How to Make a Book (about My Dog)

by Chris Barton, Sarah Horne (Illustrator)

Overview

How do you make a picture book? Well, you need an author, an illustrator, and . . . a dog?!

Acclaimed author Chris Barton and his trusty pooch Ernie show readers how to make a nonfiction picture book . . . about Ernie! From coming up with ideas, researching, and writing a first draft to finding the perfect illustrator, deciding what goes on the cover, and getting every last wrod—er, word—just right, you'll see how a book is made from beginning to end.

From acquisitions and editing to graphic design and dog treats, find out what's required to bring a book to life. This title perfectly blends how-to and humor for an informative look at book publishing. And look, this is part of the marketing step!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781541581289
Publisher:	Lerner Publishing Group
Publication date:	10/05/2021
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	1,122,412
Product dimensions:	9.50(w) x 11.25(h) x 0.31(d)
Lexile:	750L (what's this?)
Age Range:	8 - 9 Years

About the Author

Chris Barton is the author of acclaimed nonfiction picture books including Dazzle Ships, Whoosh!, and What Do You Do with a Voice Like That?. His books have won several awards including a Sibert Honor for The Day-Glo Brothers and an Orbis Pictus Recommended for All of a Sudden and Forever. Chris lives in Austin, Texas, with his family.

Sarah Horne grew up in snowy Derbyshire, UK, with some goats and a brother. She then decided to be sensible and studied illustration at Falmouth College of Arts and earned a Masters degree at Kingston University. Sarah has written and/or illustrated numerous books for children and has also worked on commissions for The Guardian, The Sunday Times, Kew Gardens, Sesame Street, and for IKEA as their Children's Illustrator In Residence. She now draws, paints, writes, and giggles from underneath a pile of paper at her studio in London.

Editorial Reviews

11/01/2021

Aiming to unveil the process behind book creation, Barton walks readers through the steps of writing a nonfiction picture book about his dog in this elucidative meta-story following its own production. Starting with researching and writing the manuscript, the conversational narrative patiently offers next steps: “My agent will share the manuscript with someone who works for the publishing company that’s going to turn my story into an actual book.” The revision process and illustrator selection are covered in turn. Horne offers brightly colored graphic art, including flow charts with speech bubbles and arrows, plus a cast of cartoon-style humans in a range of skin tones, rendered in Indian ink with a dip pen and colored digitally. While publishing staff are not surveyed in-depth, aspiring authors will find the volume intriguing. Ages 6–10. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

"A gem of a book." –Children's Literature

From the Publisher

2021-09-24
With some help from his dog, Ernie, Barton outlines the process of making an informational picture book.

First there is the idea and then lots of research: Even though Barton knows Ernie really well, he also knows that he doesn’t know everything—a valuable lesson for his young readers. Then, at a level of detail many readers may find astonishing, he describes the roles of the agent, the editor, the art director, the illustrator (and their agent); the myriad people at the publisher who are part of the team that makes the book a reality get mentions too: trafficker, typesetter, proofreader, marketing, etc. Horne illustrates it all with cheery cartoons that depict main characters as White but include people of color among the publisher’s staff. Lots of arrows help readers track the progress of the manuscript across the busy pages, display type highlighting some of the many, many questions that need to be asked and answered along the way. Through it all, Ernie helps to keep both author and readers grounded with requests for play or walks. Though Barton explicitly frames his hypothetical book as nonfiction, aside from minor details, the process he describes applies to works of fiction as well. Readers who’ve never thought very hard about what goes into making a book will come away slightly dizzy and appreciative of the complexity of the process.

A master class in how to make a picture book. (tips for readers, timeline) (Informational picture book. 7-12)

Kirkus Reviews