and a great way to celebrate Women’s History Month with teen daughters!
We JUST got home from seeing Cabrini. I’ve been nervously holding our (e-)tickets for weeks, worrying about how this would go over with the fam. (Let’s just say my last effort to incorporate “faith-filled” and “fun” into a Friday night at the movies didn’t go exactly as planned.) Would Sissy get off work in time? Would Molly’s attention span last the 2.5 hours? Would Daddy’s blossoming cold hold off? Would this be another Catholic movie with just a little too much cringe for my artsy, sophisticated MST3K-style film critic group?
THANKS BE TO GOD. This movie SLAPS. It really did! I am so relieved! Even teen approved! As in, Sissy says she is buying a poster of Mother Cabrini to hang next to her poster of Alan Cummings! (Yes, she is that weird.) And here I’ve been teaching about Mother Cabrini over and over for at least 100 years or so, and we all learned so much more about this bad-a$$ lady. Like, all Italian moms rolled into one.
2.5 hours went by like NOTHING.
Orphanage on the Hudson (Angel.com)
Cristiano Dell’Anna does an amazing job of playing the part of Mother Francesca Cabrini. She argues her case to expand her missionary efforts outside her native Italy (apparently it was unheard of at that time, 1890s, for Italian women be missionaries in foreign lands). She must plea her case directly to Pope Leo XIII, whom Italian actor Giancarlo Giannini did a GREAT job portraying, and their lovely tea scene is the one of hundreds of beautifully designed sets and artfully shot scenes in this gorgeous film.
As a huge fan of learning and teaching history via stories, I loved having the opportunity for my girls to learn about this time period in U. S. History (Victorian/Turn of the Century fashion is my favorite) on the big screen, as a family. It is also a HUGE deal to me that they grow up hyper-aware of the many trials and travails of immigrants, both past and present, since, as the movie states both directly and indirectly multiple times, immigrants are the bones to this country, ALL our ancestors.
Cabrini is set in New York City, and I would love to hear what the locals up there have to say about the theater experience. There were some great one-liners that tickled my husband (Jersey boy) and me but were lost to this Central Ohio audience, such as when Mother was scolded, “And that is the last time New York will ever see and Italian Festival!” and when she proclaimed to an appalled Mayor Gould (John Lithgow) that someday, New York would have an Italian mayor!
My second favorite character was the beautiful Romana Maggiora Vergano who played a young prostitute named Vittoria. She aides the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus from the first night they arrive in New York. I do not know that her role is as much fact as fiction, but the character is well-developed and provides an introduction to the shocking but profoundly well-done setting of the infamous poverty-stricken Five Points neighborhood in Manhattan. Vittoria’s heroic story of salvation and friendship with Mother Cabrini is also Oscar-worthy and one to celebrate with the women in your life.
Go see Cabrini! It’s mom, dad, and teen-approved! all 2.5 hours’ worth!
Although you may have seen the official release of debut children’s book author Erin Broestl back in 2019, I’m adding it to the list of wonderful things happening in 2020.
There are so many aspects of this highly-acclaimed Christian children’s picture book (CPB) that I could blog about it for a month of Sundays. Eventually, I’ll secure an interview with the gifted wordsmith whose — should I call it poetic prose?– seems to speak a language all its own. The making of God Made the Moonlight is the perfect topic for a “Behind the Brush” post. That is, it’s a great example of how illustrations can shape a story. Therefore, I’d like to share a look back at the illustration journey that brought out a second, rather unexpected, meaning to Mrs. Broestl’s God Made the Moonlight.
I can’t believe it’s been three years, but it has. While this is not completely unusual as far as the typical amount of time it takes to bring a new CPB to life, it’s a bit longer than I’m used to. As usually happens in the illustration business, I received the author’s manuscript, nicely-typed, with “illustration notes” next to each block of text. Many, I’d even venture to say most, new authors of children’s books include such notes with their submissions, in varying degrees of details, along side their stories. Erin’s little notes were blessedly few, but she did have some idea of certain colors and other elements she envisioned for her first book. She suggested a sort of genre (fantasy, in this case, “I’m seeing castles, a fairy-tale,”) and even lent me a book with images that she liked.
For almost two years I sketched out scenes of hazy moons and foggy, night-time castle scenes. While there was nothing technically wrong with the watercolor sketches, I suppose, the “meh” feeling I got from them kept me up at night. Since the Broestls had just welcomed a new member to their family, I chanced that Erin might also be awake.
Early idea for “God Made the Moon”
“Erin, would it be ok with you if I rearranged the order of some of your lines?” I texted.
I proposed the idea of using the phases of the moon to guide the sequence of the picture-story that was just beginning to come to life inside my head. (To understand this sequence of events, I highly recommend re-reading your copy of GMtM right now and trying to imagine the text alone on a single sheet of paper.) The verbiage was already there in Broestl’s quiet, charmingly unassuming manuscript:
Each day, the moon’s shape changes a little.
Tonight, it looks like the Cheshire Cat’s smile.
Soon, it will be so dark that I can hardly see it. A new moon!
There were references to car rides, and airplanes, and city lights. And then,
I love the moon! Just knowing that it is there makes me feel at home, no matter where I am.
There it was: the longing, the pull, the emotion, the universal themes of journeying, going out into the unknown with a spirit of adventure, yet yearning for the familiarity of home.
The story.
I could see the girl on the page, packing her suitcase, the child being read to asking, “Where is she going?” There is a boy on the next spread: her little brother. They are out of their norm, experiencing things that are all new. They are happy, but sometimes the unfamiliarity of a situation can be a little scary.
A young girl sets out on a journey from the city to the country.
How blessed I am to work with such a gifted writer as my friend, Erin Broestl! And I’m so thankful that she was open to listening to my new “vision” of GMtM. I sketched out, verbally and on paper, my ideas for a “subplot” to the revised manuscript. The images came to me more easily now, and I worked with a clearer goal in mind. Erin and I collaborated, filled with a new energy. Over the next months I painted, adjusted, and sometimes even deleted new spreads of artworks. (Here’s a deleted scene from the storyboard before we had the full new story worked out:)
This one’s Erin’s favorite (it made the cut):
The moon plays peek-a-boo through the treetops.
“It’s like you saw inside my mind,” says Broestl, who recalls a family trip from her childhood. Believe me, it is a rare thing when an illustrator can actually see what the author “has in mind” for the proposed manuscript. And I assured Erin that this was just a coincidence! I’ve since said this, so many times, to so many children’s book authors:
“An illustrator’s happiest clients are the ones who, when it comes to the artwork, completely hand over the reins to the artist.”
The simple truth is that, no, the illustrator cannot see inside the author’s mind. The more details the author has already conjured up in his or her mind about the way each page “should” look, the more that author is setting himself/herself up for disappointment with almost any illustrator’s work. Please see my post on “How to prepare a children’s book manuscript for your illustrator.”
Mrs. Erin Broestl is one amazing woman, folks. She blogs at Eight Hobbits. Although God Made the Moonlight is Broestl’s first published children’s book, she’s no stranger to the writing industry. I’ve no doubt we can expect more great volumes from Erin.
Many prospective children’s book authors are already familiar with the concept of storyboarding, but I’ve come to realize that it is important to help wordsmiths understand the purpose of pictures in a book.
Despite what Wiktionary might say, illustrations that merely echo the author’s words do not belong in Children’s Picture Books (CPBs). A good illustrator doesn’t repeat, in pictures, what the author has already stated in the text. Envision, if you will, a page with an apple and the word “apple” typed underneath. While this type of literal illustration has its place in school readers, such obvious image-feeding only serves to bore the audience seeking a story for entertainment. Chip Kidd said it best in this 2012 Ted Talk (for adults only!) about designing the cover for Stephen King’s Jurassic Park, “Because this (putting the word “apple” under the picture of the apple) is treating your audience like a moron. And they deserve better.”
Illustrators are trained to create in a way that is quite different from how an author writes. Rather, our job is to compliment and expand your text, similar to the way a composer adds a harmony part to the melody. What a dull piece it would be if every member of the choir sang the exact same notes! Our ears, and our eyes, delight more in intertwining phrases and media that seem to dance like two partners who’ve known each other for 50 years but still find something new about one another every dance.
In children’s books, it is important to avoid “spoon-feeding” the story to the reader/listener. Using more open-ended sentences and “breathing room,” in the story is essential to writing great children’s literature. Leaving space for the child’s imagination to work invites the child to become an active participant in the story. To some extent, you can let your reader fill in his/her own details in your story. Give children something to think about and wonder over. When the child is actively trying to guess what’s going to happen or how exactly something did happen, he/she becomes invested in the story’s outcome and wants to see it (or hear it) through to the end.
An author’s words should tell the reader only so much. Even most adults who cozy up with a good book don’t appreciate an overly “voicey,” commanding, or condescending commentary. I don’t want to be told what to feel! Make me feel it! Likewise, there’s a better way to express, “Sally felt sad because her favorite toy was broken.” Let the illustrator (and designer) express that sadness, not only in Sally’s face, but also in the page spread’s sudden hue change to a cool palette, a lower position of the words relative to the image, a thinner, more deflated-looking font, and so on. Perhaps you don’t even need to reiterate that it was her favorite toy because the illustrator has done such a great job, on previous pages, of showing how important that toy was to Sally.
Some of the suggestions in this post fall outside of the typical illustrator’s scope of advice-giving. I’m coming at you from the point of view of someone who’s had the pleasure of working as an author, an illustrator, a graphic designer, an art director, and, most recently, a publisher. From this more global perspective, I’ve collected (and paraphrased) the following pieces of useful advice to authors writing children’s books:
Bark less, wag more.
You have only 500-1000 words to use. Make them count. (More than 1500 words and you are moving into another genre such as early reader.) Skip the colorful descriptions, strings of adverbs, and long-winded character development. Focus on a strong, well-timed rising plot with a single, clear-cut resolution. A well-executed drawing of a woman peeling a large, bright, juicy orange in a sunny kitchen has no need for the words “the woman was peeling a large, bright, juicy orange in the sunny kitchen.” Now you have more space to write, “Mom said the children must hurry, so she helped with breakfast.”
Show, don’t tell.
As you write, ask yourself, “What ideas could be expressed in pictures rather than in words?” Leave plenty of breathing room, that is, ample creative space, for the illustrator to add visual layers to your story. In the third book of my Molly McBride series, never once did I mention in words that Dominic’s mom found the missing invitation: that entire twist of events was left to the illustrations!
Molly and Dominic are BUSTED! Moms rock.
But the Amazon reviews clearly told me that I correctly conveyed, via illustrations alone, this crucial plot point. My readers were able to surmise how it came to light that Molly and Dominic had misbehaved.
Mass before Ora et Labora
Organize from the get-go.
I advise authors submitting CPB manuscripts to number a sheet of paper from three to 30. The first page, page 3, will be single, right-sided (recto) page. The rest will be in spreads with the lesser-value even number on the left (verso) and the odd number on the right. (E. g. the first spread will be pages 4-5.) Place small chunks of your text beside the page and spreads on this list. Even better, check out this free tool on the Perpetual Light Publishing website.
Keep the pages turning.
End each odd page on a mini “cliff-hanger.” For example, instead of page 5 reading something like, “Joey saw the weirdest-looking ball he’d ever seen hovering in the air,” put “He stopped in his tracks. Hovering in the air in front of him was the weirdest thing Joey had ever seen.” Don’t reveal that it was a ball until spread 6-7. Better yet, don’t use the word “ball” at all. Let the illustrator paint it!
Plot a traditional plot.
Known in some circles as “the traditional plot,” there is a practically no-fail secret to making anything entertaining. And yes, it takes plotting. It goes like this: introduce the character, introduce the conflict, build up the action (most of the book), climax, resolve. This works just as well for an Indiana Jones movie as for a Backyardigans episode. Knowing that you have to get all this in between pages 3 and 30, you can even look at the list of page numbers from “Organize” above, and do some tightening up to ensure you are giving these essential parts of the story the proper order and length. There are plenty of articles online about this.
Good things come in threes.
From pigs to bears, the golden rule of children’s picture books (and many other forms of entertainment) is that Rule of Threes. In a nutshell, this generally means it takes your main character three attempts to resolve the conflict. This is a proven, old-as-the-hills storytelling strategy can be used in other elements of the story as well, such as three supporting characters or a setting of three rooms. Look for additional design elements in sets of three, like text boxes and background details.
In summary, a book’s illustrations have the power to not only bring out the best in the author’s words, but also to beckon the reader’s imagination to become an active participant in the story. And that’s what we all want, isn’t it? We want our books to be creative works that beg to be enjoyed again and again, for generations to come.
Jean Schoonover-Egolf is a retired Internal Medicine physician-turned-homeschooling-mom/author/illustrator/publisher. A catechist and volunteer librarian at St. Patrick Parish in downtown Columbus, Ohio (Go, Bucks!), Dr. Egolf spends her free time gardening and rearranging the dishwasher.
What are you doing this Thursday, December 5th from 7:00 to 9:00 PM EST?
Several authors from CatholicTeenBooks.com are hosting a pre-Christmas party on Facebook. Won’t you please join us?
We will have games and prizes and a chance for authors and readers to get to know each other! No purchase necessary to play and win. You’ll find pictures of the prizes at the end of this post!
You stand a good chance of winning prizes but even if you don’t, maybe you’ll get some gift ideas! Books make great gifts, but faith-filled fiction is even better! Faith-filled Catholic fiction can inspire and support a teen in their faith and help them deal with the challenges today’s culture throws at them.
Who we are:
At CatholicTeenBooks.com you will find books in several genres: saint stories, mystery, contemporary, romance, fantasy, dystopian, speculative, and historical. Many of these books are award-winners…
“I have actually met this talented and amazing author in person! Jean Schoonover-Egolf and I both attended the Columbus Catholic Women’s Conference, making our books available to attendees. At one point, a sister in a purple habit approached Jean Egolf’s table and the two of them stood talking for a moment. Well, I was impressed. This woman loves Jeanie Egolf’s books so much, I thought, that she dressed up like the main character in her Molly McBride and the Purple Habit series!
“Well, I was wrong. She was a real Sister! There really is an order of Sisters who wear purple habits! They are called the Children of Mary and they are a new community in the service of the Church “to satiate the thirst of Jesus to be loved in the Most Blessed Sacrament.”
“Through entertaining and beautifully illustrated stories, the Molly McBride and the Purple Habit series promotes charity, virtue and even plants the seeds for vocations in little hearts.”
Friends, you know how I love me some Ellen Gable. She does historical fiction/Catholic romance like nobody’s business! I am so happy that I no longer have to keep this one a secret, and secret I did promise to keep, because I had a tiny role in Ella’s Promise. (I helped with some of the medical info! Every now and then I still get to use that M. D.)
“When she joins the war effort during the Great War, American nurse Ella Neumann doesn’t see allies or enemies. The daughter of German immigrants, Ella sees only human beings in need of care. A promise to herself and a promise made to her by an enemy officer become the catalyst for the life she plans to lead after the war. But a handsome Canadian soldier may complicate her plans. In this third installment of the Great War – Great Love series, join Ella in a tale of promises, betrayal and unconditional love.”
In case you forgot, m’girl Ellen is an award-winning author (2010 IPPY, 2015 IAN finalist, 2019 IAN Finalist), publisher (2016 CALA), editor, self-publishing book coach, speaker, NFP teacher, Marriage Preparation Instructor, Theology of the Body for Teens instructor, and past president of the Catholic Writers Guild. She is an author of ten books and a contributor to numerous others. Her novels have been collectively downloaded 750,000 times. Some of her books have been translated into Portuguese, Italian, French, and Spanish. She and her husband, James, are the parents of five adult sons, seven precious souls in heaven and one cherished grandson. In her spare time, Ellen enjoys reading on her Kindle, genealogy, and watching classic movies and TV shows. Her website is http://www.ellengable.com. Ellen is past President of the Catholic Writers Guild (2012-2015). She has appeared numerous times on EWTN’s Bookmark with Doug Keck, EWTN radio and other Catholic TV and radio shows. A frequent presenter at Catholic conferences and Catholic high schools, Ellen speaks on a variety of topics: Pregnancy Loss, Theology of the Body for Teens, Responsible Parenthood, Natural Family Planning and various writing topics. She and her husband of 37 years, James Hrkach, live in Pakenham, Ontario Canada.
Friends, I am so excited to announce the forthcoming release of the FOURTH book in the Molly McBride series of Catholic children’s picture books fostering vocations:
Molly McBride and the Christmas Pageant: A Story About the Virtue of Obedience
The kindergarten class at Holy Trinity School is having a Christmas pageant, complete with stable, angels, barn animals, and baby Jesus. Molly McBride thinks she’s a shoo-in for the role of Mary, while her bestie, priest-wanna-be Dominic, has his heart set on the role of Joseph. But Mrs. Rose, kindergarten teacher extraordinaire, might not have quite the same “vision” for this year’s Nativity that the kids have, leading to an upset that snowballs into a lesson on obedience.
Will Molly’s feisty temperament ruin the whole play? Or will she find the strength, through the intercession of the Blessed Mother, to say, “Thy will be done?”
From Amazon: Christmas Pageant: A Story About the Virtue of Obedience is the fourth book in the Molly McBride series about a little girl who wants to be a nun when she grows up. Catholic kids young and old have fallen in love with the feisty, red-haired five-year-old heroine and her faithful wolf-pet-named-Francis. The tales, along with their charming illustrations, help school teachers, parents, and grandparents pass on our beautiful Faith to children around the world. The Molly McBride series not only deights readers with the funny and familiar antics of childhood, but also makes learning about virtues, Sacraments, and the Bible stories enjoyable. Because the stories feature religious sisters and priests as role models, both girls and boys become acquainted with religious vocations.
Preorder Molly McBride and the Christmas Pageant: A Story About the Virtue of Obedience by clicking here.
Molly McBride series to be published by Our Sunday Visitor
Friends, I’ve had to keep a secret for a long time, but now it’s all out there:
Peanut Butter and Grace officially announced yesterday that Our Sunday Visitor, the largest English language Catholic publisher in the world, has acquired several of their titles and content, including my “Molly McBride” children’s picture book series promoting religious vocations.
The news that Molly was being sold to Our Sunday Visitor was a shock to me. Change is scary, and Peanut Butter and Grace has been by my side since almost the beginning of this journey. But on the other hand, I’m really excited. When I first found out the name of the company looking at my series, I thought, “Our Sunday Visitor? I remember their weekly newspaper on our porch and my parents reading it after Mass.”
Sister and Molly have a heart-to-heart.
OSV has a huge reach, and that helps me in my mission, which can now be on a grander scale, to encourage Catholic parents and teachers to talk to kids about becoming religious sisters and priests. All of us here at the “McBride” household are looking forward to merging into the OSV family. Everyone I’ve spoken with over there is a gem.
You know, it’s always been my dream that “Molly McBride” would someday be a household name in Catholic families, a cute little reminder to plant those seeds early about becoming priests and nuns. Plus, she reminds us all to do as Jesus told us, to have the faith of a child.
Since OSV boasts an audience of millions of Catholic readers globally, it seems possible that dream can come true. I am so grateful for everyone who has helped me in this endeavor.
Will the cartoon will be picked up by OSV Newsweekly? There are currently no plans for this. But how cool would that be? One “Sunday” in the other “Sunday.”
Fellow authors, book stores, reviewers, and fans awaiting copies or even Book Four, I’m in a bit of a “publisher limbo” at the moment. As OSV transitions over each new title, books will again become available. I’ll do my best to keep you all posted! Meanwhile, look right here for the next Molly comic on Mother’s Day.
via 
Will the cartoon will be picked up by 