New York Times
bestselling author Deborah Underwood didn’t always write children’s books. She wrote greeting cards, screenplays,
worked as a typist, and a street musician. Perhaps it’s no coincidence Underwood
created a main character with so many different occupational interests in her Here Comes Cat series.
A look inside her books explains why Underwood's stories are so well loved.
Character Development, Escalation, Resolution
Cat is a lovable, grumpy
childlike protagonist. Those of us who share our lives with a fickle feline friend
are especially amused by how well Underwood captures a cat’s distinctive
personality. The idea of giving Cat a sign with pictures to communicate with
the narrator is unique and hilarious. The resolution in each story not only
makes readers laugh, but beg to know more of what Cat will do next. The latest
in this series, Here Comes
Teacher Cat, releases next month.
Character, Conflict, Obstacles
In a story, the author creates a character and gives them a problem to overcome. Obstacles are thrown in to create tension. The right mix makes a story meaningful to a child. In A Balloon for Isabel, a porcupine + balloons in school = trouble
In Underwood’s latest release
Super Saurus Saves Kindergarten, a new student + first day in kindergarten =
anxiety
Concept Books, Emotional Resonance, Re-readability
When a quiet book sells
in market overflowing with non-quiet books, and it becomes a New York Times
bestseller, there has to be something extra special about it. In The
Quiet Book, Underwood and illustrator Renata Liwska tap into all
the feels. In this book, you can find all kinds of quiet that evoke emotion,
from serious to funny, and for all ages such as “Lollipop quiet”, Right before you yell “SURPRISE!” quiet,” “Best
friends don’t need to talk quiet”, “What
flashlight? quiet” .
Bad Bye, Good Bye takes the reader on an emotional journey with a child who is moving to another town. "Bad truck/Bad guy", "Bad wave/Bad bye"
Interstellar Cinderella is an old fairy tale retold into a new modern fairy tale. This
Cinderella is decisive and determined and a heroine. Well done! Underwood
created fun words like zoombroom, and godrobot for her story set in space. Good Night, Baddies is a bedtime story. Through gentle lyrical rhyme Underwood
explores the softer side of baddies, villains from numerous folk and fairy tales,
after a day of causing mayhem. "Sun dips down; the
day has gone. / Witches, wolves, and giants yawn. / Queen and dragon, troll and
gnome: / tired baddies head for home."
In addition to fiction
picture books, Underwood writes non-fiction books, content for educational
publishers, chapter books, and has published articles, poems, and stories in
magazines such as National Geographic, Pockets, Ladybug and Spider.
When looking for mentor texts to study, there's a lot for writers to learn from Deborah Underwood's diverse and extensive body of work.
Happy reading!
Happy reading!
I love Deborah's work! She has a unique viewpoint that always seems to shine through her stories. Cat is one of my favorite characters.
ReplyDeleteLove that cat character! I have a feline friend and Deborah nails that personality. LOL!
DeleteHey, Keila, what a great study. I guess I was u aware of how vast her "library" of books is. Love the CAT series & INTERSTELLAR CINDERELLA. Going to dig in and read the whole swath when I return. TY for a great post.
ReplyDeleteWelcome Kathy! Isn't it amazing how versatile a writer Deborah is? Must to study, much to learn indeed.
DeleteDeborah's books are on my bookshelf. Thank you for sharing her diverse work with us.
ReplyDeleteShe has quite a collection. I didn't know she had a chapter book series with Whoopi Goldberg!
DeleteI love all of Deborah's books! Great post. Sharing!
ReplyDeleteDeborah's books are wonderful. I'm heading to the library in a few to look for more.
ReplyDeleteThanks!
I can wait to read Teacher Cat...it's on the way. :)
DeleteShe is a wizard with words. And I am a big cat lover, so the CAT books are some of my favorites. Informative post. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by. I have a feline friend too and she nails that cat personality, doesn't she?
DeleteGreat summary on Deborah's pbs. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteThanks Tina!
DeleteThanks so much to Keila for featuring my work, and to all of you for your lovely comments!
ReplyDeleteOne favor...keep writing!
DeleteGladly! :)
DeleteDeborah's books are amazing mentor texts--love them too!
ReplyDelete:)
DeleteMany of my favorite picture books!
ReplyDeleteSo many!
Delete