Happy Perfect Picture Book Friday, dear friends! Every new book is special…but this one is extra special to me because #50PreciousWords is part of its story and author Kelly Rice Schmitt shares what happened:
KELLY: I Ship really began with what will be the second book in the series, which unfortunately isn’t announced yet. I had been struggling with how to simplify a complex concept for kids. Enter Vivian’s #50preciouswords contest. I challenged myself to distill this topic using only 50 words. Brevity gave me the idea to narrate the story in first person. Fast Forward a few months – I have a story draft about a container ship getting stuck in the Suez Canal (sound familiar?) but my critique group thinks it needs a better angle. They suggest reframing it to be in the voice of my #50preciouswords story… and I Ship was born! Thank you, Vivian, for inspiring all of us to try to be extremely INTENTIONAL with our words. For me, it launched a whole book series!