Who doesn’t love a good picture book? Whenever I’m interested in a topic, my first move is to explore the kids’ section of the library. It’s my favorite place to get a fun-to-read, visually stimulating overview of a broad topic like fashion, travel, events in history, and even food.
What are your favorite picture books? Either from growing up or your own reading habits?
A recent discovery of mine (speaking of food) is: How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World, by Marjorie Priceman (isn’t that a thrilling title?). We start with the problem: you want to bake an apple pie and you need to buy ingredients. But the grocery store is closed! Now what?
With a zest for flavor and unrelenting willingness to GO, this book whisks us along to an array of destinations where the world’s best sourcing can be done. Washington for apples. Africa for cinnamon bark. Wheat to make flour, chickens to lay eggs, etc. – they all entail a visit to a place.
Thusly inspired, I set out to design my own picture book. Minus the pictures (so far) but here’s the rough draft.
Enjoy! And if you’re creating a picture book on YOUR blog, I hope you’ll comment with the link…
(sample styles for nature illustrations)
Betty of the Trees
Betty and Barney are walking, walking, walking.
Past houses.
Past trees.
Past the corner where a man sells lemons and oranges.
“Where are we going?” asks Barney.
“On an adventure,” says Betty.
Up a hill, down a path.
Over a bridge.
Into…
[insert breathtaking panorama of a wooded hill with blue sky, fluffy clouds, and a variety of evergreens, oak trees and willows tangled around a dirt path]
“What is THIS place?” Barney asks.
“Come with me,” Betty says.
Over the green, green, green of the grassy floor.
Into the green, brown, gray of the tree trunks, leaves and needles.
Through the brown, brown, brown of the pinecones, dust and rocks.
Betty and Barney stop at the bottom of a tall, tall tree.
It has a strong, thick trunk.
Gnarled roots spread wide over the grassy ground.
A branch reaches over Betty’s head.
“Too high,” says Betty.
A brilliant golden green tree gets Barney’s attention.
Betty stops him, pointing to what looks like a ball of wool above his head.
“Beehive,” says Betty.
Two more trees:
One has thin, flimsy branches.
The other one has brittle, broken branches.
Then Barney spots it: the perfect tree.
This tree is tall.
This tree is beautiful.
This tree has strong branches full of life.
This tree is free of bees and wasps.
And this tree has a lot of branches that Barney can reach.
Betty nods, an excited smile creeping onto her face.
“Let’s do it,” says Betty.
Barney goes first.
Two hands on the tree trunk.
One foot on the lowest branch.
Then both feet – and Barney is in the tree!
“Find a branch as thick as your arm,” says Betty.
“I’ll be right behind you.”
Barney feels a little nervous.
But also excited.
Betty feels a little nervous too.
Together they climb. First one hand, then the other.
Next one foot, then the other.
Always holding onto the strong, strong limbs of the tree.
“How far should we go?” asks Barney.
“Tell me if you get tired,” says Betty.
“I’ll never get tired,” says Barney.
[insert panorama of the tops of the trees from Barney and Betty’s point of view, sitting on the limb of an oak tree and looking over the woods]
And he never does.
Traveling Screenwriter 