Picture Books – PAMELA JANE

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Books for Halloween

“On Halloween for trick or treat, two monsters mixed a stew to eat. They mixed it in a garbage can and laughed about their clever plan for making monster stew…” I’m pleased to announce that MONSTER MISCHIEF is back in print, by demand. Print-on-demand, that is! To order call Simon and Schuster at 1-800-223-2348. The ISBN number for this edition is 1481425358 (paper). “Written in bouncy rhyme with glowing watercolors, this tale will capture the hearts of all who love the magic and mystery of Halloween.” Children’s Literature And, of course, LITTLE GOBLINS TEN is still available, and will soon be followed by a Christmas sequel, LITTLE ELFIE ONE (Harper 2015) also illustrated by Jane Manning. So come on and get spooky! “…trust the team of Jane and Manning to conjure up an impressive new vision in time for Halloween.” starred, Kirkus Reviews … Read on

Pamela Jane is the author of over thirty books from board books to memoir. She is also a writing coach, freelance writer, and public speaker. Learn more about her by booking a school visit, perusing her blog, or reading her memoir, An Incredible Talent for Existing: A Writer's Story.

The Power of Picture Books

Not long ago, The New York Times published a front-page article* about the declining sales and possible death of the picture book. Increasingly, parents and teachers are bypassing picture books for chapter books in the hopes of accelerating their reading skills and boosting their standardized test scores. But there is nothing standard or predictable about the imagination or how it is developed and nurtured. As an author of thirty children’s books, including many picture books, I cannot imagine what my life would have been like if not for the pictures in the books I loved and poured over long before I could read. I’m not an illustrator, but the images in the books I loved as a child made a deep and lasting impression. My parents used to read to me from a book of nursery rhymes filled with pictures of old-fashioned children in knickers and lace pantaloons skipping through meadows in a faraway land called Long Ago. Up in … Read on

Pamela Jane is the author of over thirty books from board books to memoir. She is also a writing coach, freelance writer, and public speaker. Learn more about her by booking a school visit, perusing her blog, or reading her memoir, An Incredible Talent for Existing: A Writer's Story.

The Amazing Things You Could Do – If you Really Wanted To!

My cat, Mittens, is – how can I describe it? Let’s just say he doesn’t have a lot of personality. It’s not his fault that he was born with no street-smarts or even house-smarts, and sleeps 23-1/2 hours a day. He’s also terribly timid and runs away meowing if he even sees an ant. The most dangerous thing he’s ever attacked is a Starbucks straw. So imagine my shock and amazement when Mittens recently caught a mouse in our living room! I’ve seen similar things happen in my own life and in the lives of others. People who “couldn’t write” became writers, while others who “couldn’t do math” became mathematicians. Someone may think he or she knows what you can – or can not do. But the truth is no one really knows. My friend, author Joyce McDonald, was told by a high school counselor that she wasn’t “college material”. Now she holds Ph.D. in English literature, has been a college professor and is the … Read on

Pamela Jane is the author of over thirty books from board books to memoir. She is also a writing coach, freelance writer, and public speaker. Learn more about her by booking a school visit, perusing her blog, or reading her memoir, An Incredible Talent for Existing: A Writer's Story.

What Happens When You Get Stuck?

When I visit schools, kids (and often teachers and librarians, too) ask me what’s it’s like to be a published author. Do I ever get stuck? Do I ever feel frustrated with my writing? I’ve thought about this a lot, and this post is an answer to that question! I hope it will help all the kids out there who wonder if we authors ever get stuck and if so, what do we do about it? I’ll begin with a story. Recently, I started writing Little Elfie One, a Christmas sequel to my Halloween picture book Little Goblins Ten (Harper 2011.) I was thrilled about the new book. Jane Manning, who illustrated Goblins would be illustrating the sequel too, and I think we make a great writing and illustrating team. Although the manuscript (writing) for Elfie wasn’t due for several months, I sat right down to write a first draft. This was going to be so much fun! But after several hours of writing random rhymes, I started … Read on

Pamela Jane is the author of over thirty books from board books to memoir. She is also a writing coach, freelance writer, and public speaker. Learn more about her by booking a school visit, perusing her blog, or reading her memoir, An Incredible Talent for Existing: A Writer's Story.

In the Hands of Our Readers

As children’s book authors we get so caught up, first in creating our books, then in submitting, revising, and marketing them that we sometimes forget the best part – getting them into the hands of our readers! When I wrote my first book NOELLE OF THE NUTCRACKER, illustrated by Jan Brett, I truly did forget or perhaps I never fully realized that one day children would read the book and bring to it their own imaginations, stories, and dreams. I had been so immersed, first in writing it, and then in the euphoria of having it published, that I didn’t think about the kids. Then I got my first fan letter from a little girl in Chicago. “I liked your book because it made me happy,” she wrote. “Thank you for writing this book.” (What a review! Children not only make great readers, they are the best reviewers.) A friend recently sent the photo above of her God-son reading my new … Read on

Pamela Jane is the author of over thirty books from board books to memoir. She is also a writing coach, freelance writer, and public speaker. Learn more about her by booking a school visit, perusing her blog, or reading her memoir, An Incredible Talent for Existing: A Writer's Story.

LITTLE GOBLINS TEN Gets a Starred Review from Kirkus

I was thrilled to get a starred review from Kirkus for LITTLE GOBLINS TEN. I hope this classic rhyme will mean as much to all the little goblins out there as it did to me when I was a child. *LITTLE GOBLINS TEN by Pamela Jane Illustrator: Manning, Jane Review Date: August 1, 2011 Publisher:Harper/HarperCollins Numerous titles interpreting “Over in the Meadow” have been published, but trust the team of Jane and Manning to conjure up an impressive new vision in time for Halloween. Set in a fantastical land dominated by watery blues, greens and grays and punctuated by warm reds and yellows, Manning’s tale presents ethereal ghosts, country-bumpkin werewolves, parading mummies, screeching witches, happy bats and boogieing skeletons that readers will instantly want to have as friends. The preschool set should find comfort in seeing how loving … Read on

Pamela Jane is the author of over thirty books from board books to memoir. She is also a writing coach, freelance writer, and public speaker. Learn more about her by booking a school visit, perusing her blog, or reading her memoir, An Incredible Talent for Existing: A Writer's Story.

Do a Blog tour, Go on Vacation and wear Comfy Clothes all at the Same Time!

One of the benefits of a blog tour is that you don’t have to leave home (or change out of your comfortable clothes) right? But recently, when my family and I took a long-awaited trip to visit old friends in Ashland, Oregon, I actually got to meet reviewer Marya Jansen-Gruber, the editor of Through the Looking Glass Children’s Book Review in person at her lovely home in Ashland. It was just a coincidence that after she’d agreed to review my book on her website, I discovered she lived in Ashland. So I got to go on vacation, meet a wonderful children’s book reviewer, personally hand her a copy of my new book, and wear comfortable clothes all at the same time. That’s the kind of blog tour I can go for! You can read Marya’s review of A VAMPIRE IS COMING TO DINNER! at http://www.lookingglassreview.com/books/current/board-and-novelty. … Read on

Pamela Jane is the author of over thirty books from board books to memoir. She is also a writing coach, freelance writer, and public speaker. Learn more about her by booking a school visit, perusing her blog, or reading her memoir, An Incredible Talent for Existing: A Writer's Story.

More Funny Rejections

The recent rains in Rhode Island flooded the basement of a friend of mine who lives there. Somehow she managed to escape the surging waters, overflowing streams, and flooded roads surrounding her farm, and drive down to visit me in Pennsylvania. When I asked her if she wanted to go out to dinner, she said, “No, let’s just stay home and laugh about my basement.” My friend wasn’t being facetious. She just has the ability to laugh at things that don’t go her way. I guess that’s why I like to laugh at rejections. It’s good therapy in a tough world, and some of them really are funny. You can read about my funniest rejections, but last night I got to thinking up more. I once had twelve picture book manuscripts rejected in one hour, by telephone. That’s an average of one rejection every five minutes – an all-time record! I’ve had manuscripts accepted in three days and others after … Read on

Pamela Jane is the author of over thirty books from board books to memoir. She is also a writing coach, freelance writer, and public speaker. Learn more about her by booking a school visit, perusing her blog, or reading her memoir, An Incredible Talent for Existing: A Writer's Story.

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