7 first Lines/Paragraphs from Books published in 2016

Seven is my favorite number and it's 2017. I pulled the picture books from the NY Times Notable Book list. The other two are my favorite reads of the year

They All Saw A Cat Written and illustrated by Brendan Wenzel (debut book)

The cat walked through the world with its whiskers, ears, and paws . . . and the child saw A CAT, and the dog saw A CAT, and the fox saw A CAT. Yes, they all saw the cat.

I AM PAN! Written and illustrated by Mordicai Gerstein

LONG AGO WHEN THE WORLD WAS JUST A BABY, A FAMILY OF GODS LOVED IN GREECE. THEY LIVED ON MOUNT OLYMPUS ABOVE CLOUDS THAT LOOKED LIKE WHIPPED CREAM. THEY WERE ALL GODS OF ONE THING OR ANOTHER . . .

THE JOURNEY Written and illustrated by Francesca Sanna (debut book?)

I live with my family in a city close to the sea. Every summer we used to spend many weekends at the beach. But we never go there anymore, because last year, our lives changed forever . . .

LEAVE ME ALONE! Written and illustrated by Vera Brosgol. 

An Epic tale about one grandmother, a giant sack of yarn and her quest to finish her knitting.

There was once an old lady who lived in a small house.

 

Teacup by Rebecca Young Illustrated by Matt Ottley  (Looks like a debut book.)

Once there was a boy who had to find his home . . . and find another.

 

Now my two favorite reads for the year.

 

 

The Seventh Wish by Kate Messner  

I’ve only seen the ice flowers once. It was winter vacation when I was six and Abby was twelve. She came flying into my bedroom in her green flannel pajamas. “Charlie, wake up! You have to come see before they are gone.

 

I read this book because I was going to be reading it to fifth graders at Leo Politi. I thought it was going to be about a wishing fish and wishes and best friends and Irish dancing. My kind of a read. Nah! It’s a chocolate chip cookie of a book that, on page 102 ,turned into a steak dinner. It’s really brilliant and I cannot recommend it highly enough. But I am so glad I did not get to page 102 with the fifth graders. I think it should be required reading for middle school.

 

 

Full Cicada Moon by Marilyn Hilton.
I wish we had flown to Vermont
instead of riding
on a bus, train, train, bus
all the way from Berkley.
Ten hours would have soared, compared to six days.
But two plane tickets--
one for me and one for Mama--
would have cost a lot of money,
and Papa already spent so much
when he flew home at Thanksgiving.

Mama is sewing buttons on my new slacks
and helping me fill out the forms
for my new school in Hillsborough, our new town.
This might be a new year
but seventh grade is halfway done,
and I'll be the new girl.

I'm stuck at the ethnicity part.
Check only one, it says.
The choices are:
White
Black
Puerto Rican
Portuguese
Hispanic
Oriental
Other

I am
half Mama,
half Papa,
and all me.
Isn't that all anyone needs to know?
But the form says All items must be completed,
so I ask,  "Other?"
Mama pushes her brows together,
making what papa calls her Toshirô-Mifune face.
"Check all that apply," she says.
"But it says just one."
"Do you listen to your mother or a piece of paper?"

I do not usually read verse novels. This one captivated me.  Written in verse the book tells the story of a half black, half Japanese girl who moved with her family to Vermont to be the new girl halfway through seventh grade. It's 1969 and she dreams of being an astronaut. 
I raced through it, loving every sentence.
The what was not said was as important as what was said. Highly recommend. 

What is your favorite book from last year? If you have a diversity one, all the better.

 

 

25 Picture Book First Lines

This week the SCBWI San Fernando Valley Schmooze is focusing on picture books and first lines. I grabbed some favorites from my first line posts and I divided them between prose and rhyming Picture Books. The titles are linked to the books. I have fiddled with the spacing and font and today is one of those times Blogger hates me. So I apologize for the non-uniform look of the titles and links and fonts/. Think of it as Blogger's creativity shining through.
Please tell me your favorite. Want to share your best first line from your own work? Comments welcomed. Happy reading and writing.

Prose first lines

1. Everything was just dandy till that Emily Post book showed up.
Thanks a LOT, Emily Post! by Jennifer Larue Huget, Illustrated by Alexandra Boiger (First book)

2.  TUESDAY EVENING, AROUND EIGHT.

Tuesday written and illustrated by David Weisner

3.  In the biggest, brownest muddiest river in all Africa, two crocodiles lay with their heads just above the water. One of the crocodiles was enormous. The other was not so big.

The Enormous Crocodile. Roald Dahl Illustrated by Quentin Blake.

4.  In an old house in Paris that was covered with vines lived twelve little girls in two straight lines 

Madeline  written and illustrated by Ludwig Bemelmans

 5.  Out in the hottest, dustiest part of town is an orphanage run by a female person nasty enough to scare night into day.

Saving Sweetness by Diane Stanley Illustrated by G. Brian Karas 

 

6.  Five little puppies dug a hole under the fence and went for a walk in the wide, wide world. 

The Poky Little Puppy by Janette Sebring Lowrey - Illustrated by Gustaf Tenggren

 7.  My friend Lincoln says you have two dads. That’s right poppa and daddy.

A Tale of Two Daddies by Vanita Oelschlager Iluustated by Kristin Blackwood and Mike Blane

9.  Mama love to sing. Her singing was always a happy part of everyday life. But everything changed the day after my seventh birthday.

Floating on Mama’s Song by Laura Lacamara, Illustrated by Yuyi Morales(First book)

 10. I took the moon for a walk last night.

I took the Moon for a walk by Carolyn Curtis, illustrated by Allison Jay.(First book)

11.  Once upon a time Chicken Licken was standing around when a piece of something fell on her head.
 

The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales by Jon Scieszka, Iluustrated by Lane Smith. (As best as I can determine, this was his first book. Wow!)
 

On a cold afternoon, in a cold little town, where everywhere you looked was either the white of snow or the black of soot from chimneys, Annabelle found a box filled with yarn of every color.

ExtraYarn by Mac Barnette. Illustrated by Jon Klassen Extra Yarn is a also Caldecott Honors Book for 2012

 

12. Everyone was perfectly fine with the way things were. Everyone but Mr. Tiger.

Mr. Tiger Goes Wild written and illustrated by Peter Brown  2014 Cybil winner.

 

13.  Whenever the wind lifted off the river, and sent the trees to dancing, I itched to fly a kite.

I’d race to the great Niagara, plumes of mist rising from plunging waters, wind licking at my face.

 A boy like me knew, just knew which day would be perfect for flying kites.

The Kite That Bridged Two Nations by Alexis O'Neil, Illustrated by Terry Widener 2014 Crystal Kite Winner

14.  The Lion is known throughout the animal kingdom as the “King of Beasts.” 
The Great White Shark is the most feared predator in the ocean. 
And the Timberwolf’s howl strikes terror into the hearts of fuzzy woodland creatures everywhere. 
But even SAVAGE CARNIVORES get their feelings hurt.

Carnivores by Aaron Reynolds, Illustrated by Dan Santat  

15.  Peter snuggled into Uncle's lap as the carriage clattered through the valleys of Switzerland. Baby Annette slept in Mother's arms, a small pink blossom against a wall of black.

The Right Word: Roget and His Thesaurus, illustrated by Melissa Sweet, written by Jen Bryant. 2015 Caldcott Honor Book

16.  He was born on an island far away where imaginary friends were created."

The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend, Written and Illustrated by Dan Santat

 

 Picture Books that Rhyme

1.  Not last night but the night before, three black cats came knocking at the door.

Not Last Night But The Night Before by Colin McNaughton, Illus by Emma Chichester Clark

 

2.  One morning at the breakfast table, when I read the juice box label, (thinking it was tightly closed), my daddy’s pants got orange-hosed. 

 

I Always ALWAYS Get My Way by Thad Kranesky, Illus by David Parkins (Thad is a first time picture book author. It was published in 2009) 

When I grow up, I'll live in a tree.
Just my cats, Quentin, Quigley and me.
 

Growing Up Dreams by Susan J. Berger, Illus by Samantha Bell

 

4.   Beep Beep. Sheep in a jeep on a hill that’s steep

Sheep in a Jeep by Nancy Shaw, Illustrated by Margaret Apple (First Book)

 

5.  In a House on a hill there’s a wild little child not ready to close her eyes.

She burrows in blankets and talks to her toys and listens to lullabies.

 

Hillside Lullaby by Hope Vestergaard Illustrated by Margie Moore

 

6.  Many places make a home – a heap of twigs, a honeycomb.

A castle with a tower or two, an aerie with a birds-eye view.

 

 Castles Caves and Honeycombs by Linda Ashman Illustrated by Lauren Stringer
 

 

7.  See the piggy, see the puddle, see the piggy in the middle of the muddy little puddle.

See her dwaddle, see Her diddle, in the muddy muddy middle.

See her waddle, plump and little, in the very merry middle.

 

The Piggy in the Puddle by Charlotte Pomerantz Illustrated by James Marshall
 

 

 8.  In a wee little house in a wee little hole, lived a wee little mouse and a wee little mole.

 

One Dark Night by Lisa Wheeler Illustrated by Ivan Bated.(This was Lisa Wheeler’s first book. She has written many wonderful books. I wanted to blog the first line of the first one.)


9. Dusk creeps in and day is done.
The last few rays of stubborn sun
Cling to the hilltop, tree and town.
We wish that we could push it down.

 Bats at the Ballgame Written and illustrated by Brian Lies  

Answers To December First Lines

by Susan Berger


Just in time for Holiday shopping. The answers to December's first lines.  I used the Amazon links, but your own independent book store can order any of these titles. 

1.  I had just come to accept that my life would be ordinary when extraordinary things began to happen.

Miss Peregrines Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

2.  The hat in question was owned by Mrs. Constance Lovestock.  Mrs. Lovestock was a woman of some years, even greater means and no children. She was not a woman who did things by half measures.  Take her positions on swans.  She thought them the most beautiful, graceful creatures in the world.
The Emerald Atlas(Books of Beginning)  by John Stephens 

 Debut book

3.  "PLAY BALL!" called the home plate umpire of Ebbets Field. It was Major League Baseball's  Opening Day - April 15' 1947. The Brooklyn Dodgers were playing the Boston Braves.

Play Ball, Jackie by Stephen Krensky. illustrated by Joe Morse

4.  It was one the most important moments in Nathaniel Fludd's young life and he was stuck sitting in the corner.

Nathaniel FluddBeastologist. Book One Flight of the Phoenix by R.L. LaFevers. Illustrated by Kelly Murphy. 

Nominee for the 2012 Nene award.  The Nēnē Award is an annual award given by Hawai‘i’s children for the best children’s fiction book.  Students in grades 4, 5 and 6 vote

5.  HOW TO COOK AND EAT CHILDREN
A cautionary Tale by the Witch Fay Holaderry
I love children. Eating them, that is.

The Witch's Guide To Cooking With Children
By Keith McGowan with illustrations by Yoko Tanaka


Debut fiction book and a Nominee for the 2012 Nene award.  The Nēnē Award is an annual award given by Hawai‘i’s children for the best children’s fiction book.  Students in grades 4, 5 and 6 vote

6.  Ah Kee hummed as he carried his basket of guavas. Today was his birthday and Ma was taking him to the market.

Plenty Saimin by Feng Feng Hutchins. Illustrated by Adriano F.  Abatayo III.

First book

7.  Maybe you know. The feeling of how junk it is when summer ends.

Calvin Coconut, TroubleMagnet by Graham Salisbury. Illustrated by jacqueline Rogers

8.  Around 5:00 a.m. on a warm summer morning in October, 1953, my Aunt Belle left her bed and vanished from the face of the earth.

Belle Prater's Boy by Ruth White  This was a Newbery winner.  After reading this sentence, I checked it out of the Kailua Library to read.  Wow!

9.  Even as a little girl I had thought that the swamp was a magical place where new lives began and old lives ended, where enemies and heroes weren't always what one expected, and where anything could happen, even to a clumsy princess. 

The Frog Princess by E.D. Baker

I loved this book and read through the series.

10.  There was once an old and somewhat wise woman whom everyone called Grandy.  She’d just suffered a big loss in her life. Pops, her husband, suffered the same loss, but in his own way.  This is the story of how Grandy faced her loss by setting out to make tear soup.

Tear Soup  A recipe for healing after loss  by Pat Schweibert and Chuck DeKlyen.  Illustrated by Taylor Bills

A concerned reader suggested I have a link to all my first line posts.

Here it is: Links to First Line Posts.

I have been staying in Kailua with friends that just lost their 30 year old daughter, Jasmine, to cancer.  Jasmine left behind a seven year old daughter, Ka’ula.  The family was given this book and we all profited from it.  One of the best simple grief books I’ve ever read.

Mina Javaherbin In Conversation with The Pen And Ink

by Lupe Fernandez

Edited by The Management

Exclusive Announcement!
The Secret Message written by Mina Javaherbin, based on a poem by Rumi, the 13th century Persian poet and illustrated by Bruce Whatley, will be part of an anthology taught in all 4th grade classes across USA. Mina was elated with joy. This publication brings approximately one million readership for her book. 

Mina began writing The Secret Message in 2000. The text for The Secret Message was submitted to the 2004 SCBWI Barbara Karlin Grant for emerging, unpublished picture book writers and The Secret Message was a runner-up. Mina received the award at the Century Plaza Hotel as about two thousand other writers clapped for her. This she said she’ll never forget. After mentioning this award on her resume, Mina was noticed by Studio Goodwin Sturges which sold the book to Disney-Hyperion Books in 2006. The book came out late October of 2010. 

Mina Javaherbin

The Craft

Mina is a professional architect. She uses her architectural education for writing as well. She says, “Creative thinking has a universal gestalt and understanding the different medium of expression can help the artist apply his or her education in interchangeable forms of art.” 

“Everything I learned about Writing I Learned in Architecture” is the title of a lecture she is hoping to offer in her architecture school alumni lecture series one day. 

Rumi

We talked about this in specific and she has interesting points in comparing blueprints to story outlines, foundation to plot, structure to voice and finally the infamous ARC of a story which comes directly from the word architecture.

Inspiration
Mina Javaherbin is also the author of Goal!, illustrated by A.G. Ford. In Goal!, a South African boy who plays soccer with his friends in an unsafe neighborhood. The boys deal with the bullies by standing together and thinking together as a team.

Soccer inspires Mina for its egalitarian nature. “It’s played all over the world.” The problems addressed in Goal! are not unique to one country. “People can learn to rally together and stand up to bullies. Soccer is a practice.”

For Goal! “The entire idea came to me in one sitting. I've been working on so many versions of soccer and nothing worked... once I realized that the games are going to be in South Africa I had the image of Ajani playing in the not so safe streets of a township and then everything flowed in.” Mina had watched the apartheid movement taking shape on their black and white TV in Iran Later she found out that activists such as Nelson Mandela had played soccer in prison to boost their morale.

The text of Goal! reads like a poem. “It reads like football cadence,” Mina said, “Action, movement. Poetry and Picture Books go together. It’s music to the ear. Literature has its own language and of course I wrote in metaphor.” Mina had minor changes from her editor. “The text should be ready to go, especially for a first time unknown author.”

High Praise

Archbishop Desmond Tutu

The Archbishop Desmond Tutu called Goal! “Uplifting and inspiring…and a gift to all soccer fans around the world.”

When the Nobel Peace prize winner Tutu wrote a quote for Mina’s book obtained by the Candlewick Press, Mina cried with joy, she said that she wrote a thank you letter for Mr. Tutu, “It was surreal to write a letter to Archbishop Desmond Tutu.”

The following are a list of awards and accolades for Goal!

• IRA Award Winner. IRA=International Reading Association 
• Nominated for California Young Readers 2011-2012 
• An Irma Black finalist 
• Nominated for the Texas Blue Bonnet Award 
• NYPL pick for 2010 
• Finalist for Chickadee Main Award. 
• Smithsonian pick for 2010 

Collaboration
With both books the publishers had asked, which artists Mina liked. Mina gave a list to her publishers. She said that in her experience her publishers did their best to accommodate back and forth collaboration between the author and the artist and that she was delighted about this.

Charlize and Mina

Charlize Theron
At a function for the Center For Living Peace in Irvine California - Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project, Mina met Charlize. “It was a charity function. Charlize is gracious, very pretty inside and out she had asked the kids, ‘What do you recommend to help stop the spread of AIDS?’ The kids had responded to Ms. Theron, ‘Give us a place to play soccer. Lighted fields at night so we can play. With no electricity, there’s too much sex, there’s nothing else to do at night.’ With this Charlize Theron is in the process of not only offering medication and lectures and awareness but also creating fundamental alternative option to channel the youth’s energy.”

A Sequel? 
When this interviewer asked Mina if there would be a sequel to Goal!? She said there would be “another book.” This interviewer suggested the following titles: 

1. Touchdown!
2. HomeRun!
3. Hole-In-One!

Mina responded, “You’re not that far off.”

Last Thoughts

“I think the enthusiasm of the author,” Mina said, “to promote (their book) will excite the publisher.”

“Don’t give up.” 

“Get creative; there is nothing more fun out there!” 

___________________________________________________
The Pen And Ink Blogspot would like to thank Mina for this interview.

For more on Mina Javaherbin:
Visit her website.
Watch the exciting book trailer for Goal!
Listen to Mina read an excerpt of The Secret Message.
Representation by The Red Fox Literary agency.

Interview with author Carol Hughes

Picture Courtesy of Diane Browning

by Susan Berger
Carol Hughes was born in Yorkshire, England, and grew up in a seaside town in Lancashire.
She now lives in San Francisco with her husband and daughter.  Carol has written seven children’s books.

 Her most recent book is The Princess and The Unicorn

The unicorn is the embodiment of magic. When Princess Eleanor of England catches sight of him in Swinley Forest, she can’t resist taking him back with her to Buckingham Palace. Unfortunately, once the unicorn leaves the forest, both he and the forest begin to sicken. As the only witness to the unicorn’s departure, Joyce, an intrepid and curious young fairy, sets out for London on a grand adventure to rescue the unicorn—and maybe help the princess while she’s at it.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book you drew me into your world completely. Both heroines are self-sufficient girls with problems they need to solve. (And I love they way they solve them.)  The book has a quiet start; then it drew me in and kept me reading.

I am quoting from your author page here:  “I have been a writer my whole life, but oddly enough I didn’t realize it until I was grown up. Looking back I can see that I was always writing and making up stories. I always loved writing essays at school and, when I went to art college, I filled my sketchbooks with stories instead of drawings.

In my late twenties, I met my husband. He turned my world upside down by pointing out to me that, as I was forever writing, perhaps I ought to try my hand at writing a book.”

What made to decide to write Children’s books (as opposed to adult books)?

It was never a conscious decision. It was just how the stories came out when I started to write.

How did you learn your craft?

The painful way. Writing is a horrible business. I don’t like it at all. Most of the time I feel I’m too stupid to string a sentence together and the other half I’m completely confused by what I’m supposed to be doing. So why on earth do I do it? Because very, very occasionally it’s unbelievably fun and surprising, but that doesn’t happen unless I keep at it. After twenty years of writing, I know two things about it. 1/ if I don’t do it every day I become a completely horrible person to live with. 2/ If you want to be any good at it, you have to read a lot, write a lot and let go of the idea of ever being any good at it.

  

Do you have a critique group?

No. I know a lot of people swear by theirs, but talking to other people about writing, mine or anyone else’s, has never appealed. I’d rather be reading or writing.

Your first published book was Toots and The Upside Down House

Let’s talk about your journey to publication with your debut book.  How did you find your agent?

Pure nepotism, I’m afraid. A solicitor friend of the family was kind enough to pass the Toots manuscript to one of his clients who was an agent. Luckily the agent thought the book, even in its raw state, had potential, but this was twenty years ago and the market is far, far tougher now.  The most important thing is to make sure your manuscript is as good as it can be before you send it out.

How long was it from from finishing the book to sale?

Five years and twenty seven rejections. I took comfort from the ten that weren’t just rejection slips.

What is the average length of time for you from the time you sell a book to publication?

About a year – except in the case of Dirty Magic which took longer. 

Toots and The Upside Down House lists two authors on Amazon, but the other three Toots books don’t.  What’s up with that? 

It’s a misprint. John Steven Gurney is the illustrator who did the lovely picture on the cover. Gareth Sheldrew did the illustrations inside.

Your next book was Jack Black & the Ship of Thieves. 

I love your opening pages.  Do you have a favorite first line or Paragraph from you books?

Thanks. I don’t have a favorite of mine, but I probably rework the first page, in fact the whole opening chapter, at least twenty times before I’m happy with it. I am a highly judgmental reader of first pages when I choose books, so I know what makes me want to read more.

Me too!  That’s why I blog opening lines/paragraphs so often.

When was your daughter born and how well are motherhood and authorship combining?

 Horrible! I have two daughters now and one’s in middle school already. I used to think it was difficult writing when they were little, but looking back I can’t believe I was such a wimp. These days my head is so crammed with the stuff they have to do, where they need to be driven, what’s happening at their schools etc etc it’s a wonder that I ever get anything written at all.

I  try and have a set routine but, of course, having kids often throws that all out of the window. But it’s good to learn how to write when you can. Seize the five minutes when you’re in the car pool line and check in with your book. It’s not easy to write when you have children, but it can be done – or so I’m told.

When we met, you said you needed to write something fairy tale-like after living with Dirty Magic for so long.  

What inspired you to write Dirty Magic?

Initially, my husband. He’s a geek and, as a kid, was obsessed with his possessions – film magazines, comics etc. I wanted to write something about that, though at the beginning I had no idea this would take me to a war-torn, rain soaked land full of automated war machines. Fun! 

Since you also have a background in art, have you ever thought about writing picture books? 

I’ve tried, but they always end up being about fifty thousand words too long. I have nothing but admiration for a well-written picture book. The best are pure poetry.

Do you have any advice for a first time author going to do a school or library visit?

Don’t do it. No, sorry. That’s terrible advice. I used to do a lot of visits and they were fun, but unless you are a very organized, go get ‘em sort of person, which I am not, the visits take too much time and energy away from writing.

Many authors are using social media.  I don’t get the feeling you are one of them.  It’s a crazy web out there.  Do you have any thoughts on making use of it?

I wish I had a web presence – no, that’s not strictly true - I wish I had a web presence without my having to work at it.  Honestly, when I’m not ferrying children hither and thither, I don’t want to spend time on something that isn’t writing - even though it could potentially help my career/sales enormously. As with organizing school visits and self-promotion, creating and cultivating an online presence takes a lot of dedication and organization. Perhaps I’m lazy, or just clueless, but I truly don’t like doing those sorts of things.  I want to do what I can to make my book better. I want to write.

What are you working on now?

A page one rewrite of a book I’ve been working on forever. This is the fifth page one rewrite. I feel as though I am learning to write again. I may never get it finished.

Do you have any advice for aspiring authors?

Write the best book you can. Have an amazing web presence. Be fantastically organized. Take acting classes and enjoy school visits. Write every day. Don’t worry about sales figures. Write what you want to read. For practical help, read ‘The War of Art’ by Steven Pressfield and ‘On Writing’ by Steven King – even if you don’t like Steven King.

(Dear Reader of Pen and Ink,  I linked Carol’s books so that you can go to Amazon and read the first pages.  Believe me, they are well worth reading.  The only one that doesn’t link to an ability to read the first pages is Toots and the Upside Down House.)

Review from an 11 year old on Amazon of Jack Black & the Ship of Thieves

 A very exciting, fast moving book with an interesting twist at the end. It is well written and you can't put it down. I read it for about five hours without stopping. I am eleven years old and I love this book!

Thank you so much Carol, for the interview

You might also like these other Pen and Ink author interviews:

Cecil Castelluci 
Kathleen O'Dell

Naomi Hirahara

Amy Goldman Koss 

Carolyn Hennesy