Tuesday, August 16, 2016

Picture Book Hooks

This week, I watched the free hour of the mini Picture Book Summit.  The hour was amazing and super informative.  I am definitely going to participate in the full day also!   The action step from Emma's tip was to read some newly published picture books and write a one sentence hook for each.  This sentence should be juicy and include the main character, the general plot, and the theme while dazzling the reader to entice them to read/ask for the manuscript.  I love a little challenge and am posting my hook sentences here.


The Story Book Knight
by: Helen Docherty
Publisher: Sourcebook, Inc.
Expected publish date: October 2016

Leo's parents send their gentle little knight out into the world to tame a dragon with a new shield and sword, but Leo insists on taking his... books? 



Me Want Pet!
by: Tammi Sauer
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Published date: March 6, 2012

Cave Boy tries to find a pet that doesn't cause too many problems; a woolly mammoth, a saber-toothed tiger, a dodo bird - oh my!



Light Up the Night
by: Jean Reidy
Publisher: Disney - Hyperion Books
Published Date: October 11, 2011

A rhyming cumulative bedtime story about a boy who goes out into the universe and makes his way back to his warm cozy bed.  (Of course, I now read this book's inside flap which is two sentences, but so much better!)

"When it's time to sleep, it's nice to know there's a place that's safe.  In a cozy house, in a comfy bed, under a blanket that's white and red, under stars so bright they light up the night, in your own little piece of the universe." ~inside flap



Snappsy the Alligator: did not ask to be in this book!
by: Julie Falatko
Publisher: Viking, Penguin Young Readers Group
Published date: February 2, 2016

What will Snappsy the Alligator do when he realizes someone is narrating his ordinary day while trying to make it extraordinary?


This was an enlightening activity.  Of course, I would spend much more time on my dazzling sentence if it were for my own book that I was submitting. 


Hope you enjoyed my little
today.
Thanks to Two Writing Teachers for hosting.



Tuesday, August 2, 2016

The Memory of Things by Gae Polisher



The Memory of Things
A Novel
by  Gae Polisher
published by: St. Martin's Griffin
expected publication date: September 6, 2016

Wow!  A powerful coming of age story taking place around our Nation's biggest terrorist attack.  This was hard to read.  As an adult, who doesn't remember all the details of that day; where you were, how the day unfolded, where the members of your family were and getting everyone home safely?  So, in that regard, I felt like the emotion in this novel just skimmed the surface.  As I further contemplated the age group The Memory of Things is written for...the readers would have a child's memory if they're in college and no memory if still in High School.  That is a very interesting audience.  One I recognize well as my three boys span in age from 16-22.

I loved the book!  I would totally add it to my collection, and I think it will be one of those sought after books for years to come.  The Memory of Things is the unfolding story of Kyle and the girl with no name which parallels the unfolding story of the crumbling towers on 9-11 and the days following. Kudos to Gae Polisher for her heartfelt book that takes a horrific day in our history and weaves a fiction story for this next generation to contemplate and enjoy.  

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Griffin, and Gae Polisher for an early eBook to review.