Notes for Writers from my SCBWI Conference last week-end

I've promised some notes from some of the fabulous speakers of last week-end. Today I'm going to give notes from Allyn Johnston's talk on picture books. I think this talk will speak to everyone, not just writers, but anyone who loves/buys/reads picture books. But before I do that, I want to mention that Libba Bray was the keynote speaker Saturday morning, and she just won the Prinze Award for GOING BOVINE (which I blogged about earlier this week). She spoke like she wrote GOING BOVINE, all over the place and exciting and fast-paced. She talked about her work habits, organizational style, etc., and it sounded a lot like me. I loved this quote, in particular, because I could really relate: "Something I think I'm living my whole life as if I've been shot from a cannon, flailing about, dreading the eventual impact." I don't know, it just cracked me up. She also said, "Who but the bravest of souls would send out their most intimate thoughts, feelings, and vulnerabilities...writers are the bravest people of all." Amen.

Okay, so on to Allyn Johnston is the Vice President and Publisher of Beach Lane Books (an imprint of Simon and Schuster). She was amazing and brilliant and clearly a force to be reckoned with. Here are a few of her thoughts, then I'll share a list of the stand-out picture books she discussed. First of all (and this is what I LOVED most about this talk), she spoke of the importance of picture books in the adult-child relationship. She said she remembers not only the books of her childhood, but her emotional connection to the reader. She recalls the stories shared with parents and grandparents and the feel of their arms around her as they shared these books. These books are connectors, making reading time with parents and children even more special, so they'd better be darn good. Reading time with your kids mends all the raggedy edges of the day. Reading aloud to our children changes their lives forever. That's pretty powerful.

Artistically, she said the picture book is a stage where a piece of theatre unfolds. You want to give the parents a good script. Make it so much fun that they want to do it again and again. The page turn makes the picture book different from any other kind of book. Page turns are magical moments. A PICTURE BOOK AT ITS BEST IS A FORM OF HIGH ART.

Now I'm going to list the picture books she discusses as examples of excellence in some way or another. If you don't know any of these, check them out. Many of them are older classics and many are new, and almost all of them are my favorites, too, which was cool.

Hattie and the Fox by Mem Fox
Kitten's First Full Moon by Kevin Henkes
Wilfred Gordon MacDonald Partridge by Mem Fox
The Big Red Barn by Margaret Wise Brown
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom
The Scrambled States of America
How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World
All the World (Just won the Caldecott last week, Ms. Johnston edited it)
The Carrot Seed

Have a wonderful day. Take a moment to stop at the library or check out your favorite bookstore for one of these wonderful titles. What a great bedtime surprise--a new story!
Read on, Mamas!

Wow! So much to talk about!

I had a wonderful week-end in NYC. I heard some fabulous speakers and made some new friends and happily connected with my favorite writing friend of all. We had fun and worked hard and made it home safely--what more can you ask for? Well, actually, how about a terrific snowfall for the fam to enjoy in my absence? Well, they got it. It's still beautiful and snow-covered here today. Incredible. I feel blessed in a thousand different ways this morning, and the snow is just icing on my already scrumptious cake.

This week I"ll be connecting you, my readers, with notes from the conference. I"m not sure how I plan to do that yet, but stay tuned for more conference info. With all the travel this past week, I did a lot of reading (on the plane and in the airport, waiting...), so I have three new reommendations for you.

First off is GOING BOVINE by Libba Bray. About 11 days ago, the author won the Prinze Award for this book (highest honor for a YA book--Go Libba Bray!), so I knew I had to check it out. Wow, what a ride! This book renders me speechless--no kidding. I'm just dying for others to read it, so I can discuss it with someone. P.S. My very favorite part is the section set in New Orleans. She so captures the magic of music. This book is strange, amazing,long, and the most winding, crazy adventure I've taken in a long time. It IS YA complete with sex, drugs and rock and roll, so don't hand it to your ten-year-old (or even your twelve-year-old, IMHO). However, it's beautifully drawn and fantastically delivered. Ms. Bray spoke at our conference this week-end, and she is no less brilliant in person.

Secondly, the the talented and brilliant Jacqueline Woodson's IF YOU COME SOFTLY, a modern Romeo and Juliet story. It's a beautiful, tragic and thought-provoking love story between a white Jewish girl and an African American boy who meet at a choice Manhattan school. It's an amazing story with delicate but powerful messages about race in our country and culture as a whole. Should be required reading for EVERYONE--young and old. No sex, drugs or rock and roll here, folks. Share this book FAR AND WIDE. I LOOOOOVED it, and you will, too. Check it out!

Lastly, TAKEN BY STORM by Angela Morrison. It's a lovely story about a high school senior who is a passionate scuba diver who loses BOTH his parents (and nearly twenty other friends) in a tragic accident. He is the only survivor, and must go spend the remainder of his senior year with his Grandmother in a quiet rural community. He is traumatized and haunted by the incident and becomes fixated on a devoutly Mormon farm girl. Their relationship grows, despite her many rules to maintain her purity (a refreshing perspective in this sex-drenched culture) and her attempts to introduce him to her faith. An interesting, thought-provoking yet fully engaging and believable love story. I would also highly recommend this YA novel.

Have a wonderful day, and if you're surrounded by snow, as we are, enjoy it before it's gone! Until tomorrow....