2024 Picture Books Read #151-200

Thank you to all of the talented picture book imaginators for sharing their whimsical creations with us!

Congratulatory hi-fives to the following book for earning, in my humble writer/reader’s opinion, the honor of being a Five Star Book!

• There’s a Giraffe in My Soup  by Ross Burach [, 2016] A boy orders a bowl of soup but instead is treated to a myriad of mishaps involving a menagerie of animals in this hilarious restaurant and zoo mixup.

2024 Picture Books Read #101-150

Thank you to all of the talented picture book imaginators for sharing their whimsical creations with us!

Congratulatory hi-fives to the following book for earning, in my humble writer/reader’s opinion, the honor of being a Five Star Book!

• How to Make a Friend written by Stephen W. Martin, illustrated by Olivia Aserr [Clarion Books, 2021] A clever look at a child engineering a robot friend.
• Pirasaurs! written by Josh Funk, illustrated by Michael H. Slack [Orchard Books, 2016] A genius and humorous juxtaposition of all things pirates and dinosaurs.
• Chicks Rule! written by Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen, illustrated by Renée Kurilla [Abrams Books for Young Readers, 2019] Cute yet empowering.
• My Pet Feet written by Josh Funk, illustrated by Billy Yong [Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2022] A fun concept book exploring what happens when the letter R is missing but in the vein of a narrative story.

2024 Picture Books Read #51-100

Thank you to all of the talented picture book imaginators for sharing their whimsical creations with us!

Congratulatory hi-fives to the following book for earning, in my humble writer/reader’s opinion, the honor of being a Five Star Book!

• Fluffy McWhiskers Cuteness Explosion written by Stephen W. Martin, and illustrated by Dan Tavis [Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2021] Hilariously simple yet fun story. Death never looked so colorful!

2023 Picture Books Read #1-#50

Thank you to all of the talented picture book imaginators for sharing their whimsical creations with us!

StoryStorm 2019: May Bountiful Ideas Rain Upon Us

StoryStorm, the brainchild of creative picture book penner Tara Lazar, is an inspiring challenge to writers of all inclinations to create 30 individual ideas for a story/plot/concept/book throughout the month of January. To further motivate, Lazar’s site provides a daily insightful guest blog from fellow writers/illustrators.

StoryStorm is the evolution of Picture Book Idea Month (PiBoIdMo), which centered exclusively on picture book ideas, and occurred during the hectic month of November (it clashed with National Novel Writing Month). Registration is free, just make sure to post a comment with your name on the registration post, and then you’ll be able to win a slew of cool kid lit related prizes, permitting you post a comment on each inspiration guest post. Be sure to also subscribe so your inbox will be filled with daily inspiration.

Both incarnations are widely popular with thousands of published and aspiring authors as well as classrooms of students participating to develop routine muse-filled habits while embracing their inner creator. In 2018, I decided to continue on my own with PiBoIdMo in November, but am also happy and encouraged to creatively ride out the ‘Storm in 2019!

I’m already one idea in with Wood You?, a meta picture book response to deforestation and both the liberal and conservative stances on protecting the earth’s trees. Think of it as the Lorax, but less furry and more direct and analytical. I certainly need to work on my pitches, as that book (from what I just wrote) sounds AWFUL!!!! 🙂

Bring on the Ideas: 2014 PiBoIdMo

It’s that time of year again!

Now that we’ve filled our mouths with Halloween candy, allow that sweet sugar to muse our brains with 30 delicious ideas for picture books. If you haven’t already, please sign-up for the 6th Annual Picture Book Idea Month hosted by the lovely Tara Lazar. On a personal note, for the second year in a row, my 9th grade English honors students will participate for extra credit. I hope to share their creative ideas with you in the future!

2013 PiBoIdMo

While fall is cooling our bodies as winter prepares to visit, allow Tara Lazar’s Picture Book Idea Month to warm your creative soul!

CraveWriting has participated for the past three years and looks forward to awakening from a dormant period of children’s book writing hibernation. We strongly encourage all imaginators to participate by visiting TaraLazar.com and creating 30 original picture book ideas during the month of November.

Happy imagining everyone!

IMAGICISE: Zootastic

Answer the call of the wild, well a caged wild, in this zoopendous imagicise! This session is all about enhancing your creative discovery while frolicking through a zoonderful world.

For those wishing to ‘tone’ their creative muscles, simply spend 5 minutes on each prompt. For those ‘bulking up’, spend an additional 5 minutes writing or follow the specific instructions with each prompt.

* For further directions on ‘Imagicise’ click here.

SAYING GOODBYE – TILL DEATH DO US WRITE

• Day 1: Human Habitat

  A world renowned zoo has decided to add a human habitat. You’ve been hired as the chief designer. You’re responsible for a main enclosure and four individual unisex indoor spaces. Describe your plans and explain the rationale behind your design.

• Day 2: Speed Mating

  Quickly write down 8 animal species. It’s time to imagine that these animals will be participating in a animal version of speed dating. Using the 8 animals you listed, make 4 pairs. For each pair write a 2 minute dialogue on what each animal may say during their brief “date” session. This is a great exercise for those wishing to hone their dialogue writing skills.

• Day 3: Name that Zoo

  A benefactor in your city has decided to open a new zoo. Though the city already has a zoo, and an original name must be devised for the new zoological park. Create a list of possible names. Examples: Wildlife World, Magical Menagerie, Animal Gardens. For those bulking up, select five of the names and write slogans for each one.

• Day 4: Fantastical Menagerie

  You’re the curator of a magical zoo. It’s full of extinct, mythical, and just plain weird animals. What animals will be in your collection? Feel free to experiment and mix and match different animals. Example could include: dodo birds; unicorns; Blue Flamingo, a pink flamingo injected with blue poison dart frogs to give it blue feathers; Horny Hippos, a hippopotamus with rhinoceros horns. For those bulking up, describe the enclosures for three of the animals.

• Day 5: Escape Plan

  List three of your favorite animals. Now select one of them. Pretend that you are a member of this species and  currently reside in a zoo. However, the zookeeper forget to lock the cage door. You’ve escaped. Where will you go, what will you do? For those bulking up, devise another ‘escape plan’ for another animal species.

  
  

IMAGICISE: Saying Goodbye

Prepare yourself for this emotionally jarring and tear invoking week of imagicises. Goodbye is a dangerous word, as we never know if another hello will be uttered. This session is all about exploring death while preparing ourselves to say farewell.

For those wishing to ‘tone’ their creative muscles, simply spend 5 minutes on each prompt. For those ‘bulking up’, spend an additional 5 minutes writing or follow the specific instructions with each prompt.

* For further directions on ‘Imagicise’ click here.

SAYING GOODBYE – TILL DEATH DO US WRITE

• Day 1: Bon Voice Mail

  List five people from your life, that you cherish. Consider the possibility that you will never see them again, and your message on their voicemail is the last thing they will hear before their untimely demise. What do you wish you would have said. Please keep in mind you can’t tip them off about their impending doom. Write the message for each of the five people. As a bonus, if the situation was reverse, what do you wish each of the five had said in their final voice mails.

• Day 2: Original Goodbye

  It’s fun (depending on who you are) to break down words and to guess their origins. Farewell probably came from “fair/do well,” while “take care” is the shortened form of “take care of yourself.” Now pretend you are a government endorsed linguist and it’s your time to shine some new light on everyday expressions. Consequently, create a slew of new words or phrases for goodbye. They can be completely original, based on other languages, inside jokes, or abbreviated forms of existing words or phrases. For example, “break it” could be used as an abbreviated form of “go break a leg.” This is a difficult imagicise for some, and you not know where to begin. To aid the process, think of a variety of characters or personalities and imagine if they had their own way of saying goodbye what would it be? For instance, a irate taxi drive won’t say “farewell.” What would a high strung hair stylist, or a retired mob boss say? Here is a sampling of the possibilities: dayo, boodles, to infinity, until dinner, funbe.

• Day 3: Reverse Pirating

  List your 5 most prized possessions. The bad news is, the time has come to tell them “bon voyage.” The good news is, you get to choose their next destination and owner. For example, who gets your diamond ring, the Xbox 360, and your Adam West autographed batman cape. However, you can not choose family or close friends. Where and/or who do you choose, and why?

• Day 4: Putting the Fun in Funeral

  This may be difficult for some and enjoyable for others. You’ve been warned. You’re in the funeral business, but the business side is taking a turn for the worst due to stiff competition from Wal-Mart opening its own funeral parlor. It’s up to you to save the day by coming up with unique and innovative ways to say goodbye to a loved one. Be sure to think outside the coffin box. For example, perhaps the corpse is given a ride on a roller coaster that soars underground staying buried. Maybe, the funeral parlor can relocate to a beachside location and offer viking funerals where the recently deceased is cremated in custom built boats set aflame and sent out to sea. Death is a touchy subject, but as a writer you’ll have to deal with it from all angles, so practice escaping your preconceived notions, and feelings on death.

• Day 5: Fictional Tombstones

  Make a T-Chart (self-explanatory) with a left and right column. In the left column, for 1-2 minutes, list your favorite fictional characters from cartoons, movies, comics, and/or literature. In the right column, for 1-2 minutes, list fictional villains you despise. Now choose 3 to 5 favorites in the left column and 3-5 of your least favorites from the right column. Next, for each one, pen the words that should appear on their tombstone. Optional: Compare and contrast the tombstones from the left and right columns. Were you bias, or were you able to remain objective and pen beautiful words for both columns?

  
  

IMAGICISE: YUCK!

Get pumped for this gut wrenching week of imagicises, or you may have to get your stomach pumped. This session is all about exploring the nasty, ooiest, and gooiest the world has to offer.

For those wishing to ‘tone’ their creative muscles, simply spend 5 minutes on each prompt. For those ‘bulking up’, spend an additional 5 minutes writing or follow the specific instructions with each prompt.

* For further directions on ‘Imagicise’ click here.

YUCK!

• Day 1: Gross Thesaurus

  List as many synonyms for gross as you think of. Examples include eww, disgusting, nasty, yuck, and icky. Brainstorm for a minimum of five minutes. Next, spend five additional minutes inventing your own words for “gross.” For instance: bugly, toejamish, “oh litter,” GWB, and budget.

• Day 2: Smelly House

  An amusement park is developing a new twist on the classic haunted house. Introducing the “Smelly House,” a haunted house exclusively for your olfactory senses. Plan out the “scary features” of this attraction by listing the nastiest, most vile smells on earth. Make sure to continue listing for 5 minutes. For those who wish continue, list a plethora of a wonderful smells for a “Tunnel of Love: Aroma Therapy” ride.

• Day 3: Horrid Hybrids: Barely Edible Combinations

  If, “Beauty is in the eye of the holder,” than “deliciousness is in the eye of the eater.” In your lifetime, you’ve surely come across some less than flattering dishes. Now is your chance to become a master chef. Devise a menu full of the most hurl inducing items. Let your creativity flow, combine whatever your stomach doesn’t desire. Feel free to add combinations from a celery smoothie to a kitty litter corn dog.

• Day 4: Fart Flavors

  You are the acting CEO of the Bottled Farts Inc. and it’s up to you save the company from losing out on major sales to still competition. Brainstorm ideas on new fart fragrances and their catchy names. Examples include: Mountain Ewww, Sweet Southern Belch, and Dr. Gasser. If you have extra time, choose one of the ideas and write a slogan and/or a 30 second radio advertisement.

• Day 5: Icky Names

  Have you ever kissed a girl named Mildred Backwater, or hugged a man named Fungus Ficklebrew. There’s a reason for that. It’s the same reason you’ve never checked into the Stenchtrap Hotel. The names alone are vile enough to keep a parade length distance. It’s your turn to create the yuckiest of names and titles. Brainstorm names for people, schools, stores, cities, countries and whatever else is on your mind.