SCBWI Report

DOT YOUR EYES
He wanted to write a picture book about a kid named Max who gets into all kinds of mischief. Then when he tells his mom he’s going to eat her up he gets sent to his room without any dinner. When he gets to his room he travels to a land of monsters that roar terrible roars and gnash terrible teeth and roll terrible eyes and show terrible claws.
When Maurice Sendak’s book Where the Wild Things Are came out in 1963 people said he couldn’t do that because it would be too scary for children. Then it won the Caldecott Medal and has endured as one of the most beloved books of all time. Boy, did he prove them wrong.
Did anyone ever tell Kevin Henkes (Kitten's First Full Moon) or Brian Selznick (The Invention of Hugo Cabret) that black and white books wouldn’t sell? Probably!
I even I was told in a critique that I shouldn’t use dot for eyes. But look all around you it happens all the time.
Children draw and don’t care what the rules are. They draw with abandon and ecstasy. I think that if there is any rule you should follow it is to simply love what you do. So forget all the “thou shalt” and “thou shalt not’s”.
Ann Bobco, (art director of Atheneum, McElderry Books and Beach Lane Books) said when Chad Beckerman sent in his portfolio she thought some of his work was a bit scary and she personally didn’t like big eyes. So why did she call him to illustrate 7 Hungry Babies (due out March 9, 2010)? Because his work did express emotion and she could feel the artist put himself into his characters.
Kevin Hawkes said that when he was making the rounds after college he went to an art director and gave him an art sample. The art director thanked him, opens up a cabinet and tossed his sample on top of a pile of samples that filled the drawer.
So he took survey of his strengths and loves and emphasized those in his art and eventually got hired. He has since then went on to create such memorable books as Chicken Cheeks, Weslandia, and a New York Bestseller, Library Lion. So what made him stand out was 1: He has a way of creating images that were unique to him. You see a Kevin Hawkes illustration and you know it’s his without even seeing his name on it. 2: He executes the pictures with consistent professionalism. In other words he takes his time to do it well.
Ann Bobco said that she rarely ever sees an artist that can draw people and animals equally well and that flies in the face of people who demand an artist put both in their portfolio. I say if you like to drawer animals and aren’t very good with people, draw animals and find a publisher that likes animal stories; more on how to find an art director later.
Lisa Desimini, whose book My House was one of the New York Times Ten Best Illustrate Books of the Year, said that you should always find time to “play”. To explore painting that no one else will see. This stresses the importance of enjoying your work.
Finding a Publisher
Go to Amazon Advanced and look up publishers. Type the name in the publisher field. I scroll to Children’s books in the subject field. Scroll to printed books under Format. Under Binding I put Hardcover. Enter Reader Age, Language and Finally Publication Date. You can choose the year you want to find so to be relevant I usually put books published after 2005. The important thing is not to go back too far because publisher are not publishing the same things they did when we were kids.
So what does it all boil down to? Love what you do and find like minded people who will publish it. Remember the voice inside you will speak louder (and truer) than the one someone is trying to introduce you to. Walt Disney said that whenever he would come up with an idea and everyone was against it he knew he was onto something. So follow your heart and have fun with it.