Picture book sampler

At the SCBWI Ireland meet-up on February 2nd with guest speaker, illustrator/author, Alan Corbett, we talked about picture books, graphic novels, and the many mediums and techniques that people use to develop their artwork and tell a story. I handed around a selection of picture books for the group to view and discuss. I promised to provide a list of the books I had shared, so here they are.

These are just a few samples. There are so many more!

Pets go Pop! by Bob Staake – fun and colourful pop-up book that literally jumps off the page.

Ghost of Shandon by Alan Corbett – at last, a graphic novel that’s really for kids! Beautiful autumn palette and a historical adventure with some real characters from 18th-century Cork.

Spells by Emily Gravett – I absolutely adored the illustrations in this book about a frog who wants to be a prince. There’s a brilliant section in the middle of the book where you can flip the top or bottom half of the page to see a transforming image.

The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler – a classic that has been turned into an animated film and a live theatre production.

Knuffle Bunny by Mo Willems – a clever blend of photographs of New York City and Mo Willems’ illustrations and a cute story. A Caldecott Honor book.

The Night Pirates by Peter Harris and Deborah Allwright – A fun story with great illustrations. The thing I particularly liked about this book was the way the text and font was incorporated right into the illustrations and became part of the book and not just the bit you had to read.

What to Do When You Worry Too Much: A Kid’s Guide to Overcoming Anxiety by Dawn Huebner and Bonnie Matthews – a non-fiction, self-help activity book for children with black and white illustrations throughout.

Tuesday by David Wiesner – winner of the Caldecott Medal and one of my absolute favourite picture books! There’s only about four pages with any text, the rest is all in the images. So much is left to the reader to interpret. It’s great fun, slightly mad, and definitely unique.

Mister Got to Go: The Cat that Wouldn’t Leave by Lois Simmie and Cynthia Nugent – this is a true cat tale from Vancouver about a stray who wandered into the Sylvia Hotel and decided to stay. I love it because of the humour and great pictures, and friends of mine used to go to that hotel pub regularly.

Beware of the Storybook Wolves by Lauren Child – I like how she puts photos of patterns into her illustrations. This is a brilliant story that mucks around with a few familiar fairy tales but really has a lot of fun, so you just don’t know what’s going to happen next.

The Wolves in the Walls by Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean - for the life of me, I can’t find this one, but I know I had it in my collection. I had to include it here because it’s a book that is a hybrid of picture book and graphic novel for younger kids. Great stuff, a bit darker and scarier, not for the wee tots.

What are your favourite illustrated books for children and why?

To read about the SCBWI Ireland meet-up with Alan Corbett, click here.

Volunteering for SCBWI Ireland

One of the small irritations in life is not knowing the milk has gone sour until you've poured it into your cup of black tea and watched it all curdle in a most unappetizing way. Luckily, I have some herbal tea in the cupboard, so I can start fresh.

Blogs are a bit like that. You're meant to post regularly or else the blog goes sour. But, here I am, starting fresh - again.

I was trying to decide on a topic and started writing about my volunteering activities with SCBWI Ireland. Sure, why not? I've done a lot more than I realized, and I've learned a lot along the way.

SCBWI Ireland banner design by Sarah Bowie
(I put a white border around it because the greens clash)

In case you don't know, SCBWI stands for the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, which is a great resource and support network for new and established writers and illustrators. Valerie Peterson provides a detailed post about SCBWI on her about.com site. It's really cool to have many well-known and successful writers in the membership, including Jane Yolen (who's published over 300 books), Donna Jo Napoli, Shaun Tan, and Meg Rosoff.

Here in Ireland, our chapter has existed for a number of years, but is still quite small. I mean REALLY small. Award-winning author Jane Mitchell has been the volunteer Regional Advisor since the beginning of 2012, and I've been the Uber Volunteer. The Uber Volunteer title came out of a comment in an email, but I liked it, so I even put it on my new business cards. It's a bit cheeky, to be sure, but it might generate a question or two.

So, you've been wondering what SCBWI Ireland volunteers do. Okay, maybe you haven't. Well, tough, here's a few things anyway:

• Worked with Jessica C. to develop a new website for SCBWI Ireland. 
• Designed and printed SCBWI Ireland business cards that we can hand out to interested people at meet-ups, workshops, and conferences. 
• Promoted and helped organize our one-day writing workshop facilitated by Jane M. in Dublin.

• Maintaining and updating the SCBWI Ireland website including the blog.
• Working with Jane M. to keep the SCBWI Ireland Facebook page filled with news and information relevant to Irish writers and illustrators. 
• Organizing and running the monthly Scribblers Online Critique Group.
• Organizing and running informal meet-ups in Cork with Fiona G. for local children's book writers and illustrators every two months.

Geez, I could use this as a CV! This is in addition to my full-time day job, Sacred Harp singing, swing dancing, traveling, and occasional actual writing of stories! Phew! I need a nap.

Oh yeah, I was going to talk about what I've learned. Well, promotion for one thing. You have to start early and use the right media and locations. We tried printing posters and sticking them up all over town (thanks to Fiona G. and John S. for doing that little chore with such enthusiasm), but that didn't really work. Business cards with contact details are handy and compact for handing out. Flyers are good at events for new attendees. Electronic media on websites, blogs, Facebook, boards, and forums seems to work the best, along with the most important promotional tool: word of mouth. The trick is not to do it so much that you annoy people.

The other thing I learned is that while there's lots happening in Dublin, contrary to rumours, it's not the centre of the universe! (Shock! Dismay! Actually, I quite like Dublin.) We've managed to find at least 25 writers and illustrators in and around Cork and nearby counties, who are keen to get together and talk shop. There's creatives scattered throughout all the counties. It's very exciting to be able to help people connect.

Volunteering is a bloody lot of work, but it's worth it to see and hear positive feedback from people who've found kindred spirits and who are learning from and supporting each other as they navigate the tricky waters of creation and publication.

Now, time for a bath.