When I first put my ear to the ground of children’s publishing, one of the first voices I heard was that of Tara Lazar. Tara is the author of eight supremely entertaining books for kids and also is a font of online fun and information for authors and illustrators.
Tara delivers a near-daily dose of hilarious animal content on Twitter. (Squirrel mischief? Sign me up!). She’s also the founder of Storystorm, an annual brainstorming event that challenges creatives to come up with one story idea each day for a month, building a bank of at least 30 story ideas that can be drawn from and built upon throughout the year.
A fun ‘lil tidbit - one of my 2018 Storystorm ideas became a manuscript that is going to be a book in Fall 2020 (DANCING WITH DADDY, Two Lions). I’m so grateful to Storystorm for coaxing that idea out of my brain and into a Word doc! The 11th annual Storystorm kicks off soon (Jan. 1, 2020). Be sure to click here in the New Year to join the event and tap into a wealth of knowledge shared by Tara and a host of other successful kidlit professionals.
But, back to the books!
My love of Tara’s stories started with the 7 ATE 9 (illustrated by Ross MacDonald, Disney*Hyperion). I knew I had to read it when I saw the cover art in Tara’s pinned tweet. The concept. The wordplay. Just too good…
I soon discovered what thousands of other readers already knew: That Tara is a master of tone and tempo, who can deliver jokes with both abandon and restraint, pulling off the most clever of literary endeavors.
Fans of 7 ATE 9 have been craving a sequel, and this fall it arrived. THE UPPER CASE: TROUBLE IN CAPITAL CITY (Disney*Hyperion, October 2019) is out in the world, regaling readers with humor and who-done-it hijinks. Here’s the neon-yet-noir cover…
When THE UPPER CASE begins, readers learn that there’s trouble in Capital City. Mark (Question Mark, that is) and Exclamation blow into the office of Private I to share some worrisome intel: All of the uppercase letters are missing! Private I can’t stay in the margins. He takes the case, but cautiously. He doesn’t want to be next…
Dry, wry Private I takes readers along on his investigation. He interviews all the “types” - Hyphen, Period, Ampersand, the Quotation Twins. His interrogations personify punctuation, introducing young readers to meanings of familiar marks and earning plenty of parental chuckles in the process.
Private I is out of ideas and feeling down when he sees a light shining way across town. He follows the gleaming beam into the winding streets of Cursive Loop. I won’t ruin the ending, but suffice it to say the climactic scene is, quite literally, laugh-out-loud hilarious.
It’s now my pleasure to introduce the author of THE UPPER CASE, Tara Lazar, who is stopping by the blog this week to answer three questions (and give away a signed copy of her new book!). I hope you enjoy this Author Spotlight with the 100 percent fabulous Tara Lazar!
3 Questions with Tara Lazar
The follow up to 7 ATE 9 is here! Can you share a bit about how THE UPPER CASE came to you?
When I began talking to Ross MacDonald about a sequel, he mentioned that for a long time, Kevin Lewis (the acquiring editor) had wanted to do a punctuation book with him, but a story never materialized. So I took that suggestion and ran with it---nowhere fast! I had the opening line of Question Mark being "bent out of shape," but that was it. I couldn't figure out how to continue the story using a punctuation problem.
Then one day, months later, it finally hit me: punctuation does not occur in a vacuum! It needs words and letters to work! Once I realized I could mix the two together--letters and punctuation marks--the story took off.
Are you sharing this new story in student Skypes this fall? What are the key components to a successful session?
Yes, lots of Skypes! I love connecting with classrooms via video calls! The key components to a successful Skype session are:
- Pajamas
- A magic trick
- Reading with character voices
- A Q&A period
- Off-key singing
- A British accent
- A cup of tea
OK, I wanna attend one of those Skypes. Final question from the kiddo in the back row (me!): What are your goals, as you move forward in your picture booking life and career?
The main goal is to keep making books. There are loftier goals like winning major awards, becoming a NY Times bestselling author, and turning a book into a movie, but if I'm going to do this for the rest of my life, I have plenty of time to keep growing as a writer and to keep reaching higher. But bottom line, a sustained career is what I hope to achieve.
Thank you, Tara!
Tara Lazar is the author of many books for children, including YOUR FIRST DAY OF CIRCUS SCHOOL (Tundra/Penguin Random House Canada), WAY PAST BEDTIME (Aladdin/Simon & Schuster), 7 ATE 9: THE UNTOLD STORY (Disney*Hyperion), THE MONSTORE (Aladdin/Simon & Schuster), I THOUGHT THIS WAS A BEAR BOOK (Aladdin/Simon & Schuster), LITTLE RED GLIDING HOOD (Random House BFYR), and NORMAL NORMAN (Sterling Children’s Books).
One lucky reader will win THE UPPER CASE, signed by Tara Lazar! Here's how to enter:
*** Win THE UPPER CASE: TROUBLE IN CAPITAL CITY ***
Simply...
1. "Like" this post (click the heart below)
2. Follow me (@anitraschulte) on Twitter
3. Retweet my pinned contest tweet by 11/15/19
(Submit a blog comment below and get a BONUS ENTRY!)
GOOD LUCK!
A parting treat: The book trailer for THE UPPER CASE!