Research!

Last week I got the chance to visit a Scholatic Book Sale Event. All the books for sale were 50% off their cover price!

You know that feeling you get when kids are playing with a toy? Maybe with a barbie doll for example — my personal favorite? Sometimes they ask you, “will you play with me?” Secretly on the inside you’re ecstatic, even if all you out say out loud is, “sure.” It’s fun to get the opportunity to let loose and be a kid again. That’s how I felt at the book sale. I enjoyed picking my books out lovingly. I will also be able to use them as “research” for my writing. I am looking forward to sitting and enjoying them from the comfort of my own home.

One of my purchases was Good Night, Gorilla by Peggy Rathmann, which is actually referenced in Eve Bine Stock’s How to Write a Children’s Picture Book: Learning from The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, Corduroy, Where the Wild Things Are, The Carrot Seed, Good Night, Gorilla, Sylvester and the Magic Pebble, and Other Favorite Stories. Stock’s book is the first in a series of three that teaches aspiring picture book writers how to structure their books.  I am delighted to have a copy of Goodnight, Gorilla that I can go back to again and again.

Another of my finds was the The Strange Case of Origami Yoda. This is a story that I always hear children talking about, mainly boys but some girls as well. At the end of the book you can find instructions on how to make your own origami yoda. I was definitely intrigued and am curious to read this story.

I also found a picture book that had two stories in one ~ What Sisters Do Best/What Brothers Do Best.

One of the golden rules for any writer is to “read, read, read” in your genre, which I highly agree with. I now have several new books to study, analyze, and enjoy!

I love this kind of research! Don’t you?