ReFoReMo Day 29: How Did You Win?

Which title are you claiming after this ReFoReMo experience?

Knowledge Winner? Reading Pro? Research Guru?

Whatever title you claim, we hope you'll agree that you are richer than you were before you began.

As the posts went live, we revealed a multitude of amazing giveaways from our generous presenters. The time has come to officially enter yourself in the prize drawing! We don't require you to show us your research notes or a list of the books you've read. We're on the honor system. If you read regularly, established a mentor text research habit, and commented on every post, you have an opportunity to enter the Rafflecopter below for the extra prizes.

You can review all the prizes by clicking the arrows/dots under the first prize name (Mentor Texts for Writers eBook). To keep things simple, we are not opening separate Rafflecopters for each prize. Just enter the drawing one time and you will be entered in the drawing for all of the prizes. We will award prizes in the same order as they are listed. We'll keep the Rafflecopter open through April 7, and strive to announce the winners by April 11. In the meantime, please grab your Winner's Badge below and post it on your blog, website, or social media. A special thank you goes out to our super talented resident illustrator, Lori Nawyn.

For those that are new to ReFoReMo, we are a year-round blog, posting every Tuesday. However, after this incredibly busy month, we will be taking a greatly needed blog break after the April 4 and 11th posts. We look forward to sharing with you regularly again in May.

But, before we go...



What revelations did you have during ReFoReMo 2017? Did you learn something awesome from a certain book? Did one particular post speak to you? What was your overall takeaway from ReFoReMo 2017?

If you have problems posting a comment below, please join us for wrap-up discussions in the Facebook Group.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

ReFoReMo Day 28: Thank You

by Carrie Charley Brown and Kirsti Call

You are part of the ReFoReMo family now. Let’s have a HUGE group hug!

Time for a curtain call… a bittersweet celebration of everyone that contributed to this great challenge. We can’t imagine what ReFoReMo would be like without our amazing guest presenters. Their valuable, varied perspectives and recommendations were priceless! They kept us inspired and energized! Thank you, thank you, thank you!  We encourage you to revisit their work and keep a watch on their achievements.  Consider doing an author study (or publisher study) on each of them!

Let’s hear it for this amazing team!



Wow! It’s incredible to see everyone here in one place. Encore! Encore!

Please give an extra standing ovation to our phenomenal Facebook group welcome captains, Janie Reinart and Keila Dawson. They welcomed you into the group, helped share ReFoReMo fever, and spread good discussion vibes.  Thank you, Janie and Keila!

And our challenge would be rather plain without our ReFoReMo character, created by Lori Nawyn, our resident illustrator. Lori's illustrations are so creative, diverse, and adorable! The Winner's Badge comes out tomorrow!

We would also like to thank you, too! The discussions were on fire this year! You didn’t hold back and you really opened yourselves up to one another in the group. It’s been so much fun getting to know you and we hope to see lots more of you.


ReFoReMo 2018 will be that much better because you are part of the family. We look forward to bringing you weekly posts until then, but we’ll need a bit of a break first. Whew!

We are so thankful for the additional prizes donated by our ReFoReMo presenters. Look for the Rafflecopter (prize drawing entry form) tomorrow!

ReFoReMo Day 27: Kirst Call and Carrie Charley Brown Explore Excellent Endings

By Kirsti Call and Carrie Charley Brown

     Your ReFoReMo Co-Coordinators

As the sun sets on ReFoReMo 2017, we’re not about to let the ending fall flat. The best endings roll around to the beginning and leave the reader with a craving for more. In 2016, we wrote a post on Bold Beginnings. Where there’s a beginning, there must be an ending, right? We’ll start you off with two examples, and let you explore the remaining mentor texts mentioned in our previous post.

Kirsti’s Pick: Mustache Baby by Bridget Heos (a ReFoReMo 2017 presenter) & Joy Ang  

Ending Style: The ending surprises and makes you wonder--a delightful ending that leaves you craving more.

Beginning: “When Baby Billy was born, his family noticed something odd.  He had a mustache.”

Ending: “‘There, there’  she said.  ‘Everybody has a bad mustache day now and then.’

‘Let’s dry your tears,’  his father said.  ‘The new neighbors have a baby who is your age.  He’s coming over to play.’ DING DONG.”  The last page is an illustration of a smiling Mustache Baby facing his new playmate, a baby with a beard!

When we compare the beginning with the ending, we see that it could be seen as a roll-around ending...starting and ending with facial hair. 

The ending is unexpected, yet perfect. The ending leaves me craving for more.  How will the playdate go? Will Mustache Baby like Beard Baby? When the second book (Mustache Baby Meets His Match) came out, I couldn’t wait to find out what happened with Mustache Baby and Beard Baby.  

Carrie’s Pick: The Monstore by Tara Lazar (a ReFoReMo 2015 presenter) & James Burks

Ending style: Ties the ending back to the beginning- A perfect roll around.

Beginning: “At the back of Frankensweet’s Candy Shoppe, under the last box of sour gumballs, there’s a trapdoor. Knock five times fast, hand over a bag of squirmy worms, and you can crawl inside… THE MONSTORE.”

Ending: “So now...at the back of their crooked old bike shed, under a box of rusty roller skates, there’s a trapdoor. Knock five times fast, hand over a bag of squirmy worms, and you can crawl inside… THE MONSTORE 2. Just remember: No returns. No exchanges.”

Comparing the beginning to the ending, it is easy to see how this ties together perfectly. It comes full circle! The contrast comes down to:

• Frankensweet’s Candy Shoppe vs their crooked old bike shed
• The last box of sour gumballs vs a box of rusty roller skates

The structure is familiar, yet fresh! And oh, so clever. Which creates immediate satisfaction. Then there’s the last line, “No returns. No exchanges.” which is used several times throughout the story. Knock out!

Take the time to compare and contrast beginnings and endings. Learn from those that satisfy. After reading and researching so much in just one month, we know you are exhausted. But we also hope you are craving more and ready to roll around to the beginning of a new, more informed chapter of your writing career. If you haven’t already, it’s time to turn your mentor text research to your work in progress.

• Where does your story fall flat? 
• What have you learned about writing from what you read this month? 
• And of course, how can you improve your ending and make it a surprise, yet inevitable?

As you keep reading new picture book releases, ask yourself these questions:

•  How do you see the market changing? 
• What remains ever true and consistent? 
• What trends are vanishing? 
• How do the newest releases tap into original concepts? 

Although ReFoReMo 2017 is coming to a close, your reading and research should carry you to new, educated heights.

We’ve got two more days of celebration ahead of us. Don’t miss gratitude tomorrow and prize entries on Friday!

ReFoReMo Day 25: Dr. Mira Reisberg Explores Anthropomorphism

By Dr. Mira Reisberg

Most of you know what anthropomorphism is, but for those of you who don't, anthropomorphizing is when the author or illustrator uses animals to stand in for humans and gives them human-like qualities. Anthropomorphic characters are race neutral and sometimes gender neutral, can lighten heavy messages, and don’t need parents. Kids love animal stories. Editors and agents are always looking for something fresh and new. Here are some anthropomorphic stories with fresh protagonists, plus one fun anti-anthropomorphic story that I’ll start with.



Sparky by Jenny Offill and Chris Appelhans where a sloth stays true to its real sloth-like self despite the desperate entreaties of his owner. Hilarious!

Doreen Cronin’s Diary of a Worm, Diary of a Fly, and Diary of a Spider series all illustrated by Harry Bliss.

Emily Gravett’s wonderful Meerkat Mail and one of my all time faves, Lyle, Lyle Crocodile by Bernard Waber.

And of course Mo Willem’s enduring pigeon character in the Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus series are just a few. See if you can find an unusual character to tell your story as Miranda Paul does in her upcoming Blobfish Throws a Party!

Mira is donating a free course! The winner choice of a Hero's Art Journey or Scrivener course or Writing Wonderful Character Driven Picture Books. Each of these courses are an incredible way to take your mentor text studies to the next level! To be eligible, please comment on this post and make efforts to read mentor text regularly.

Dr. Mira Reisberg is an editor and art director and a former children’s literary agent. She’s also the director of the Children’s Book Academy and will be co-teaching an extraordinary interactive Mastering Middle Grade Writing and Illustrating e-course for complete beginners to award-winners with Hollins University prof. Hillary Homzie starting Mon April 3rd right here http://bit.ly/1RiHEqz Mira’s passions (obsessions) include kid’s books, helping others get published, being creative and creating community. Join her mailing list to get a wonderful resource for plotting picture books with underlying themes right here http://bit.ly/CBA-Tribe-SignUp

ReFoReMo Day 24: Janie Reinart Unwraps a Reflection

Embed from Getty Images

ReFoReMo taught me to unwrap a picture book like a gift.

Let's use Helen's Big World by Doreen Rappaport as an example. Doreen weaves a story for us

filled with poetic writing and quotes.


1. The Wrapping/Book Jacket 

What draws your eyes to the cover ? What is happening?
                 
Where and when does it take place?

1. Soft Watercolor portrait. Title in Braille at top. Looks old fashioned.

Embed from Getty Image

2. The Tissue/ End Papers

 What do the end papers look like? What is the feeling or mood?

2. Joyfulness and hopefulness invite me in.
The quote suggests a positive focus.

2. The back paper is another invitation to practice the signs.

 3. The Gift/ Story

 What type of story structure does the plot follow? Circular, Linear, Parallel, Classic, etc?

 The first sentence of the story should draw you in.

 Helen gurgled and giggled in her crib.

 The last sentence should be satisfying. There should be a connection between the beginning and
 ending of the story.

She kept traveling and speaking, 

always saying what she thought was important, 

until she died at the age of eighty-seven.

I wear this gift of a story as inspiration for all the possibilities in a life time.

How do these three elements impact your mentor texts?

                                                                                                                                                               

Janie Reinart has worn many hats--educator, author, theater major, professional puppeteer, interactive musical storyteller, a clown hat in a hospital’s gentle clowning ministry, and a poet's beret at an inner city school helping children find their voice. She lives in Ohio with

her husband. She's always up for a game, a song, or dress-up. Ask her thirteen grandchildren.

ReFoReMo Day 23: Editor Yolanda Scott talks Fairy Tales with Diversity Twists

By Yolanda Scott

My local school district is 24% Asian, 22% Hispanic, 21% Black, and 29% White. So why are the vast majority of fairy tales offered to these students presenting white, European characters? The origins of the most common fairy tales are often the Brothers Grimm or Hans Christian Andersen, but surely we can do better with our Mirror, Mirror, on the Wall. Children today deserve many more options for what it means to be a hero, a princess, or a little girl visiting her grandma. And even in school districts less diverse than mine, students need windows into other cultures. Here are a few picture books that tell a slightly different tale.

1. Snow White, by Chloe Perkins, Illustrated by Misa Saburi 

2. Little Roja Riding Hood, by Susan Middleton Elye, Illustrated by Susan Guevara

3. Goldy Luck and the Three Pandas, by Natasha Yim, illustrated by Grace Zong

4. Beauty and the Beast, by H. Chuku Lee, Illustrated  by Pat Cummings

5. Little Red and the Very Hungry Lion, by Alex T. Smith

Yolanda is giving away a copy of Reading Picture Books with Children: How to Shake Up Storytime and Get Kids Talking About What They See, by Megan Dowd Lambert. With chapters on topics like trim size and orientation, jackets and covers, endpapers, typography, and more, this book is a must-have for anyone who wants to enhance their understanding of the picture book form and appreciate its visual components. To be eligible, please comment on this post and make efforts to read mentor text regularly.

Thank you Yolanda!

Yolanda Scott is the associate publisher and editorial director at Charlesbridge, where she has edited nearly 200 titles since 1995. She has worked with authors and illustrators such as Eve Bunting, Tony Johnston, Kathryn Lasky, Rafael López, David McPhail, Wendell Minor, Linda Sue Park, Duncan Tonatiuh, and Jane Yolen. She is a co-founder of Children’s Books Boston and a board member of the Children’s Book Council, where she has also served on the CBC Diversity Committee. www.charlesbridge.com Twitter: @yoscottbooks