Interview with Debbie Ohi and Giveaway!

I am thrilled to have my critique partner from the MiGs, Debbie Ridpath Ohi, chatting with us here at Chocolate for Inspiration. I've known Debbie for a number of years and I've had the chance to read her middle grade and picture books. She is incredibly talented and I can't wait to see all of other projects come out to the light of day over the next few years.

Now for the interview!

Me: There is so much fun and humor in your illustrations. What springboards you to come up with these creative ideas?

 

 

Debbie: Thanks, Christy! I draw a lot, just for the fun of it, and I think that helps a great deal. If I only drew for work-related projects, I suspect my illustrations would tighten up and lose much of the energy that people seem to like. So I try to sketch and doodle digitally and on paper as much as I can.

I admit it was an adjustment at first. Once I started working on I'M BORED, my doodling went way down at first because I figured I needed to put the time into workstuff instead…but then I found this had a negative influence on my workstuff. Once I started drawing for fun again on the side, things got better again.

Now I'm thinking I should starting doing more of the same for my writing as well. I used to keep a private daily journal, just for random thoughts, and I think I'll start it up again.

Me: How do you look at a story from an illustrator's perspective?

Debbie: That's an interesting question, mainly because I've always looked at stories visually when I'm reading.

However, working on I'M BORED as well as my new picture book project for Simon & Schuster BFYR has certainly started me thinking a lot more about the picture book reader experience. There are so many aspiring picture book writers and illustrators out there who think that it's just a matter of writing the story and then adding pictures.

It's so much more, however. Writing picture books is HARD. Or rather, writing a good picture book that stands out in the marketplace and is appealing to young people (rather than grown-ups who are used to the classic type of picture books from the past) is hard.

Those who illustrate as well as write have a definite advantage when it comes to creating picture books because/we can't help but think of how the text and illustrations can function as one unit AS we write the story. I'm always asking myself, "How can I show this in the illustrations instead of in the text? What can I add in the illustrations that will enhance the story?"

It's a challenging but ultimately immensely satisfying process.

Me: And the most important question, what's your favorite chocolate?

Debbie: Good quality dark chocolate.

A fellow chocolate lover! Yay! Thank you so much Debbie for hanging out with us!

Stalk Debbie at:

Twitter: @inkyelbows
Blog: DebbieOhi.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/#!/inkygirl

Debbie and Simon and Schuster have also offered to give away a copy of I'M BORED! Just comment in the section below. Get an extra entry for tweeting, blogging or mentioning this interview on Facebook. Just let me know in the comments section!

Contest open internationally until Sept. 19th.

I'M BORED Releases Today!

A big happy book birthday to I'M BORED written by Michael Ian Black and illustrated by my critique partner from the MiGs, Debbie Ridpath Ohi! I'm just so excited for Debbie. She is incredibly talented and has great things in store for her in the future, including two more picture books that she will write/and or illustrate through Simon and Schuster!

Over at the MiGs we are celebrating the book birthday of I'M BORED all week long. Each day we're chatting about being bored or something related to the book. For every comment made, you can enter to win you very own copy of I'M BORED!

Check it all out here.

Also, check out I'M BORED in the wild. You can submit pics too!

Asian Literature- Ruby's Wish

Today is my first day back at school. I'm always a little nervous on this day, wondering who will be in my class and if we'll all get along. Spending six hours a day with twenty people in one room all year long can be a great year or a very bad year depending on the mix of people!

In thinking about the beginning of the year, I'm reminded of the picture book, RUBY'S WISH by Shirin Yim Bridges. In thisstory, Bridges retells the journey of how her grandmother became one of the first woman to attend university in China.

I love Ruby's determination and love for learning that shines through in these pages. And Sophie Blackall does such a striking job with the illustrations, pulling out that common theme of the color red, which is Ruby's favorite color.

When I read this story to my students, I also tie it into family history and what life was like for our grandparents and where our grandparents came from. A great link for activities to support this is here.

You're never too old to learn a new language. Here's a link to create flash cards to learn Chinese. 

And have you ever wondered what your name would look like in Chinese? Check out this link.

If you look to the left, you'll see my name in Chinese. Pretty cool, huh? Now if only I could write it that well.

SCBWI Florida- Picture Book Intensive

The SCBWI Florida workshop in Orlando, FL consists of two days. Friday is a day of intensives that focus on a writer's craft in a particular genre.

This year I decided to break out of my usual YA mold and stretch myself. I took the picture book intensive with Sylvie Frank, associate editor at Holiday House, and Andrea Davis Pinkney, a New York Times best-selling and award-winning author and Vice President Executive Editor for Scholastic.

I was so impressed with the expertise and professionalism that both of these ladies had. After taking their workshop, I came away with new knowledge of how to use the economy of writing when creating a picture book as well as using a picture book dummy to determine if my pacing was on target. 

Excellent advice from Andrea: there is no such thing as writer's block! I also loved how Andrea gave us a duel perspective on publishing. She showed us a book from the side of a writer and then turned the tables and showed us how an editor would think about that same project. I found that fascinating and it really gave me a new perspective on publishing.

Sylvie had us create a picture book from paper so we could better understand how the picture book is laid out. Once we made ours, we then looked at the pacing of the picture book and how to determine if our story's plot was strong enough. 

If you'd like to try, here's a great link to get you started.

Asian Literature- THE EMPTY POT

Today's highlighted book on Asian literature is a picture book, THE EMPTY POT, by Demi. This is a beautifully crafted story about a Chinese emperor who must choose a successor to his throne. He gives every child a seed with the proclamation to plant it. They must return to the Emperor to see who has produced the most beautiful flower. This is a test to see who is worthy to succeed him.

Ping is thrilled to complete this task because he loves flowers just as much as the emperor. But when the time has passed and Ping has to stand before the emperor with an empty pot, Ping has to make decision whether to tell the emperor the truth or a lie.

What I love about this book: How the message of honesty is woven into the story without sounding preachy. The illustrations are rich and timeless and match the story perfectly.

What is unique about this book: I thought the ending was unexpected and satisfying.

Why should you read it? This story is set in ancient China. It's a great way to get exposed to new cultures and new perspectives.

Favorite lines: "Because the Emperor loved flowers so much, he decided to let the flowers choose."