Book Giveaway – WHO’S WRITING THIS STORY?! by Robin Newman

Robin Newman has a new picture book, WHO’S WRITING THIS STORY?!, illustrated by Deborah Zemke and published by Creston Books today. Robin has agreed to send a copy with one lucky winner.

To enter, leave a comment. Reblog, tweet, or discuss it on Facebook with a link for additional chances to win. Let me know what else you do to share the good news so I can put the right number of tickets in my basket for you.

Sharing on Facebook, Twitter, or reblogging helps spread the word about a new book. So, thanks for helping Robin and Deborah.

If you have signed up to follow my blog and receive it every day, please let me know when you leave a comment, and I will give you an extra ticket. Thanks!

BOOK DESCRIPTION:

Have you ever wondered who’s the real boss of a story? The writer or the characters who live to tell the tale? Or both together? Follow the Three Little Pigs and the Big Bad Wolf as they argue with the writer over what kind of story to tell.

Will the hero become the villain? Find out in this fun introduction to the essential components of all great stories.

BOOK JOURNEY:

WHO’S WRITING THIS STORY?! started with a horrible case of writer’s block. The kind of writer’s block that makes you want to move to Australia and requires multiple sittings of staring at a blank computer screen with a pint of coffee chip ice cream, smothered in whipped cream and chocolate syrup, served with a large side of feeling sorry for myself. It was not a pretty sight.

At some point, I came to my senses, stepped away from my computer, and revisited my old notes and stories. (It’s a good thing that I’m horribly disorganized and never throw anything away.) That’s when I stumbled upon some fractured fairy tales I had written. And one of them was about the Three Little Pigs and Big Bad Wolf objecting to a writer’s retelling of their story.

I’ve always loved working on fractured fairy tales. For me, they’re like my mom’s chicken soup —a familiar dose of childhood penicillin that’s perfect for healing a stuck writer.

While working and reworking the story, it became clear the story needed some kind of hook. To be honest, I’m not sure how and when this hit me, but I started focusing on basic story elements (sometimes it helps to go back to the beginning)—character, setting, plot, conflict, and resolution. And that seemed to be the magic the story needed to get sold.

After a gazillion revisions, Marissa Moss’s editorial genius, and Deborah Zemke’s adorable art, WHO’S WRITING THIS STORY?! was finally ready.

WHO’S WRITING THIS STORY?! flies into libraries and bookstores TODAY!!! (Not pictured is yours truly doing a happy dance.)

If you would like personalized copies and some super cool swag (if I do say so myself), please order from Books of Wonder.

Voilà, the link:

Who's Writing This Story?

And if you happen to be in New York on May 11^th, please stop by Books of Wonder for the WHO’S WRITING THIS STORY?! launch party. There will be storytime, crafts, cupcakes, and of course, the super cool swag I previously mentioned.

And last, but not least, please be sure to check out the awesome trailer created by Giulia Bavagnoli.

To learn more about Giulia, visit: https://giulia-b.com/

ROBIN NEWMAN BIO:

Raised in New York and Paris, Robin Newman is a graduate of Bryn Mawr College and the City University of New York School of Law.

She was a practicing attorney and legal editor, but she now prefers to write about witches, mice, pigs, and peacocks. Author of the award-winning Wilcox & Griswold Mystery Series, as well as several picture books, she’s a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, National Writing Project’s Writers Council, Bank Street Writers Lab, PEN America (CYAB), and Read Alliance’s Advisory Council. She lives in New York with her husband, son, and two spoiled dogs. For more information, please visit www.robinnewmanbooks.com.

DEBORAH ZEMKE BIO:

Deborah Zemke has written and/or illustrated more than 50 books for young readers, including the acclaimed Bea Garcia chapter book series and the wildly successful Doodles drawing series.

She loves putting words and pictures together to tell stories for younger readers. These include picture books, chapter books, drawing books, early readers, and humor books.

Deborah has worked with publishers such as Penguin/Dial Books, Creston Books, Blue Apple Books, Ranger Rick magazine, Dutton Children’s Books, Grosset & Dunlap, Handprint Books, Houghton Mifflin, Andrews McMeel, Scholastic/Children’s Press, Sterling Publishing, and Workman Publishing.

She grew up drawing, dreaming, reading, and climbing trees near Detroit, Michigan. Many years later, she does the same in Columbia, Missouri. You can visit her website at www.deborahzemke.com.

Robin, thank you for sharing your book and journey with us. OMG! This book is hilarious! It was so clever having the three little pigs jump in and rewrite their story. I laughed hard as each pig jumps in telling the writer what they don’t like about the story. Anyone who writes anything and shares their writing will relate with the poor writer who has to deal with the ideas of the three pigs and then the big bad wolf jumps in and tells her how to change it. If that wasn’t funny enough, Deborah’s illustration of the writer looks like Robin. So much fun.

When the wolf declares he doesn’t want to be the ANTAGONIST, he wants to be the PROTAGONIST, I clapped knowing Robin just opened the door for teachers and parents to love her book. The writer’s eyes widen and she says, “Look! A story has five basic elements,” and pulls out a poster for CHARACTERS, SETTING, PLOT, CONFLICT, and RESOLUTION. Deborah’s illustrations make this learning fun with the character’s actions and expressions. This is when I knew Kids would enjoy this book as much as I was.

The three pigs and Wolfie decide the writer is the weak link. The writer tries to hold on even as they take off and fly away in an airplane saying it was a weak character that had to go. The illustrations change to bright graphic comic colors, and they decide to scrap the setting since it is so uncreative. They added lots of plot twists, conflict, and excitement and ended with a lovely resolution and one perfect illustration vignette that shows a theatre screen that says, “Written by” and shows each little pig and the wolf  with their arms out wide like they are taking a bow and the writing is giving them a standing ovation saying “Bravo.” What a great ending to a very funny book that readers of all ages will love. Great job writer and illustrator working together.

Good Luck with the book.

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy