Ask an Editor: Should My Picture Book Have Page Breaks?

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editing, pages, pagination, picture book, picture books, submissions

“Ask an Editor” is a forum wherein SCBWI members submit questions that are answered as part of our quarterly Kite Tales blog.

Dear Editor – I’m ready to submit my picture book to agents but there are no page breaks in my manuscript. Is that a problem?

—Unbroken, Los Angeles

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Ask an Editor: Query Letter and Cover Letter

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cover letter, editor, queries, query letter

“Ask an Editor” is a forum wherein SCBWI members submit questions that are answered as part of our quarterly Kite Tales blog.

Dear Editor – What is the difference between a query letter and a cover letter?

—Marissa, the Valley

Emma Chichester Clark’s TOTO Illustration Process and Her Muse—Her Dog, Plum

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chapter book, Dogs, Emma Chichester Clark, HarperCollins, illustrator, illustrator tips, illustrators, interview, Michael Morpurgo, middle grade, Plum, The Wizard of Oz, Toto

Emma Chichester Clark is the illustrator of the beautiful middle-grade chapter book, Toto: The Dog-Gone Amazing Story of the Wizard of Oz. Its 250+ full-color images showcase Chichester Clark’s signature style.

CHRISTINE VAN ZANDT: Welcome to Kite Tales! In Toto, you collaborate once again with author, Michael Morpurgo. How does illustrating well-known stories differ from working on new fiction? Does having a dog as the narrator change your focus when you work on the art?

EMMA CHICHESTER CLARK: In fact, it’s my sixth collaboration with Michael. We have also done versions of Pinocchio, Aesop’s Fables, Hansel and Gretel, The Pied Piper of Hamelin, and a Christmas story called The Best of Times. Almost all of them were about well-known characters and I had to find my own ideas about that. This is a challenge because the images we all already know so well are imprinted in our heads. With each character, I have to draw and redraw them, over and over again, until I find someone that belongs to me but who is, at the same time, true to the character I’m representing. [In Toto], having a dog as the narrator was the most fun of all because I adore dogs. I have one, Plum, who is not unlike Toto in appearance and I spend a lot of my time trying to interpret what is going on in her doggy brain.

CVZ: You are also an author. Please give us some insight into your process, both as an illustrator and an author-illustrator.

Author Michael Morpurgo on His New Book, TOTO, and Writing From an Animal’s Perspective

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chapter book, Children's Laureate, Emma Chichester Clark, Farms for City Children, HarperCollins, interview, Michael Morpurgo, middle grade, Toto, Wizard of Oz

Today, we feature Michael Morpurgo, author of the middle-grade chapter book, Toto: The Dog-gone Amazing Story of the Wizard of Oz. This retelling of the classic is from Toto’s point of view. Each chapter begins as he tells his tale to his puppies—only one of which usually stays awake until the end.

A former Children’s Laureate, Morpurgo has published over 150 books. His novel, War Horse, was successfully adapted into a Tony Award-winning Broadway play and a Golden Globe-nominated film by Steven Spielberg. Morpurgo’s books include retellings such as Pinocchio by Pinocchio (told from Pinocchio’s viewpoint), also a collaboration with illustrator, Emma Chichester Clark.

CHRISTINE VAN ZANDT: Welcome to Kite Tales! What influenced your decision to rewrite The Wizard of Oz?

MICHAEL MORPURGO: We all know the original story from the film and perhaps less from the L Frank Baum book. It is a wonderful and magical tale—funny, frightening—and strange and a wonderful film, but I always felt that there was one character who had little part to play in the story. Dorothy we know and love, but her little dog, Toto, does little more than accompany her on her adventures, providing her with comfort and company, but we never know what he thinks of all that is going on. He just gets carried around a lot. So, I thought why not tell the story again, but through Toto’s eyes. But it was really my friend, the illustrator of Toto, Emma Chichester Clark, who originally had the idea of a retelling the story with her own beloved dog, Plum, as the inspiration for Toto.

CVZ: Please tell us about your writing process.

Ask an Editor: What is Style? Recent Updates to the “Chicago Manual of Style”

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AP Manual, Author Tips, Chicago Manual, CMA, editing, style guides

“Ask an Editor” is a forum wherein SCBWI members submit questions that are answered as part of our quarterly Kite Tales blog.

Dear Editor – I’ve heard there were “style changes” recently. What does this mean?

—Trying to be Stylish, Los Angeles

Dear Stylish:

What is “style”?

“Style” is the way writers express thought in a written work; this includes text and documentation and any tables and illustrations. “Style” is often used to mean the consistent use of capitalization, spelling, hyphenation, abbreviations, punctuation, ellipsis points, parentheses, quotation marks, the way numbers are treated, grammar, syntax, usage, and much more.

Where can someone learn about style?

Marla Frazee: From Picture Book to Big Screen

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Alec Baldwin, Boss Baby, Marla Frazee

The Boss Baby, a 32-page picture book written and illustrated by Marla Frazee was published in 2010 (S&S, Beach Lane). Since the book’s publication, more than 200,000 copies have been sold and, in 2016, Frazee followed up with a sequel, The Bossier Baby, introducing the Boss Baby’s infant sister. On March 31, 2017, the animated DreamWorks film was released with Alec Baldwin voicing the main character. Frazee’s book depicts the newborn as a tiny suit-wearing boss who dictates the household. Simon Spotlight released several movie tie-in editions—two board books, a junior novelization, and a leveled reader—and the original picture books have been labeled as the inspiration for the movie.

Christine Van Zandt: Has being part of SCBWI contributed to your career?

MARLA FRAZEE: I have a career because of SCBWI. I attended my first conference in the early 1980s; Jane Yolen was working the main desk and Trina Schart Hyman gave a keynote. I think there were 80 people in attendance. After that, I went to the national conference as often as I could afford to and I attended local Southern California conferences, too. I tried to introduce myself to the speakers, which was super hard because I felt so shy about doing it and I didn’t have much to say. But I forced myself. During those years I was also sending illustration samples to art directors and picture book projects to editors, so I would occasionally meet someone who I’d sent something to. A few of them recognized my name and told me they liked my work. Those exchanges truly kept me going. I met Linda Zuckerman, who at the time was an editor at HarperCollins, at a local conference, and she eventually became my first editor. And 25 years ago, after meeting at Illustrators Day, I became part of a critique group—which is still going strong.

Ask an Editor: Submissions to Agents

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agent, agents, pages, submissions

“Ask an Editor” is a forum wherein SCBWI members submit questions that are answered as part of our quarterly Kite Tales blog.

Dear Editor – How many pages will I submit to an agent?

—Lim, Los Angeles

Ask an Editor: What is New Adult?

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NA, New Adult

“Ask an Editor” is a forum wherein SCBWI members submit questions that are answered as part of our quarterly Kite Tales blog.

Dear Editor – What is New Adult? How is it different from Young Adult?

—J.T., Los Angeles

Why Roald Dahl’s Stories Resonate with Children Today

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100th Anniversary, 100th Birthday, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Chloe Dahl, Fantastic Mr. Fox, James and the Giant Peach, Knuckle and Claw, Lucy Dahl, Matilda, Roald Dahl, snozzcumber, The BFG, The Twits, Voodoo Doughnuts

Holiday giving isn’t over! Enjoy this special interview, a gift from Kite Tales to all of our readers. We hope you find time to relax with a book as we say good-bye to 2016.

On September 18, 2016, I attended a celebration of Roald Dahl’s 100^thbirthday at his granddaughter Chloe’s restaurant, Knuckle and Claw, in Santa Monica. Lucy Dahl, Roald’s daughter, was in attendance, reading from The Twits and entertaining the crowd with anecdotal stories about her father. The kids in the audience were obviously fans of Dahl’s work, eagerly citing their favorite books and characters—even having some lines from the books memorized. Why do Dahl’s books resonate with children today? Lucy Dahl provides some insight.

2016 Working Writer’s Retreat: A Protected Space

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Leslie A. Langsbard, Working Writer's Retreat

Every year SCBWI hosts a members-only retreat that provides space, support, and permission to write—an ideal experience for writers at various stages of the creative process. On the final day, attendees have a chance to present their work to some of the most talented editors and agents in the business. To prepare for this moment, SCBWI faculty crafts three days of carefully planned and protected writing time.

The buzz from years past caught my attention and I was motivated to sign up the day registration opened. This opportunity meant time alone with my story without having to worry about the pressing responsibilities of life.