This is Just a Test

My life seems to be experiencing a test of the Emergency Broadcast System.

I have so many things going on right now, I just can't seem to keep up! Of course, family comes first. Then writing. Those two responsibilities are demanding all of my time and attention right now. Plus the baby goat keeps escaping and jumping on the car! And our bees keep swarming and we have to chase the swarms down and capture them! And, well, you get the picture. I just keep telling myself that having so many demands on my time is only a test. (Insert annoying Emergency Broadcast System noise here!)

So, I'm going to have to postpone my Monster List post for now. I do have some news to share with you all soon so...

Betty Bunny Loves Chocolate Cake--and I Love Betty Bunny!

My friend Stella recommended a book she'd heard about at the SCBWI New Jersey conference. She said it was hilarious. So, of course, I had to check it out. I was not disappointed. BETTY BUNNY LOVES CHOCOLATE CAKE is laugh out loud funny!

Michael B. Kaplan wrote some amazing lines in this book. From beginning to end, I have laughed every time I've read BETTY BUNNY LOVES CHOCOLATE CAKE. And I've read it quite a few times. In the beginning Betty Bunny doesn't even know what chocolate cake is. The way she refuses the cake then falls in love with it is quite entertaining. When she announces her love of cake, her brothers and sisters have the greatest comebacks. Every scene in the book has some little joke in it that is bound to entertain.

One thing I definitely noticed about this story, besides it being so funny, is that each character in this book is well rounded and has their own personality. There's a lot going on in such a short amount of text. Stéphane Jorisch's illustrations are playful and add just the right touch of comedy. With the sweet story and fabulous use of humor, there's at least one agent who would love to find a picture book like it.

A question I tried to answer by reading the book to various children is, do they get the humor? Some of it seems more for the adults reading to the kids. We can see the way kids act and the caricature rings so true. I mean, I crack up when I read it, while my little one laughs at some of the jokes. Before reading the book my guy did not know what a handful was, even though he is one. But he knows now. Nothing wrong with learning a new word (and that you're a handful). For sure different jokes tickled different kids' funny bones. It's kind of like what you see in movies like CARS and THE INCREDIBLES. Jokes for the adults as well as the kids. I like that it's a picture book that will appeal to adult readers. Any way we can encourage adults to read to kids is a good thing!

BETTY BUNNY LOVES CHOCOLATE CAKE is written by Michael B. Kaplan, illustrated by Stéphane Jorisch, and published by Dial Books for Young Readers.

Monster List of Picture Book Agents -- Jennifer Unter, The Unter Agency

There isn't a lot of information on Jennifer Unter and The Unter Agency that I can find online. But from the few picture book writers that she does represent it seems that Jennifer Unter is an agent picture book writers should consider.

There's a great, recent interview with Jennifer Unter at Mother. Write. (Repeat.)

Her New Agent Alert on Guide to Literary Agents from January 2010 tells a little bit about Jennifer's background.

There's an informative interview with Jennifer from when she was VP of RLR Associates Literary Division at Absolute Write.

The Unter Agency website has a bit of information about the agency and a submission form.

Jennifer Unter represents Sue Fliess and Barbara Bottner.





This post is part of the Monster List of Picture Book Agents. If you have any changes that you think should be made to this listing, please contact me or leave them in the comments. Thanks!

Things that take time...

Sometime last fall, my husband and I decided that we should start doing some farming, so we planted some garlic...

The garlic is growing well so far.

Then we got some alpacas. They are happy out in their pasture.

Next we decided we should keep some bees. We had to have them down in town for a while because it was so cold and snowy up here on the mountain for so long, but they're home now. It's nice to sit and listen to the buzz of the bees.

Then we got three lambs. They were so tiny they could ride in the back of the car.

We plowed up some field. The whole family got in on it. Don't worry, the tractor goes like two miles an hour.

We even managed to get a herd of goats--sorry, they wouldn't pose for me.

So now we've got wheat planted.

And oats.

The lambs are getting big....

So there is a lot going on around here while we wait for things to grow. (I didn't even get a photo of my garden!) But I'm patient--I'm a writer after all. Plus I have lots of new inspirations all around. I just need to wander outside and sit in the grass. I hope that you take the time to find some summer inspiration too. I'd love to hear about what you find!

MY DAD, MY HERO by Ethan Long

Dads can be heroes... but maybe not in the superhero type of way. In MY DAD, MY HERO, Ethan Long shows us the ways one boy's dad is like a superhero. Not!

So dad has his own way of leaping tall buildings, his super strength is lacking, and shooting webs out of his wrists is pretty impossible. Why is dad still super and why is he a hero? Well, he might be able to see through walls, but the real reasons are the ones all kids can identify with.

The illustrations in MY DAD, MY HERO are funny! And they're done in a style that makes them jump off the page which adds to the comic feel of the story. It's a fun read for Father's Day--or anytime. Reading this one definitely makes me want to check out Ethan Long's other books! And I love ZE FRONK!!!

Pimpin' my Peep!

If you live in the Bay Area, tomorrow you must drop everything and get yourself to Walnut Creek to see the stupendously amazing Mike Jung! He's going to talk about how to not be a pinhead. He will also have some stuff about building an online presence before a book deal. Okay, that's mostly what it's about. Probably. But maybe not. I hear there is going to be heckling, and heckling by proxy, so who cares what it's about right? Anyway, Mike's debut novel, GEEKS, GIRLS & SECRET IDENTITIES, is under contract with Arthur A. Levine Books and he already has a multitude of adoring fans so no matter what genre you write in Mike will have some great advice to share.

Mike will stun the world with his awesomeness from 2-4pm at:

St. Paul's Episcopal Church
1924 Trinity Avenue
Walnut Creek, CA 94596

*If you do go, I am in dire need of a proxy confetti thrower!!!  Just bring a big bag of confetti and shower Mike with it at inappropriate times. Heckling with tiny pieces of paper! You could write tiny notes to Mike on it too--okay maybe that's pushing it. See Mike's blog for proxy and event details!

Monster List of Picture Book Agents--Stephen Fraser, Jennifer De Chiara Lit

Casey McCormick has done a great Agent Spotlight on Stephen Fraser at Literary Rambles that encompasses most of the great stuff you can find about Stephen Fraser online, but I wanted to add Mr. Fraser to the Monster List since he represents picture books and sounds like a great agent to work with. I found a few recent and interesting posts that you also won't want to miss.

There's a current, in depth interview with Mr. Fraser at Humor Me. I would highly recommend reading it if you're interested in querying Mr. Fraser. He says he adores picture books!

Stephanie Theban shared some conference notes at Stories. Read 'em. Write'em.

There's also a good interview at Joyce Shor Johnson's blog.

You can find submission guidelines for Stephen Fraser at the Jennifer De Chiara Literary Agency.


This post is part of the Monster List of Picture Book Agents. If you have any changes that you think should be made to this listing, please contact me or leave them in the comments. Thanks!