ReFoReMo Day 5: Susanna Leonard Hill Begs for the Reread

by Susanna Leonard Hill

New Email from Carrie:  Susanna, I’ve invented this awesome challenge for PB writers – Reading For Research Month.  Will you be an author-educator?

Reply Email from Susanna: Sure.

Inside Susanna’s head: Holy #$%^$! What on earth will I say?

(I may have paraphrased a bit.  Especially that last part- Ha!)

Author-educator?  Reading For Research?  It sounds so serious and weighty… and a little like homework… which I am not at all good at!

Which brings me to a little confession. I don’t have a “system” for studying mentor texts.  I know – shocking and unbelievable!  It’s okay.  I’ll take myself to the time-out corner.

But while I’m over here, reflecting on the error of my ways, I’ll tell you what I do (if I’m allowed to talk in time-out)

I choose a picture book.  Sometimes the choice is based on buzz I’ve heard or a review I’ve read, but usually it’s pretty random, based on availability or a good title or cover.

I read the picture book from cover to cover.  I have a reaction.

Sometimes I love it.  I’m amazed by the author’s skill at creating character, or manipulating emotion, or crafting a surprise ending.  I wish I’d thought of the concept myself, or had the ability to write such a book.  If I love the book, I file it away in my mind for future reference.  If I happen to remember it for longer than a week (given the sieve-like nature of my brain these days) that is an excellent indication that it’s truly a quality book.  If that is the case, it tends to have an inspiring effect.

Other times I feel “meh” (alas, not the reaction every writer dreams of evoking in their readership!)

And every now and again I find myself wondering who was in charge the day that book got published.

Basically, I’m less of an analyzer and more of a gut-reaction evaluator.  And hey, look at that!  If I’d put Step 1, Step 2, and Step 3, it would have looked like a system and I wouldn’t have had to endure time-out!

So how, you may ask, is this helpful?  Well, I’ll tell you.  Other author-educators in this series are sure to address such elements as character, story arc, hooks, theme, language, format, emotion, action, rhyme, endings, and a host of other things we writer-types like to discuss, all of them important.

But I’m going to talk about something else – something that draws on ALL those things together – the global element that gut-reaction evaluation is perfect for:  re-readability.

Now don’t say that’s not a word!  It is too!  My agent uses it all the time, as in “Susanna, that manuscript you just sent me is a one-time read.  It needs re-readability.”  Possibly she made it up.  But it’s a good word and an even better concept.

Re-readability is the element that all truly great picture books have – they make you want to read them again, and again, and again.

And again.

So what makes a book re-readable?  What do you need to look for in your reading research, and how can you get re-readability in your manuscripts?

The answer to that, to some degree, is it will be different for every writer, every story, and every reader.  That might sound bad.  After all, if it’s so changeable, how can you identify it and make sure you have it?  But it’s actually a good thing because it allows for a wide range of stories and styles – different strokes for different folks.

What it ultimately comes down to is a lot of the elements mentioned above.  Here are some of the biggies you can look for as you read, and try to incorporate as you write:

1.     Character:  There’s something about a knowable, believable, relatable character that makes you want to climb into the book with them.  They feel like friends.  We want to spend time with them.  Look at I Am Cow: Hear Me Moo (Nadine is a ringleader, a little boastful and overconfident, a little reluctant to admit when she’s wrong, and quite willing to let others believe what they want J), Sophie’s Squash (Sophie is delightful and sweet in her devotion and commitment to a squash), Betty Bunny Loves Chocolate Cake (Betty Bunny is a handful J), and Z Is For Moose (there’s no one like Moose!) for examples of well done characters that make us want to share their stories over and over. 

Try writing characters kids will want to hang out with.

2.     Theme:  A universal childhood theme can reel us right in because we’ve been there!  We know what that feels like!  We have struggled with wanting to assert our independence when we’re not quite ready to be on our own. We have longed to be babied when we’re old enough not to be. We have been wounded by injustice, and suffered being misunderstood.  We have cried because we felt unloved, and rejoiced because we felt important.  A picture book with a strong theme, such as Penguin And Pinecone (when you give love, it grows), Extraordinary Jane (everyone has something to offer), or The Most Magnificent Thing (working through frustration leads to accomplishment), makes us feel connected, and that feeling of connection pulls us back to read again.  We are not alone.

Try including a meaningful theme.

3.     Language: lyrical language that sings off the page is a delight to read and to listen to.  Rollicking rhyme is fun!  Onomatopoeia gives us the opportunity to play with sound, both as writers and readers.  A book like Blue On Blue mimics the rhythm of rain.  Red Sings From Treetops is simply beautiful in its evocative language.  A book like Toucan Can, Cock-A-Doodle Oops!, or A Leaf Can Be is so much fun to read that no sooner do you finish, you want to start again

Try taking the time to make your language irresistible.

4.     Mood/Emotion:  A book that evokes a strong mood or emotion – peace, disappointment, humor – will beg to be read.  Kids are drawn to books that can either conjure a mood they desire (humor so they can laugh, peace so they can unwind) or articulate a mood they feel (anger, disappointment, fear.)  Take a look at Betty Bunny Loves Chocolate Cake (temper tantrum, humor), Blue On Blue (fear/calm), The Most Magnificent Thing (frustration/anger), and This Is A Moose (humor).

Try using mood to your advantage.

5.     Ending: endings that make us laugh, or put a lump in our throats, or make us say, “Aw!” are all winners, as are endings that surprise us, or send us back to the beginning or encourage us to think beyond the book.  The effectiveness of the ending is strongly tied to mood – a good ending can really enhance the mood and vice versa.  A book that finishes well makes us want the experience again, and so we read… See The Bear Ate Your Sandwich (surprising, funny, unreliable narrator), Extraordinary Jane (sweet, “aw!” ending), Maple (another sweet, “aw!” ending), Sophie’s Squash (okay, I’ve got to stop with the sweet endings! J)

Look for ways to make your endings strong.

Any of these things, or a combination of them, can put re-readability in your manuscript.  (You’ll note that a bunch of those titles showed up repeatedly.)  As a reader, you will know as soon as you finish the book whether it has re-readability by the fact that… you want to read it again!   If you’re the analytical type you can identify what it is in that story that made it so strong.

As a writer, it’s a little harder.  We all tend to love our own work.  But if you’re honest with yourself – really honest – you know when your writing is just going through the motions and when it’s really working.  Pay attention to the stuff that’s really working.

So as you’re writing, ask yourself: is this story strong enough, appealing enough, compelling enough to make kids want to read it over and over and over?  If the answer is no, look for ways to take it up a few notches.

Look for what will make kids say, “Read it again!”

Titles/Traits Cited In This Post (for ease of reference while reading):

• A Leaf Can Be by Laura Purdie Salas (2012) (language)

• Betty Bunny Loves Chocolate Cake by Michael Kaplan (2011) (character, theme, mood (temper tantrum, humor))

• Blue On Blue  by Dianne White (2014) (language, mood (fear/calm)

• Cock-a-Doodle Oops! by Lori Degman (2014) (language, mood (humor))

• Extraordinary Jane by Hannah E. Harrison (2014) (theme, ending)

• I Am Cow, Hear Me Moo by Jill Esbaum (2014) (character, mood (humor))

• Maple by Lori Nichols (2014) (theme, ending)

• Penguin And Pinecone by Salina Yoon (2012) (character, theme, ending)

• Red Sings From Treetops by Joyce Sidman (2009) (language)

• Sophie’s Squash by Pat Zietlow Miller (2013) (character, theme, ending)

• The Bear Ate Your Sandwich by Julia Sarcone-Roach (2015) (mood (humor), ending)

• The Most Magnificent Thing by Ashley Spires (2014) (mood (frustration/anger), theme)

• This Is A Moose by Richard T. Morris (2014) (character, mood (humor), theme)

• Toucan Can by Juliette MacIver (2014) (language)

• Z Is For Moose by Kelly Bingham (2012) (character, theme, mood (humor), ending)

Prize Alert
Susanna is giving away one Making Picture Book Magic Course to take place June or later!  To be eligible at the conclusion of ReFoReMo, you must be fully registered between February 15-March 1, read consistently, keep good records, and comment on this post.

Susanna is the award winning author of nearly a dozen 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), and Not Yet, Rose (a Gold Mom's Choice Award Winner.)  Her newest book, Alphabedtime!, is forthcoming from Nancy Paulsen Books, an imprint of Penguin Books, in Summer 2016.  She teaches an online picture book writing class – Making Picture Book Magic – offers picture book critiques, and does frequent school and library visits.  She lives in New York's Mid-Hudson Valley with her husband, children, and two rescue dogs.
Follow her at http://susannahill.blogspot.com