Author Guest Post and Giveaway!: “I Have a Confession” by Laura Gehl, Author of Peep and Egg

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“I Have a Confession” 

I have a confession to make. I’m a skimmer. When I read a book, my eyes fly over the page. People watching me don’t think I am actually reading, because I turn the pages so quickly. I’ve read this way since I was a kid. When I am reading a particularly beautiful book, I do force myself to slow down. But most of the time, I skim.

As a skimmer, my brain focuses on just the very most important words on any page. It turns out this is good practice for writing picture books. Because every single word in a picture book should be the most important word on the page.

When I am writing a picture book, I try to…

  • Make sure every word is necessary.
  • Make sure every word is the best possible word.
  • Make sure I am not wasting words describing anything that is best shown in art.

Copy-editing page then a final interior spread:

This means I spend lots of time reading my words out loud, rearranging them, changing them, cutting them, and reading out loud again. So I am definitely not the kind of writer who can work in a coffee shop. I can’t even work on the same floor of the house as my husband! But if I do my job right, I can create a book filled with heart and humor that has only the best, most essential words…a book that nobody like me will even be tempted to skim!

About the Author: Laura Gehl is the author of popular picture books books, including the Peep and Egg series and One Big Pair of Underwear, illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld. Laura has four children, who always love getting dirty and sometimes love taking baths. She and her family live in Chevy Chase, Maryland. Visit Laura online at lauragehl.com and www.facebook.com/authorLauraGehl

About the Illustrator: Joyce Wan is the author and illustrator of many popular board books, including You Are My Cupcake, We Belong Together, and The Whale in my Swimming Pool. She is also the illustrator of Sue Lowell Gallion’s Pug Meets Pig. Joyce lives in Ridgewood, New Jersey. For more info, visit wanart.com

Check out the adorable Peep and Egg coloring sheets and more at http://www.lauragehl.com/free-activity-sheets/

GIVEAWAY!
TWO giveaway opportunities!!

  1. One grand-prize winner will receive a signed copy of Peep and Egg: I’m Not Taking a Bath, Peep and Egg stickers, and a complete bath time fun collection that includes a giant hooded frog towel, duck water spray bath toy, rubber duckies, natural bubble bath, and a colorful assortment of made-in-USA fizzy bath balls.
  2. Ten lucky winners runners-up will receive a copy of Peep and Egg: I’m Not Taking a Bath.
Enter here!

Thank you Laura for everything! And also to Barbara at Blue Slip Media for setting this post up!

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