INDEX
INTERNSHIP:WEEK1
WEEK2
WEEK3
WEEK4
WEEK5
WEEK6
WEEK7
START-UP:
WEEK1
WEEK2
WEEK3
WEEK4
START-UP
February NB Overview:
23 Januray: First meeting with Puck
14 February: Project opening at Klok-huis with Anne-Roos
26 February: 2nd Puck meeting
27 February: First meeting with Nicholas
PLANNING:
WEEK 1
Since I will meet Puck in Januray for our first meeting, I decided to begin earlier with some idea so that I could at least get a bit of feedback.
A picture book with pages of panels (comic/picturebook hybrid) inspired by this work I made a few years ago:
A tiny magical creature that lives in homes and workshops, steals tiny things that humans think they have misplaced. He is pulled into an adventure outside in the magic wood where he meets other creatures and learns more about himself and the world along the way.
MOODBOARD:
SKETCHES:
-Add 2 more mornings (weekend) for observational drawing as it needs to be more of a consistant practice.
-Tips to think of when writing the story:
*How old is the character?
*What is the call to his adventure?
*Does he have friends?
*Does every house have a little creature like the character?
*Do humans see him?
*Where are the people, do we see them?
-Good idea to have it as a picturebook/comic hyrbid as its very layered and needs a longer format.
02/02/26
Monday task: Apply for Playgrounds market open call.
I began reading and studying some picturebooks from my own collection. When those ran out, I spent the evening in the library browsing the shelves.
Highlighted ones are the ones I enjoyed the most:
Picturebooks:
Aggie and the Ghost - Matthew Forsythe
Choices - Anne Roos Kleiss
The Wolf’s Secret - Myriam Dahman, Nicolas Digard, Júlia Sardà
Leina and the Lord of the Toadstools - Myriam Dahman, Nicolas Digard, Júlia Sardà
Otto and the Story Tree - Vivien Mildenberger
Dont Eat Me! The Almost True Story of Belladonna - Kate Finney, Esmé Shapiro
The Witch in the Tower - Júlia Sardà
The Little Gardener - Emily Hughes
Leo, A Ghost Story - Mac Barnett, Christian Robinson
Sam & Dave Dig a Hole - Mac Barnett, Jon Klassen
Please Open This Book! - Adam Lehrhaupt, Matthew Forsythe
Ooko - Esmé Shapiro
Grandad’s Island - Benji Davies
The Storm Whale in Winter - Benji Davies
Child of Glass - Beatrice Alemagna
The 5 Misfits - Beatrice Alemagna
The School in Murky Wood - Malcolm Bird
Where The Wild Things Are - Maurice Sendak
The Dark - Lemony Snicket, Jon Klassen
Things That Go Away - Beatrice Alemagna
Jabberwocky - Lewis Carroll, Joel Stewart
On a Magical Do-Nothing Day - Beatrice Alemagna
The Gold Leaf - Kristen Hall, Matthew Forsythe
Migrant - Maxine Trottier, Isabelle Arsenault
You Belong Here - M.H. Clark, Isabelle Arsenault
Butterfly Child - Marc Majewski
A Day Thats Ours - Blake Nuto, Vyara Boyadjieva
Moth: An Evolution Story : Isabel Thomas, Daniel Egnéus
De Honingbij - Kristen Hall, Isabelle Arsenault
De Blubber Koningin - Beatrice Alemagna
Reflection: The books that I enjoy the most have a common thread of fantasy. I enjoy the two Beatrice Alemagna books alot! I love the beautiful loose illustrations. I wonder if they would benefit from a nuanced moral. I think Myriam Dahman & Nicolads Dagard do that well in their books, as they are folklore heavy but without a “put down your nintendo and go play outside” type of lesson.
03/02/26
Tuesday: Internship Kick off
Next: Moving onto reading Writing Picture Books by Anne Whitford Paul.
Part 1:
- Study Picturebooks, the ones you like and the ones you don’t like.
- Have a central question that is very focused. eg: How does a child make new friends
-Two book types: For nonreaders and for emerging readers.
-Picturebooks usually are 32 pages
-Manuscripts are double spaced and with 25mm borders.
-Manuscripts can be from 1/2 page to 15 pages depending on age of audience.
-Probably a better idea to stick to 32 pages if you’re unpublished.
-Book should appeal to parents and children.
-Books that endure are about something bigger/substance and are layered eg. the changing of seasons and about making friends or a counting book with a narrative story.
-The writer should have a theme or overall idea to investigate.
NOW GO WRITE A DRAFT.
Part 2:
-Write a focused question about the story that could be seen as a blurb.
-Delete any details that doesn’t have anything to do with the story.
-There are only a certain amount of stories in the world. Therfore the story must be written uniquely.
-Tips: Change the point of view to a different character.
Try replacing characters with others. play with it.
Try changing the tense.
Try a different location.
Try animals as humans and humans as animals.
-Make main characters child-like or a child.
NOW MAKE A CHARACTER STUDY FOR ALL CHARACTERS.
I came across the Dpictus Unpublished PictureBook Showcase. I spent some time going through the submittions. Common threads are:
Stylistically are experimentive, loose with limited colour palletes. Generally compositions are flat like a stage production. The stories themselves
I’m excited to see these in person this year at BCBF. And perhaps this is a good goal for myself for 2027.
05/02/26
Drafting:
I created a worksheet for myself based on the Hero’s Journey, so thats it’s easier to think about the beats of the story. Here are some idea seeds:
06/02/26
I sketched a bit more but WOW writing a story that is interesting and cohesive is SO difficult. The thought of not having an original story by the end of the month, is scaring me. I should have a backup story that I can use incase.. Something like a Lewis Carroll tale since it’s in the public domain. There’s the Jaberwocky and The Hunting of the Snark.
Plan: Have a back-up story, Study writing a bit more.
I’ve found these resources to help.
https://writingexercises.co.uk/index.php
https://boords.com/blog/how-to-write-a-beat-sheet-free-template
https://savethecat.com/rites-of-passage
I also have these books that would be good to read:
More picture books read:
Extra Yarn by Mac Barnett, Jon Klassen
Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans
The Stick Man by Julia Donaldson, Axel Scheppler
Sam and the Firefly by P.D Eastman
In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak
The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson, Alex Scheppler
If you give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Joffe Numeroff, Felicia Bond
Apple Cake by Dawn Casey, Genieviece Gadbout
The Amazing bone by William Steig
The Little Gardener by Emily Hughes
Arthur and the Golden Rope by Joe Todd-Stanton
Weekend 1 observational drawing:
Ceramic of the week:
I already had this cup baked a while ago and decided to underglaze it with the deers that I drew earlier.
I’ll glaze it in clear glaze and fire it next week.
WEEK1 REFELECTION:
So after reading the first two chapeters of Writing Picture books by Ann Whitford Paul, it’s safe to say, it would be really helpful if I already had a draft. I mean, the author did mention that in the first chapter...
Time to get serious about making that draft now. I’m giving myself until the 19th of February to write and therafter a week for a rough storyboard.
Next Steps:
1. Analyse what I like and don’t like about the Picturebooks I’ve read.
2. Write a short paragaraph about what my story will be.
3. Begin reading Grammar of Fantasy by Gianni Rodari