Following Monday's post, I've been enjoying a lively discussion on the topic of who wields the most influence over the purchase of children's books -- the child or the adult?

Here's my take on the subject. Do adults lean toward books that stir warm childhood memories? Yes! Are children influenced by books with popular media tie-ins? Sure!

However, in my experience as a library media specialist and literacy advocate, I see quite an astute audience out there in the market place. I meet with hundreds of children every week. The vast majority are looking for quality literature and their parents are pretty savvy about new titles and authors. Parents usually want to provide the best reading material available and communicate with their children and literacy professionals like myself at school and public libraries as well as teachers to find material. In addition, I certainly wouldn't underestimate the impact of book reviews by the knowledgeable children's book bloggers in the Kidlitosphere. And there are Amazon. com reviews for that matter. The librarians I know make liberal use of the numerous professional reviews in Kirkus, Horn Book, School Library Journal, etc. in our quest for the best.

Last and certainly not least...word of mouth is always at work to elevate quality work or eliminate the inferior.

I see the child/adult issue as more of a collaboration than a contest. I've observed parents and children at countless book fairs and other book-buying venues. I see parents who are eager to introduce their favorite authors and stories to their children. And at the same time, most parents are not only willing, but eager to consider their child's suggestions with regard to new titles and authors and most often draw the line at purchasing based on the appropriateness of the subject matter and the quality of the writing. Best case...it's a win/win for both.

Poetry Friday Roundup is being hosted today by Great Kid Books. As a Mom to several canines and Foster Mom to a score more, I'm offering up "Stanza," a picture book in rhyme --written by Jill Esbaum and illustrated by Jack E. Davis. Stanza and his two brothers spend their nights harassing city folks, but once his siblings are asleep, Stanza secretly indulges his poetic side. Of course his secret is found out, but the turmoil over his double-life is eventually resolved and his bullying brothers, Fresco and Dirge discover their own artistic talents.

Friday's Famous First: Can you name the title and author of this children's book? "On the banks of the river Nagara, where the long-necked cormorants fish at night, there once lived a poor widow and her son."

It's Writer's Wednesday and today I'm answering a frequently asked question about picture book illustration. I'm ready to submit my story to a major publisher. Do I need to send artwork with my picture book manuscript?

In a word: No. If your manuscript is accepted by the publisher, it will be your editor's responsibility to match your text with an illustrator. You can trust your editor on this.

Remember, the editor's goal is to produce the most successful book possible. The publishing house will want to use an illustrator they are familiar with -- probably someone they've worked with before who understands the process, deadlines, production values, etc.

It is your job as a writer to create a story that is illustratable. Before you declare your story finished, break the text down using a picture book dummy. A finished picture book is 32 pages long, and a dummy will allow you to visualize the possible ways your story could breakdown for illustrations. You won't submit a dummy to the publisher, but the readers or editors who look at your story usually have a keen eye for the way a story does or does not fit the picture book format.

Does the story contain enough active elements to make the illustrations interesting? Look at your writing. How much thinking, talking and action appears in the pages? Is the story active? or passive? It is your words alone that must inspire an illustrator to "see" your story and want to take on the project.

You will not direct the artist. Although, if there is some sort of visual joke where the illustration is providing story elements that are not in the text you can make a note of that in your submission. One of my favorite examples of this dichotomy is Caldecott Medal Book, "Officer Buckle and Gloria,"by Peggy Rathmann. Officer Buckle visits schools to give safety tips and is a huge hit, but isn't aware that his popularity is owed to his police dog, Gloria, who is acting out the "tips" for his audience behind him on the stage.

Your illustrator is selected not only for their artistic talents, but also for their imagination and visual storytelling abilities. You want to provide them with great material on which to use those skills. Look at a variety of picture books and study the way the text and pictures complement each other. Notice the single and double-page spreads.

You'll find numerous examples of picture book dummys on line. Most of the articles are aimed at illustrators, but the samples will help you understand where the story text fits into the book along with copyright, title, acknowledgement pages, etc. Use that information to create your own dummy layout to use. As a writer, you want to assign text to the appropriate pages and then ask yourself: "What's the picture?

Do you have a book to sell? As a library media specialist, I'm part of your market...along with thousands of others in schools all over the country and across the world.

Ever wondered how books are selected for a school library book collection? Today, I'm introducing a new series on how school library collections are developed.

Before I even consider the actual books, I have two major restrictions that come into play: budget and space. In this time of cut-backs, I must make every dollar count which basically means I want library books to serve multiple purposes. Does that Picture Book that I'd love to read to classes also fill a niche in the curriculum? Just the fact that a book is currently popular is almost never reason enough for a purchase. Particularly when I factor in my second restriction which is shelf space. Library shelf space is a valuable commodity and I have to determine if a book deserves a share.

How I make those determinations will be the topic of future posts.

Meanwhile, today's post at Editorial Anonymous titled: Children vs Adults is well worth reading. The article discusses the balance in appealing to children who are the audience, and adults who hold the purse-strings. Publishers must weigh those two points of view when considering projects.


Here's the answer to Friday's Famous First: "Fingers trembling, eyes on the man at the cash register, Mongoose snatched the Milky Way bar and stuck it in his coat pocket." The Library Card by Newbery Award winner, Jerry Spinelli.

Poetry Friday Roundup is being hosted today at Anastasia Suen's Picture Book of the Day.

In honor of Earth Day, I'll offer the following poetry books and/or collections:

• Earthdance, written by Joanne Ryder with illustrations by Norman Gorbaty. This poem and the vibrant illustrations invite the reader to become one with our amazing planet.


• Earthshake: Poems from the Ground Up, written by Lisa Westberg Peters, with illustrations by Cathie Felstead. This is a collection of poems about geology. That's right, I said geology! You'll delight in the wordplay and colorful pictures that explain how geological forces shape the land.


• Horizons: Poems as far as the eye can see, written by Jane Yolen with photographs by Jason Stemple. Strong poetic images and beautiful photographs are paired in this collection that would be an inspiration for students to create their own work.


• The Tree That Time Built: A Celebration of Nature, Science, and Imagination. The poetry in this anthology was collected by children's poet, Mary Ann Hoberman and Language Arts Teacher/anthropologist, Linda Winston. Illustrations are by Barbara Fortin. From the classic poets to the modern masters of children's poetry, here is a collection devoted to the science of nature.

Friday's Famous First: Can you name the title and author of this first line?

"Fingers trembling, eyes on the man at the cash register, Mongoose snatched the Milky Way bar and stuck it in his coat pocket."

It's Writer's Wednesday

I'm putting the final (I hope) polish on a novel. I'm always amazed at how much every book teaches me. Even as I work on the last chapter I'm finding ways to tweak the characters even a bit more.

If you are struggling with your character development then you should take a careful look at two great posts at Pen and Ink: Sunday, April 18th post, Bad Things Happen to Good People, and today's post, To Torture or Not to Torture: Has Your Main Character Suffered Enough?

For my librarian friends -- Here are two of my favorite library-themed books.

My students always find it funny, but not surprising that one of my favorites is titled Book! Book! Book! by Debroah Bruss with illustrations by Tiphanie Beeke.

And because not every library is found within walls I love to share: My Librarian is a Camel: How Books are Brought to Children Around the World by Margriet Ruurs.

Here is the answer to Friday's Famous First: "In SPRING,/ Red sings/ from treetops:/ cheer-cheer-cheer,/ each note dropping/ like a cherry/ into my ear." Red Sings from Treetops: A Year in Colors written by Joyce Sidman, Illustrations by Pamela Zagarenski. For all you illustrators out there you will find an interview of Pamela at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast.

Spring is, without a doubt, one of my favorite times of year. My office overlooks the garden and I'm coaxed outside several times a day by the promise of growing things. Something of that burgeoning energy seeps into my bones and makes me want to be doing and writing. It's a good thing! And something I like to share with my students.

Here are some lovely and lively collections of Springtime poetry.

• Handsprings: poems and paintings, written and illustrated by Douglas Florian. This is the last of his four seasonal poetry books. You'll find a fun combination of rhyme for young children to pantomime plus puns and sophisticated wordplay for older students. From the title poem: "Spring is great/ for growing grass./ Spring has zing/ and spring has sass..." and so does this book.
• Oddhopper opera: a bug's garden of verses, written and illustrated by Kurt Cyrus. Delicate flowers and tasty veggies aren't the focus of this poetry collection. No, it's the weird and wonderful garden critters - from beetles to snakes - that scurry and slither through these pages in meticulous illustrations and poetic lines. This is an invitation to read a portion and encourage children to try and guess the subject: "Sliding softly, here and gone,/ A belly with a head stuck on."
• Toad by the Road: a year in the life of these amazing amphibians, written by Joanne Ryder and illustrated by Maggie Kneen. The title is perfectly accurate as to the subject, but doesn't convey the stunning combination of poetic skill and scientific curiosity that fills each page. Beautifully detailed artwork enhances the language that depicts this simple, but amazing animal's existence from season to season.

Today's Poetry Friday Roundup is being hosted by Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast. Don't miss it.

Friday's Famous First: Can you identify the title and author of this first line?
In SPRING,/ Red sings/ from treetops:/ cheer-cheer-cheer,/ each note dropping/like a cherry/into my ear.