My Mission Statement

I write to serve, to unite, to educate. I write to share literature and flesh out ideas that may be of interest to others. I write to document an emotion, experience, or a blip in time. My mission is to write in such a way that the reader is reminded that we can find humor in all situations. It's one of the great blessings of life.


Monday, September 17, 2012

The Lovely Deborah Underwood

I recently attended a terrific picture book workshop with the lovely author, Deborah Underwood. She is probably best known for THE QUIET BOOK, THE LOUD BOOK, and the soon to come THE CHRISTMAS QUIET BOOK. She also has a ton of other things cooking, and I can't wait to see the final results. But for NOW, let's talk about THE QUIET BOOK. THE QUIET BOOK is a charming, quiet picture book (that used to be a bad thing, but now it's award-winning!) that describes all the different kinds of quiet. The illustrations by Renata Liwska are so sweet and expressive, the perfect complement to Ms. Underwood's understated prose. Though the book's pages read as a series of quiet phrases like "Swimming underwater quiet" (don't you LOVE that?), the book has a definite arc and cycle to its story. My teacher self adores all the possibilities to use this book with all ages for writing activities, discussions, and the power of choosing the exact right word. My mother self loves the many stories to be found in the beautiful illustrations, the emotion-packed quiets, and the talking points on every page. But my writing self can't stop marveling at the sheer perfection of THE QUIET BOOK as a reading experience. It is an excellent example of the picture book as an art form. The combination of words and illustrations take the entire experience to a level that must have exceeded the expectations of everyone on the project. When reflecting on my own writing, THE QUiET BOOK offers an example of how less can really be more in a manuscript. Check out THE QUIET BOOK, THE LOUD BOOK, and look for THE QUIET CHRISTMAS BOOK by Deborah Underwood. You can thank me later. Happy Reading.

1 comment:

Shannon Hitchcock ~ Children's Writer said...

I've heard about THE QUIET BOOK but haven't read it yet. Thanks for the recommendation. It might make a lovely gift for some of the kiddos in my extended family.


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