Meet Our September Guest Guru: Christy Mihaly

Every month, Rate Your Story features one Guest Guru who will give Ratings and Feedback to each of four lucky Members! Those who want to be considered for this opportunity should read this article, consider its contents when choosing your manuscript, submit early in the month and be sure to request consideration for a Guest Guru Slot from Judy, our Inbox Coordinator.

To really learn about Christy, please consider buying one of her books here: https://amzn.to/4cGxdZP

What do you LOVE about children’s books? 

I LOVE that in today’s world of children’s books we have such a rich variety of topics and treatments and stories and voices that reflect the lives of today’s kids and help young people learn about this big, beautiful world. I especially love children’s books that treat difficult or delicate topics with humor and grace.

What brought you to children’s books? 

I was a lawyer for many years and knew I loved to write – I just hadn’t considered it a career path. When I started writing, I gravitated to nonfiction. At first, I wrote about what I knew. Then, I started learning about cool new topics in order to write about them. I was especially drawn to writing for kids because kids are so curious. So, I took some courses in writing for children, then started submitting stories and articles to kids’ magazines. At the same time, I was writing a lot of poetry, and one poem was about making hay. One day, as I fiddled with the HAY poem, I realized it might make a decent rhyming picture book – and in 2018 it turned into my first published picture book, Hey, Hey, Hay! (A Tale of Bales and the Machines That Make Them), illustrated by Joe Cepeda.

Name something you loved / enjoyed as a child?

I was not an athletically coordinated child but always loved getting outside in nature, camping, hiking, climbing mountains, canoeing, and just soaking up the scene. 

And I really loved being part of my school’s music program – I started playing trumpet in fifth grade, and played in the concert band, and then the marching band, jazz band, and pep band. 

4. What do you look for in a project to make it a favorite, or if you are an Editor or Agent, to add a writer to your list?

I look for a topic I’m passionate about. I want a story that sings, that speaks to a reader’s heart. I can’t write a story with that kind of resonance unless I care deeply about it.

Share a story that you love and why.

I’m always telling people to read the wonderful new books coming out, but there’s a great comfort and pleasure in reading the classics, too. I’m in the middle of reading (re-reading) Charlotte’s Web to my grandchildren (ages 6 and 8). Such a pleasure to revisit this old favorite – do you remember Templeton? What a funny and complex character, sketched in just a few words. 

The grands live far away, so we’re Zooming. I read a couple of chapters per session, always leaving them hungry for the next installment. It’s such a joy to share this amazing story with them. Talk about heart! E.B. White’s writing is a little dated in places, so I confess I change a few words here and there to update it – or explain it as I go. When you read aloud you can maintain an ongoing dialog about the story, which deepens the shared experience.

And I’m on the lookout for the next read-aloud – something more modern, so I’m seeking recommendations

6. What is a common issue in manuscripts that don’t work?

I’m often asked to critique manuscripts with rhymes. Now, I like rhyme, and I have written in rhyme. But most of the time when I’m reviewing a rhyming manuscript, I find some of the rhyming is a little off, or the meter is uneven, or the plot is distorted because of the author’s need to find words to rhyme with prior words. This distracts from the story. There’s no requirement that kids’ picture books rhyme – so writers, please feel free to write without rhyming. Just write the strongest story you can.

Our Rate Your Story 2024 Word of the Year is Professionalism. In terms of becoming a writer, what does this word mean to you?

It means to be courteous to, and generous with, others in our amazing writing community – we’re all in this together and I’ve learned to assume that we are all doing our best during tough times in a very tough business. 

It also means to me to focus on making my work the best it can be without doing a lot of comparing my record with those of others – numbers of submissions, or books, or success rate, or starred reviews, or awards, or any of the rest. I can try, at least.

Please share a Submission tip. 

Target your submissions to the specific agent or editor you’re sending to. Don’t submit randomly, it just wastes everyone’s time. Do research. Know what an editor or agent is interested in and looking for and send them that – and explain that you’ve done your homework and why you chose them. Study other books they have worked on, so you have a sense of what they like. 

Remember there is no manuscript that everyone will love. What you need to do is find just one agent/editor who loves yours. Just one!

Please share a Revision Tip. 

It’s hard to see your own work with fresh eyes. A good technique to help with that is to use your ears: Read your work aloud. Even better, have someone else read it to you, and listen carefully. You’ll hear words that clunk, spots that need clarification, places to cut excess words. You can also try recording yourself reading your story and then play it back and listen. 

Name subjects you would like to read about. 

I love a story that helps me to learn something new whether it be about history, world cultures, or the natural world. I also love stories about kids engaged in their communities.

Name subjects you would not like to read about.  

My personal preferences don’t run toward vampires, witches, fantasy, horror, or dystopian. That said, I’m open to looking at any kind of manuscript – anything young readers would like.

Share a fun fact about YOU! 

When writing Diet for a Changing Climate, I taste-tested roasted crickets and beetles. (Yum.)

Also is there anything in particular you want or don't want to give rating and

feedback on?

I am especially drawn to nonfiction and informational fiction. But as I said, open to the possibilities.

Christy Mihaly - Author Bio

Christy Mihaly is an award-winning children’s author and poet. She writes for kids because she believes that our best hope for the future is raising young people who love to read and giving them the knowledge and skills to lead. She has written 40ish books, primarily nonfiction and informational, on a wide range of topics from hayfields to free speech to food. Her September 2024 title, Our Congress, a picture book illustrated by Doruntina Beqiraj and published by Albert Whitman, introduces young readers to Congress and its significance to our history and the present.

Christy is passionate about engaging kids in strengthening our democracy. A former lawyer, she has written extensively about U.S. history, civics, and government. In 2023, National Art Strategies awarded Christy a fellowship to develop interactive workshops using poetry to illuminate freedom of expression and civic conversations. Three of her civics books have been designated JLG Gold Standard Selections.

Christy writes for audiences from toddlers to high schoolers. Among her works are A Little Golden Book Biography: Mel Brooks (2024); picture books Hey, Hey, Hay! (A Tale of Bales and the Machines That Make Them) and Patience, Patches; middle grade nonfiction Barefoot Books WATER: A Deep Dive of Discovery; and high school text Diet for a Changing Climate: Food for Thought. Awards and recognitions include Nautilus Book Awards Gold, Green Earth Book Award shortlists, Kirkus Starred Review, ALA Rainbow Booklist, Bank Street Children’s Best Books, and Independent Press Award.

Christy lives in rural Vermont where she enjoys visiting schools to share ideas about writing, creativity, and civic engagement. At home, she likes to walk in the woods and play cello (though not simultaneously).

Website: www.christymihaly.com

IG: @christymihaly

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/christymihaly

More online materials:

https://sites.google.com/boone.kyschools.us/yealeymakerspace/christy-mihaly. (Post by educator describes my remote collaboration with a Kentucky school, including asking a 4th- grade class to critique my Supreme Court book.)

https://viviankirkfield.com/2024/01/06/christy-mihaly-and-diana-murray-will-write-for-cookies-and-golden-books-plus-giveaway/ (Jan. 2024 blog interview with kidlit author Vivian Kirkfield and Diana Murray about A Little Golden Book Biography: Mel Brooks.)