Monday, April 20, 2009

A new beginning for something old


I had submitted the story of Gunther the Underwater Elephant to about five publishers before one became interested but then after a long session and wait they finally turned him down. It wasn't so much the pictures, they loved those, it was the story.
Me, being a bit of a control (not quite freak) person did not want to let go of the story so I took Gunther back and put him on the bookshelf for 6 months.

Recently I started working on two other dummies and during the process I realized that Gunther had possibilities I had not thought of. So naturally he is back on the drawing table and being re-dummied. The text is far more minimal and the pictures are telling the story from a more childlike point of view. I think a child could now hear the story once and then retell (READ) it by reading the pictures. And isn't that what a picture book should be about?

3 comments:

Sue/Hershey said...

I certainly hope the publisher decides to publish Gunther! He is absolutley adorable! I collect illustrated books and think that Gunther will be a fabulous addition to my collection!

BTW...this blog is the best!

Ginger*:) said...

Hi Sue, thanks for the nice comments about our blog!
It is certainly nice to have visitors here in our little spot of cyberspace.

my profile said...

what a wonderful illustration. here's wishing you and Gunther many wonderful adventures!