PPBF: Moon's First Friends

What a week; first, we can finally see a small pin light at the end of a very long remodeling tunnel. With fresh paint on the walls and carpet and tile installed this week, we're almost finished with the bedroom half of the house.

Second, I got to spend an hour with the staff at

Salem Lutheran in Tomball, just north of me.

Look at the beautiful display in their library,

to pique the kids' interest in next year's theme.

They're going to be reading my book over the summer;

since they are a parochial school, our son Joshua

selected three Bible verses to complement each chapter.

If you're interested, that document is {here}.

They're also sending a copy home for each of their families.

How cool is that? 

I also worked on these links that will take readers back 

to additional online resources for each chapter.

S is for service 

U is for unconditional love

P is for perseverance 

E is for empathy 

R is for respect

H is for honesty

E is for enthusiasm

R is for responsibility

O is for obedience

E is for encouragement

S is for self-discipline

Third, I'm grateful to be a guest on the #EduMagic podcast.

Click the book image to listen to my advice to preservice teachers

as well as for your chance to win a copy of Cape along with 

this treasure by the amazing professor Dr. Sam Fecich. 

Last but not least, I'm over the moon with excitement and joy

because today's pick is written by the curator of the PPBF's!

Title: Moon's First Friends

Author: Susanna Leonard Hill

Illustrator: Elisa Paganelli

Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland

Birth Date: June 4, 2019

Suitable for: ages 4-8

Themes: friendship, space exploration, planets
Brief synopsis: All by herself and getting quite lonely, Moon waits and waits for some friends to come visit. Then, the big day comes and brings her some Astronaut friends.

Opening page: The moon was queen on the night sky. She was so bright that everything she touched glowed with silver light. But after many, many years had passed, she was lonely. "If only someone would visit me," she said.

Resources: 

A review at Children's Book Review {here}

Check out the author's book page {here}

Information on Apollo 11's 50th anniversary {here}

An exclusive Corner interview with the author here:

1. Thank you Susanna, for carving out time for us to talk about your new book. I feel like it's such a hopeful book, about friendship and new horizons. Was that your intention?

Thank you so much for having me here today, Barbara! It is a privilege to get to share my new book with you and your readers! Yes, I did want this to be a hopeful book, as well as a book about friendship. The history of flight is hopeful and full of new horizons. From balloon flight in 1783, to glider flight in the 1890s, to the Wright Brothers, to Apollo 11, what vision and courage people had.  Talk about daring to dream! Can you even imagine how Neil Armstrong must have felt stepping onto the lunar surface for the first time - not just the first time for him, but for any man?! (Unfortunately no woman has as yet set foot on the moon, although NASA hopes to get one there by 2024.). It must have been incredible! I hope young readers will get a sense of that from this book and feel inspired by it - believe that big dreams are not only okay, but necessary. And, on a slightly less dramatic note, I hope that in reading about the moon's unwavering hope for a friend, young readers will understand that even if they feel alone sometimes, friends are out there if you keep looking and have a little patience.

2. You told me that you wrote this text three years ago; does your mission to get a book published typically take that long? Or was it designed to publish just as we celebrate the 50th anniversary of man's walk on the moon? 

The short answers are yes and yes! But this book has an interesting story behind it, actually. One day in June 2016, I got an email through my website from an editor at Sourcebooks. He said he loved CAN'T SLEEP WITHOUT SHEEP, and wondered if I might be interested in writing a book for Sourcebooks in association with NASA to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the moon landing! I was, of course, VERY interested ! He said they had plenty of nonfiction ideas being considered, and knew that other publishing houses would as well, and he had contacted me specifically because he wanted fiction.

So I started playing with ideas.

After about a month, I sent him 3 complete drafts all different in some way - 1st person, 3rd person, omniscient narrator; one opening that included reference to constellations; one sweeter in tone, one more humorous, etc... - as well as 4 other ideas with sample sections for how the 3 drafts could be tweaked by changing the moon's personality, gender, what she wanted, rhyme vs. prose etc. He loved the version in close 3rd person from the female Moon's perspective with the sweeter tone, and that is the one that is being published, with very few changes to the original manuscript.

The back matter required research, and the topics changed a few times, so that what I wrote the first time through ended up not being used in favor of what is in the book now. The research was very interesting and I learned many cool things I hadn't known!

My "mission" to get books published takes varying amounts of time.  2-3 years is about average from acquisition to publication. I've had some books ready in less time (the WHEN YOUR... series each took more like 18 months to 2 years) and some that have taken far longer (PUNXSUTAWNEY PHYLLIS took 4 years, and ALPHABEDTIME! has been in the works since 2013 and we're now hoping for a 2021 publication date!). Because picture books are a collaborative effort between author and illustrator, it can be a while before everything gets done, and then there has to be an appropriate place on the publisher's list for it because if two alphabet books, for example, are ready at the same time, the publisher will not want to publish them simultaneously because they'll compete with each other.

3. For those of us dreaming of becoming an author one day, could you walk us through the publishing process?

It all starts with the story! Write the best story you can (help yourself in this by reading lots of current picture books, reading books on the craft of writing for children - Ann Whitford Paul's book is the go-to for picture book writers - and taking classes if you can), and get some feedback on your manuscript from knowledgeable critique partners if at all possible. Objective opinions are important and helpful. When the story is as good as you can make it, research the marketplace using books like the Children's Writer's and Illustrator's Market for the current year and submit to an appropriate agent or editor. (Whether to have an agent is up to you - they open doors and handle submissions and contracts and all kinds of other details for a 15% commission on advances and royalties but it is as difficult to get an agent these days as it is to get a publishing contract, so some people prefer to go it alone even if it limits their submission options. Also, no agent means you don't have to share what you earn.). Whether you or your agent submit your work, at some point, if you're determined, perseverant, and have written a good story, you will get an offer!  And yes, it is as thrilling a moment as you imagine!  You will sign a contract detailing when and how you will receive your advance (usually 1/2 on signing, 1/2 on delivery and acceptance, but you might get it in thirds or all at once), and what deadlines you have to meet for revisions, what the rights package looks like, what the royalties will be (often 5% on hardcover sales, 3% on paperback, varying percentages on book club sales etc.), and how many author copies you're entitled to among other things. The editor may require very few or very extensive revisions to your manuscript. An illustrator will be chosen, most often by the publishing house, but sometimes they will ask your opinion even when you're a newbie, depending on the house. Once the illustrator is chosen and your revisions, if any, are done, you wait...  If you're lucky, your editor will share art as it's coming along - always fun to see!!! This is way more possible now that everything is digital and can be shared by PDF than back in the olden days! Eventually you will get a full PDF of your book, possibly a physical F&G (folded and gathered which is your book without binding or cover but often with a jacket), and one happy day a box of your books will arrive at your door!

4. You used QR codes to take your readers to other places, for more information. Why is that an important part of this newcomer for you?

The QR codes may be my favorite part of this book! They were not my idea - I didn't even know you could do such a thing! I believe the book designer thought it up. But if you hold your phone with the camera on the QR code (or if you have an older phone use a QR reader app) the codes take you to recordings on NASA's website.  The front QR code is the recording of the actual countdown to lift-off for Apollo 11, and the back one is the recording of Neil Armstrong in July 20, 1969 stepping out of the lunar module onto the surface of the moon and saying, "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind!" It is thrilling to listen to! I love it every time and it gives me goosebumps! I think the QR codes help bring the book alive in a unique way.

5. You've got a keen sense of humor; were you able to find anything quirky or clever into Moon?

The one thing I remember putting in was the line about how, when people started trying to fly, they had a lot to learn, which was humorous to me because I envisioned art that showed unsuccessful attempts. But the tone of the book is more sweet than funny, so I don't think I got a lot of humor into it. The eclipse page where the moon is wearing sunglasses is another little moment, though.

6. One last question: Why is it so important to tell this timeless story from the moon's point of view? And why now?

I thought the Moon's point of view would be interesting and different. I realize, of course, that in real life she probably didn't have a lot to say   But for the purpose of the story, it allowed a different perspective than any other moon landing books I know of and gave an opportunity to work in the theme of friendship which applies not only to the day-to-day lives of young readers, but to our world as a whole. It is important in so many areas that we cooperate and be friends.  So much more can be accomplished that way. This is more true today, with the challenges facing our world, than ever before.

And as for why now, well, it IS the 50th anniversary of the moon landing, and that's a pretty big deal!

Thank you so much for inviting me to your blog today, Barbara. I so appreciate the opportunity!

Susanna is the award-winning author of twenty books for children, including Punxsutawney Phyllis (A Book List Children's Pick and Amelia Bloomer Project choice), No Sword Fighting In The House (a Junior Library Guild selection), Can't Sleep Without Sheep (a Children's Book of The Month), Not Yet, Rose (a Gold Mom's Choice Award Winner and an Itabashi Translation Award Finalist), and When Your Lion Needs A Bath (Parents Magazine #1 Board Book 2017, CYBILS Award Finalist, CBC Bank Street Best Children’s Book of the Year along with When Your Elephant Has The Sniffles)  Her books have been translated into French, Dutch, German, Japanese, and Chinese.  Several other titles are forthcoming in 2019 and 2020 including Dear Santa (Sourcebooks Wonderland, Fall 2019), and Alphabedtime! (Nancy Paulsen Books, an imprint of Penguin Books) is forthcoming in Spring 2021.  Susanna lives in New York's Mid-Hudson Valley with her children, and two rescue dogs.

Connect with Susanna:

Website

Blog

Facebook Author Page

Twitter

YouTube

Pinterest

Making Picture Book Magic (online picture book writing course)

Now you can see why I like this book; but wait, there's more!

If you're still reading (thanks!) and you'd like to shoot for the moon and win a signed copy of this stellar picture book from Susanna, leave a comment below by June 6th at midnight CDT, telling us who your first friend was.

I'll pop all of your names into a Wheel of Fortune, give it a spin to see who wins, and announce the lucky reader at next week's PPBF. 

This giveaway is now closed; congrats Meghan!

Thank you, Susanna, for your generosity. Write on!