What if Your Best Friend Were Blue?

WHAT IF YOUR BEST FRIEND WERE BLUE? by Vera Kochan, Illustrated by Viviana Garofoli
PUBLISHER: Marshall Cavendish (September 2011)
PAGES: 24
AGES: 4-8

ISBN-10: 0761458972 

ISBN-13: 978-0761458975

A book review by Bookshelf Detective Kim Tomsic
WHAT IF YOUR BEST FRIEND WERE BLUE? by Vera Kochan offers a delightful way for children to learn colors while at the same time discovering it's what's inside a person that counts. The book features a yellow doctor, an orange babysitter, a blue best friend and more.
Author Vera Kochan provides sweet and simple big-concept text while iIllustrator Viviana Garofoli makes your eyes stretch wide. Her rich and captivating scenes marry the whimsical atmosphere of color with a powerful theme, "it's what's on the inside that matters."

WHAT IF YOUR BEST FRIEND WERE BLUE? is a great reading choice for the classroom. Teachers can follow up with coloring projects where their students compose their own "What if" projects (What if my brother were pink; What if my mom were silver?).  The book also makes a lovely bedtime story and opens light opportunities for parents to discuss tolerance.

Whether at home or in the classroom, the fantastical charm of the cast of characters (including the green policewoman!) will have kids begging for another read of WHAT IF YOUR BEST FRIEND WERE BLUE?


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Fast-Paced Plotting as seen by Nancy Drew and Chris Eboch

A standing-room-only break-out sessions at the SCBWI Conference was a class taught by Chris Eboch .

What I learned from Nancy Drew-Tool for Fast-Paced Plotting was the title Chris Eboch gave her presentation.

Literally, all the fire codes were violated as the Hyatt salon was packed with standing room only participants. Here are a few precious notes on what Chris had to say:

BEGINNING

1. You are setting expectations and making the reader a promise in the first chapter…a promise you better fill. If your tone is crazy-scary in the first chapter, you better deliver crazy-scary. If your characters are super snarky in the beginning, they better not end up vanilla throughout the rest of the book.

2. Your first chapter also sets the genre, setting, problem, tone, and a sense of the structure and pacing.

HOW TO CREATE A FAST START

1. Fast starts are openings that start with action; they start with what happened and then work in the back story. Note how this is different from starting with back story and then working up to the action.

2. Ms. Eboch says that fast starts usually start with two people on the page and has scene+action+dialogue. She advises to use description and summary modestly if you want to achieve a fast start.

3. Ms. Eboch also advises to start with a cliffhanger (something big is around the corner) and in the middle of the fight or the conflict. She says, “the inciting incident-the problem that gets the story going-should happen as soon as possible , but not until the moment is ripe.”

For more on Chris Eboch’s guide to writers and fast paced plotting, you can visit her at http://www.chriseboch.com/

National Novel Writing Month

November is National Novel Writing Month.  What's that?  It's a thirty day challenge, beginning November 1st, to sit down and write a 50,000 word novel.  The rules are simple, write write write; write new material  (not something you're currently working on or something you're tweaking), and have fun.  Expectations:  a bunch of fluff will be written because there is no time to reread and edit every (any!) detail, but your creative juices will flow and you may surprise yourself.   Published novels have come out of this yearly challenge.  For more details, visit  http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/whatisnano.

Picture Book Discussion Panel Excerpt

**UPDATE November 15-December 15, 2014** Bid on a Picture Book Manuscript Critique with one of the publishing professionals donating their time and talent in the #KidLitForHaiti Auction at the following Link:

http://kimscritiquingcorner.blogspot.com/2014/11/kid-lit-for-haiti-online-auction.html

Click Here to go to: Picture Book Manuscript Critique:Critique with Melissa Manlove editor of Chronicle Children's Books; 
Jen Rofe agent with Andrea Brown Literary Agency;
Denise Vega-author and two-time winner Colorado Book Award
Stephen Mooser-co-founder SCBWI and author of 60 + books
and more!

And now:

A few words from an SCBWI discussion panel featuring four esteemed speakers:
Arthur Levine (Arthur A. Levine books), Melinda Long (teacher and award winning best-selling author), Eve Bunting (esteemed author of more than 100 books for young readers), and Kadir Nelson (famous award winning illustrator)

GREAT PICTURE BOOKS

QUESTION: What makes a great picture book?
Athur Levine: Distinction and originality.
Kadir Nelson: The book needs to speak to both a personal truth and a universal truth.
Eve Bunting: It must have heart and jolt of emotion. When you write ask yourself, “Is this worth
saying?”
Melinda Long: It has to appeal to children and adults. Bring in humor or love, something so the adult
can say, “I remember when I felt that way.”

QUESTION: When do you know it’s time to write?
Eve Bunting: When something jolts me, I see if the feeling lasts.
Melinda Long: When I have something inside and I have to get it out on paper and I don’t feel good until
I do.

Extra words from Mr. Levine and Mr. Nelson:
Athur Levine: Remember that your words must be apparent in your text because author has no control over the illustrations. (This makes me think of advice from Linda Arms White. She says to forget adverbs and adjectives when writing picture books (maybe one per story is okay). She advises your verbs are your work horses, so pick wisely (no “to be” verbs).
Kadir Nelson: The book illustrator’s job is not to redundantly tell the same story as the author.