MENTOR TEXTS: Another Case Study by Lynne Marie

There's a surprising secret regarding writing (at least to some) that there's just as much reading involved, as writing.

You can literally discover something with EVERY book you read, good, bad or indifferent. What to do, what not to do, what's been done, what you can do better, etc.

With that in mind, I am again diving in my reading pile. For the most part, I do read a few picture books each and every day. I really do believe that this has informed my success in this market.

A GOOD DAY FOR A HAT by T. Nat Fuller
Illustrated by Rob Hodgson
Abrams Appleseed, 2017

JACKET COPY:  Mr. Brown has a hat for every occasion, and today he needs them all! Every time he opens his front door, the scene changes -- and Mr. Brown changes his hat to match. At last, he is on his way, and we see why it is truly a good day for a hat! 

MY NOTES: This was a great find for me. The editor who acquired one of my books while at Sterling is now with this house, which gives me a connection I would like to use someday. I do know Abrams Appleseed is geared toward ages 0-4, so this is a perfect example of a fun book that would appeal to little ones and has some educational take-away value (matching hats with situations).

WHAT DO ANIMALS DO ALL DAY by Wendy Hunt
Illustrated by Muti
Quarto/Wide Eyed Editions, 2018

JACKET COPY: What do animals do all day? Find out in this book, which features more than ONE HUNDRED ANIMALS. 

Explore 14 diverse habitats, including a jungle, a desert, and a coral reef, then turn the page to find out what each animal is called and what it gets up to in the wild. 

This is the perfect book to introduce little ones to animals big and small, and to explain how they work together in nature!

MY NOTES: I have quite a few manuscripts set in animal habitats, which feature a variety of animals, reptiles and fish. Rather than being a comp book, exactly, this book proved entirely useful as a resource book, both for facts AND inspiration!

TYRANNOSAURUS REX VS. EDNA - THE VERY FIRST CHICKEN
By Douglas Rees
Illustrated by Jed Henry
Macmillan/Henry Holt and Company, 2017

JACKET COPY: Tyrannosaurs wants breakfast. 

He stomps and roars and he gnashes his teeth -- and he scares all the other dinosaurs right out of the forest. 

Only Edna, the very first chicken, is unafraid. She won't let that bully T-Rex push her around! But will Edna's mighty beak and terrible flapping wings be a match for T. Rex's mighty claws and terrible jaws? This hilarious tale of bravery will have readers clucking in triumph! 


MY NOTES: I have a dinosaur manuscript or two as well as a chicken manuscript or two, but never both together LOL, so this book helped inform/add to my knowledge of what books on these topics are out there.

MONSTER'S NEW UNDIES by Samantha Berger
Illustrated by Tad Carpenter
Scholastic/Orchard Books, 2017

JACKET FLAP: Beware! Monster needs new underwear.

MY NOTES: Of course, I have a monster manuscript or two. Who doesn't?  So this is a monster book mashed with an underwear problem, which proves to be a unique treatment of a monster book.

KNOCK, KNOCK by Tammi Sauer
Illustrated by Guy Francis
Scholastic/Scholastic Press, 2018

JACKET COPY: Bear is getting ready for his long winter nap, but his friends have other plans! KNOCK KNOCK!

MY NOTES: Short and sweet, and extremely fun and clever. Little ones will adore this book! This is a good example of child-appeal.



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Lynne Marie is the author of Hedgehog Goes to Kindergarten - illustrated by Anne Kennedy (Scholastic, 2011), Hedgehog's 100th Day of School – illustrated by Lorna Hussey (Scholastic, January 2017), The Star of the Christmas Play -- illustrated by Lorna Hussey (Beaming Books, 2018), Moldilocks and the 3 Scares -- illustrated by David Rodriguez Lorenzo (Sterling, pending) and Let's Eat! Mealtimes Around the World -- illustrated by Parwinder Singh (Beaming Books, 2019). You can learn more about her at www.LiterallyLynneMarie.com. 

To order the Star in the Christmas Play, click the title.