Book Giveaway: FROM HERE TO THERE by Vivian KirkField

Vivian Kirkfield has written a new middle grade non-fiction book, FROM HERE TO THERE, illustrated by Gilbert Food and published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Books for Young Readers. It is available for pre-order and is coming out on January 19th. They have 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 other things you do to share the good news, so I can put the right amount of tickets in my basket for you.

Sharing on Facebook, Twitter or reblogging really helps spread the word for a new book. So, thanks for helping Vivian and Gilbert.

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:

Celebrating the invention of vehicles, this collective biography tells the inspiring stories of the visionaries who changed the way we move across air, water, and land. Perfect for fans of Mistakes that Worked and Girls Think of Everything.

In a time when people believed flying was impossible, Joseph and Etienne Montgolfier proved that the sky wasn’t the limit. When most thought horseback was the only way to race, Bertha and Karl Benz fired up their engines. From the invention of the bicycle and the passenger steam locomotive, to the first liquid-fuel propelled rocket and industrial robot, inventors across the world have redefined travel. Filled with informative sidebars and colorful illustrations, this collective biography tells the story of the experiments, failures, and successes of visionaries who changed the way the world moves.

BOOK JOURNEY: FROM HERE TO THERE

Thank you so much for the opportunity to be on your blog, Kathy. I’m excited to be celebrating the launch of my newest book, a nine-story compilation of nonfiction picture book biographies, illustrated by the brilliant Gilbert Ford and published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. And it’s definitely been a journey…FROM HERE TO THERE.

WRITING JOURNEY:

This writing journey for this book checks all the boxes of an adventure of a lifetime. It started in 2016. My sister mentioned that a friend of a friend was the granddaughter of someone famous. My ears perked up because I’m always ready for a story. It turns out that in 1905, a young Swedish immigrant arrived in New York City with only $60 in his pocket. He worked as a logger and then as a miner, and finally he opened a car dealership, but when he couldn’t sell even one car from his showroom, he bought it himself and started a shuttle service. Driving miners from the town to the mine for 15 cents a ride or 25 cents for a round trip was so popular, Eric had to stretch the car by cutting it and adding extra seating…but even that wasn’t enough. So, he built a bus! And then another. And another. And the Greyhound Bus Company was born.

That felt like such a great story to me. I did some research and was able to speak with the granddaughter who was extremely helpful. When the story was ready, my agent sent it out on submission – and in the summer of 2017, the amazing Ann Rider at HMH let us know she loved it. However, she had a concern because Eric Wickman is pretty unknown and she wondered if the bus was a popular enough vehicle to merit a stand-alone picture book. Would I be willing to write a few more narrative nonfiction bios about inventors of other things that go?

PUBLICATION JOURNEY:

And this is where the writing journey merges with the publication journey. When an editor asks if me if I can do something…I almost always say YES! Here’s my original email to her.

And here are some ideas for the other three or four things that go, but I am open to any ideas you have and can research and write on any topic you prefer.

COMPUTER-DESIGNED SUBMARINE: of great interest because it gives the collection some diversity (Raye Montague is an African-American woman, one of the hidden figures, not of NASA as portrayed in the movie, but of the Navy during the 1950’s).

SKATEBOARD: originally created by surfers in California to use when stormy oceans prevented them from riding the waves. They screwed roller skate wheels onto their boards and surfed the city streets. And in 2020, skateboarding will debut as an official sport of the Tokyo Olympics.

HOT AIR BALLOON: has a fabulous aha moment and was invented by two brothers working together as a team – the creative genius with ADHD, and the practical scientist who kept the project on point. (I wrote this as a stand-alone picture book, but can tighten it for the compilation).

CAR: might never have left the workshop of Karl Benz if not for his wife’s secret plan to promote the car by taking the kids on a road trip to grandma’s house. (there is a stand-alone picture book coming out in October from Charlesbridge)

We decided against the skateboard and moved forward with the others. Over the next few months, I researched and wrote. In October, Ann decided that instead of targeting Grades K-2, we were going to gear the stories to Grades 3-6. In addition, she suggested we change the title to THINGS THAT MOVE so that we could include robotics. By December, I had a better idea of what I wanted to do and had already written a few of the stories although I still didn’t know how many stories there would be. I reached out to Ann again with a list that included the train, bike, hot-air balloon, robot, car, and submarine.

At this point, Ann let me know that she really wanted 7-10 stories…and she definitely wanted one about the rocket. I felt we needed more diversity as well – and I suggested doing a story about the folding wheelchair, which opened doors for mobility-challenged individuals. She loved that idea!

The editor wanted all the stories to have the same structure as the BUS story and include:

1. Engaging opening lines.
2. Child main character who has a dream/goal.
3. AH-HA moment.
4. Fun language/great rhythm/excellent pacing.
5. Legacy paragraph that shows how the invention impacts us today.
6. Satisfying ending that echoes the opening lines.

The biggest challenge was finding certain pieces of information…the AH-HA moment and childhood incidents…those took a huge amount of digging. And sometimes I had an inventor chosen, but had to pick a different one because I couldn’t find those pertinent pieces of information. For each visionary, I wrote a rough draft and revised and then gave the manuscript to one of my critique groups. While they read that one, I moved on to the next story. When I received feedback on a previous manuscript, I’d revise that. Working with a short deadline can be stressful…but it can also give you clarity in knowing what needs to be done. And somehow, with the help of my amazing critique partners who were always ready to look at a new draft or a revised one, I did it!

The editor requested the manuscripts be delivered to her inbox by May 1^st. After that, she brought on Gilbert Ford as illustrator. Ann had given me the link to his website and I was thrilled – I knew he was the perfect artist to bring these stories to life. While he worked on the project, copyeditors and factcheckers went through each page, each line, each word of the manuscript, even making sure links in the bibliography were correct. It was such a good feeling to know that the HMH team was working together to create the best book possible – a book I hope will spark the curiosity of young readers and perhaps inspire those children to embark on new journeys of their own.

VIVIAN’S BIO:

Writer for children—reader forever…that’s Vivian Kirkfield in five words. Her bucket list contains many more than five words – but she’s already checked off skydiving, parasailing, banana-boat riding, and visiting critique buddies all around the world. When she isn’t looking for ways to fall from the sky or sink under the water, she can be found writing picture books in the picturesque town of Bedford, New Hampshire. A retired kindergarten teacher with a masters in Early Childhood Education, Vivian inspires budding writers during classroom visits and shares insights with aspiring authors at conferences and on her blog where she hosts the #50PreciousWords International Writing Contest and the #50PreciousWordsforKids Challenge.

She is the author many picture books including Sweet Dreams, Sarah (Creston Books); Making Their Voices Heard: The Inspiring Friendship of Ella Fitzgerald and Marilyn Monroe (Little Bee Books); From Here to There: Inventions That Changed the Way the World Moves (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) and the upcoming Pedal, Balance, Steer: Annie Londonderry, First Woman to Bike Around The World (Calkins Creek/Boyds Mills & Kane, Spring 2023).You can connect with her on her website, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, Linkedin, or just about any place people with picture books are found.

GILBERT FORD’S BIO:

Gilbert Ford holds a BFA in illustration from Pratt Institute and an MFA in writing for children and young adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts. He is the author and illustrator of The Marvelous Thing That Came from a Spring, named a Best STEM Book of 2017, and has illustrated many middle grade jackets, as well as the award-winning picture book Mr. Ferris and His Wheel. He lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. Visit him online at GilbertFord.com.

Vivian, thank you for sharing your book and journey with us. This 96 page book is jam packed with interesting fun information that will capture the interest of children, teachers, and adults. Gilberts illustrations add the finishing touch to make this a standout winner. Good luck with the book.

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy