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October 26, 2012
Here, my daughter and I are reading my story Chomp! Chomp! Chomp! together for the first time. It had just been published that day on the knowonder! website. When the book is fantastic, there's always time to sit and read with your children!
I am a parent and I know our days are swamped. My awake hours are less busy than hers, but more busy than his. Such is life. I do, however, have time in every day to read with my kids for 20 minutes. This is not a problem in our house and I am willing to bet on most days, it's possible in your home as well. Of course, you'll need an excellent book which makes you WANT to devote 20 minutes to reading with your children.
This is where I come in!
I'm here to say there is a market for longer-picture-book-style-short-stories which are crafted extremely well and accented by amazing artwork. (You can see several - as of now unillustrated -examples right here on my website by clicking the STORIES link.) For a phenomenal commercial example, think of "Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs." We will probably need to come up with a catchier term than longer-picture-book-blah blah blah whatever I said earlier. Middle Grade Picture Book perhaps? MGPB!
I'm not saying I want to completely revolutionize the publishing industry. 250 word board books are almost always wonderful! 500 word picture books, for the most part, are spectacular! (Incidentally, that's how long Chomp! Chomp! Chomp! is.) These size books are well received by the public and you can easily find thousands if not hundreds of thousands of them for sale. Parents can blaze through them in a couple of minutes. Heck, mom and dad can read three or four of these at a time. Kids can be given the books at any age and they'll happily read to themselves, or stumble through the words, or simply marvel at the illustrations.
But let's not allow these size books to squeeze everything else out of the market! If the story is marvelous, the art is magnificent and the reading experience is magical - people will buy the book. I aspire to write longish shortish stories which kids will pull off their book shelves time and time again. And parents will be HAPPY when they do! I want plenty of story space in which I can develop the characters, places and actions in my creations. But without forcing parents into reading a chapter a night or losing the time it can take to finish a book. I hope parents sigh with admiration when they get to certain favorite passages and as they are read to, I hope kids sit there all doughy eyed with soft smiles on their faces.
And while I'm at it - let the record show that I want all my future books to be have tattered covers, torn pages and to be doctored up with tape! I wouldn't even mind some stray stickers and a few marker markings. These things are badges of honor... signs of love!
So, fellow parents, let's embrace longer short stories for kids and show publishers there is a market for these creations. Whether they are in physical book form or eBook form - they will surely provide our families with remarkable reading experiences. And trust me, 2,000 words and 20 minutes go by in a snap when you are cuddled with your kiddos on the couch!
This is where I come in!
I'm here to say there is a market for longer-picture-book-style-short-stories which are crafted extremely well and accented by amazing artwork. (You can see several - as of now unillustrated -examples right here on my website by clicking the STORIES link.) For a phenomenal commercial example, think of "Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs." We will probably need to come up with a catchier term than longer-picture-book-blah blah blah whatever I said earlier. Middle Grade Picture Book perhaps? MGPB!
I'm not saying I want to completely revolutionize the publishing industry. 250 word board books are almost always wonderful! 500 word picture books, for the most part, are spectacular! (Incidentally, that's how long Chomp! Chomp! Chomp! is.) These size books are well received by the public and you can easily find thousands if not hundreds of thousands of them for sale. Parents can blaze through them in a couple of minutes. Heck, mom and dad can read three or four of these at a time. Kids can be given the books at any age and they'll happily read to themselves, or stumble through the words, or simply marvel at the illustrations.
But let's not allow these size books to squeeze everything else out of the market! If the story is marvelous, the art is magnificent and the reading experience is magical - people will buy the book. I aspire to write longish shortish stories which kids will pull off their book shelves time and time again. And parents will be HAPPY when they do! I want plenty of story space in which I can develop the characters, places and actions in my creations. But without forcing parents into reading a chapter a night or losing the time it can take to finish a book. I hope parents sigh with admiration when they get to certain favorite passages and as they are read to, I hope kids sit there all doughy eyed with soft smiles on their faces.
And while I'm at it - let the record show that I want all my future books to be have tattered covers, torn pages and to be doctored up with tape! I wouldn't even mind some stray stickers and a few marker markings. These things are badges of honor... signs of love!
So, fellow parents, let's embrace longer short stories for kids and show publishers there is a market for these creations. Whether they are in physical book form or eBook form - they will surely provide our families with remarkable reading experiences. And trust me, 2,000 words and 20 minutes go by in a snap when you are cuddled with your kiddos on the couch!