Picture Book

“Crafting Multi-dimensional Characters”

When I visit schools, part of my presentation includes a character sketch activity with students. Not only is it fun and interactive, but building a character forms the basis on which the rest of your story revolves around. Even with an intriguing plot, you still need a dynamic character to follow. Someone you can relate to and root for. We all know the cliches: the princess, the knight, the dragon. But sometimes it’s good to mix it up a little. The princess knight or, better yet, the princess dragon is far more interesting.

This concept works well with my new picture book, Yasuko and the Dream Eater, which is inspired by a Japanese legend about the dream eater, who eats bad dreams when called 3 times. What makes this character so unusual is that traditionally it is made up of five different animals. It has the head and trunk of an elephant, the eyes and ears of a rhino, the tail of an ox, the arms and legs of a tiger, and the belly of a bear. It also has a curly mane that looks like a lion, although it isn’t part lion. Some kids think it is part unicorn, because the mane has blue and pink colors shimmering within it.

We talk about culture and diversity, and how having multiple backgrounds makes you unique. Just like my main character, Yasuko, is both Japanese and American, the dream eater is made up of many different animals.  And just like a character can be a cat or a dog or a mouse, it could also be made up of all these animals, which would be unique indeed! In the story, Yasuko feels different when visiting her grandmother in Japan. Making the origami crane is not the same as making paper airplanes at home in America. She also misses her goodnight hug from her parents. In Japan, family members often pat children on the head to show affection rather than offer a hug at bedtime. By the end, Yasuko learns that she can connect to her grandmother in other ways, and that clasping hands together can also feel like a tiny hug. So with our own stories, we can seek to not only show how our characters are unique but why that makes them special.

Try this with your students: Using a large pad of paper or wipe board, ask your students to name 5 creatures (including animals, mythical beings, robots, aliens, etc.) List those on the board, then talk about at least one defining trait for each. Then it is your turn (or perhaps another student can volunteer) to make up a new animal or creature based on all 5 listed. This is where it gets interesting! But kids love to see the results. They can also each draw one on their own. Or for younger children, you can provide puzzle piece cutouts of different animals, split in 3 pieces. Children can take turns making new, mixed up animals, by rearranging the animal parts.

Take it one step further: You can also talk about the basic elements of story. Students often ask me where to start when writing. All they really need to know is who their character is, what they want, and what gets in the way. You can often accomplish this by establishing what your character’s interests are as well as what scares them. One group of students said their character, who looked like a dust bunny, liked to play with Barbies but was afraid of cheese. Now this may sound silly, but the basis of many great stories starts with asking the question, What if? What if the dust bunny wanted to play with her Barbies, but a hunk of sharp cheddar cheese left by a mouse was guarding the dolls. How can she surpass the obstacle to get what she wants?

Creating dynamic characters goes beyond physical traits. They can have brown hair and blue eyes or blue hair and brown eyes, but we also need to know their personality. That is where learning their likes and dislikes comes in, as well as how they behave and why. It’s especially important to move beyond the cliché. You can have a main character who wants to be in the talent show, but the villain or antagonist is a bully preventing them from joining. What if you turned it around and made the main character the bully instead? Or try giving your character two opposing qualities that they are battling with throughout the book. We can go back to the princess knight who wants to fight dragons but also wear fancy dresses. Maybe she isn’t allowed to go to the ball unless she puts down her sword and forgoes her helmet. Or the dragon princess who isn’t accepted because she’s green and has scales and doesn’t fit the stereotypical look of what a princess should be. This would form an internal struggle as well as an external struggle. Just like Yasuko in my book, how can your characters learn to accept both parts of themselves?

I think the key is to teach kids that we’re all basically complex characters in our own lives. And none of us wants to be judged, liked, or disliked based on just one trait. So if we create more interesting and complex characters in our stories, we’ll be representing a more diverse and realistic picture of the world. The more intriguing and unique our characters are, the more fascinating their stories will be, and the more likely readers will want to turn pages to find out what happens to them. Especially because the stories we read can help us learn something about our own lives and how to move about and thrive in a complex world.

GIVEAWAY!

A. Kidd author would be delighted to give away one copy of her new book, Yasuko and the Dream Eater. To participate, simply leave a comment on this blog post and a contact email. One lucky winner will be chosen at random. You must reside in the US.

Published April 11th, 2023 by Quiet Storm Publishing

About the Book: Yasuko has the same bad dream every night while visiting her grandmother in Japan, so her grandmother suggests she call the dream eater for help. When the dream eater is still hungry after devouring Yasuko’s nightmare, Yasuko must stop it from gobbling up her good dream too.

Inspired by a Japanese legend, Yasuko and the Dream Eater will help kids dealing with nightmares as well as celebrate what it means to be part of a bicultural family. The book is fully illustrated and includes an author’s note, cultural note, and instructions for making origami.

About the Author: A. Kidd lives in the US but has travelled to Japan many times to visit family and for sightseeing. Japan feels like her second home. Although she dreams often, she hasn’t needed to call the baku yet. She is also the author of the middle grade fantasy, The Healing Star.

A. Kidd is available for author visits! For more information, please email her at a.kiddwrites@gmail.com or visit her website at www.akiddwrites.com. She loves to inspire young writers. Her motto is, if A. Kidd can do it, so can they!

Thank you for this fun activity, examples, and the GIVEAWAY!

“How to Read a Horse””

My picture book IF YOU WANT TO RIDE A HORSE is about the dream of riding a
horse. It’s also about writing one. I am a rider and a writer. (If you say them aloud they sound alike!)

I’ve been writing and riding—and dreaming!—since I was kid. Writing and riding both are rich in metaphor. Whether one wants to ride a horse or not, IF YOU WANT TO RIDE A HORSE can be read as a book about dream making of all kinds.

What do you want to do? What’s your dream? Name it, call it into being.
What does your dream look like? Imagine it, the big stuff and all the pretty little details.

This is the fun part. Write it down and/or draw it. Tell it to someone you trust. What do you need for your dream? Learn about it, ask for help, gather all the tack and tools.

Take care of your dream. Shelter it, feed it, groom it ‘till it shines. How do you keep your dream alive? How do you care for it?

Where does your dream live? Where is it? How will you get there? What is the first
step?

Dreams are hard work. You might have to chase after it, wrangle it, tame it a bit, find the right fit. With grace and grit you’ll wear it.

Okay, it’s time to give this dream a try. Are you ready?

Show up. This is the hard part. Facing your thousand-pound dream. What are you
feeling? Is your heart galloping? It’s natural to feel many things all at once, even—and
maybe especially—fear. What do you fear most? Failing? Falling off? You are not alone.

If you fall off your dream, and you might, will you walk away, hang up your hat? Or will you get back in the saddle, bruised butt and ego, take hold of the reins again and ride on?

Whatever you dream, be brave. Calm. Remember to breathe and have fun! You can do this. Before you know it, you will have your dream eating out of the palm of your hand.

Published March 12th, 2024 by Neal Porter Books/Holiday House

About the Book: What’s the most important first step to riding a horse? Simply closing your eyes . . . and dreaming.

If You Want to Ride a Horse introduces young readers to the joys of owning, riding, and caring for horses. It only starts with imagination—from there, the possibilities are endless.

Beginning with a daydream, our young rider goes from dreaming about a horse, choosing their ideal kind of horse, meeting their horse, cleaning their horse, tacking up in preparation to ride, soothing their horse (and themselves) through a hard moment, triumphantly getting on, and finally galloping gloriously off into the sunset.

If You Want to Ride a Horse celebrates the imagination, the most powerful steed of all.

The book includes an author’s note, an illustrator’s note, and fun facts about horses and horseback riding.

About the Author: Amy Novesky’s award-winning picture books include IF YOU WANT TO RIDE A HORSE; GIRL ON A MOTORCYCLE; and CLOTH LULLABY, THE WOVEN LIFE OF LOUISE BOURGEOIS. THE POET AND THE BEES will follow in 2025 and TO WANDER, thereafter. Amy writes and rides in the Marin Headlands, just north of San Francisco. To learn more, visit www.amynovesky.com and follow @amynovesky.

Thank you, Amy, for sharing the power of dreams!

“The Plant Rescuer and Following Dad’s Footsteps”

I have a close relationship with my father, and I grew up watching him tend the yard. Whether it was mowing the lawn, pulling apart clumps of irises, or delicately staking his jalapeño plants, my dad has a knack for gardening. Unfortunately, I didn’t inherit his skills. As an adult, I love to garden, and it’s become my passion. However, it’s taken a lot of hard work and perseverance. My backyard garden is a source of pride. I grow black-eyed Susans, hollyhocks, poppies, cosmos, dahlias, and a host of other flowering plants. I continuously learn through tips I’ve picked up from blogs, books I’ve found in my local bookstores, and of course, the library.

Growing up, my parents believed in giving me enough space to figure stuff out on my own. As a child, I spent Saturday’s pouring through stacks of books I’d find in my local library. Whether it was learning how to bake cakes from scratch, or figuring out how to raise chickens, the library was my go-to for discovery and learning. In THE PLANT RESCUER, I wanted Manny’s experience with problem-solving to reflect that of my own. Some have asked why Manny couldn’t research on a computer, like some children today. I like to point out that Manny’s family doesn’t own a computer. Besides, he loves the experience of going to the library with Nana.

THE PLANT RESCUER, isn’t entirely biographical. It’s a pastiche of childhood experiences coupled with a discussion I had with a gardener while living in Los Angeles. The gardener shared how he was working hard to send his child to college. My father wasn’t a professional gardener, but he worked a lot, which included graveyard shifts. Similarly, my dad was a hard-working parent that didn’t have a lot of time. This is why Manny feels it’s important to figure things out for himself, and frets over how to bring his ‘amigo’ back to life. The fretting part of the story is most-definitely autobiographical.

To this day, I’ll share gardening frustrations with my dad, and he’s always quick to point out that he mostly learned through a lifetime of trial and error. Unfortunately over the years, I’ve had to toss plenty of my own errors in the compost bin. Regardless of how frustrated I get, I remember the advice my dad once shared with me, it’s the act of gardening where we need to find joy. Getting the fennel to reach seven feet tall, or the pothos to wrap around the living room is icing on the cake.

Published May 21st, 2024 by Neal Porter Books

About the Book: Manny harnesses love, determination, and a visit to the library to care for his first plant and make his gardener father proud.

Manny comes from a long line of gardeners, and to him, the greatest gardener of all is his dad. Dad always knows what plants need. Even with no yard to garden in, he tends their small apartment into a lush jungle.

One day, the time comes for Manny to get his very own first plant! Dad trusts Manny to care for his new amigo, and Manny is determined to rise to the challenge. But watching Dad’s masterful work isn’t the same as knowing everything he knows, and Manny’s amigo keeps wilting, no matter what he tries! Dad would know what to do, but this is Manny’s plant, and he wants to be the one to save it.

Luckily, before his new amigo, Manny had another friend: the library! A day of research and a stack of books gets him back on track in no time. Manny’s plant grows bigger and bigger, until his room overflows with beautiful, healthy leaves, plentiful enough for Dad to share cuttings with the whole neighborhood. Now Manny can proudly say that he is the youngest in a long line of gardeners.

Longtime illustrator Matthew Rivera makes his authorial debut with a story that will warm every green-thumbed heart. Any child with an older role model whose shoes they dream of growing into will delight in Manny’s success and his zest for independent trial-and-error.

A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection

About the Author: Matthew Rivera grew up in Arizona, and worked for many years as an art director for agencies, large corporations and toy companies. He now lives in Portland, Oregon and is an author and illustrator of books for children. He can be found working at his desk with a large cup of coffee, while Mavis, his pet rabbit, yanks his shoelaces for extra greens.

Thank you, Matthew, for sharing this wonderful dad story with us on Father’s Day!