And the Winners Are...

It's Monday and time for me to announce the winners of my picture book critique giveaway! I used RandomPicker to randomly choose my winners because the old fashioned way of cutting up strips of paper seemed unfair. I always hate it when some people's strips would get larger or smaller and then I'd probably choose the largest. SO everyone was on equal footing here!

Here are the five and I know some of you, so I'm very excited to see your work!



Cindy B.

Aodle

Ruth Shiffman

Sue Frye

Melissa Payne

Congratulations! Just email me at pam@pamcalvert.com, attaching your picture book manuscript or you can paste it at the end of the email--whatever is easiest for you. I will get back to you with my critique this week.

Thank you to all who participated. I'm very excited to restart this blog and focus on picture books. There aren't enough blogs out there for picture book writers (when compared to say...YA!) and I feel more is always best. If you'd like to start following, just click the follow button at the top. My new postings won't start until June when the blog is finished, but I'll be starting off with a bang--author interviews and listing of picture book agents, so you won't want to miss out.

Happy writing!

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Woven With Pixie Dust is getting a new look!

Win a free picture book critique!

Oh, about two years ago, I made a New Year's resolution to revamp my blog. Two years came and went and then the spiderwebs and dust accumulated around here and well...

Yeah. My blog is in desperate need of a spring cleaning.

SOOO...I've hired Designer Blogs to redo the look. That will be coming in June.

Along with this new look, there will be new material aimed at picture book writers. If you are an aspiring picture book writer, I will be giving away five free picture book critiques. All you will have to do is sign your name at the bottom of this post, and I'll put your name in a drawing. Once you receive the critique, I'll just ask you to link my blog when the new design is finished. That's it!

My new blog will have picture book tips and tricks, interviews of picture book authors, and a few random insider secrets about school visits, marketing, etc. I'm also hearing about new opportunities for writers in the app world and let me tell you, it's exciting!

I will also list agents who represent picture book authors. This list is very tiny, but I will be posting on how a picture book writer can snag an agent and what it takes to do this seemingly impossible task.

PLEASE NOTE: This contest is over. To view the winners, click here: Picture Book Critique Giveaway!

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Multiplying Menace--A Scholastic Book!

When I set out to write math books, I read all I could. The top publishers producing these types of books were my publisher, Charlesbridge, with their brilliant math adventure line, Stuart Murphy, and of course, the great Marilyn Burns. I'd talked with another math author at the time when I was about to send out my manuscript--she told me to contact her publisher (Scholastic's Math Solutions by Marilyn Burns). They really liked Multiplying Menace, but it wasn't quite right for their line. I sent it off to Charlesbridge, and the rest is history.

But what's very interesting is that Multiplying Menace is now a Marilyn Burns book being licensed by Scholastic, and I'm very happy to announce this! It is online in the collection here for 5th graders: Math Reads.

It will also be in the Scholastic Book Clubs catalog.

You just never know--a rejection letter doesn't always mean no. Multiplying Menace proves it.

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Picture Books that inspired the young me...

The other day I was at the library, researching picture books for my next manuscript. Always, I have my idea, I write it then I go see what's in the marketplace that might be similar. I really don't want to redo something that's already been done. I've gotten into trouble by not checking out books that could be similar to mine...SO!

I noticed a book I'd been looking for since I started on this writing journey. I couldn't think of the name but remember the images vividly from my childhood (back in the 70's). This book is entitled, The Big Tidy Up, by Norah Smaridge. After perusing the rhyming text, it most decidely has a moral--Jennifer's room is a big mess! Mom lets her drown in her own mess until at the end, Jennifer decides she better clean up her act.

What transfixed me the most was the artwork done by Les Gray. It was a Golden Book, which is not surprising since my family wasn't rich and all of my books came from the grocery store. I doubt I'd ever entered a bookstore until I was an adult!

Although this book probably couldn't get published today (the moral is way too overt), it's one of those books that brings back heartwarming memories to me. I'm thrilled I found it! (And it's very PINK!)

Here are some of my favorite inside pages:

Jennifer in her state of MESS! (notice the desheveled hair!)

Here's Jennifer all cleaned up. I loved how the illustrator made her match. I, too, liked wearing dresses at the time (I was four) and matching hair ribbons. I never owned a pair of shoes like these, but I slipped into Jennifer's world whenever I'd read this.















Do you have a favorite childhood book?

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Another cute-ism from a school visit!

I just got back from another week of visits. :-) Kids are the BEST!

And to go along with the holidays, I thought I'd share this cute-ism. When I start my program, I always ask kids what they want to be when they grow up. This varies from grade to grade, but the kindergarten and 1st grades are always funny. Usually, what one says, all the rest will mimic. "I want to be a firefighter!" And then I'll get ten more firefighters.

This time, one kid said, "I want to be one of those people who stand outside and ring the bell."

I said, "You mean, like the Salvation Army people for Christmas?"

His face brightened and he pointed at me. "Yes!"

And then I got a bunch of kids wanting to be bell ringers when they grow up. CUTE!

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