MOWMT Day #29: Danna Smith Counts Picture Books

PICTURE BOOKS YOU CAN COUNT ON

by Danna Smith

You might remember counting books from when you were a child. Gone are the days when a counting picture book was only about the concept of counting. The current market is filled with clever counting books that inform and entertain with outrageous humor, rhyme, unusual subjects and characters, conflict, and surprise endings that keep a reader coming back.

Some books count to 10 or 10 and back down again. Others count higher or introduce simple math concepts such as skip counting, addition, or subtraction. To be clear, we are talking picture books here as board books tend to be more straightforward.

The key to ensuring better success when writing (and selling) a counting picture book manuscript is "layering." Layering means adding several elements in addition to counting, such as seasons, specific locations, poetry, bilingual elements, traditions, etc. Why? Because from the kid's point of view, it's more fun and taps into more of their interests. And from the publisher's point of view, a book with a few layers can be more easily marketed. For example, in my book ONE BLUE GNU (Amicus Ink 2022), in which a box of cell phones is accidentally delivered to the zoo, I layered counting, colors, zoo animals, humor, rhyme, and technology

Let's look at the layers of four current, well-crafted counting picture books:

Counting to Bananas by Carrie Tillotson, illustrated by Estrela Lourenço (Flamingo Books 2022)

When a narrator starts filling this story with fruit, Banana can't wait to step into the spotlight. The book is called Counting to Bananas, after all. But as more and more fruits (and non-fruits) are added to the story, Banana objects. When will it be time for bananas?!

Math: (besides basic counting) includes skip-counting. Count from 1-20, then by 10s and 20s up to 100)

Food: There is fruit in this book about animals.

Animals: There are animals in this book about fruit.

Humor: Laugh-out-loud humor throughout with an unexpected ending.

Rhyme: Done well, rhyme is an excellent layer in a counting picture book. One thing to note is if you write in rhyme, there is a good chance your book will not be translated into other languages.

Zero Zebras by Bruce Goldstone Illustrated by Julien Chung (Scholastic Canada 2022)

Zero Zebras asks a bold question: can you count what isn't there? Can you count... to zero? Bruce Goldstone takes us on a wild animal safari counting one wallaby, two tuna, three thrushes, four frogs... but absolutely ZERO zebras.

Math (besides counting): The concept of zero and infinity captures older readers.

Animals: Safari animals.

Imagination: Readers must imagine the animals that are NOT on the page.

Interactive: The illustrator has integrated the numbers on the page, making for a hide-and-seek game. Authors can suggest elements like this to publishers when submitting their text, but illustrators are geniuses at creating these unique ideas in their artwork.

Rhyme: The author uses some internal rhyme here (rhymes are in the middle of the sentence rather than at the end).

Dumpling Day by Meera Sriram, illustrated by Inés de Antuñano (Barefoot Books 2021)

Savor a rhyming celebration of one of the world's most universal foods! Readers follow ten diverse families as they cook dumplings inside their homes in preparation for a neighborhood potluck.

Math (besides counting): Addition is introduced as each dumpling dish is added to the party.

Food: Dumplings from sweet to savory are featured. Be aware of the marketing opportunities using National Day tie-ins. For this book, every year on September 26th, National Dumpling Day is observed!

Family Traditions and diversity: The author shows ten diverse families worldwide and their dumpling traditions.

Interactive: Make your own dumplings! Recipes for all ten dumplings featured in the book are included at the back of the book.

Geography: A map showing the "kitchen helper's" regions of origin is included in the endnotes.

Rhyme: Do you see a pattern here? Rhyme makes counting fun!

Too Many Pigs and One Big Bad Wolf: A Counting Story by Davide Cali, Illustrated by Marianna Balducci (Tundra Books 2022)

In this clever counting book, the big bad wolf doesn't want to tell a long story. He wants to get to the eating part. But the reader has other ideas. From a pig soccer team to a pig for every letter of the alphabet to 101 pigs in an animated movie, the stories get more and more fantastical . . . but they're always too short and they ALL end the same way.

Math: The illustrator uses an abacus and pig-shaped beads (and one wolf bead) that shift from side to side as the story unfolds.

Fractured Fairy Tale: A counting book twist on The Three Little Pigs.

Writing Skills: An early lesson in creative writing, storytelling, and metafiction that older kids will enjoy.

Humor: Not only are the stories that Wolf tells outrageous, but each pig added is illustrated in hilarious detail.

Unseen Narrator: The narrator's voice seems to mimic the reader's thoughts.

Colors: As the wolf tells the stories, colored beads (and letters of the alphabet) make an appearance across the abacus.

HOMEWORK: Hey now, did I hear groans? Grab a stack of current children's counting books and a notebook. How many layers can you find in each? You get EXTRA CREDIT if you type the text from your favorite book on your computer, including page breaks, to see what a published counting book looks like as a manuscript. This exercise will help guide you in your formatting efforts.

Danna Smith is the award-winning author of over twenty books for children, including the starred reviewed and Junior Library Guild selection, The Hawk of the Castle (Candlewick), Arctic White (Henry Holt), a 2017 SCBWI Crystal Kite Award finalist, Swallow the Leader (Clarion), numerous Little Golden Books, Wake Up, Freight Train! (Little Simon, March 2022), One Blue Gnu (Amicus Ink, March 2022), Rooftop Garden (Barefoot Books sing-along, May 2022), The Thank You Book (Little Simon, Oct 2022), and Peek-a-Boo Haiku (Little Simon, 2023). The Complete Book of Aspen is her debut young adult novel based on her true DNA experience.

When Danna was young, a pen was her favorite toy. She grew up weaving words into poems or stories that sparked emotion or curiosity. Today her favorite toy is a keyboard. She is an active member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. When she's not writing, she's reading, watercolor painting, gardening, and walking on nearby nature trails in the beautiful northern California wine country where she lives.

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