Today is the
official release date for Thank You, Moon: Celebrating Nature’s Night Light, and I couldn’t be more excited.
The story behind this book
traces back to February 2020. Editor Katherine Harrison tagged me on Twitter, alerting me to a conversation
about how animals respond to the Moon’s cycle, and asked “Is this something
you’d potentially be interested in writing? I just can’t get enough of the moon
these days, and I feel like you could bring something special to it.” She also
included a beautiful, eerie, mysterious image of the Moon partially obscured by
clouds. It was an irresistible invitation.
A few days later, I began doing some basic research to
see how much information I could find. After a couple of weeks of digging, I
was confident that there were enough solid examples to fill a book. Now I
needed a strong hook—a unique lens that would spark the reader’s curiosity and
encourage them to think about the topic in a new way.
What’s the best way to think
of a hook? Start brainstorming!
On Saturday, I told my husband we were going to think
of possible titles while we cleaned the house. The ideas could be good or bad,
silly or serious, anything at all. Any unique way of thinking about “our closest
companion in space.” I liked the sound of that phrase, so I wrote it down to
get us started.
A few hours later, the dust bunnies were gone, the
bathroom sparkled, and we’d filled a notebook page with ideas. The next day, I
typed them all into a computer file along with all the adjectives I could think
of to describe the Moon photo Katherine had sent me.
As I read through the words
and phrases, I spotted the word “gratitude” twice, and
I knew why. It traced back to when I was about 9 years old and went to summer
camp for the first time. I was so homesick.
But one night, I looked up at the Moon and realized my parents could see the same
glowing orb. That thought comforted me and made me feel connected to them. Ever
since that day, I’ve always felt a deep affection, a sense of gratitude for my
friend the Moon.
As
I remembered that moment from my childhood, I realized that a lens of
thankfulness would make a great hook. After
all, life on Earth—including us—couldn’t exist without the Moon to regulate our
planet’s seasons.
That’s when the title “Thank You, Moon” popped into my mind.
Confident that I’d come up with just the right angle
for approaching the topic, I dug into the research and began thinking about the
text structure—my nemesis. I’ll talk more about that next week.
On Saturday, Susan Edwards
Richmond and I will be doing a presentation and signing copies of her book Night Owl Night and my books Thank You, Moon:
Celebrating Nature’s Night Light at 11:00 a.m. at Drumlin Farm in Lincoln, MA.
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5 Responses
Thank you for sharing your process, Melissa. It's interesting to see how this book evolved.
So glad you enjoyed this post!
"…began thinking about the text structure—my nemesis."
I feel this SO HARD. I'm the same.
I have two projects right now that are in this phase. I know I have good picture book ideas, but I cannot figure out how to make them work.
Yup, I'm right there with you.
"…began thinking about the text structure—my nemesis."
I feel this SO HARD. I'm the same.
I'm working on two projects right now and I can't figure out the right structure. I know they're good PB ideas, but OY! Why is structure so hard?!