Teddy Bears! I’ll bet just about all of us have had at least one. And today, children still hold them close to their hearts – in times of joy and in moments of sadness or fear. But how and when did these cuddly stuffed toys come about? Great question…and the answer lies in Nancy Churnin’s upcoming picture book, A TEDDY BEAR FOR EMILY…And President Roosevelt, Too! And TODAY we are revealing the cover and posting pre-order links.
Hurray! It’s almost time for the #50PreciousWords 2024 International Writing Contest.
Some of you have been participating since the beginning. But others are here for the first time. So, I’d like to share a bit about the back story of this contest.
In 2012 I had a dream. I wanted to write picture books. One of the most important things I did was to participate in writing challenges like Julie Hedlund’s 12×12 and all of Susanna Hill’s contests. Why was that important? Because it got me writing. It got me revising. It got me submitting. Hmmm….writing/revising/submitting. I believe that if we do those three things enough times, our writing improves and agents and editors get a chance to see our work. And as much as I am thrilled with my own success, nothing makes me happier than to hear about the success of others in our kid-lit community.
When I first got the idea for this contest back in 2016, I thought a few of my friends might take pity on me and submit a story – to my surprise, there were 128 entries.
Hurray for new books in the pipeline!!! And what a joy to be able to give a cover reveal shout-out to a book written by a long-time kid-lit friend, Lori Dubbin. Lori and I met at a conference back in 2015 – and I couldn’t be happier that I get a chance to help her celebrate.
Now, here’s a cover that’s filled with action – illustrator Amanda Quartey did such an amazing job that I’m ducking my head in case the ball comes my way! And her color palette is so vibrant…I love it!
Here’s a little bit about the book from the Amazon sales page:
When Althea Gibson first dreamed of joining the big American tennis leagues, she was denied because she was Black. Angela Buxton dreamed of joining the best tennis clubs in Britain, but she was rejected because she was Jewish. When Angela heard that Althea was coming to Britain to compete, she skipped school to see the match. If Althea didn’t let hatred stop her from playing the game she loved, Angela wouldn’t either. At the French Championships in 1956, Angela told Althea about her dream of winning Wimbledon with a doubles partner. To win as a team, they would have to stick to their strengths together. And they did.
We are fortunate that Lori stopped by to chat – I asked her how the story came to be:
LORI: Writing a picture book may appear to take only 500-900-ish words, but it takes thousands of words of revision along with patience, sweat, and tears to get a picture book to publication. I started writing Perfect Match in 2015 (it had a different title then) after I opened an old nonfiction book, Great Jews in Sports by Robert Slater, which had been a Bar Mitzvah gift to my oldest son. I landed on a page about a British tennis player, Angela Buxton. There was a picture of Angela in her tennis outfit and the text mentioned her doubles partner had been Althea Gibson. Right away, I wanted to know more about this duo. Sadly, I learned Althea and Angela were treated as outsiders by the elite tennis world of the 1950s because of their race and religion.
But these two women just wanted to play the game they loved. They became close friends and doubles partners, and together they defied the prejudices of the time with dedication, teamwork, and perseverance.
I so admired their perseverance and hard work, and learned – on a much different level – how I needed to persevere in communicating their story. The process of writing this manuscript took sixty-something revisions, five title changes, and eight more years to get to publication.
We all know the path is hard. There are rewarding days and days when that positive energy turns in the opposite direction. Staying connected to other writers and illustrators through 12×12 webinars, writers’ blogs, and my critique group helped me keep moving forward. I realize now I was improving as a writer and learning my craft, which allowed me not to worry about how many years were whooshing by me. Keep learning and keep at it – one day an agent or an editor will love the manuscript that is such a part of your heart.
I love the way the illustrator, Amanda Quartey, captured Althea and Angela’s highs and lows, their action on the tennis court, and their friendship on the page.
Althea and Angela’s story is relevant to what’s happening in the world today, and it feels like the right time for it to enter the world.
WOW! Thank you so much, Lori! Those are important insights…thank you so much for sharing them.
And dear readers, I’m going to share how we can help upcoming books like PERFECT MATCH become a perfect success:
We can buy it
We can review it
We can put it on our Goodreads WANT TO READ shelf
We can tell friends about it (share on social media, please)
We can ask our local library to purchase copies for their collection
I’ve already put it on my Goodreads Want To Read Shelf…and I’m sharing this post on my social media and will request my local library buy it.
How can you help?
I hope you all have a fabulous week! This past weekend was my birthday (77) and I’m so excited that the my Facebook Birthday Fundraiser for the Stuart Kirkfield Scholarship at Highlights is 79% funded! Woo-hoo! If you’d like to join in, please check it out – there are 3 more days and any amount of support is appreciated: https://www.facebook.com/donate/1108264050308830/1113485846453317
VIVIAN KIRKFIELD - Writer for Children 