Picture Books With a Little Different Perspective

What makes a picture book capture my attention? It must be clever or stand out from the crowd. I love when a book makes you think about something differently or look at it in a brand new way. The following books definitely fit this criteria:

Mirror Mirror: A Book of Reversible Verse by Marilyn Singer, illustrated by Josee Masse is a series of reversos, or poems which have one meaning when read down the page and perhaps an altogether different meaning when read up the page.

The book is filled with poems for such favorites as Snow White, Cinderella, The Ugly Duckling and more.

Here is an example of “In The Hood” a take on Little Red Riding Hood:

In my hood

skipping through the wood

carrying a basket

picking berries to eat –

juicy and sweet

what a treat!

But a girl

mustn’t dawdle.

After all, Grandma’s waiting.

 

Here is the reverso that now sounds like it is from the wolves perspective:

After all, Grandma’s waiting,

mustn’t dawdle . . .

But a girl!

What a treat –

juicy and sweet,

picking berries to eat,

carrying a basket,

skipping through the wood

in my `hood.”

It takes a talent to write like this and the author gets it just right. The illustrations are colorful and really add a fun feel to this very clever book. This would be a great gift or addition to your family collection.

My second book is completely different but just as clever. “Bedtime for Mommy” written by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and illustrated by LeUyen Pham is a role-reversal tale where a child tries to put her Mommy to bed. From five extra minutes to glasses of water, Mommy tries to drag out her bedtime as long as she possibly can.

Pham’s  illustrations are light and fun and fit the text perfectly. This is a great cuddle up for fun book that would be a great addition for any family’s library.

Happy Reading!

Suzanne Santillan

Writing on the Sidewalk

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Don’t Throw in the TOWEL

So you finally got your first contract. Your book has been published…Now what? What can you, as an author, do to continue on and have a long and successful journey?

Publishers Weekly reported in February about a panel discussion in New York by the PEN American Center’s Children’s Book Committee, that discussed this very topic. The speakers were David Levithan, panel moderator, and fellow authors Jane O’Connor, Richard Peck, Marilyn Singer, and Brian Floca. The topic was “Crafting a Career as a Children’s or Young Adult Author—Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow.”

Despite their diverse backgrounds, the authors found they had two things in common; a lack of a clear career direction in the beginning and the willingness to write many types of books on many different subjects.

Author Marilyn Singer summed up a successful career with the following acronym:

TOWEL

T- talent

O- optimism

W- widespread interests

E- endurance

L- luck

“This is a marathon, not a sprint,” she said. “Don’t throw in the towel, use it.”

I think those are very wise words.

Suzanne Santillan

Writing on the Sidewalk

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