Book Giveaway: TRAVEL GUIDE FOR MONSTERS by Lori Degman

Lori Degman has a new picture book, TRAVEL GUIDE FOR MONSTERS, illustrated by Dave Szalay and published by Sleeping Bear Press. Lori has agreed to share a copy with one lucky winner. All you have to do to get in the running is leave a comment. Reblog, tweet, or talk about it on Facebook with a link and you will get additional chances to win. Just let me know the other things you do to share the good news, so I can put in the right amount of tickets in my basket for you.

Sharing on Facebook, Twitter, reblogging really helps spread the word for a new book. Thanks for helping Lori and Dave, especially at this stressful time when authors and illustrators need to promote their books completely online.

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. Thanks!

BOOK DESCRIPTION:

Taking your monster on a road trip this summer? Or letting your favorite beast tag along on a family beach vacation? Wherever you and your monster are traveling, Travel Guide for Monsters is full of essential tips to help you both enjoy the sights from coast to coast–and avoid monster-related mishaps.

BOOK JOURNEY:

Thanks for letting me share the story behind the creation of Travel Guide For Monsters! I owe a huge thanks to Colin Jack, the illustrator of my first book, 1 Zany Zoo, for the story idea! In January 2012, Colin asked if I could write a story about how to teach manners to monsters on different types of public transportation. I tried to come up with something, but I didn’t like any of my drafts. I apologized to Colin and put the story idea aside.

Then, in February 2013, I thought about it again and it occurred to me that the story might work if I focused on the different locations, rather than the types of transportation. With that in mind, I wrote the first stanza, “When traveling with monsters on a trip across the nation/ this guide will give you tips to have a marvelous vacation.” Then I made a list of popular tourist attractions around the country and came up with funny tips you’d give your monster at each of them. I wrote two-line stanzas for each of thirteen locations. The first stanza I wrote, for San Francisco, remained unchanged from the first draft: “While riding on a cable car, your monster should be cautious
/ The ups and downs of Frisco hills can make a monster nauseous!” Most of the stanzas remained the same throughout the editing, with a few tweaks here and there to improve word choice and meter.

After writing the first draft, I put it aside because I was also working on other manuscripts and my second book, Cock-a-Doodle Oops!, was under contract and I was busy with that. I didn’t work on it again until 2015, when I shared it with my critique group and they all agreed it was ready to submit. I did a little more polishing and submitted it to an editor I’d met at our annual SCBWI conference. He rejected it and again I put the manuscript aside.

I didn’t submit it again until January 2018. I sent it to the editors of my books, Just Read & Like A Girl at Sterling, and Norbert’s Big Dream at Sleeping Bear Press. Sarah Rockett, at Sleeping Bear, brought it to acquisitions in April and then made an official offer in June. After it was under contract, Sarah suggested I make changes to the Chicago, New York City and Niagara Falls stanzas.

For the Chicago stanza, I first wrote about the hot summers there. I changed it to a stanza about riding the elevated train and then again to one about the museums –but neither of those weren’t quite right either. I finally wrote about a Cubs game at Wrigley Field: “When you’re in the windy city, you can catch a baseball game / and try to find the “kiss cam” for your 15 seconds’ fame.”

For the New York City stanza, I first wrote about a monster climbing the Empire State Building – like King Kong. I changed the location to the Statue of Liberty: “If you visit Lady Liberty and tour her mighty crown / your monster may get dizzy, so remind him, “Don’t look down!””

The Niagara Falls stanza was the hardest to rewrite. I finally came up with one that Sarah and I both loved: “When checking out a waterfall, you monster must behave / don’t let him use a boogey board to ride it like a wave.”

Another change Sarah suggested, which I absolutely love – and am sorry I didn’t think of it myself in the first place, was to make the president (in the Washington DC stanza) a woman!

Luckily for me, they chose Dave Szalay to illustrate the book! He is so talented and I love all of his illustrations! I especially love the end pages, which he made look like a scrapbook, and the map at the end, which shows the Monsters’ travel route!

Thanks again, Kathy, for letting me share the story behind the story of Travel Guide For Monsters!

LORI’S BIO:

Lori Degman writes in rhyme, most of the time – but not always! She is the author of the award-winning picture books 1 Zany Zoo, Cock-a-Doodle Oops!, Just Read, and other books for children. Lori was a teacher of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing and has a Masters Degree in Early Childhood Education.

She is a frequent presenter at schools and conferences and lives near Chicago with her family. Visit her at www.Loridegman.com.

DAVE SZALAY’S BIO:

Dave Szalay is an author, award winning illustrator/designer based in Richfield, Ohio where he lives with his wife Krista and three cats. He is the illustrator of The Superlative A. Lincoln, The True Story of Zippy Chippy, and Travel Guide for Monsters.

Dave is represented by Christy Ewers at The CAT Agency and his clients include Sleeping Bear Press, Charlesbridge, North-South (NordSüd, Zurich), Simon and Schuster, Pearson, McGraw-Hill, Harcourt-Mifflin, Cricket Media,  Highlights, and Jimmy Patterson at Little Brown. He is a Professor at The University of Akron and his work can be found in national editorial, advertising, and communications media. Dave’s work has been recognized and awarded in many advertising and illustration competitions, including one of the SCBWI National Portfolio Showcase Honor Awards in 2018, 3 x 3, Creative Quarterly, The American Advertising Federation, and Highlights Pewter Award.

His whimsical images are created in a vintage picture book-inspired technique using digital drawing and painting methods.  www.daveszalay.com

Dave Szalay: https://kathytemean.wordpress.com/2017/09/02/illustrator-saturday-david-szalay/

Lori, Thank you for sharing your book and its journey with us. I love the whole idea of this book, then Dave brought your fun idea to life. kids’s will love this book! Gook Luck!

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy