Bobsledding, Skiing, and Figure Skating, Oh My!

Are you ready for the 2018 Winter Olympics?? Jennifer Swanson, author of Super Gear: Nanotechnology and Sports Team Up sure is!

From "Huh?" to "Wow!" – and Beyond

"Will they like it?"

Can there be any more basic question for a first-time author as his debut effort finally reaches the marketplace? In my case, at least, yes there is.
And it's this:

"Will they get it?"

Since I began work eight years ago on The Day-Glo Brothers -- the story of how two polar-opposite siblings came together during the Great Depression to create daylight-fluorescent colors -- I've encountered two recurring reactions as reliably paired together as Goofus and Gallant.

From one of my partners at the very first critique group I ever attended: "Love the topic!"

Soon thereafter, from one of the first editors to see the manuscript: "This topic is too rarified."

In an introductory email from an already published author of nonfiction: "It had never even occurred to me that someone invented Day-Glo!"

Discreetly asked by one attendee of an author panel I'd just participated in: "What's Day-Glo?"

My all-time-favorite combination of these reactions came the day after I received Tony Persiani's final sketches. Without planning to, I found myself test-marketing the sketches to two very different audiences.

First was at my dentist's office. When the hygienist wasn't in the exam room, I pulled the sketches from my bag to review them. When she returned, she asked about the pages in my hands. I clarified that I'd done the text but not the art, and then I explained what Day-Glo is and hit the highlights in the story of how Bob and Joe Switzer had invented those colors.

"They sound like nerds," she replied.

Next was at my mechanic's. One moment I was giving him my email address for his mailing list, and the next thing I knew we were discussing the book-marketing plans behind my vanity web address.

For this tangent we'd gone off on, I was lucky enough to have not one but two visual aids: the sketches I'd again taken from my bag, and the daylight-fluorescent green service report on the counter between us.

I poked the report and said, "I've written about the guys who invented this color."

My mechanic's response was, "Wow!"

Until a month or two ago, I honestly had no idea which reaction would win out. Would audiences scratch their heads over why anyone would choose to write, let alone publish an entire book, about such a random topic?

Or would they share in my delight that this off-the-beaten-path story -- which struck me long ago as having the potential to be one cool-looking picture book -- had been so vividly executed by Tony and the folks at Charlesbridge? In other words, would they get it?

Early signs are encouraging -- reviews have been full of plays on "bright" and "brilliant" and "enlightening." While I had hoped for that response to the Switzers' tale, I hadn't counted on it. And I certainly hadn't counted on the reactions I've received to my own journey with this story. The obscurity of the topic, rather than being a handicap, is being seen as a virtue, as a sign that turning it into a book involved considerable legwork, much of it uphill.

It did, and it was. But I have to confess, it's also been fun. The research was fun, from interviewing Bob and Joe's spouses and little brother (all now in their 80s or 90s) to laying my hands on the actual, original notes from the Switzers' first experiments.

It was also fun to figure out how to tell this story in a way that takes the science seriously without letting explanations bring the narrative to a halt -- right up through the final, last-minute text change that my editor and I worked out in real time via cell phone and instant message.

And now that I think about it, not knowing how the end result would be received, or even what the end result would be -- well, that was fun, too. It reinforced the fact that I was chasing after this project not because of what others' reactions might be, but because I loved the story, believed in its possibilities, and was enjoying myself mightily.

I guess it must show. When Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast featured Tony and me at the end of June, one commenter noted, "Chris's enthusiasm not just for the subject itself, but for learning about it, is palpable and infectious."


I like that. I get it. And I can't wait to do it again.

---

Chris Barton is the "bright," "brilliant," and "enlightening" author of The Day-Glo Brothers, with "exhuberantly retro" illustrations (so says Publishers Weekly!) by Tony Persiant. New from Charlesbridge.


Download this activity and discussion guide.
Watch this animated explanation of the mechanics of fluorescent light and color.

"[T]hese . . . brothers shine even more brightly than the paints and dyes they created. "
--Kirkus Reviews

"The story is one of quintessentially American ingenuity... "
--Publishers Weekly

"This unique book does an excellent job of describing an innovative process."
--School Library Journal

Where Do Ideas Come From?

As an author who speaks at schools and libraries, the question I get asked most often – besides “How old are you?” or “How much money do you make?” – is “Where do you get your ideas from?”

I don’t have an easy answer, like “I buy them at the Idea Store,” or “I have an idea tree in my backyard,” or “I belong to the “Idea of the Month” club.” I wish there were. But the truth is, writers are like anyone else. We have to work to come up with ideas. There’s no magic formula, no top-secret stash of ideas that only writers have access to, no place we can call to order an idea much like we would a pizza. Or, if there is, no one’s told me about it.

So, what do I tell these inquiring minds? I tell them that ideas are everywhere. Writers don’t have a corner on the idea market. Anyone can have an idea. They’re free for the taking, if you know where – and how – to look for them. The supply is unlimited.

Different authors get their ideas in different ways. I’m going to share two of my personal favorites. They’re simple enough for anyone to use, from a student wondering what to write about to the parent of a student who is still wondering what to write about the night before the assignment is due. Teachers can utilize them in their classrooms, or at home, when they’re working on their own writing.

The first way I come up with an idea is something I call the“what if?” method. I’ve used this for several of my picture books, including my newest one, What REALLY Happened to Humpty?. I started out by asking myself, “What if Humpty Dumpty didn’t fall off the Wall by accident? What if he was pushed?”

Another “What if?” came in response to one of my sons asking how his grandmother knew so much. I told him, “Maybe she went to school. A school just for grandmas.” So, what if there were a school where grandmas went to learn about all those things modern grandparents need to know, from how to change a disposable diaper to how to surf the Internet? That idea was the basis of my book, Grandma U.

The second way I come up with an idea is to let my mind “wonder.” This is especially useful for brainstorming topics for non-fiction. I might wonder why dogs wag their tails, or wonder what it’s like to be a skydiving instructor, or wonder what it’s like to be a kid in the White House. (My husband says I’m just nosey. I prefer the term “curious.”)

Asking a lot of questions is my answer to where I get my ideas. As for how old I am and how much money I make, those questions will just have to remain a mystery.

Jeanie Franz Ransom is an author and speaker who lives near St. Louis, Missouri. What REALLY Happened to Humpty? is her fifth picture book. You can find out more by visiting her website: www.jeanieransom.com

ALA 2008, Anaheim, CA

Not quite like the glamour of BEA in Hollywood, but certainly a clean, well-ordered corner of the world, Anaheim was host to this year's American Library Association conference. It's a magical kingdom of books!

As ever, ALA was a love-fest of books, librarians, authors and illustrators. We were lucky to host a few in our booth:



Pam Muñoz Ryan signs Our California in California! For the sequel, we'll have to find out what the strange purple Disney flowers were.

First comes love, then comes Eve Bunting autographing The Wedding and Baby Shower


Caroline Arnold and Mary Peterson wiggled and waggled for us.

Marjorie Cowley made us giggle with her tale of ancient Mesopotamia.

The AWESOME April Pulley Sayre signs Trout Are Made of Trees and The Bumblebee Queen.

Pam Turner proves there is life on earth--and beyond.

Edward Einhorn, probably. He signs A Very Improbable Story.

The Charlesbridge Family Dinner. Better than Thanksgiving
(no actual family guilt served). But if you're in Anaheim again, you have to go to this restaurant... it was so good, we went twice (not in the same night). It's called Gabbi's Mexican Kitchen and it's a short drive from Anaheim to Orange. The margaritas are fantastic, but you will be dreaming about the churros for ages to come.

The night we all look forward to all year long: the Newbery-Caldecott banquet. Two great books this year, with two endlessly entertaining authors (and illustrator). With us at our table were the members of the Theodor Seuss Geisel Award committee. We thank you very sweetly.

But this is why we were so proud to be at ALA this year: Hello, Bumblebee Bat was the recipient of a Theodor Seuss Geisel Award Honor.



Posted by Donna