGHTNING ROUND. Are you ready?

AS: Of course not! Have you not yet noticed that quips are not my specialty? Remember what I said about being able to say anything in 140 characters or less?

RVC: Don’t overthink it.

AS: That’s what my bosses always say on my performance reviews. Okay, let’s try it!

RVC: Star Trek, Star Wars, or Stargate?

AS: Star Trek! I mean… Leonard Nimoy, George Takei, Nichelle Nichols… and quantum teleportation!

RVC: Secret hobby you have that no one would suspect?

AS: Will anyone know what pysanka is?

RVC: Probably not. Let’s save them from having to Google it, though.

AS: It’s the art of making Ukranian Easter eggs with old-​world tools like a wooden/​metal stylus, beeswax, an open flame, and dyes. Mine are not anywhere near as good as what you see on Wikipedia.

RVC: What four picture book characters do you invite over for Sunday afternoon smoothies at the Spooner house? What’s your dream lineup?

AS: Well, if it’s Sunday afternoon in our little apartment, they’d have to be very well-​behaved! So I think Rosie Revere, Ada Twist, Sofia Valdez, and Iggy Peck would fit make for some very scintillating conversation. My other favorites are way too naughty.

RVC: Hardest venue to get a starred review?

AS: I can’t remember the last time I got a star from The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books. I don’t lose sleep over it.

RVC: Coolest non-​LBYR picture book of 2019?

AS: Hmmm, when it comes to “cool” I think the Melissas have it, for me—I’m debating between The Balcony by Melissa Castrillon and How to Read a Book by Kwame Alexander and Melissa Sweet. The art for both books just vibrates with energy, passion, and endless detail.

RVC: Three words that sum up your picture book philosophy.

AS: Aw, that’s just cruel. I am not a woman of brevity…

RVC: Give it a shot!

AS: Read. It. Again.

RVC: Thanks so much, Andrea! 

And for you artistic OPB fans out there, here’s a LBYR public service announcement. They’re starting their fourth year of the Emerging Artist Award. Their first winner just had their book published and it won a New York Times Best Illustrated Book of 2019 honor, so the future seems bright for these winners. Consider applying–perhaps you’ll soon be working with Andrea or one of her amazingly cool colleagues!

Educational Activities: Space Mice by Lori Haskins Houran

On By Only Picture BooksIn Educational Activities

Space Mice
Author: Lori Haskins Houran
Illustrator: Priscilla Alpaugh
Albert Whitman & Co.
1 March 2020
32 pages

Book description from Goodreads: “When two hungry mice spot a giant yellow ball of cheese in the night sky, they get right to work building a rocket ship so they can take a big bite out of that glowing full moon. After sailing through starry skies, the mice arrive at the feast of their dreams–and soon the moon isn’t so full anymore! Simple, rhythmic text makes this a great read-​aloud for future astronauts.”

Need some reviews of Space Mice?

Educational Activities inspired by Lori Haskins Houran’s Space Mice:

  • Before Reading–From looking at the front and back cover: 
    • Where and when does this story seem to take place?
    • What do you already know about astronauts?
    • Why might mice want to travel into space?
    • What emotion do the mice on the cover seem to be feeling?
    • If you could ask the author any question before you read the book, what would it be?
  • After Reading–Now that you’ve read the story: 
    • Is this book fiction or nonfiction? How do you know?
    • What is problem do the mice face in the story?
    • What were the most important events in the story?
    • What is the main message of this book?
    • What other story does this one remind you of?
    • Which of the sound effects did you most like? Grumble grumble, phew phew, or something else?
    • If the story had a sequel, what do you think it would be about? Where else might those hungry mice go?
  • Writing–Clearly these mice are interested in science and technology. Using your own imagination, write about another situation where they use science and/​or technology to solve a different problem than being hungry. Feel free to draw pictures to go with the story. Consider sharing your finished piece with an adult or friend and ask them what they enjoy best about your work.
  • Interview–Sometimes the best way to get to know someone is interviewing them. If you interviewed the space mice with the following questions, how might they respond? Consider inviting an adult or friend to either ask questions (or answer them) as they imagine the mice might. Feel free to add more questions of your own! 
    • What is your favorite cheese?
    • What do you like most about the moon?
    • What was the biggest challenge in building the rocket ship?
    • What’s your favorite sport?
    • What is your earliest memory?
    • What secret do you have?
    • What is your dream job?
    • Where would you most like to live?
  • Craft–With an adult’s help, try some of the following space-​themed crafts: 
  • Further Reading–Space Mice is–as one might reasonably expect–about two mice who build a rocket and travel into space. Which of these other picture books about space travel have you read? (Click on the book cover for more information on any of these titles!)

 

Author/​Illustrator Interview: Elisha Cooper

On By Only Picture BooksIn Author Interviews, Illustrator Interviews

This month’s interview is with Elisha Cooper, an author who both writes and illustrates his own picture books. Instead of doing a standard bio paragraph here, let’s begin the process of getting to know him and his work a little bit better via two lists.

List One—Books Elisha Made:

  • While Elisha has created a lot of picture books, here are a few that OPB especially digs. For details on any of them, go ahead and click on those lovely covers!

List Two—Stuff Elisha Likes:

 

And, because we like to underpromise and overdeliver here at OPB, I offer a bonus third list, detailing a few of the various ways you can find out more about Elisha’s fine work via the Internet.

List Three—Bonus Stuff!

With that, let’s move on to the interview!

RVC: I confess—after reading scads of interviews others have done with you, I can’t find anyone who asked this question, so I’ll ask it. How do you pronounce your name? Is “Elisha” like Uh-​LIE-​sha, or Uh-​LEE-​sha? Something else entirely? This word-​loving, name-​loving person needs to know!

EC: It’s Uh-​LIE-​sha, though I’m fine with any pronunciation. I had a friend in high school who spent four years calling me “Isaiah.” There have been times I wish I’d been named Elijah (the more famous prophet), as that is easier to pronounce, and sounds tougher. But I’ve come to appreciate my name, its ambiguity.

Just this week The Cleveland Plain Dealer reviewed my book, praising the author and “her” beautiful watercolors. I sort of love that.

RVC: Wow, that’s some crackerjack reporting from The Cleveland Plain Dealer. Well done them!

Now that we’ve gotten the vital 411 on this name situation, let’s talk about your most recent picture book, River, which has been well received by readers and critics. In your Author’s Note for that book, you thank the Sendak Foundation. But on other occasions, you’ve also claimed to have been “the worst Maurice Sendak Fellow ever.” I’m getting the sense that you’re a man of great contradictions.

I wonder—is this an example of what you wrote in 2008 for Publisher’s Weekly in an article called “About the Author” where you mused on the “unique ridiculousness of the author’s note”?

EC: I know I’m trying to have it both ways. I was one of the worst Sendak fellows (I didn’t work in the studio they gave me), but the fellowship was also incredibly important for River. It allowed me the space to think, and start sketching nature along the Hudson. With that Publisher’s Weekly piece I believe I was trying to point out how we as authors (we as humans, really) are always trying to craft and present a more perfect version of ourselves. I’m as guilty of that as anyone.

RVC: Speaking of versions of ourselves…how did the actual version of yourself that grew up on a farm inform your work as a picture book maker?

EC: Animals, animals, animals. And views! I was surrounded by barn cats, dogs, goats and cows. I drew them, walked with them, milked them (my goats), and read with them. They were my companions. I read a ton, too, when I wasn’t shooting my BB gun or throwing a football.

In some deep way–and I know this answer has that crafting revisionism I was just disparaging–my childhood could not have been better designed for a future children’s book author.

RVC: Rumor has it that you would’ve preferred to play in the NFL than create kid’s books. Fact, or alternate fact?

EC: Fact. Who wouldn’t?! Yes, like any number of kids in the 80s, I dreamed of playing professional football. I even sent drawings of Lynn Swann to Lynn Swann (the Pittsburgh Steelers were my team). I think I still have the autographed photo he sent me in response. I played football at Yale, but was a back-​up. I still love football, how within the brutal mayhem there can be moments of grace and beauty.

RVC: At what point did you realize you were well-​suited to create picture books? Was it post-​college during that stint as a messenger for The New Yorker where you delivered art and manuscripts (which sounds pretty cool, by the way)?

EC: Hmm, I don’t know if there was one moment. I’ve always kept sketchbooks. Always written, always drawn. When I was at The New Yorker, a colleague  suggested I try children’s books and I sort of slid into the field. I’m still uncertain what makes a picture book a children’s book (Sendak has a great rant about that). My hope is that if I love something, and draw and write about it, a child or an adult out there may love it, too.

I don’t mean to punt on your question, but I don’t think I’ve ever had one “eureka” moment. I’ve always felt art in me. Which doesn’t mean I don’t get stuck, or rip stuff up, or struggle. I know something’s good, though, when I tape it on my wall and it stays there.

RVC: I suspect that most picture book makers believe their process to be bizarre, messy, and/​or inefficient. Given that, I’m still asking: what’s YOUR process? How does the magic happen for you?

EC: Coffee. Family. Newspaper. Second coffee. Music. Write (café), or paint (home). Third coffee. Paint more. Run. Visit bookstore. Bike along river. Read. Cook. Family. Sports. Sleep.

Repeat.

RVC: How does the process differ for making your non-​kid books, like A Year in New York and Falling: A Daughter, a Father, and a Journey Back?

EC: For my books of essays, the memoirs (Crawling and Falling), I just spent more time writing. Which is sort of obvious! More hours in Brooklyn at favorite cafés, taking notes then writing up those notes, then editing editing editing. The more I make books, the more I think of myself as an editor. This goes for my children’s books, as well. I put something up on the wall, look at it hard, then change it.

RVC: Here’s something that’ll likely surprise you. I think I personally know some of the barns you used in your book Farm. How? Well, I went to Northern Illinois University for my undergrad degree (Go Huskies!), and I’ve read that you spent a lot of time driving around DeKalb County (for you non-​NIU types, that’s where NIU is located—about 60 miles west of Chicago, smack-​dab in the middle of Big Corn country) with your sketchbook while cooking up that book. Is this possible or am I way off base here?

EC: That’s so cool. Go Huskies! Yes, Farm is set almost entirely in DeKalb County. I drove many back roads there. While the farm in my book is a combination of a few farms, the main “model” was a farm in Hinckley, Illinois. A wonderful family let me hang around their farm for the year; a highlight was riding in the their combine harvester.

Writing that sentence, I realize how lucky I am to be doing what I’m doing (whatever that is).

RVC: What’s the most challenging part about drawing a barn well?

EC: No challenge. A barn is a barn, and I like to draw them (which reminds me: Edward Hopper painted barns so well). Now, having said that, and knowing this makes me sound a little cocky, here’s a list of things I can’t draw: donkeys, giraffes, horses, dinosaurs, dragons, faces, cactuses, politicians, canyons, hands, violins, lips. The list goes on!

RVC: Here’s one final set of questions for this part of the interview. Looking back at Big Cat, Little Cat—one of my Elisha Cooper favs that could’ve been included at the list in the intro but I wanted to save it for the Big Finish here!—what are you most proud of about it now? How has your relationship with it changed over the years? 

EC: Thank you! I’m so glad you like the book. Though, I’m not sure if I view my books in that way, with pride (in other words, it’s just a book). That could be my hang-​up with the word “pride,” as I do feel a sense of contentment with this book. I like the simple ink line in Big Cat. I had never used ink before, so that was a cool learning experience. I suppose the Caldecott Honor changed my relationship with the book, but I have tried not to let it. I try to remember the book I made.

RVC: Okay, it’s time to shift gears to part two of the interview—the no-​holds-​barred LIGHTNING ROUND! Zippy questions and zappy answers, please. Ready?

EC: Scared!

RVC: Most underrated Pittsburgh Steeler of all time?

EC: Louis Lipps.

RVC: Most surprising thing on your playlist right now?

EC: What’s a playlist? Don’t have one. Though I do have an old wood-​cased CD player next to my desk.

For River, I penciled the book to Hamilton, and painted it to Turandot, La Boheme, and Madame Butterfly.

RVC: Which animal didn’t quite make the cut (but you wished had!) for 8: An Animal Alphabet?

EC: Ooof. I think I packed every animal I could into that book.

RVC: Which do you fret over more—words or images?

EC: Don’t fret.

RVC: Best compliment a child ever gave on your picture books?

EC: Oh, goodness. I’d have to answer with the image, in my mind’s eye, of a kid after a school assembly clutching my book in her arms and looking up at me. That look floors me every time.

RVC: Three words that sum up your philosophy of picture books?

EC: Location, location, location. Um, no. Isn’t that for real estate? But, you know what, since where I actually am–whether it be in a café or alongside a river–is so essential to my work, I’ll stick with that answer.

 RVC: Thanks so much, Elisha!

EC: And thank you! This was fun.

 

Picture Book Review: Tiara’s Hat Parade by Kelly Starling Lyons

On By Only Picture BooksIn Picture Book Reviews2 Comments

Tiara’s Hat Parade
Author: Kelly Starling Lyons
Illustrator: Nicole Tadgell
Albert Whitman & Co.
1 April 2020
32 pages

This month’s PB review is by Ryan G. Van Cleave (champion hat-​wearer at Only Picture Books) and Ringling College of Art and Design Illustration Professor (and OPB friend) David C. Gardner.

–Ryan’s Review of the Writing–

This new book by Kelly Starling Lyons tells a tale you don’t often see in picture books–capitalism. Tiara’s momma is terrific at making hats, but along comes a new store in town that sells them cheaper, so when Momma’s sales bottom out, she reluctantly shuts down her small business–the Tracy Rose Millinery. But Tiara isn’t fine with that because she loved Momma’s creations, and not just because Tiara was its top hat model.

Even though Momma eventually finds another outlet for her creativity–teaching art at Tiara’s school–it’s not the same. She’s clearly still sad about her defunct business and no longer being able to make her beloved hats for friends, family, and the community. Tiara can tell how much Momma misses it. So, when it’s time on Fun Friday to choose the next class art project, Tiara suggests, “Hats!” That’s what the class does, and Momma and the students have a blast.

But Tiara takes it a step further. She advertises a Hat Parade at Height Elementary, with the request that people come and wear their favorite Tracy Rose hat. They come out in droves with each taking a turn on stage to model their hats and share how empowering and individually meaningful they are. Momma is touched, and she starts to get orders for new hats once again. Maybe, too, Tiara has discovered her own future calling as well after finding great pleasure in helping her friend, Matti, improve on her art class creation.

I’ll leave it to David to speak about how these interesting visuals complement the story, but Tiara’s Hat Parade goes well beyond the tale of a small business that fails and finally comes around again thanks to community spirit. It’s also about a young girl’s indefatigable spirit and deep love for family. A thoughtful Author’s Note also shares the author’s own experience with hats and explains how they are a vital part of Black women’s–and men’s–style. A list of Famous Black Milliners is an added bonus to the back matter.

This emotional-​but-​triumphant story utilizes language at times that matches the beauty of Momma’s fine hats, which is a very nice touch.

4.25  out of 5 pencils

– David’s Review of the Illustrations–

The illustrations by Nicole Tadgell are light, lively, and expressive. They highlight the characters’ relationships, never missing an opportunity to show characters interacting playfully with one another. The text relies on these relationships to tell the story, but the pictures show us these relationships–the closeness, the joy and the humor–in a way the text cannot, from Tiara’s closeness to her mom, to the joy in the big finale, the hat parade, the women’s outfits, colorful and varied.

The expressions of the characters are clear on every single page due to Ms. Tadgell’s thoughtful depiction of facial expressions, body language, and her attention to the emotions of color. For example, when Tiara’s mother and her family go through hard times, the colors take us down, cool and desaturated, without dipping too far down into mere drabness.

Even in a sad moment though, there is a fluidity and charm to Ms. Tadgell’s style, due in part to the sensitivity of the watercolor paintings and the light, loose holding line of the pencil which, at its best, recalls the charm of Trina Schart Hyman’s classic work. The mother, in particular, rings true. Using specific details, such as her distinctive hairstyle, glasses, and even the type of clothing Momma chooses to wear, she leaps from the realm of generic mother to being a warm, real person. There’s the visual contrast between Tiara, thin and angular, and Momma, round and soft, which sets up a pleasing–and essential–variety to the central relationship of the book.

The great success of these pictures is the emotion they convey on every page, and, by extension, the connections and relationships: Mother and daughter dancing in the hat shop to friends’ applause (a clever visual foreshadowing of the climactic parade), the family gathered around the dinner table in unspoken sadness, Momma dancing in front of her giddy students at school. The colorful hat parade of the title splashes across a series of pages, each wonderfully realized model/​friend alive in a spotlight of her own. A sense of community, togetherness, and fun is conveyed through the characters’ constantly moving–dancing, strutting, reaching–and through the colors, bright but never garish.

Ms. Tadgell skimps a bit on the background details now and then, such as a window frame that feels sketched in as an afterthought and could have used the same loving attention as the observed detail on Momma’s dress or a nearby jade plant. Proportions and perspective in the drawings feels a bit off at times. But those details seem minor considering the overall fun in the spot-​on hat designs and colors, full of rich, observed detail.

It’s clear to see why Tracy Rose’s hats bring so much joy to others, and clearly these pictures will delight any child.

4.5 out of 5 crayons

David C. Gardner is an award-​winning illustrator and visual development artist. A former artist for Walt Disney Animation Studios, he has illustrated numerous picture books, including his latest from Sleeping Bear Press, Write On, Irving Berlin! by Leslie Kimmelman (which appeared on OPB in May 2018). It tells the true story of little Izzy Baline, who immigrated to New York City in 1893 and grew up to become Irving Berlin, one of the most well-​known composers of popular music in America. David teaches illustration at Ringling College of Art and Design.
To learn more about David’s own work, please visit FlyingDogStudio.com.

Agent Interview: Erin Murphy (Erin Murphy Literary Agency)

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The first Industry Insider interview of 2020 is with Erin Murphy. She’s a fifth-​generation Arizona native now living in southern Maine where she’s President of the Erin Murphy Literary Agency (EMLA), the company she founded in 1999. “As founder of EMLA,” she notes, “I focus not just on publishing books, but on building careers—and creating a sense of community, as well.”

For those who like personal bio tidbits, Erin’s a fan of:

  • reading (of course!)
  • knitting
  • walking
  • kayaking
  • traveling
  • watching movies
  • and “figuring out How People Work”

If you want to do a little research of your own, here are some links to do some Erin Murphy/​EMLA sleuthing. But with that, it’s time for the interview!

RVC: Like many agents, you didn’t set out to become one. You started as an editor at a small children’s book imprint, right? How did you get from there to where you are now? 

EM: I was an editor of both adult and children’s books at a small, regional house that does not exist any longer. This was more than twenty years ago. It was right at the time that publishing houses were closing to slush and suddenly children’s writers needed agents—and there weren’t very many agents who did anything at all with children’s books at the time. (Listen to me! “Back in the olden days…”) I thought I’d be an editorial freelancer focusing on regional nonfiction or adults, but instead, I decided I should try my hand at agenting and focus on children’s books.

I had only worked with a couple of agents as an editor, so honestly, I didn’t have a solid impression of what agents could do. And I had never worked in publishing in New York, so I had no contacts there. I did, however, have a solid background in negotiating and reviewing contracts, as my publishing house had revised its contract during my tenure there, and the publishing law expert who did the revision trained me thoroughly. If it hadn’t been for that, I don’t think it would have occurred to me to try being an agent.

RVC: What is it about the children’s book industry that appeals to you? For those who don’t know, your agency specializes in that area.

EM: Three primary things:

  1. The work we do feels very important, because we’re not just making books, we’re making books for society’s youngest members, and therefore, we are shaping the next generation. Turning kids into readers is important, important work, and providing good and fun and interesting and moving books to hook them is a necessary part of that.
  2. The people in children’s publishing are generally incredibly nice. The competitive spirit isn’t as driving here, and there’s a sense of success for one book/​creator/​agent/​publisher being good for the whole industry.
  3. I can’t think of another job that would daily thrill my inner child so much!

RVC: How do you handle existing clients who suddenly want to branch out into writing, say, an adult thriller or a Malcolm-​Gladwell-​style cultural commentary book for adults?

EM: My colleague Ammi-​Joan Paquette generally says, “Bring it on!” when her clients do that, and she gets to work researching appropriate editors on the adult side of publishing. I, however, usually say “Uncle!” because I don’t have time to get to know a whole new set of editorial contacts from scratch. But there have also been times when a client thought their next project might be right for adults, and it turned out it actually worked better (or just as well) on the juvenile side.

RVC: What do you say to a prospective client who wonders why you’re located in southern Maine versus, say, the Flatiron building or in a loft on 27th Avenue in NYC? (Beyond the rent being WAY better in Maine, one assumes!)

EM: Whatever editor I need to reach is just a phone call or email away. I’m not a city gal; I’m happier, and more inspired, when I’m spending most of my time in the countryside. I’ve been doing this for more than twenty years while working far from Manhattan, and it seems to have worked out all right. But listen, especially while the industry is having important conversations about how we exclude a lot of people from becoming a part of the publishing industry because of the financial hurdle of living in NYC, I would hope that “lives in NYC” is not a primary requirement of authors seeking agents. My far-​flung colleagues deserve better.

RVC: Let’s talk about your agenting interests and style. Stop me if I’m way off base here, but in scrutinizing the authors/​books you rep, it SEEMS like you’re often taken by quieter subjects, styles, and themes. Is that fair? 

EM: I do think that’s fair, so long as it’s not all three at once. Something needs to make a book stand out and find its readership! Still, I do love being emotionally moved by a text’s subject, style, or themes—and emotion sometimes gets equated with quietness in literature. Take Deborah Underwood’s The Quiet Book as an obvious example. (I rep Deborah but signed her after The Quiet Book came out.) It has a very understated (and brilliant) writing style and the subject is literally quiet, but it taps into a universal feeling on every page. And it works so well because it’s not lacking for an obvious readership—what parent doesn’t want a book that inspires both conversation and quietness for bedtime reading?

Don’t get me wrong—I love fantasy and high stakes. I do represent Robin LaFevers’ His Fair Assassins series, which pitches as “teenage Medieval assassin nuns,” after all—and in picture books, Shark vs. Train by Chris Barton jumps to mind as a non-​quiet book! (See its companion book Fire Truck vs. Dragon, releasing in March 2020.) I just think high stakes are equally valid when they are internal, especially for kids who are figuring out the world and their place in it, and I find that very compelling.

I also find it especially compelling when it concerns voices that have rarely been heard in U.S. children’s publishing. A quiet, emotional story sometimes paradoxically makes a wider window into a world that children of the dominant culture are unfamiliar with—and a more powerful mirror for the children who haven’t seen themselves in books before. (Credit to Rudine Sims Bishop for mirrors/​windows!) My client Andrea Wang was inspired by Bao Phi and Thi Bui’s A Different Pond to write a story from her own childhood, about being a daughter of immigrants, which is forthcoming from Neal Porter Books (with Jason Chin illustrating)—so A Different Pond’s effects will ripple through the new book (tentatively titled Watercress) and beyond. I recently signed Kao Kalia Yang, whose stories of the refugee experience are incredibly powerful and boundary-breaking—and also very simple and poetic.

RVC: You have a rep for being an editorial agent. What does that mean to you, and what are examples of the types of things you’ll do for a client and their manuscript?

EM: Naturally I’m often aware of projects before they start or while they’re in progress and I’ll raise flags if a topic seems problematic, overdone, or not very easy to find an audience for, but that’s not what you’re asking about. I would hope that between a client telling me about an idea and me seeing a manuscript for the first time, they will have done a lot of drafting, re-​drafting, throwing things out, revising further—finding what a text actually needs to be and getting it as far as they can with the help of beta readers and critique partners.

RVC: You’ve got to love how a good critique group can help get a manuscript in submission-​worthy shape!

EM: Totally right! I only get one first look at a manuscript, and what I hope I will be doing with my editorial talents at that point in a picture book’s development is seeing what the author is wanting to do with it and clearing the way to make their vision even more crystallized and irresistible. I ask a lot of questions. I notice little clues the author left for their subconscious to pick up and do more with. I point out lazy writing or obvious “darlings” that the writer loves but that aren’t serving the whole. I point out brilliant writing and ask for more of it. I do a lot of suggesting the author go deeper or take ideas further. I ask them to justify their choices. Sometimes I say, “This is still just an idea, not a picture book text. Your text is talking about it, not telling a story. Go find another way in.”

RVC: So, you have an annual agency retreat. What kind of things are on the agenda each year?

EM: The retreat is a mix of scheduled and unscheduled time. The scheduled time is kind of conference-​like, pulling from the expertise of the agents, special guests, and clients who are in attendance, and it’s high-​level stuff—but the real magic happens in the unscheduled time, when attendees gather spontaneously or intentionally. Plot-​brainstorming sessions have become staples. Readings of works in progress are beloved, and have made it easier for writers to find each other and collaborate—we have several co-​written books that have resulted from the retreat.

There’s also lots of silliness and fun: goofy door prizes, a costume contest, some serious poker-​playing, lots of dessert, jigsaw puzzles, drawing/​painting sessions, Giant Jenga, singalongs, walks, shopping, and last year, a first-​ever EMLA retreat scavenger hunt, a truly evil thing organized by a visiting editor that absolutely captivated the attendees who participated. The main thing is, people really connect there, and they come away feeling creatively rejuvenated. We’re taking 2020 off to step back and evaluate what is really working and what isn’t, and as much as the staff needs the break, we’re all going to miss it a ton, too. It’s pretty great.

RVC: Sounds like fun! What many authors tell me isn’t as much fun, though, is PR. For many, promoting themselves and their books is the biggest anxiety-​causing part of the entire process. What are some of your agency’s best PR success stories?

EM: One of the best things I ever did for EMLA was set up a collaborative relationship with marketing firm Curious City and its brilliant creator, Kirsten Cappy. She takes on marketing concerns for the agency as a whole, but she also is available for our clients who need help with PR and marketing.

So, yes, book promotion can cause anxiety—it is hard to know what to do to support picture book sales and when one is doing enough—but Kirsten encourages our clients to worry less about the immediacy of PR and work more towards establishing long term tools for picture book programmers.  By providing library and classrooms with engagement activities, picture books can be introduced to children and families again and again, long after release. Recently, we have had some significant sales and PR successes that were driven at least partially by the creation of those tools.

After Nancy Raines Day released a Baby & Toddler Story Hour Kit for her book Baby’s First (Charlesbridge), an early literacy program discovered the title and bought 11,000 copies.

Picture book author Maria Gianferrari worked with Curious City to create a Pet Adoption Event Kit for libraries and organizations that centered on her book Operation Rescue Dog (Little Bee). Maria was invited onto the Hallmark Channel to talk about the book, and the talk show hosts celebrated Maria’s “giving back” to the community with the availability of the kit.

(Nancy and Maria are repped by EMLA agents Tricia Lawrence and Ammi-​Joan Paquette, respectively.)

RVC: Dealbreakers in query letters, cover letters, or pitches of any type?

EM: An obvious lack of knowledge of publishing in general or children’s publishing in particular. There is no excuse for not self-​educating when there is so much information that is freely available. I am not interested in dabblers!

RVC: How do you measure your clients’ success?

EM: My primary benchmark is growth. This can be growth in craft and professionalism, expanding into new formats/​genres, increasing sales and recognition, coming closer to getting offers on submission, engaging with wider circles of readers and gatekeepers, etc.

RVC: Talk about the reasons for having the no open submission policy. My guess is that it’s a measured, client-​focused decision that you still probably continue to revisit and debate from time to time.

EM: Actually, you’re only half right! We’ve been closed to slush since maybe my third year as an agent, and I have never once regretted the decision enough to revisit or debate it. We do take queries from people who attend conferences where we speak, and we take referrals (of which we get a lot), and when we realized how much our closed policy has been a barrier for marginalized writers, we started making a serious point of participating in online events like DVPit, doing more reach-​outs, etc. There are avenues to get to us, but we aren’t dealing with nearly the quantity of queries a lot of agents are, and it allows us to have larger numbers of clients than most do. I’m answering this question during the first work week of the new year and an agent from another agency posted that he had gotten 250 queries by Thursday. I can’t fathom dealing in that volume.

RVC: It’s time for the LIGHTNING ROUND! Zippy-​fast questions followed by zappy-​quick responses, please. Ready?

EM: Bring it on!

RVC: Best place for pizza in your neck of the woods (Windham, ME)?

EM: This one hurts. No good answer close by—but we are fans of Otto’s if we want to go a little further.

RVC: In a parallel universe where I wasn’t involved with books at all, I’d instead be ________.

EM: A news editor in some medium or other.

RVC: Favorite non-​kidlit guilty reading pleasure?

EM: Historical mysteries.

RVC: Best non-​client picture book of 2019?

EM: Ooh, that’s not fair! One book! Okay, this is the best I can do…a tie between Saturday by Oge Mora and Small in the City by Sydney Smith.

RVC: The #1 attribute for agenting success?

EM: Flexibility.

RVC: Three words that sum up the EMLA philosophy?

EM: Integrity, community, growth. (Or possibly “unicorns, pie, poker.”)

RVC: Way to end strong! Thanks so much, Erin!

 

Educational Activities: Naughty Ninja Takes a Bath by Todd Tarpley

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Naughty Ninja Takes a Bath
Author: Todd Tarpley
Illustrator: Vin Vogel
Two Lions
1 December 2019
32 pages

Book description from Goodreads: “After crossing raging rivers and tromping through the jungle, Naughty Ninja returns to his secret ninja training camp for lunch. But when he gets inside, his parents tell him he needs a bath. Before Naughty Ninja gets in the tub, he notices poisonous flies and an angry alligator circling his dad, who doesn’t even seem to know he’s in trouble. Good thing Naughty Ninja is around to save the day!

Amid sudsy fun, a boy’s imaginary ninja life and his everyday world collide in the ultimate bath time adventure.”

Need some reviews of Naughty Ninja Takes a Bath?

Educational Activities inspired by Todd Tarpley’s Naughty Ninja Takes a Bath:

  • Before Reading–From looking at the front and back cover: 
    • What do you think of when you think about ninjas?
    • What type of naughtiness do you expect here?
    • Where and when does this story seem to take place?
    • What type of creatures are lurking in the water?
    • What is the Naughty Ninja up to on the back cover?
    • If you could ask the author any one question before you read the book, what would it be?
  • After Reading–Now that you’ve read the story: 
    • Which events in the story seemed most important?
    • How did you react when Ninja Dad fell into the tub?
    • What would you have done if you were the ninja and you realized there were “wild, poisonous flies”?
    • Do you think the Naughty Ninja means to cause trouble?
  • Writing–Naughty Ninjas get into trouble, even when they don’t mean to. What other adventures might this Naughty Ninja get into? Dream up one of them, and write that story yourself. Will Ninja Dad end up in the tub water again? Will Naughty Ninja save the day? Consider using crayons to draw pictures to go with your story.
  • Craft–With an adult’s help, try some of the following ninja-​themed crafts: 
    • LEGO Ninjas–You have to have LEGOs of your own here, but if you have some, these are easy to make with this guide.
    • Ninja Stress Ball–There are lots of ways to make these and even more ways to fill them. Fun!
    • Origami Ninja Stars–Lots of folding here, but these are both pretty and cool.
    • Paper Bag Ninja Craft–This one requires a bit more work and help than others, but the result is worth it.
    • Toilet Roll Ninjas–All you need are toilet roll paper cores, paint, straws, and a black marker.
  • Further Reading–Who doesn’t love ninjas, right? How many other books about ninjas have you read? Here are a few of OPB’s favorites. (Click on the book cover for more information on any of these titles!)