THE FUSION OF HUMOR AND HEARTWARMING IN PICTURE BOOKS: Wisdom from Shanna Silva

Today’s wisdom comes to you by Shanna Silva. In addition to sharing her wisdom, Shanna is offering a copy of her latest book A Dog’s Guide to Being Human, illustrated by Agnès Ernoult. You can find how to enter for the drawing at the end of this post. Here’s Shanna. . . .

Thanks to Alayne Christian for inviting me to be a guest blogger on Kid-Lit Writing Wisdom! Alayne asked me to write about the fusion of humor and heartwarming, which I explored in my new picture book, A Dog’s Guide to Being Human (Yeehoo Press).

Just between us, I’m not an expert on humor. It’s subjective. If you look at how many different forms of comedy exist, there’s a full spectrum ranging from knock-knock to bawdy. Everyone gravitates to their own idea of funny.

But it’s hard to write funny if you’re not funny yourself. My adult sense of humor leans acerbic and sarcastic – not appropriate for Kid-Lit. So, I started to think about humor in children’s literature. What do kids find funny? So much! The ridiculous/improbable, bathroom/body humor (I have 3 sons, enough said), silly rhymes, messes, irreverent and the unexpected, and many more. Humor can be subtle or obvious, visual or spoken, or even implied.

To write humor for kids, I try to put myself in their mindset. We were all kids once! What books made us chuckle and why? It’s good to revisit these books and deconstruct the ha-has. My kids loved the “No, David” book by David Shannon. Mostly because there was a bare tushie picture, which they found endlessly hilarious. It was also about a kid doing all the wrong things and having no impulse control. The protagonist does all the things kids might want to try, but can’t. It’s vicarious misbehaving, and that’s why it’s funny.

I didn’t necessarily set out to write a funny story with A Dog’s Guide to Being Human but the material lent itself to humor. It’s a high concept story about a dog teaching a new baby how to be a human being. The book is from the dog’s POV, which is in itself, funny. How many times have I wondered what my dog was thinking? Sometimes I can almost see a thought bubble over his head because he’s so expressive. The takeaway is writing from an unexpected or unconventional POV can be funny.

When writing the book, I thought about the intersection between canine and human behavior. Why would a kid find these words/concepts funny? Can I picture an illustration that will further extend the joke?  Would an adult also find this funny or at least smile? There are certain universal funny things, and animal behavior can appeal to anyone.

Yehoo Press, my publisher, was wonderful in letting me be involved in the illustrator choice. My criteria were clear to me – the person has to “get” funny and be able to draw humor, which is a very specific skill set. I wanted nuanced art that showed the mutual love between a child and her pet, but that also portrayed some of the incorrigible traits of dogs.

Agnès Ernoult the illustrator, understood my words beautifully. She did an amazing job of bringing my story to life and capturing the very essence of what the book needed. And yes, she can draw funny (see below).

Now onto the heartwarming recipe. What makes something heartwarming? The key, for me, is relatability. What does the language/picture/thought evoke? Is it nostalgia? A memory? Recognition of a common human condition? There are certain universal feelings/experiences that should get a response from any human with a beating heart. It might be the preciousness of a child, the internal nod of “been there, done that,” knowing what will likely happen next, or even wishful thinking. For a child, this may happen on a different level than an adult reader, but the common thread is that it’s an emotional response.

Below is the opening spread from A Dog’s Guide to Being Human that reflects heartwarming.

[Note from Alayne: The text says, “My name is Smudge. I am a good boy who like treats, chasing squirrels, and playing fetch. My humans brought home a tiny baby. She has no fur. As she gets bigger, I will teach her all the things I have learned about being human.”]

This art has multiple layers of heartwarming for me: a new baby, an excited/welcoming dog with his tongue hanging out, a grandpa, birds in the trees, kids playing, a balloon released by a little girl, diversity of characters, a vibrant neighborhood, and pleasing colors. It looks like a pretty cool place to be, full of happy creatures and family warmth.

What do humor and heartwarming have in common? I think they’re both connective devices for people to find common ground in their experiences and feelings/thoughts. There are certain universal truths that even two people who disagree on everything can have in common. The combination of all these ingredients is a story that can temporarily take you out of your own troubles, refocus, and put a smile on your face. And isn’t that one of the things that books are for? An escape, which is very often critical to kids, and to show them how the world can be (even if it’s not their personal experience). But, that’s a whole different blog post for another time.

I hope that readers of all ages enjoy A Dog’s Guide to Being Human, and find both humorous and heartwarming co-existing in the text and art. Smudge is a character born from my heart and I hope he will continue his mischief and tutorials in future books.

Thanks for reading my thoughts. I hope they’re helpful in some way to creators and readers.

I’m going to leave you with a quote from The Boss:

“Someday we’ll look back on this and it will all seem funny.”

Bruce Springsteen

About Shanna

Shanna Silva is an author and Broadway Producer. She’s written three children’s books: A Dog’s Guide to Being Human, Passover Scavenger Hunt and Hannah’s Hanukkah Hiccups. In addition, she’s the author of over 45 hi/lo books for emerging readers. Sometimes, she writes for grown-ups, too. To learn more about Shanna and her books, click here.

To purchase A Dog’s Guide to Being Human, click here!

To enter the drawing for a chance to win a copy of A Dog’s Guide to Being Human, all you have to do is leave a comment. The deadline to enter is October 10, 2022.

WAIT THERE’S MORE!

BONUS LINKS TO ARTICLES ON WRITING FUNNY PICTURE BOOKS

Adding Humor to Children’s Stories. A presentation by John Bladek-PHD

Writing for Kids: How to Write Funny Stories by Allison Tate

Writing Humorous Picture Books by Laurie J. Edwards

Funny Books for Kids by Babies to Bookworms Blog

ReFoReMo Day 20: Author Cindy Williams Schrauben Packs a Punch with Humorous Picture Books

ReFoReMo Day 12: Author Todd Tarpley Explores Humor

Funny AND Female: A Research Project by a Hoity-Toity Otter (and not Abi Cushman)

Layers in Humorous Picture Books by Laura Lavoie

Writing Funny Picture Books by Darcy Pattison

The following is for chapter books, but some of it can be applied to picture books.

Funny Writing for the Unfunny by Cyndi Marko #ChaBooCha

BUT WAIT THERE’S EVEN MORE!

TO ACCESS OUR FREE COURSE WITH ALL OUR KID-LIT WRITING WISDOM POSTS, CLICK HERE!

 

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ALL ABOUT PICTURE BOOK STRUCTURES

So far, this year, I’ve been taking a break and being kind to myself. Meanwhile, the Kid-Lit Writing Wisdom team members have been doing their own thing. I believe that in the future I will be offering periodic guest posts from wise authors and/or illustrators, so keep an eye out. Before I move on to talking about picture book structures, I want to mention that my book BUTTERFLY KISSES FOR GRANDMA AND GRANDPA is featured in the summer reading section of the recent County Line Magazine. There are a couple cool things about this nice surprise. First, they put me in the great company of two other Texas authors Rosie Pova and Jen Betton. Rosie’s book SUNDAY RAIN (illustrated by Amariah Rauscher) is featured and author/illustrator Jen Betton’s cute book HEDGEHOG NEEDS A HUG is featured. The other thing that surprised me about BUTTERFLY KISSES FOR GRANDMA AND GRANDPA is that out of all my books, they picked the one that has been around the longest. What I love about this is the fact that my first picture book has had such a long life. I believe it may be the top seller of all my books, even after all these years.

The message that I want to leave with you is that some books do have long lives. One never really knows what the future will bring for our precious babies. You can see the magazine feature here.

Now I will move on to picture book structures.

PICTURE BOOK STRUCTURES

A few months back, someone inquired about my course ART OF ARC, asking if it covers the many different picture book structures. The answer is yes, but not extensively. There is certainly enough information and lists of mentor texts to get one very familiar with books that don’t fall into the traditional story structure. This is not to say that many of the different structures don’t still have an arc of some sort. Anyway, after that inquiry, I decided it might be nice if I could share a little bit about the various structures with you. The best and wisest way to do that is to share what others have already created. So here is a list of links where you can learn all about picture book structures.

Enjoy!

2016 ReFoReMo Day 5: TAMMI SAUER MODELS HOW-TO DO THE STRUCTURE STRUT (ReFoReMo is now March on with Mentor Texts)

http://www.carriecharleybrown.com/reforemo/reforemo-day-5-tammi-sauer-models-how-to-do-the-structure-strut

2012 PiBoIdMo Day 7: EVERY DAY TAMMI SAUER IS STRUCTURIN’ (PiBoIdMo is now Storystorm)

https://taralazar.com/2012/11/07/piboidmo-day-7-tammi-sauer/

2014 PiBoIdMo Day 11: TAMMI SAUER’S HOW TO “HOW TO”

https://taralazar.com/2014/11/11/piboidmo-day-11-tammi-sauer/

2021 Picture Book Builders PICK AND COMMIT: CHOOSING A PICTURE BOOK STRUCTURE by Pat Zietlow Miller

https://picturebookbuilders.com/2021/08/pick-and-commit-choosing-a-picture-book-structure/

2020 Writer Magazine: HOW TO STRUCTURE YOUR PICTURE BOOKS FOR SUCCESS by Ryan G. Van Cleave

These tried-and-true structures can provide a blueprint for your picture book plot.

https://www.writermag.com/improve-your-writing/writing-for-young-readers/structure-your-picture-books/

2020 Writer’s Digest: 7 WAYS TO STRUCTURE YOUR PICTURE BOOK by Brian A. Klems

https://www.writersdigest.com/improve-my-writing/7-ways-to-structure-your-picture-book

Reading Rockets: STORY SKELETONS: TEACHING PLOT STRUCTURE WITH PICTURE BOOKS by Shutta Crum

https://www.readingrockets.org/article/story-skeletons-teaching-plot-structure-picture-books

Ms. Rosen Reads:  PICTURE BOOK PATTERNS (an extensive list of mentor texts for a variety of picture book structures)

https://msrosenreads.edublogs.org/read/picture-book-studies/picture-book-patterns/

2018 Mentor’s for Rent: HOW TO WRITE A NONFICTION PICTURE BOOK: STEP 6: STRUCTURE IT by Laura Purdie Salas

https://mentorsforrent.wordpress.com/2018/02/15/how-to-write-a-nonfiction-picture-book-step-6-structure-it/

Florida Writers Association: WRITING THE WORDLESS, OR ALMOST WORDLESS, PICTURE BOOK  by Shutta Crum

https://floridawriters.blog/writing-the-wordless-or-almost-wordless-picture-book/

2012 Kathy Temean’s Writing and Illustrating: WORDLESS PICTURE BOOKS

https://kathytemean.wordpress.com/2012/07/18/wordless-picture-books/

LINDA ASHMAN SHARES HER MANUSCRIPT FOR HER NEARLY WORDLESS PICTURE BOOK “RAIN”

An excellent demonstration of formatting a manuscript for a wordless or nearly wordless picture book.

https://lindaashman.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/RAIN_Submission.pdf

I hope some of this information helps you with possibly finding a new and interesting path for some of your picture book ideas.

If you missed the “Kid-Lit Writing Wisdom” posts, you can find them all here. Together, these posts are a free course in kid-lit writing.

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KID-LIT WRITING WISDOM PRESENTS LONG AND WINDING ROAD: PUBLICATION (USUALLY) DOESN’T HAPPEN OVERNIGHT (Part 3 of 3)

This “Wisdom” round’s question isn’t exactly a question. I asked the team to tell us about their travels down the long and winding road to publication. You can learn more about why I chose to cover this topic in Publication Doesn’t Happen Overnight Part 1 of 3 here. And you can read part 2 of 3 here. You can read more about the “Wisdom” team members and their books here.

Before I move on, I’d like to do a little horn tooting and also offer a BIG CONGRATULATIONS to Janie Reinart and Morgan Taylor. Their book WHEN WATER MAKES MUD: A STORY REFUGEE CHILDREN has been rated the #1 new release in Children’s Africa Books on Amazon. So, where does the horn tooting come in? This is one of the last books that I edited, did art direction, designed, and published during my work with Blue Whale Press. Not a bad way to finish!

Now for some . . .

“MY WRITING GREW STRONGER DURING THOSE TEN YEARS, AND MY KNOWLEDGE OF THE INDUSTRY INCREASED EXPONENTIALLY.”

by Laura Gehl

I wrote my first picture book, One Big Pair of Underwear, when my oldest son (now almost 17!) was a baby. The book was published almost exactly a decade later. In between, I wrote a lot of other books, some of which went on to be published. Most did not. My writing grew stronger during those ten years, and my knowledge of the industry increased exponentially. Like most people, I made some embarrassing mistakes before I knew what I was doing!

Now that I have published close to thirty books and have a fabulous agent (I did not have an agent when I sold my first book), I still get rejections. And I still have manuscripts that never end up selling—even books that my agent and my critique partners love. I can’t honestly say that rejections feel much different now either. While I KNOW that each rejection is just about a certain book not being the right fit for a certain editor at a certain time, that doesn’t mean each rejection doesn’t hurt. I once received a rejection for a manuscript that had already been acquired by a different publisher, and it STILL stung. The waiting hasn’t disappeared either. But my critique partners, my agent, and the wonderful teachers/parents/kids who take the time to tell me how much they love my books all help weather the inevitable rejections and the just-as-inevitable waiting that are part of this business!

KEEP DOING THE WORK

by Dawn Babb Prochovnic

My journey certainly has been and remains, long and winding. I attended my first writing conference in the summer of 2004. I knew nothing about the publishing industry, and I came to learn. The guest editor was Arthur A. Levine, of Harry Potter fame. He was kind and generous with his time, feedback, and encouragement. After the conference, I formed a critique group and joined SCBWI. With the support of these groups, I worked diligently on one of the stories I’d workshopped at the conference, and when I felt it was ready, I submitted my first manuscript to Arthur A. Levine Books, (his imprint at Scholastic, at the time.)

Arthur was again kind and encouraging, and I will always treasure the personal letter he sent back to me, gently declining my story. Over the next several years, I continued to do the work of a writer, inventing new stories, revising, and asking for critiques over and over again. As I developed an inventory of submission-ready manuscripts, I studied publishing houses and began the task of submitting. I accumulated several large file boxes filled with manuscripts in various stages of revision and correspondence from editors across the country (this was before submitting electronically was a thing.) Over time, the editorial correspondence I received shifted from form letters to personalized notes with suggestions for revision and/or ideas for other publishers that might be a better fit for my work.

One dark and stormy night in October 2007, I took my kids to a book event in our area to meet Bart King, the author of my daughter’s then-favorite book. At the event, I visited with another exhibiting author, David Michael Slater, whose books with an educational hook struck me as being similar in nature to my stories that incorporated American Sign Language. I told him about my work, and he agreed that it sounded like a strong fit for his publisher, ABDO, and he was kind enough to put me in touch with his editor. ABDO was indeed a good fit for my ready work at the time, and I published 16 books with that editor, from 2009-2012. It was a great experience.

Then I had a dry spell. A long dry spell that didn’t break until 2015 when two author friends in my local area, Elizabeth Rusch and Amber J Keyser, thought of me for an anthology they were working on called Oregon Reads Aloud. Liz reached out to invite me to participate, and I shared a freshly revised version of a story that had received several encouraging “personalized rejections” (so I knew that it was “ready,” it just needed to find the right home.) The story was accepted for the anthology, my dry spell had lifted, and my confidence was restored.

Through the process of participating in a wide variety of marketing events for Oregon Reads Aloud, I met the publishing director and marketing manager for West Margin Press (then Graphic Arts Books.) I’ve since published three picture books with the marvelous team at West Margin Press, including my book that just released in April, Lucy’s Blooms. It is my sincere hope I’ll get to work with them on another book in the future, but alas, they’ve passed on my last three submissions. Not to worry. Those stories will find a home, they just need to find the right home.

With 20 picture books and nearly as many years of experience, there are parts of me that still feel a bit like a newbie in this business. Maybe that’s because I’ve not yet been able to secure an agent (I will keep trying.) Maybe it’s because the publishing industry is hard to break into (over and over again.) Maybe it’s because each book takes a different route to publication, so the path is in fact a bit new each time.

With that said, here are my tips and takeaways: Keep doing the work. Read. Write. Revise. Seek feedback. Revise again. Build a body of ready work. Attend book events. Support others in their work. Make friends. Seek out and accept opportunities that align with your interests. Strive to better understand the market. Submit your work, as it becomes ready. Repeat.

TRENDS COME AND GO

by Michelle Nott

I was first inspired to write children’ stories while living in Belgium. My little girls’ bookshelf was mainly stocked with stories written in French. They were brilliant books, but we had decided to raise our children bilingually. And so I dusted off my Creative Writing degree and got writing … and thinking about turning these bedtime stories into actual books. Luckily, I found SCBWI Belgium (now SCBWI Benelux) to guide me. A couple months into my first critique group, a friend said she thought her editor would like one of my manuscripts. I queried her and after a round of revisions, she offered to publish my first early reader book. But it would take four years to have it in my hands. Once that book came out, she acquired my second early reader that took another four years to see the light of day. In the meantime, I queried agents with picture book and middle grade manuscripts. One of my first picture book stories received many kind rejections, mainly “it’s lovely, but too quiet.” At the time, most agents and editors were asking for action-packed plot-driven stories. Mine was not. But it’s important to remember that trends come and go, and to write the story you are to write. Finally, I sent a middle grade manuscript to an agent who replied that she liked my writing, but asked if I also wrote picture books. I sent her that quiet manuscript,… and she loved it! And then an editor and an illustrator at Enchanted Lion Books loved it. And now I’m thrilled that this book, Teddy Let’s Go!, written when my oldest daughter was in Kindergarten, will be published in time for me to hand it to her on her way to university!

PERSISTENCE CAN CERTAINLY GET YOU TO WHERE YOU WANT TO BE

by Rosie Pova

My journey to publication was definitely long and full of heartbreaks along the way. Given the fact that English is not my native language, and I had no clue how publishing worked, no wonder it took me 13 years to get my first yes from a traditional publisher. I had so much to learn, so much to catch up on as an immigrant, and so much to experience before I found my footing.

But when that yes came, two more came with it as well, so I received three publishing contracts all at once! That was certainly an exciting victory!

Up to that point, I had been submitting to both agents and publishers. But even though I did get an agent before, the book she signed me with didn’t sell.

Fast-forward to today, I have five traditionally published books (four out, one upcoming), and my newly released one, Sunday Rain, was recently featured in The New York Times which is an absolute dream come true!

Overnight success in publishing is rare. But persistence can certainly get you to where you want to be.

And yes, I still get rejections. All the time. And that’s perfectly normal. In fact, those rejections are necessary, because that’s how our work finds the exact right home it’s meant for.

“I HAVE TO LOVE WHAT I’M WORKING ON, I HAVE TO ENJOY MY WRITING RITUALS, AND I HAVE TO RELY ON FRIENDS WHO ARE ON THE SAME JOURNEY.”

by Marcie Flinchum Atkins

It took me many years of writing very diligently to have my first book published. I first published work-for-hire nonfiction for the educational market. My first trade picture book WAIT, REST, PAUSE: DORMANCY IN NATURE was picked up in a call for submissions from Millbrook Press. I already had something to submit that had been getting good feedback, but ultimately kept getting rejected.

I write everyday (I score high on “discipline” in Clifton Strength’s Finders) because it helps me stay connected to my work. If I don’t write, I often feel like things are “off.” I have several projects in circulation—often in different genres and for different age groups. When one project isn’t going quite right, I can work on another project. I always have something percolating or waiting to be worked on. To stay positive, I keep a spot in my bullet journal for celebrations. They often don’t include “book deal.” But they do include things like: finished middle grade novel revision, finished fast draft of chapter book, received positive feedback from editor, participated in panel at XX conference. These celebrations remind me that the journey is important too. When it feels like a long wait for a book deal, these small victories remind me that I’m making progress.

I definitely get rejections—a lot of them. I try to frame rejections in different ways. Sometimes I get rejected because the publisher has already bought something similar. Other times I get rejected because the publisher just didn’t connect with it. If I get feedback from various places that sounds similar or points to the same thing, then I know it’s time to pull back and take another look. In those cases, rejections can make me a better writer. But they definitely don’t make the writing life easy. That’s why, for me, I have to enjoy the journey I’m on. I have to love what I’m working on, I have to enjoy my writing rituals, and I have to rely on friends who are on the same journey.

TO READ PART 1 OF “LONG AND WINDING ROAD TO PUBLICATION” click here and TO READ PART 2 click here. TO READ THE TEAM MEMBERS’ ANSWERS TO “MY MOST IMPORTANT LESSON LEARNED” click here for Part One and here for Part Two. TO READ MORE ABOUT THE KID-LIT WRITING WISDOM TEAM AND THEIR BOOKS click here.

A LITTLE BONUS FEATURE–THE BOOK TRAILER FOR WHEN WATER MAKES MUD

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