Nancy and Cecilia let me have input on the art right from the start. Illustrator Dana Wulfekotte came on board in April 2018 and her fabulous illustrations brought the story to life. I soon signed with Erica and accepted the offer from Nancy Paulsen Books.
They’d loved my story!Ī few days later I had an offer from Nancy Paulsen Books, a follow-up email from Scholastic, and I was in correspondence with Agent Erica. My flights home were delayed and then cancelled and I ended up spending the night at the airport, but it didn’t matter. Ken Geist, Vice President and Publisher at Scholastic also expressed interest.
Before I left the workshop, the agent, Erica Rand Silverman of Stimola Literary Studio, slipped me a note: Email me! The art director, Cecilia Yung of Penguin Random House, said she would show the text to Nancy Paulsen of Nancy Paulsen Books. Instead, they loved it! All three of them! I was blown away. When I presented the story to the panel, I had my paper and pen ready to write down all the things they’d inevitably say needed to be improved. Then we’d present the story to a panel consisting of an editor, agent, and art director. The concept of the workshop was that participants would get feedback from peers and faculty. So I dug through my million and one old stories and submitted SQUISH SQUASH SQUISHED. In 2017, I applied to the Super Children’s Book Boot Camp with Pat Cummings and Denise Fleming at the Highlights Foundation. Initially I was rejected for the workshop, but they asked if I had another story I’d like to use for my application. After many rejections I put the story away. I first wrote SQUISH SQUASH SQUISHED 20 years ago. Thankfully, Mom keeps driving–and after everyone’s dropped off and it’s time to hustle-bustle home, Max and Molly are happy to stretch out in the back seat of their suddenly gracious-spacious automobile. When Max and Molly can’t stop complaining about being squished in the back seat of the car, their clever mom knows exactly what to do–offer rides to their animal friends, who are happy to pile in and come along! As the back seat fills up with a wiggly piglet, two flitting ducklings, and three woofing puppies, soon Max and Molly are not only squished–they’re SQUISH SQUASH SQUISHED! So when they notice Mom slowing down to wave at Scooter Mooter and his calves, Max and Molly don’t say a word–they hush-mush. Thanks!Ī pair of kids learn what it is really like to be squished together during one hilarious and eventful car ride! If you have signed up to follow my blog and it is delivered to you everyday, please let me know when you leave a comment and I will give you an extra ticket. Sharing on Facebook, Twitter or reblogging really helps spread the word for a new book. Just let me know other things you do to share the good news, so I can put the right amount of tickets in my basket for you.
Reblog, tweet, or talk about it on Facebook with a link and you will get additional chances to win. Rebecca Kraft Rector is helping us celebrate the holidays by sharing her picture book, SQUISH SQUASH SQUISHED illustrated by Dana Wulfekotte and published by Nancy Paulsen Books with one lucky winner living in the United States.Īll you have to do to get in the running is leave a comment.