Picture Book Marathon 2011 complete...

Now to revise and revise:
Picture Book # 27: “Bird Fish, Fish Bird” If a bird was a fish and a fish was a bird.

Picture Book # 28: “Pasgetti; Once upon a thyme” A budding chef creates a her version of spaghetti sauce with interesting results.

Picture Book # 29: “Squirrel Co-op” A child’s speculation on how squirrels really get at the bird seed when no one is looking.

Picture Book # 30: “Whose Shoes” A toddlers view of the world of grown-ups.

Well, I may not have done an illustration for all of them but I got a rough draft for each. So these plus my middle-grade WIP should keep me busy for the next year.

My personal assistant (my daughter) will nag me until I submit at least 2 stories and 10 agents and/or publishers by March 15th (2011!).
I guess I just need deadlines to get anything done. My on-going excuse is; "But life gets in the way!"
Alas, life will always get in the way...but only if I let it.

Catching Up with Picture Books...

I took my days off  and caught up by dreaming my newest PBs...really:

Picture Book # 18: “One Lost Tooth, One Lost Tooth Fairy”: a little girl wakes up to find the tooth fairy sitting on her bed crying because her missing tooth list is… missing!

Picture Book # 20: “Whose Shoes” A toddler's view of the world of grown-ups.

Picture Book # 21: “Pardon Me but Your Tail's in My Way!” A peacocks attempt to view a barnyard concert.

Picture Book # 22: “Achhooooo!” Why we sneeze.

Picture Book # 23: “Storm Boat” A modern day Puget Sound Noah-esque animal rescue story.
Picture Book # 24: “Pigs go to Market” A shopping trip to the Pike Place Market by Rachel the Pig.

Picture Book # 25: “Old is New” Eight children recycle reuse and make do with their old toys.

Picture Book # 26: “Nanny Cat” A first grader and her cat take care of each other.

Whew!

Picture book Marathon PB# 14, 15 and 16...

I kind of got on a roll today. The weather blew in with a nasty La Nina storm from the ocean so I came up with these stories for the latest picture books waiting for the power to go out. Keeping up with the illustrations is harder. I will need to focus more to get anything done, I keep getting sidetracked with life!

14) Night Bugs: Introductions to those bugs that inhabit the night.
15) Babies Smell Funny: Two pet cats opinion of the new baby.
16) I Will Dress Myself!:  A little girls idea of what is haute couture.

Picture book Marathon PB# 10, 11, 12 and 13...

PBM week 2 round-up:

10) ‘Quigley and Goldie’: best friends however one is a fish and the other a cat…where will they play?

11) ‘Catch a Star & Keep It as a Pet’: Need I say more?

12)‘Under My Blanket’: A four year old escapes the world of grown-ups.

13) 'Captain Caboodle': a seagull that takes the Washington State ferry as a daily commute to his ‘job’ at Ivar’s fish house…eating tossed French Fries.

Picture Books # 6,7,8 and 9

I didn't have much time this week for illustrations so I wrote before I went to bed instead. The stories definitely gave me some interesting dreams!
My PB books are:

"Spilt Milk" about a boy's creative way to clean up spilt milk.
"Asking Directions" about two Fairy Godsisters getting lost.
"Mole-hill Mountain" about a colony of moles who have a mountain building contest.
"Dunderbeck, I Told You, You’d be Sorry" illustrations to an old song great-grandpa taught us.
In progress: "Giggle first, Laugh Last" about funny words.
Please respect my copyright ©KAH2011

It Was a Dark & Stormy Night Entry...

My Blogfest entry to Brenda Drake Blogfest:
 
Title: Emerald Boots
Genre: MG fantasy

"Jade felt the balloon basket swing violently and scrunched far back into the dark corner hoping desperately to become invisible – stowing away on The Great OZ’s balloon really wasn’t one of her best ideas."

PBM: Picture book 5...

'Periodic Table of Elephants'

Argon

Meet Neon, Argon, Florine and Helium - four elephants who are a real gas! Neon and Argon have a glowing personality. Fluorine can be a bit corrosive but she has a rare sense of humor. And Helium is very light on his feet (for an elephant). They performed for the Mid-West Electric Side Show in 1937.

PBM: Picture Book 4...

'EYES!'      ©KAH 2011

‘EYES!’: A story about a boy, his faithful flashlight and his overnight stay in the wilds of his own backyard.

Picture Book Marathon Books 2 and 3...

If I don’t devote at least half a day to this PBM commitment to myself I won’t get it done. When I write and illustrate a picture book the words and pictures bounce back and forth in my head. The pictures inspire the words and the words inspire the pictures. Which comes first; The picture or the words?

Picture book #2; ‘Hoop Games’ How the games that children play today are basically the same as the games children played since 500 BC. A picture book that’s all pictures, no words.

Picture Book #3; “Do You Want Fried Squid with That?" A story about what Pirates do when they lose their Pirate jobs.

Picture Book Marathon Idea #1

I am impressed that others in the Picture Book Marathoners are also doing a story AND an illustration each day. I’m trying to do the same but I will probably lag by a day or so. A dachshund playing a Didgeridoo is a little harder to create than I expected – actually the story was much easier.

How did I get this idea? I saw a dachshund next door. I wondered what animals did for entertainment besides eat, sleep, lick themselves and...ah...eliminate. Humm...maybe music?

So here is my pitch line for my completed PB story and one rough sketch for picture book #1 (still to come):
Picture Book #1;
'Bandimals'; is about a strange assortment of musical instruments played by a band of even stranger animal musicians who gather for a spontaneous concert in the zoo...at midnight.
© KAH2011 Please respect my copyright

Where Ideas Come From…

Aurora by Kjetil Skogli (Norway)

Starting the 2011 Picture Book Marathon, I realized that I needed some new ideas. For me that has never been a problem but for some it is more terrifying then writing.

One of the questions that most writers or artists are asked is where their ideas come from. Some might give a list of ways to find ideas, some may say they come from their experiences and their childhood. However many say, “How can you not have ideas?” But that doesn’t help the panic of not having a good idea when you need it, does it?

Inspiration comes from a Late Latin word that means “to breathe or blow into”. Anyone who has had a great idea knows that feeling. It’s like a wind blowing into your brain, clearing cobwebs and revealing something that was there all along. 

So relax and let a muse blow away those cobwebs and reveal those ideas. They are there and they are yours. Focus on something besides the need to have a great idea. Look at the sky, smell the earth (or snow if you live in the mid west or eastern US), pet your cat, stare at the fire and let the ideas blow in.
***
That said; I dreamt my picture book idea for day one of the 2011 Picture Book Marathon. One down....