A Hungry Lion or A Dwindling Assortment of Animals( Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2016) written and illustrated by Lucy Ruth Cummins is a hilarious laugh-out-loud picture book. I love that it has twists and more twists. It’s fun to read aloud. It’s fun to go back and look at the pictures and check out what you read, in case you missed something the first time. It’s subversive. It makes me smile each time I think about it. I’ve been sharing it with others ever since I read it.
Author/illustrator Lucy Ruth Cummins is also an art director at Simon and Schuster and a very nice and intelligent lady. At her website I learned she also illustrates the covers of Stuart Gibbs books. Never knew. A Hungry Lion is her second picture book and came out in March.
Tag: MG Novels
Writing a Novel? Where Does It Fit?
A few years back another writer and I did a novel writing retreat. These questions are ones I developed for attendees to consider about their novels. Perhaps the updated version will be helpful for you, too.
Where will your novel be shelved after it has been published? Not just shelf, but picture what authors you will be placed between. If you don’t know, take a field trip to the bookstore and see.
What is the category and genre of your novel?
Middle Grade
• Adventure
• Animal
• Biographical
• Contemporary
• Early Middle Grade
• Fantasy
• Graphic
• Historical
• Horror
• Humor
• Multicultural
• Mystery
• Problem
• Religious
• School
• Science Fiction
• Sports
Young Adult
• Adventure
• Biographical
• Chick Lit
• Coming-of-age
• Contemporary
• Dystopian
• Edgy
• Fantasy
• Graphic
• Hi-Lo
• Historical
• Horror
• Humor
• Multicultural
• Mystery/Suspense
• Novel in Verse
• Paranormal
• Problem
• Religious
• Romance
• Science Fiction
• Sports
• Steam Punk
• Urban
• Western
I doubt these are exhaustive lists, but they should help you think about what type of novel you’re writing.
What three stories are similar in some way to yours? The first 3 books or movies that come to mind when you think of your story are? What makes them similar? What is different?
Think about the books you most enjoy reading. What subgenre(s) are they? Don’t know? Check out reviews, talk to booksellers and librarians.
Does what your writing fit one of the areas you love to read? If yes, keep reading those subgenres. If no, consider writing in a different subgenre–something you love to read. If you never read, how can you know what today’s kids are reading?
Feel free to comment on these lists and questions.