Author: Susan Uhlig

cover of This Old Madrone Tree
Posted in Nonfiction, PB, So Many Good Books

This Old Madrone Tree

Posted on by Susan Uhlig

Perfect Picture Book Friday

This Old Madrone Tree (Web of Life Children’s Books, 2023) by Barbara Herkert and illustrated by Marlo Garnsworthy is such a lovely nature book about a specific tree’s annual life cycle. (I can’t believe I forgot to recommend it last fall!)

In the Pacific Northwest, madrone (sometimes called madrona) trees grow near the coast. This book tells the story of one such tree and the creatures who visit throughout the year. We visit all four seasons starting with summer and ending with spring.

The text is lyrical and the illustrations beautifully compliment it. My favorite part of the text is “In winter, the wind whips and snarls. Waves raise their frothy heads. Rain slashes sideways. Thunder roars, and lightning cackles.” Can’t you just see and hear it? I have a really hard time picking a favorite spread as the illustrations are so lovely. But the forest scene when the bark curls reminds me of family vacations on the northern California coast when I was young.

The author has a madrone tree where she lives that inspired this story, her fifth published book. Read more about Barb here and check out her other books here.

The illustrator loves nature so was a perfect choice. Read about Marlo here and see samples of her illustrations here. Check out some lovely spreads of this book on the publisher’s site.

FYI: This is my 100th picture book recommendation on this site! Woo hoo!

illustration of moon and clouds saying, Star Light Star Bright
Posted in Craft, The Nitty Gritty of Children's Writing

To Rhyme or Not to Rhyme

Posted on by Susan Uhlig

Rhyming in picture books is great if the rhythm and rhymes are perfect. But forced rhymes or rhythm can spoil a story. Ann Whitford Paul says, “Rhyme without rhythm is like bread without butter.” Or maybe butter without bread! Many editors say they hate near rhyme: cat/path, box/blacks. Awkward sentence structure to force a rhyme makes for awkward reading. And the text has to make sense.

I like what editor Paula Morrow says, “Poetry is an art form requiring a lot of discipline in language. It’s two different ways of writing, and the successful rhyming story requires both: First the heat of inspiration, then the cool control of revising and refining.”

Since I don’t write rhyme, I thought I’d share some great resources.

Good Story Company founded by former literary agent Mary Kole has this post:

“How to Write a Rhyming Picture Book”

Picture book Author Josh Funk has a number of posts about writing picture books. Here are a few on this topic:

“Don’t Write in Rhyme”

“Rhyming Is All About Rhythm”

Picture book Author Laura Bontje has a number of helpful posts:

“5 Easy Ways to Improve Your Rhyming Picture Book”

“Taking the Stress Out of Metre and Stress”

“Do Rhyming Picture Books Work Like Songs?”

Author and Publisher Brooke Vitale has this interesting post:

“How To Write a Rhyming Children’s Book in Perfect Rhyme!”

Journey to Kidlit has this post:

“3 Musts When Writing Rhyming Picture Books”

“Poet and Author Joy Moore blogs” about poetical structure often using picture books for examples.

And finally, I thought I’d share some rhyming picture books that I’ve enjoyed:

Leo Loves Mommy

American Desi

Federico and the Wolf

A Hippy-Hoppy Toad

My Hair

What are some of your favorite rhyming texts?

Image by SarahCulture from Pixabay

cover of Because
Posted in PB, So Many Good Books

Because

Posted on by Susan Uhlig

Perfect Picture Book Friday

Because (Hyperion Books for Children, 2019) by Mo Willems and illustrated by Amber Ren is a fun cause and effect picture book on the power of music. It’s deceptively simple.

“Because a man named Ludwig wrote beautiful music–” the story begins. Then goes to Franz, to an orchestra and those who studied hard to play, ending up with a little girl who listened (because her uncle had a cold and she got his ticket), who was changed and changed others.

One aspect I like is that luck was involved in the girl’s success. It also includes people we might think of as mundane as they are “only” preparing the music hall.

Mo is a bestselling author, illustrator, animator, and playwright famous for Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus among others. Read about him here and check out his other books here.

This book was Amber’s debut. Read about her here and see some of her illustrations here. She already has five other books out and has illustrated some book covers as well. (Click on the Book link on her website to see individual titles.)

Here’s a video on the making of Because.

cover of Disrupted
Posted in Guest Post, So Many Good Books, YA Novels

The Worst/Best Day of My Life

Posted on by Susan Uhlig

guest post by B. Lynn Goodwin author of
Disrupted (Olympia Publishers, January 25, 2024)

“O.M.G. This is the worst day of my life. Bowen gave us double homework in algebra and Diego walked right past my locker as if I was invisible. Probably his head is in his music, but where does that leave me?”

Sixteen-year-old Sandee Mason is living her life one moment at a time and one issue at a time. Sometimes it seems like everything’s a crisis, but when a real earthquake rocks the school while she’s on top of a ladder, she gets a new perspective on what’s vital. Staying alive is vital. Her brother, who was killed by an IED six months earlier, didn’t have the privilege of staying alive. As her parents mourn, she tries to show them that she’s still here and still matters. She tries to make right choices, and some days she succeeds.

If you have a teen in the house or a good memory of your own experiences, if you teach teens or coach them, you know intense and dramatic the teen years can be.

Loss hits teens with the same intensity as returning a promise ring or losing a lead role or having someone else picked as team captain. It’s horrendous. Bone-chilling. A disaster of unequal proportions. Everything shifts and in that moment many teens are filled with the fear that nothing will ever be the same again. Some lash out. Others shut down, and why wouldn’t they? They’re still acquiring coping skills.

One wise solution for teens, or any of us, is to find a person to listen. Fortunately, Sandee cares, and she listens to her friends because someone was there for her when she lost her brother. She offers help when Nicole finally asks for it. Eventually she finds the courage to ask the new boy, Pete, probing questions when his story doesn’t add up, even though she has no idea how big of a loss he’s been through. It’s amazing, but I’m not giving you any spoilers. Suffice it to say that Sandee uses her own creative spirit to take solution-oriented actions.

Loss hurts and it’s something we’ll all relate to sooner or later. Disrupted shows teens how characters cope with their losses, how they recover, and that things are not always as they seem. I’m being deliberately vague about the plot because I’d love to have you click on the link, read about the book, and maybe read the opening for yourself. There you’ll get a first-hand look into how teens cope. Keep reading. Pick up some ammunition for your worst days. It’s so much better than floundering in the dark.

Disrupted is Lynn’s 5th book, and her 2nd for teens. She’s been helping writers with Writer Advice ezine since 1997.