And now what?

For the first time this year, I didn't read to kids on a Wednesday morning (oh, wait. There was one week off for Spring vacation. Ignore that week, please). You'd think that means I got to sleep in, but as fate would have it I woke up startlingly early and, believe it or not, cleaned my desk as opposed to using that as a mid-day procrastination.

I decided to use the now-free reading time to think about all the best picture books I'd read this year, to see what I could learn (again) for my own writing. I'd definitely say I learned that there were some wicked good ideas I wish I'd had. But I also (yet again) came back to the importance of word choice, the way the best picture books have art and text that work together as more than the sum of their parts, and the fact that when push comes to shove, I love "funny." Yeah, I know. You're shocked about that last one.

I also did that overview for another reason: to sum up my thinking before taking a wee break from picture books. You see The 14 Fabulous Fibs isn't going to be a picture book. Even though the same writing lessons apply across the board, I didn't want to focus too much on any one mode of thinking. Besides, now all that good stuff is percolating in my brain and... hmmm... that reminds me that it's time for a cup of coffee, so I gotta book.