MOWMT Day #14: Lynne Marie Celebrates
It's no secret that I love, love, love holiday celebrations. Along with Rate Your Story Judge / Author Heather Macht, I am the Celebration Co-Connoisseur and Co-Host over at www.seasonsofkidlit.com!
We feature several bookish blog blasts during the year, including a month of Trick-or-Treating, a week-long Thanks and Giving event, a two-week long Spread Joy event, a five-day long Valentine's Day event, and many pop-up events during the year, like this Groundhog Day with Jess Townes and President's Day with Eileen Meyer. Be sure to sign up for the blog and/or follow our Facebook page so you don't miss the celebration, inspiration, information or prizes!
And, in addition to that, most of my books have holiday hooks!
HEDGEHOG GOES TO KINDERGARTEN...First Day of School
HEDGEHOG'S 100TH DAY OF SCHOOL...100th Day of School
THE STAR IN THE CHRISTMAS PLAY...Christmas
MOLDILOCKS AND THE THREE SCARES...Halloween
LET'S EAT! MEALTIME AROUND THE WORLD...Thanksgiving
But that's not all -- my fun and festive upcoming picture book AMERICAN PIE (Mac and Cheese Press, May 2023) with illustrator Dea Lenihan has a Fourth of July tie-in!
However, there are pros and cons to writing holiday books. Publishers often have a more limited need for them (they may only need one or two new titles per year, if any), and they tend to have a limited shelf life and/or gift-giving period.
On the plus side, if a publisher needs a particular holiday book and you have one that's well written and fits the bill, it's a great ticket to success. And if they rerelease every year, it's nice to get that bonus income surge.
However, with my goal to cover as many holidays as possible to have a steady "holiday book" income, I decided to think outside the box. So what's a holiday that's celebrated all year round (technically)?
You might have guessed -- a birthday!
So for my birthday today, I'm exploring birthday books! Let's take a look at some of the stand out ones that are true gifts.
Ten Rules for the Birthday Wish by Beth Ferry, Art by Tom Lichtenheld (GP Putnam, 2019). There's no better way to start off a birthday than with this book. It's an engaging how-to which shares how to make the most of a birthday wish and a birthday with humorous helpful hints!
"If you are a rhinoceros, a swordfish, a sea urchin, or in any way pointy, you may want to skip the balloons..."
So cute, clever, funny and fun, with take-away value for everyone, even those who are pointy! And the illustrations are just wonderful.
If You Had Your Birthday On the Moon by Joyce Lapin, Art by Simona Ceccorelli (Sterling Children's Books, 2020). While a bit text-heavy to be a Mentor Text in every respect, this one expands upon such a fun idea! It's a STEM birthday book (2 hooks for the price of one) and offers engaging scenarios with fabulous moon facts presented in kid-friendly ways, like if you were to walk all the way to the moon, you would have nine birthdays on the way! And the art really fills in a lot of "out of this world" details and adds to the festivity, too!
Boa's Bad Birthday by Jeanne Willis, Art by Tony Ross (Andersen Press, 2016). Boa's extremely excited about his birthday, until his friends bring him gifts he can't use. When the last of the gifts is a stinky ball from a dung beetle, Boa learns an important lesson about gift giving and receiving.
This book effectively combines SEL and humor and encourages kids to be patient and see the best in things.
So far, we have a book that shares sweet and helpful birthday hints, one that suggests a fun and imaginative setting for a birthday party and one that explores a common birthday present problem. Last, but not least, we have a book that stands out due to a lovably spunky and engaging character.
Amanda Panda and the Bigger, Better Birthday by Candice Ransom, Art by Christine Grove (Doubleday, 2018). You may have met spunky Amanda Panda when she "quit Kindergarten," but if not, you are in for a real treat. In this book, Amanda Panda must share the birthday spotlight with Bitsy and as a result must navigate the challenges of sharing, competitiveness and friendship.
Of course, I will continue on my course of reading anywhere from close to 50 to 100 birthday books -- as many as I can get my hands on between buying, the library, and digital loans. I haven't yet figured out what my birthday book will be about, but in knowing what's been done and been done well, I know what not to do, and as I search my imagination for an idea, I'll look for one that's fabulous, as I know it has amazing competition :)
For my prize, I am giving away a half hour Zoom Mentor Consultation, as well as a card and trinket from me on the winner's birthday!
Lynne Marie is old enough to know not to discuss her age, and young enough to vividly remember Kindergarten! She's wanted to be a writer since she received the Scholastic Book Club Flyer in the first grade. Many years later, she finally achieved her dream. In addition to celebrating holidays, she loves to fracture fairytales, like Moldilocks and the Three Scares (art by David Rodriguez Lorenzo), The Three Little Pigs and the Rocket Project (art by Wendy Fedan), The Palace Rat (art by Eva Santana) and the upcoming Chicken Little's Weather Worries (art by Wendy Fedan).
She’s the Owner/Director of RateYourStory.org, ThePictureBookMechanic.com, and the Creator/Host of March On With Mentor Texts (www.rateyourstory.org/march-on) and Mentor Text Talk by Rate Your Story). She’s also the Co-Host of #SeasonsOfKidLit (www.seasonsofkidlit.com), a Cybils Judge since 2016 (www.cybils.org) and a Feature Columnist at Children’s Book Insider (www.writeforkids.org).
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